In the economics of acquisition, who is in the best place to make choices?
Economist Arnold Kling recounts an argument from Milton Friedman about whether people make rational decisions on behalf of other people: If you buy a coat […]
opportunity cost
Podcast: Big questions in defense acquisition with Col. Bryon McClain
I was pleased to speak with Colonel Bryon McClain on the Acquisition Talk podcast to discuss the biggest questions facing the defense acquisition system. He […]
Setting a new precedent for pricing defense contracts
When you’re trying to buy a product in the industrial era, most of the cost was in the physical attributes of the thing you’re buying. […]
Why cost accounting does not guarantee efficiency
But accurate accounts will not guarantee efficiency. Even if — as is unlikely to be the case [Sourwine 1993; 1994]– the service supplier’s financial and […]
EVMS is not well suited to an Agile environment
Problem: DoD established use of EVM as a requirement for periodically measuring linear programs with firm baselines established prior to starting development. EVM is not […]
Analytics cannot save the DOD, the data problem is deep
The July 24 Defense News article, “David Norquist has one word for you: Analytics,” refers to Mr. Norquist’s emphasis on analytics at the Office of […]
Why DOD’s management fails in the 21st century
Back in the industrial era, the production process was described by interchangeable workers and capital assets measured by plant, equipment, and inventory. Those days have […]
Costs are the negative aspect of a valuation process
I start, then, with fundamentals. The conception of costs in modern economic theory is a conception of displaced alternatives: the cost of obtaining anything is […]
How large is military spending in the US and China?
If you convert Chinese military spending using Market Exchange Rates, then the US is outspending the Chinese on its military by a factor of three. […]