Defense industry acknowledges likelihood of Pentagon budget cuts

[xchrom]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/defense-industry-acknowledges-likelihood-of-pentagon-budget-cuts/2012/12/04/d923be4e-3d6b-11e2-ae43-cf491b837f7b_story.html

As negotiations to avoid a year-end “fiscal cliff” drag on, some defense industry executives have begun to acknowledge that avoiding significant cuts to weapons programs may be impossible over the long term.

Weapons makers have spent months fighting a $500 billion hit to the Pentagon’s budget that would go into effect if President Obama and Congress cannot come to an agreement to avoid a set of automatic spending cuts and tax increases. The Pentagon has said sequestration, as the budget cuts are known, would force them to buy fewer F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft, Stryker vehicles and Army medium tactical vehicles as well as slow other programs and military construction projects.

The industry has argued that the cuts would force them to lay off workers and reduce spending on innovative research. But with less than a month to go, there is growing acceptance that even if the defense industry can avert the most severe form of cuts, contractors that provide weapons and services are unlikely to emerge unscathed.

David Langstaff, president and chief executive of Chantilly-based contractor TASC, has argued that defense executives should stop expecting “an indefinite extension of defense spending at current levels.”

[leftyohiolib]

1. cut jobs like the personal chefs the generals get? we heard the "pampered poodle" treatment

petraeus got maybe cut back on some of those perks.

[WilliamPitt]

2. 0.1% cut.

Feeds everyone.

Maybe a good trade-off, yes?

[John2]

3. I'm now

fully looking at cutting Defense. The Generals are the biggest advocates, for finding new Wars, which I call adventures. The U.S. has replaced the British Empire. Even the British seems more rational now. Even the former British Prime Minister ( Tony Blair) is advocating negotiating with Hamas now. We need to stop creating more Wars for these people. Their employment need to be restricted, to just defending U.S. Territory. That is all the Constitution instructs them to do. I don't hear the Republicans bringing that up? It does not instruct them to rebuild other nations or protect their Interests. If anything, we need to go back in time for, then it is this.