Weapons manufacturers normally do not worry about competitive bidding when renegotiating Pentagon contracts. Their profits are generally fixed as a percentage of costs. Or supposed costs: an Air Force study of six major contractors, released to a congressional committee last week, disclosed that they routinely mark up labor expenses by-quite legally-computing in overhead charges more than ten times as high as those of civilian business. The cost may reach $50 billion a year. "When you see a beautiful military jet flying overhead," said the study's author, Air Force Analyst A. Ernest Fitzgerald, "you're seeing a collection of overpriced parts...
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