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written by By Laura Rozen | The Envoy – Wed, Jul 20, 2011
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/envoy/two-never-used-navy-ghost-ships-sent-scrap-164452572.htm
In the era of massive belt-tightening budget cuts, the story of two never-completed, unused Navy ships now being sent to the scrap heap after costing U.S. taxpayers $300 million is a case study in Pentagon waste.
Requisitioned by the U.S. Navy in 1985, the two oil-hauling ships, the Benjamin Isherwood and the Henry Eckford, "have never gone on a mission, were never even completed, yet they cost taxpayers at least $300 million," the Virginia-Pilot's Scott Harper reports.
Now the "ghost ships" are headed from their dock on the James River in Virginia to a Texas scrap yard to be dismantled, Harrop writes. And there's one more catch--the United States awarded a $10 million contract to dismantle four ships, including the Eckford and the Isherwood, to a UK firm, so no money from the reclamation will return to the United States.
The two vessels were part of a $567 million request for three oilers put out by the Navy, Harrop writes. But the builder, Pennsylvania Shipbuilding Co. in Philadelphia, defaulted on the contract in 1989. A Florida firm contracted to finish the ships cancelled the contract over price disputes in 1993. The ships are now being scrapped, rather than refurbished, because they do not meet modern specs. "[I]t will close one of the saddest chapters in American shipbuilding and for that matter, federal fiduciary folly," writes global maritime commentator Joseph Keefe, Harrop notes.
Harrop has the full story of the ship's long, unfinished fate over at the Virginia pilot
VIDEO ----
http://bcove.me/34nupslp
FINANCES (USD)
Defense Budget: $692,000,000,000 (2011)
Defense Budget: $698,000,000,000 (2010)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/21FgH.png)
what are your thoughts of 300 million dollars in department of defense waste?
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what are your thoughts of 300 million dollars in department of defense waste?
I am FOR government waste!
What the fuck are we supposed to say?
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In my opinion the US could easily cut its defense budget by 60% by pulling out of Iraq and Afghanistan and vastly reducing the huge amount of unnecessary troops we have in Germany, Japan, and South Korea, among other places. This would cause no increase in threat whatsoever to the American people.
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Shit like this will continue happen as long as we develop new weapons the only problem I potentially see i s hiring the uk firms but if they were the best men the whatever.
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Basically this. Should we be outraged about this story? Probably. But 300 million is a drop in the bucket compared to bailing out companies, overall defense spending, social programs and repaying interest on the debt we have as a country already.
What exactly can we discuss in this topic? How angry we are? Seems just like a bandwagon thread and everyone complaining about the same old crap.
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Ron Paul would never allow this.
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lol government. I guess as it doesn't mess with me, then it doesn't affect me. But even so, $300 million? I could live an extremely lavish life off of the bank interest from that.
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On July 22 2011 10:14 Demonace34 wrote:Basically this. Should we be outraged about this story? Probably. But 300 million is a drop in the bucket compared to bailing out companies, overall defense spending, social programs and repaying interest on the debt we have as a country already. What exactly can we discuss in this topic? How angry we are? Seems just like a bandwagon thread and everyone complaining about the same old crap.
I agree. I think focus should be more spent on reworking social programs (As they are obviously fundamentally broken in the United States at this point), and defense/military spending.
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On July 22 2011 10:08 Voltaire wrote:
In my opinion the US could easily cut its defense budget by 60% by pulling out of Iraq and Afghanistan and vastly reducing the huge amount of unnecessary troops we have in Germany, Japan, and South Korea, among other places. This would cause no increase in threat whatsoever to the American people.
Thanks for that analysis Einstein you can hand it off to the US SecDef in the morning. Oh wait.
And what Rooster said.
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692 billion dollars, wtf is this shit, put that into sustainable energy and colonizing other planets and all the worlds problems are solved.
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Unfortunately due to the US economy and the dollar being the way it is, 300 million is now considered chump change.
*insert mike meyers villian.jpg here*
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Well seeing as how these ships are close to 30 years old and unfinished whats the point in keeping them? Even sitting in dry dock they would have built up a large amount of rust, protective coating or not.
The cost to bring these ships up to current Naval specs and then the cost of combat testing( if they are combat ships, which we really don't need but thats another issue) the government would spend at least twice the current investment to make any use of these ships.
Not to mention that the navy doesn't exacting have a surplus of sailors just lounging around on a base just waiting to crew these ships. So while this is an example of failed contracts given out by the DoD they made the best choice given the options.
But as stated above this is just a tiny drop in the bucket of wasted DoD bugdet money, there is no telling the trillions of dollars that has gone into failed and undelevopled R&D projects.
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On July 22 2011 10:05 supermanrick wrote:
what are your thoughts of 300 million dollars in department of defense waste?
Exactly what everyone else thinks about waste. Why did you make this thread?
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I'm getting nothing from the link...? Did the government already take it down?
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I'm sure there are much more extreme cases of waste than this but this is still dissapointing. Can't say I'm surprised, this is a problem that one day I hope to god someone with balls can fix (i.e. a president that doesn't have a war going on and has enough time/focus to get things done). I don't know why but this story kind of made me depressed, there is not many positive things that our leaders bring us these days.
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On July 22 2011 10:25 nemo14 wrote:Show nested quote +On July 22 2011 10:05 supermanrick wrote:
what are your thoughts of 300 million dollars in department of defense waste? Exactly what everyone else thinks about waste. Why did you make this thread?
I think he's helping keep people aware, what's your point sir?
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On July 22 2011 10:07 Razvy wrote:Show nested quote +
what are your thoughts of 300 million dollars in department of defense waste?
I am FOR government waste! What the fuck are we supposed to say?
Lol
Next time just give me 300mil and save yourselves the trouble! But seriously, why are they doing shit like this while tuition is going for public universities everywhere ;_;
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Speaking of waste, I just threw away a sandwich because after I took my first bite I looked down and realized the bread was moldy in the spot I just bit into. Lost my appetite. Moral of the story: Every person/company/government has waste, which is why a "case study" of waste is rather useless. It would be nice to see some other data on government waste as I'd bet it would be rather bad.
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EPT
