Want to cut big government abuses? Start with defense contracting

One US government contractor, Anham, is making millions off the Iraq war, allegedly charging US taxpayers $4,500 for a circuit breaker that costs only $183 at an appliance store, $3,000 for a separate circuit breaker that costs $94, and $900 for a control switch that costs $7. The contractor has issued a statement denying the charges of overbilling; the issue, in any case, is not limited to one contractor. DynCorp was also fingered by SIGIR for inflating claims for the construction of container camps. Thankfully, SIGIR is reclaiming $7.7m from the company and another $1m from its subcontractor, the Sandi Group.


That defence contractors are making a killing out of the war in Iraq, or for that matter, Afghanistan, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen, etc) is hardly news.