Shay Assad, progress payments, pricing scandals, and a re-run of acquisition history
In January 2018, [USD(AT&L) Ellen] Lord called [DPAP Shay] Assad to her office to vent her frustration with the inconsistent performance of major defense firms. […]
gordon rule
The upside of capture
In a previous post, I described how Luigi Zingales’ framework of regulatory capture also applies to the defense industry. I will here try to describe […]
A bureaucrat to be crushed: the story of Gordon Rule
When the company officials had been asked to leave the room, the admiral in charge of shipbuilding told Warner the contractor’s demand for an extra $10‐million on the spot and $4‐million soon afterward was reasonable and ought to be paid. But then a ruddy, expensively but conservatively dressed civilian interrupted. “Admiral,” he said, “over my dead body will you reform that contract and give them $10‐million. This is the goddamnedest thing I ever heard of, a contractor coming in and throwing a piece of paper on the table and saying that to the Navy.”