No Guarantees
Yes, the money has been flowing for a long time, and yes, the government's need for help from the private sector remains, well, robust. But the world turns, as BusinessWeek points out in a story about federal contracting.
Already concerned about tightening tech budgets, contractors now have to contend with the possibility of a Democratic administration, one that would undoubtedly be intent on looking into spending over the past eight years. Some view GOP contender John McCain as a wildcard because of the "maverick" image he likes to project.
"In the political calculus of Wall Street, investors have come to regard Republican Administrations as the more favorable for the fortunes of the U.S. aerospace and defense industry. But things don't seem quite so clear-cut as the 2008 election approaches," the magazine writes. "The maverick reputation of Republican hopeful John McCain is making defense companies nervous about what the future may hold. And Barack Obama's commitment to protecting jobs at home (the defense industry employs a considerable number of Americans) has somewhat tempered concerns about his pledge to accelerate an end to the U.S. military presence in Iraq."
Will spending actually drop? For a bunch of reasons, Government Inc. thinks not. Billions are already committed for years to come. But maybe competition and oversight will improve. Either way, change could be coming, and that makes a very wired-in contracting world uncomfy.
By Robert O'Harrow |
August 25, 2008; 2:21 PM ET
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Posted by: Michael Lent | August 25, 2008 3:03 PM
And the one thing I am sure of, is that Barack Obama will appoint competent, capable, intelligent and even perhaps patriotic individuals to government posts. Finally, we will have a group of people who understand they are on the government payroll and must perform well for the people or be gone. John McCain is less of a threat to "the contractor cheats" because he is dealing with the same individuals who put W into power.No matter his intentions, McCain-McSame will not be able to gain control of federal agencies.
Posted by: CarmanK | August 28, 2008 12:16 PM
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McC in particular is hard over re waste and abuse--he looks sideways at all the big defense HW makers, not just Boeing, and they know it. But he'll face a squad of Congresspeople from one or both parties, defending any of the major firms. That was his experience with facing down the Army, with Boeing and SAIC standing beside it as LSIs, in the ever-gamey Future Combat System. Obama, with less history, is most vocal about the lack of competition. But acquisition is not in the first rank of issues for either candidate. Both can be expected to act similarly re replacing worn out or aged systems and questioning the number of capital items, like the F-22, to be bought in the out-years. But they will differ about how robust Defense must be--but that won't be meaningfully fought out in the campaign. Whether either can achieve more bang for the buck, or just stronger contractor execution where warranted will
depend a lot on the quality of appointees, how they are aimed by the WH, and how readily collaboration with Congress can be built.