Donald Trump is no genius, but he is a pragmatist. Common sense thinking in DC has become so rare, it’s mistaken for whimsical.
That’s because everything in DC comes at a price. Legislators don’t view contracts through the lens of what’s good for America. Instead they view things through the lens of what’s good for their pocketbooks.
So when Donald Trump dare question Boeing about the cost of the newest Air Force One fleet in manufacturing, DC went crazy.
“Doesn’t Trump know how many people have already been PAID OFF on this deal!?”
Remember when Obama loaned GM $50 billion? The American taxpayer got back $40 billion, and the loss was just chalked up to an accounting error.
The loss was a payoff to the unions. They put Obama in office to save their butts, and he payed off. That’s how DC works. But Trump vows to “drain the swamp.” Thus, DC must prepare for a wild ride, at least compared to what they are used to.
According to Reuters, Lockheed Martin Corp said its Chief Executive Marillyn Hewson gave U.S. President-elect Donald Trump a personal commitment to bring down the price of its F-35 fighter jet, after he heaped pressure on the aerospace company over the cost.
Lockheed’s shares fell on Friday after Trump’s message on Twitter, and after he earlier tweeted that he had asked rival Boeing Co to “price-out” an older aircraft as an alternative.
Hewson said in a statement tweeted by Lockheed that the company would “aggressively” drive down the cost of the F-35, which brought in about 20 percent of Lockheed’s sales last year.
Lockheed understood from the dastardly tweet of Trump, that the gravy-train has run out of track.
The question Liberals should be asking is, “Why didn’t Obama do the obvious on both these deals?”
The answer is simple. Obama can’t recognize the obvious, and here’s why.
First, he’s an idiot.
It’s ok to say that, as it is the truth.
Let’s all say it together, if it helps that you are saying it with a black man: “Obama is an idiot.”
See, that wasn’t as difficult as you might have thought.
Second, Obama lacks the business acumen to even recognize the potential for savings. Note in the GM example, he threw MORE money at that problem, and made no demands on GM to get their sh*t together, or else.
How sick is it that Obama has no clue he should push back on cost overruns, rather than simply accept them? Yet again Obama proves to be an empty suit.
On the other hand, Trump merely did the obvious; asked basic questions. These days in DC, doing the obvious looks like magic. Trump questioned the cost of government contracts, and DC is perplexed.
Then Trump went the additional step of warning contractors that historical cost overruns will not be accepted.
How many projects in DC have cost overruns? Here’s a bit of history:
Economists Stanley Engerman and Kenneth Sokoloff studied a sample of major government infrastructure projects throughout U.S. history and found that most had substantial cost overruns.3 The construction of the Erie Canal between 1817 to 1825, for example, went 46 percent overbudget, and the canal’s later expansion went 142 percent overbudget. The construction of the Panama Canal between 1902 to 1913 by the Corps of Engineers went 106 percent overbudget.4
In recent years, many federal projects have had large cost overruns. The cost to create the Healthcare.gov website launched in 2013 grew from $464 million to $824 million.5 The International Space Station more than quadrupled in cost from $17 billion to $74 billion.6And a Veterans Affairs hospital currently being constructed in Orlando has more than doubled in cost from $254 million to $616 million.7
This malfeasance is not limited to America’s fed, but to many countries. It seem that government is the proverbial money pit.
Trump knows this. For decades he’s played with his money, and he knows the inside game. Trump dealt with unions and corrupt politicians, all with an eye on the bottom line, and ultimately the future return on investment.
Lucky for America, Trump sees America as a great brand. Though the brand has been tarnished, it remains strong.
