>Naval shipbuilding needs a SpaceX. Waste is the entire point of the exercise. Massive spending on complex military hardware is the New Deal of the post-Reagan

>Naval shipbuilding needs a SpaceX. Waste is the entire point of the exercise. Massive spending on complex military hardware is the New Deal of the post-Reagan era. The F-35 is widely regarded as a complete fiasco - massively over-budget, ineffective in most combat roles and plagued with defects. After 20 years and $1.5 trillion in spending commitments, it's still not contributing to the strategic defense interests of the US; many analysts think that the F-35 is simply incapable of being made combat-ready. To see the actual point of the program, you need to look at Lockheed Martin's Economic Impact Report. 32,000 direct and 138,000 indirect jobs. 1,400 suppliers across 46 states and Puerto Rico. It's not a multi-role fighter aircraft, it's a pork barrel with wings. It's politically unstoppable - a Democrat legislator can vote against wasteful military spending, a Republican legislator can vote against expensive job creation schemes, but nobody can vote against both.