What Costs Forty Billion Dollars and Doesn't Do Anything

The F-22 Raptor is a beautiful, powerful, and capable aircraft so the military bought 187 of them.  They've never done anything and are now being replaced by the F-35 which also doesn't do anything. Unlike the F-22, the F-35 can't do anything because the software doesn't work.  It can't even carry weapons.  Maybe Tom Cruise should fly it and all he has to do is flip the bird at Russians.

The GAO figure on the cost of the F-22 is just about forty billion dollars.


The government got what it wanted out of it: up to a hundred thousand fake jobs to build the aircraft. That boosts an illusory GDP, creates manufacturing jobs in which corporate America has largely expelled them, and rolls people more under the thumb of a Fed with almost absolute power.

The government spent forty billion dollars but it got what it wanted.  This aircraft never had to do anything.  The beauty part was blaming the welfare mamas for sucking the government dry when, in fact, there isn't one of those F-22 workers who wasn't on a workfare job.  None of these aircraft were necessary and that should be pretty obvious given none of them ever saw any significant use.  By any measure, that was a government hand-out.  As always, with love from the GOP.

Note:  Democrat Senators will fight for these kinds of jobs in their states because they want the pork as much as any other state.  In fact, when the Pentagon wanted to close more bases, they were told not to do it by the Senate.  The Democrats are in on the pork as well but it's life to the GOP.  They only have one plan: make more weapons.