That’s Why They’re Called Beltway Bandits

Federal cost-cutting should be a central focus of the next president. One effort that should be bipartisan is overhauling the government's out-of-control procurement system. Federal contractors routinely get away with outrageous cost overruns at taxpayer expense. From today's Wall Street Journal:

Despite billions of dollars in cost overruns and years of delay, Lockheed Martin Corp. and U.S. Navy officials are confident they will hang on to next year's funding for development of a new presidential helicopter....

The program initially called for about $6.1 billion in spending to develop and build the next generation of so-called Marine One choppers.... [B]ut the expected cost of the program has now ballooned to an estimated $11.2 billion....

This program fits the pattern of Edwards' Budget Law — when the government claims that a new project will cost $1, the ultimate taxpayer cost will be about $2 or more.

For more evidence on the government's chronic cost overrun problem, see here and here.