On this edition of Your Call, we discuss a 60 Minutes investigation that found weapons contractors like Lockheed Martin and Raytheon overcharge the Pentagon on almost everything the Department of Defense buys with taxpayer dollars every year.
Almost half of this year’s largest-ever $842 billion dollar military budget will go to weapons contractors. Five Senators are calling on the Defense Department to launch an investigation into the long history of price gouging.
Guests:
Dr. Heidi Peltier, senior researcher at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, and director of programs for the Costs of War project
Bill Hartung, senior research fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, and author of several books, including Prophets of War: Lockheed Martin and the Making of the Military-Industrial Complex
Web Resources:
60 Minutes: How the Pentagon falls victim to price gouging by military contractors
The Nation: The Military Industrial Complex Is More Powerful Than Ever
The Nation: The Pentagon’s Irresponsible Spending Is Now Dangerous
Costs of War Project: We Get What We Pay For: The Cycle of Military Spending, Industry Power, and Economic Dependence
Forbes: Is Excessive Pentagon Spending Stealing Our Future?
