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As a German, it always suprises me how pedantic americans can be when it comes to Letter of the Law vs Spirit of the Law situation. Yes, for Warplane Parts this

by dtx1 3y ago

As a German, it always suprises me how pedantic americans can be when it comes to Letter of the Law vs Spirit of the Law situation. Yes, for Warplane Parts this whole Idea of keeping it inside america and enable local companies to continuously produce parts is reasonable. Having to receive bids for contracts as a public entity is also reasonable. But is there no one in government that can see that a 50k trashcan is just pointless? Is it really impossible to apply some level of basic human reason and common sense to such situations?

Kalium 3y ago
Usually the real answer is that it isn't actually $50k for a trash can. In something like an airplane, there's a whole bunch of costs that are overhead on the plane itself without being attached to any particular part (delivery, integrated testing, R&D, whatever). The accounting convention is that the overhead gets spread out amongst the individual items. The side effect of this convention is that if you view a line item without context, you get something utterly nonsensical. It's absolutely possible to apply some level of basic human reason and common sense to such situations. A different accounting convention is probably in order.
Symmetry 3y ago
They see that it's stupid and they have all the same reason and common sense as anyone else. They just worry that if they don't follow the rules they'll go to jail.
HeyLaughingBoy 3y ago
What's the alternative? If a trashcan of that specification is needed to allow the airplane's mission to begin, then it's grounded until the trashcan is in place. The alternative is to find a less costly supplier that can meet that specification. Now you've (a) held up the missions and (b) more than likely used up any cost savings in your procurement & supplier evaluation process. At some point, the intelligent thing to do is shrug, grumble under your breath, and write the check so you can get on with life.

by dtx1 3y ago

Kalium 3y ago

Usually the real answer is that it isn't actually $50k for a trash can. In something like an airplane, there's a whole bunch of costs that are overhead on the plane itself without being attached to any particular part (delivery, integrated testing, R&D, whatever). The accounting convention is that the overhead gets spread out amongst the individual items. The side effect of this convention is that if you view a line item without context, you get something utterly nonsensical. It's absolutely possible to apply some level of basic human reason and common sense to such situations. A different accounting convention is probably in order.

Symmetry 3y ago

They see that it's stupid and they have all the same reason and common sense as anyone else. They just worry that if they don't follow the rules they'll go to jail.

HeyLaughingBoy 3y ago

What's the alternative? If a trashcan of that specification is needed to allow the airplane's mission to begin, then it's grounded until the trashcan is in place. The alternative is to find a less costly supplier that can meet that specification. Now you've (a) held up the missions and (b) more than likely used up any cost savings in your procurement & supplier evaluation process. At some point, the intelligent thing to do is shrug, grumble under your breath, and write the check so you can get on with life.