MIRVing the Boondoggle: Contracts, Subsidy, and Welfare in the Aerospace Industry
Abstract
In the space of thirty years the aerospace industry has grown from a loose collection of airframe and engine manufacturers with a tenuous hold on an uncertain military aircraft market to one of the dominant forces in the economy. By aerospace industry, I mean those firms who supply weapons, space systems, and equipment to the D)epartment of Defense (DOD), but much of what follows can be applied to those doing business with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and, to a lesser degree, the Atomic Energy Commission. To understand the proliferatioin of vehicles used to convey economic benefits, advantages and privileges from DOD to the aerospace industry and the peculiar directions public policy is taking, it is helpful to know something about the government's relationship with this sector of the economy and to see the reality of the military contract system. In a concluding section, I will discuss the emergence of aerospace welfarism, make some recommendationis for change, and suggest areas requiring further research.
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