COST OVERRUNS MAKE "WELFARE QUEENS" LOOK AWFUL TAME

The newspapers yesterday reported on major problems with the Navy's shipbuilding program.

A San Antonio Express-News story elaborated on the Northrop Grumman situation, saying the Navy's new amphibious ship's $1.85 billion price tag is nearly three times what was projected. The Texas newspaper also reported that the USS San Antonio, part of what the Navy calls its LPD-17 program, received failing or barely passing grades "in everything from its steering, computer and magnetic compass systems to food processing equipment in the chef's mess" during sea trial inspections.

This is the same old news.

The aerospace industry has been having the same problem for years. Virtually every single space technology program - from missiles to satellites - is hugely over budget.

One example is the International Space Station. Originally it was to cost taxpayers $10 billion. Today the price tag has grown to $100 billion and it is still not finished. Imagine the cost by the time of completion, if ever completed. And then if that is not enough, some scientists are predicting that the space station will be destroyed by orbiting space junk - flying through space at 18,000 mph - even before it is completed. Ugh!

The entire military industrial complex is way out of control. What will Congress do to stop this utter nonsense? Virtually nothing. The Republicans and the Democrats both like the campaign donations they get from the weapons corporations. They like the campaign donations they get from the unions representing workers at these military production facilities.

The Congressional solution? Put another band-aid on it and turn them loose.

If this was a "welfare mom" or a social program misspending a few thousand dollars there would be hell to pay. And I promise you there would be action taken. Severe action.

Back in the 1980's, when the government began whittling away at social spending, I lived in Florida. One of my senators, a Democrat named Lawton Chiles, was chair of the Senate Budget Committee. He did well publicized investigations of the CETA job training program to identify "waste, fraud, and abuse" in the system. They did big national stories about some community organization misusing $45,000. They used a few cases like this to basically destroy a good national jobs program for poor people.

Sen. Lawton Chiles never saw a weapons contract that he didn't fall in love with. The story remains the same today.

We in the peace movement have to go after the real welfare queens. Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, Bechtel Corporation, and Raytheon are just a few of the big boys who need to be investigated, spanked, and shut down.

It's time to call out a welfare queen when we see one.

And by the way, does Al-Qaeda have a Navy or a Space Command?