I think you're missing the point of the article, which is that this merely looks like abuse to people who don't actually understand what's going on. The author

I think you're missing the point of the article, which is that this merely looks like abuse to people who don't actually understand what's going on. The author describes why the $400 hammer doesn't really cost $400, but because of the particular way things in government contracts are accounted for, it looks that way to the outside.