As it stands, far too much of military acquisition is determined by the Pentagon, lobbyists and politicians in Washington, and not enough by those commanders on the ground at military bases across the globe.
Need, not politics, should determine resource development. Unwillingness to rely on this basic market principle is why we have seen a slow strangulation of jobs and productivity, and a rise in government spending and regulation in every sector of our economy.
It’s also why Ingalls in Pascagoula has seen a reduction of jobs over the past 40 years.
With the LPD 28 contract, we are once again seeing how the tail is wagging the dog and the future of the hard-working people of Mississippi is traded away for an elite few to gamble at how best to keep feeding at the government trough.
Mississippi workers should remain part of the fine tradition of building the military might of the United States and providing the technology that makes our soldiers the best in the world. But, we must recognize that the way we remain the best is by providing what is needed, not what is desired by politicians to help a select few of their friends get rich.
MS PEP
6/17/14
Magnolia Tribune
