Shit like this is why govt spending is so out of control..
 

The F-35 is the most advanced fighter jet in the world and IMO it's pretty awesome that we build shit like this. However, tax payers have been paying for the development of a un-needed "second" engine for this jet.

The military didn't want it, and they said it wasn't needed but that didn't stop General Electric and Rolls Royce from creating a new company to specifically develop a second engine mostly using tax payer money to fund the project. (3 billion in tax payers money)

They only decided to stop working on it when Obama refused to fund the program and said if it was still in the 2012 defense authorization bill he would veto it. The companies decided it wasn't going to be profitable for them to "self fund" the engine if it was no longer mostly paid for by tax payer dollars.

This is just 1 program.. who knows how many more are out there..

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/zombie...0#.TtqGnrL0tW8

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/joint-...7#.TtqI6LL0tW8

This engine program went on since the Bush admin whom claimed they also opposed it but never stopped the funding as Obama has. Meanwhile we have congress members whom don't want to support stuff people actually need and want to cut things like medicare & social services.

When you GOP fan boys start crying about govt spending instead of tax cuts then start looking for shit like this if you want to appear somewhat credible. If you want govt spending cuts then start opposing ridiculous contracts and subsidies to big business, rather than trying to cut funding from actual tax payers.

Air superiority isn't as much of a factor of military dominance as it used to be.

The government knows this.

They're also in bed with lobbyists that disagree with me.

It's spending on weapons, that doesn't need cutting. LOL

More you spend, the better you can kill people.

Well I disagree with air superiority not being much of a factor. Did you pay attention to specially the 1st & 2nd Iraq war but also Afghanistan wars at the start?

Both Iraq wars specifically allowed us to over run the country via our air power. In fact the bulk of the fight was air war in Desert Storm. If not for the thousands of air sorties prior to the ground invasion it wouldn't have gone so easily.

Even with the second Iraq war, our air power played a very important role in softening up defenses as well as providing support for ground troops. Even once the war turned to an occupation by the ground forces they still relied heavily from air power.

Same with Afghanistan, while the bulk of the air support now is by choppers, you can't get to the point of air superiority to allow them to operate with out first having the fighters & bombers clearing away with the other sides air defense network.

This might have something to do with it too:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...deral_agencies

And that's just at the federal level. The same thing goes on at the state level. For example:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...state_agencies

Sure the example you posted is wasteful and unnecessary. Multiply that kind of waste by the number of federal and state agencies engaging in unnecessary spending. The truth is you are over-governed and over-regulated. The same goes for most western nations.

Yes, but they don't have technology to take down our current fleet.

Why should we invest in upgrading it when it's not obsolete yet?

Anything with a pilot is obsolete.

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someone is pushing the button, whether in the air or on the ground.....

The pilots ability to withstand G-forces is the limiting factor for future aircraft. Push the button from the ground.

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Air superiority is everything. Without it, you can't control the air, the ground, or the sea. With air superiority you can attack your enemy without ever having been seen.

Air superiority is the key.

I actually agree with this. But in most cases good pilots use that to their advantage - their ability to withstand more G-force than others.

Comical that its always about "democrats" vs "republicans" as if military spending hasnt always been a monster mess since WWII. we have a military budget that exceeds that of the next 15 largest nations... If you think one small item out of the 1000s that are just like this is the problem or that its "democrats" or "republicans" then you are a part of the problem as well

The military is a Constitutional/ core government function.

Providing freebies to tens of millions of scammers, illegal aliens, deadbeats, welfare queens, and slackers.. is not. Phase out all government social programs!

A million dollars a day is a lot of money to spend on a handful of jobs..

lol, these wars are against people with sticks who hide and live in mountains and caves... I was reading article a while back saying F35 was NEVER used in a combat, bet every air mission was done with f16's... f35's are not needed because there will never be a conflict with 2 super powers since everything is nuclear now...

Yea.. I didn't notice it so much when I lived in FL, because the bridges were in pretty good shape at least where I lived and traveled. However up here in the north east where I live now, it's a bit more apparent how bad some of them are.

I watched a video once and it was a spoof. However basically the war budget had been given to education, housing and medicare and the military got their budget. Everyone was happy, housed and educated and there were no wars!

The Honorable John Murtha: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politi...PvL_story.html

Only 16 have been built and they are being used for testing and training, so of course they have never been used in combat.

The great Robert Byrd: http://membership.cagw.org/site/News...ge=NewsArticle

Very well said. :thumbsup

You can find plenty of Republicans that do the same.. as a side note West Virginia is considered a Republican state and you surely don't hear too many complaints from Republicans from his state about getting those ear marks.

It used to be Ted Stevens whom was the most powerful and he was Republican and damn sure abused his powers and was corrupt as fuck. I mean he was indicted by a federal grand jury and found guilty.

The point being, the current system is broken and needs fixed because both sides abuse it and with no term limits it allows them the ability to gain far too much power.

I fully agree. But you are railing on the GOP, again, when in reality it's the both of them. They all suck, they all play the pork game, and they all support failing projects so that their districts don't lose jobs.

The jet program you mentioned above was criticized by the Secretary of Defense and just about every high-level military leader, yet a few congressmen still wanted to hang on to their jobs back home so they left the program continue. Shameful. Congressman and Senators look out for their districts, which is understandable... but nobody is looking out for the United States as a whole.

The point is that you can find plenty of both that do the same. They are all two sides of the same coin.. except to you. You genuinely seem to believe one side is more righteous than the other. Just as many on the other side does. Hence, the problem.

Humm in your rush to post as much nonsense as possible it appears you failed reading and comprehension. Had you read the article you would noticed that the Dept of Defense (that's the military if you didn't know) stated they didn't want these two companies to to build a second engine and they specifically said it was a "WASTE" of tax payers money as it was not needed.

This is a case of lobbyist getting tax payer money for their big business defense contractors to waste on something that wasn't needed. Of course you are OK with that but fuck the needy right, as they are obviously just all freeloaders abusing the system..

btw.. last I checked General Electric and Rolls Royce were not part of the core government functions of the United States.

But during that time some really smart people paid off their student loans and provided for their families with that money.

On the other hand... Apple kept all of their cash overseas...

I tried to drive thru Louisville Ky last month and was re-routed thru a massive traffic jam thru a rout I've never taken. Reason, one of two bridges crossing the river separating Kentucky/Indiana was falling down.

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