Yesterday I posted that IBM enjoys receiving about $1.3 billion per annum from U.S. government contracts. I finally found that $401 million of this business was garnered from DOD contracts. Go Big Blue! Just a little FYI to let y’all know that not all of your hard earned tax dollars are going towards DOD human resources—soldiers, sailors or Marines: past, present or future.
I found some other interesting tidbits. For instance, did you know Harris County, TX, received about $64 billion in DOD contracts over the last ten years? Fort Bend scored $600 million and Montgomery almost $200 million. It would be interesting to know just how many defense dollars are going directly or indirectly into your company’s coffers. There are over 1,600 contractors in the Houston area. Their employees are no doubt paying local taxes to support your community schools, roadways and sewers. Y’all might know some of those depending on those DOD contracts. For instance, do y’all do any business with: Raytheon, Coastal Refining & Marketing, Aggreko Lmtd, Air Liquide, 3D Intl, Rice University, Shaw Environmental, Exxon-Mobil Corp., Shell Marine, University of Texas, Continental Airlines, Thermocontrol Inc, Weston Solutions, Aurora Power, Laughlin-Thyssen, Inc., URS Group, Total Gas and Power, BMC Software, etc.? There are hundreds more in the Houston area, and I might have missed those y’all are more familiar with.
But as I recall, even TTH posted that he might get in on some of that Exxon-Mobile action.
Plus, the U.S. is the world’s largest consumer of copper. DOD is probably one of the reasons why the U.S. consumes so much. There’s beaucoup expensive metal in those $1 million dollar Cruise Missiles we’re sending Khadaffy Duck’s way. So if y’all managed to make a few cents off your copper stocks, y’all might see your way to blaming the DOD. But then, there are those damned, pesky Chinese with their cheap copper: it keeps screwing with the world market price.
BTW, one of this forum’s members seems to be a DOD subcontractor—he just spent a “couple of weeks in hell” with the troops; who, BTW, were there before he arrived and were still there after he has gone home. He eschews the pedestrian Timex for the Zenith El Primo. I know he likes air taxi service, but what was it he said he drives? A Fiat?! I never hear anyone (except for WTF) complaining about the DOD dollars sent his way?! He certainly doesn’t! I’m still driving an eight year old Ford PU. I’ll buy a new one when this one quits running. I'm at a point in life where I don't have to impress anyone anymore. The bonus is that the seat now conforms perfectly to my butt, and I don’t have to worry about the first scratch anymore.
Anybody else out there benefitting from the DOD budget?