What Is Wrong With This Picture?By Nancy Matthis | Saturday, March 8th, 2008 at 2:07 am
U.S. suffers 5-year record job losses as Air Force tanker contract goes to European firm.
Just putting these two news items together on the same page speaks for itself. From the Washington Post we have this report:
In February, the private sector shed 101,000 jobs, according to statistics released by the Labor Department yesterday, the biggest monthly drop since March 2003 and the second monthly loss in a row….
Meanwhile, National Public Radio announces:
The Air Force announced that the European company EADS and its junior partner, the U.S. weapons-maker Northrop-Grumman, will build the next generation of air-refueling tanker aircraft, dealing a major blow to Boeing Co. It’s the first such significant military contract awarded to a largely foreign bidder.
In case the corporate alphabet soup is unfamiliar to you, EADS is the parent company for Airbus. The contract could be worth up to $40 billion over the next 10 years. And remember, that is your tax money going to provide jobs for German, French, Spanish and Dutch workers. But never fear. Our government can make up the loss to our economy by borrowing more money from China.
Addendum (3/8): From CNN we learn this:”….one lawmaker called the decision to award the contract to Northrop Grumman a blow to the American defense industry and an economic boon for European countries.
“These are the same European governments who are unwilling to support us in the global war on terror and over the last few months refused to provide even an additional 100 soldiers apiece for Afghanistan operations,” said Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-California.
“Instead, we have to send 3,200 additional U.S. Marines to Afghanistan while they take $35 billion in American taxpayer contracts.”
Amen to that. Thank goodness for Duncan Hunter, who can stand on the floor of the House of Representatives and say what needs to be said.
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Filed under: Economy Tags: borrowing from China, job losses, recesssion, tanker contract |
3 Responses to “What Is Wrong With This Picture?”
March 8th, 2008 at 9:45 pm
Hunter is unfortunately one lone, principled voice in a sea of self-serving scavengers.
March 9th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
Here’s another thought:
What IS wrong? I often ask that when our government awards big military contract to foreign companies. As you know, AIRBUS is heavily subsidized, making it impossible for American companies to compete on a level playing ground. I am all for free trade but when it comes to military hardware, with rare exceptions, domestic companies should get all the business. It is as much a matter of national security as jobs.
March 12th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
It never seams to amaze me the ignorance of the American people when politics are involved. On this I know for what I speak. I am a 22 year Air force Veteran having served in 2 Wars and have been involved in the military procurement area for about 14 years. First of all not one job will be sent to Europe to build this aircraft, unless you consider Alabama part of Europe. This is were the aircraft will be assembled, it is true that airbus will profit from this contract, but it will be assembled in America by Americans who earn American wages and pay American taxes. The congressmen from California and Kansas are only complaining because if Boeing would have got the contract it would had provided jobs in there states instead of Alabama, and you don’t here the congressmen from Alabama complaining. It’s funny how all the sudden 2 straight months of job loses makes everybody forget the 50 some straight months of job growth and over 2 million jobs created. Again politically motivated ignorance. And has everybody for got that Northrup has been building American military aircraft for over 70 years. Not to many years ago it narrowly lost out on the contract for the next advanced fighter at that time it was there F-23 versus the F-22 from Lockheed Martin. Believe me I have no love lost for many of the Europeans because of there stance on the war, nor did my uncles who served in WW-2 and my great uncle who served in WW-1. I just don’t allow B.S. politics to corrupt the actual facts. I have worked on many and flown on many Boeing aircraft, some good some not so good. We have to remember this aircraft has to fit the needs of THE MILITARY, NOT THE POLITIANS, NOT THE CANIDATES RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT,AND NOT EVEN YOU OR I.THE AIRBUS WAS A MORE VESITILE AIRCRACFT THAT IS CAPABLE OF BEING CONVERTED TO CARGO OR TROOP CARRIER, THE BOEING VERSION WAS NOT. BOEING WAS CAPABLE OF DISPLAYING THOSE CAPABILITIES BUT THEY CHOSE NOT TO, AND DONT FORGET IT WAS MILITARY PILOTS WHO FLEW THESE AIRCRAFT AND WERE PART OF THE EVALUATION PROCESS. IF WE AS CIVILIANS CHOSE NOT TO FLY ON AIRBUS AIRCRAFT, THERE WOULD BE A LOT OF PLACES WE WOULD NOT BE GOING, ALMOST EVERY MAJOR CARRIER HAS SOME MODEL OF AIRBUSE IN THERE FLEETS. ALSO REMEMBER IT TAKES HUNDREDS OF SUBCONTRACTORS TO BUILD THESE AIRCRAFT,AND THEY ARE LOCATED IN OVER FOURTY STATES AND THIS WILL CREATE THOUSANDS OF JOBS FOR THEM ALSO. SO PLEASE AMERICA DONT TAKE EVERYTHING THE POLITIANS TELL YOU AS GOSPHAL AND DO A LITTLE RESEARCH AND GET YOUR OWN FACTS.
THANK YOU,
A PROUD AMERICAN VETERAN.