On Memorial Day, we honor and mourn the military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. This year, let us also think about the lives lost during this pandemic. I also want to take some time to specifically thank the healthcare workers around the country and across the globe. They are risking their lives to save our lives. TPA also sends our thoughts and prayers to the 38 million people who have lost their jobs and the countless small businesses that have been shuttered as a result of the pandemic. Hopefully, we can fully re-open the country safely and quickly.
Profile in Courage…Bill Gates
As many of you know, I have been in Washington, D.C. for more than 27 years. I have seen the good, bad, and ugly of what Washington, D.C. has to offer. What I have also noticed is that the exciting work happens outside of the Beltway with entrepreneurs big and small. I have admired Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates for many years as he has shown incredible vision in the computing world. Microsoft was the target of a federal government antitrust suit 20 years ago because of one of his competitor’s (who is no longer in business) political connections with the Clinton administration. Bill Gates naively thought that he could ignore Washington, D.C. and just build computers. He forgot about the long reach of the federal government. Well, the federal government is at it again, this time as Bill Gates tries to help during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since stepping down from his computer empire in 2000 to pursue philanthropic ventures, Gates has paved the way in worldwide disease eradication. With far-reaching initiatives ranging from increasing childhood vaccine availability to controlling malaria to providing food for starving villages, the $50 billion Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has saved and bettered millions of lives. But after two decades of unparalleled public health successes, the Coronavirus unexpectedly entered the scene in 2020 and wreaked havoc around the world. Bill Gates’ hometown of Seattle became ground zero for the pandemic. And, as the disease quickly spread, hospitals were overwhelmed and lockdown orders across the county ensued. Gates quickly got to work with local Seattle and King County officials to fund a surveillance and testing program that could rapidly trace the disease’s spread. As explained by Gates, the Seattle Coronavirus Assessment Network (SCAN) was supposed to, “paint a clearer picture of how COVID-19 is moving through the community, who is at greatest risk, and whether physical distancing measures are working.”
The program got off to a promising early start and began testing patients in March. But despite being in constant communication with the FDA, the federal agency abruptly ordered SCAN to cease activities in early May. The FDA had a qualm not with the accuracy of the data being produced, but rather with SCAN’s transparency protocols. In federal bureaucrats’ opinion, SCAN was being too transparent by relaying testing data back to patients. According to the FDA’s bizarre logic, it would’ve been preferable for researchers to take patients’ data while leaving them in the dark about the results. As of May 22, the SCAN program remains shuttered and Seattle is more vulnerable to the Coronavirus as a result. Despite these pitfalls, Bill Gates will continue to soldier on and work with the FDA to get SCAN up-and-running again. This is not Gates’ first rodeo with adversity, and he’s more than willing to put in the hard work to save lives. And for that, Bill Gates is a Profile in Courage. America needs more bold entrepreneurs like Bill Gates.
F-35 Still Plagued With Problems
People are understandably concerned about COVID-19 and what the pandemic means for our physical and fiscal health. But, don’t forget about other spending. Case in point: the F-35. This military plane has been plagued with problems since the program started development in the mid-1990s.
Lawmakers and Pentagon officials want to keep the failed, $1.5 trillion F-35 program funded while the government sends out checks to…pretty much everybody. It’s little consolation to send families (of four) $3,400 when it costs taxpayers $44,000 an hour to keep each F-35 in the air. Military equipment is bound to be expensive and it is important to keep America safe against her enemies. But, taxpayers deserve answers as to why the Pentagon continues to pursue a fighter 80 percent more expensive than its replacement. In fact, the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter is among the costliest weapons systems ever conceived, and even the gargantuan price-tag cited in the media doesn’t take into account indirect supply chain issues. In 2019, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that F-35s are having to “cannibalize” parts from other F-35 aircraft due to persistent issues in procuring new parts for these planes. GAO noted, “to keep aircraft flying despite parts shortages, from May through November 2018 F-35 squadrons cannibalized (that is, took) parts from other aircraft at rates that were more than six times greater than the services’ objective…personnel at F-35 squadrons are pulling parts off of other aircraft that are already unable to fly instead of waiting for new parts to be delivered through the supply chain.” These logistical issues are considerably complicated by the Coronavirus pandemic, especially considering that Lockheed Martin relies on a facility in COVID-ridden Italy for final assembly.
For all this trouble, the Pentagon can’t even rely on the F-35 to play its part in defending America. For example, cabin pressure related problems have led to barotrauma (i.e. extreme ear and sinus pain) for Air Force pilots flying F-35s. While Lockheed claims they’ve fixed this issue in a laboratory setting, flight testing with the purported fix has yet to happen. The Navy is also unhappy with the fighter jet’s sea search mode, which can only show a small sliver of the sea surface. This problem will likely need to be patched up with software modifications and won’t be fixed for at least another four years. The F-35’s wide-ranging problems might be understandable if costs were low and the project was a bargain even with the required fixes and supply-chain complications. But, asking taxpayers to shell out more money for these problem-plagued jets is like asking a middle-class family to pay for a $200,000 Lamborghini that needs to be taken to the mechanic immediately after purchase. Asking citizens to foot this bill is absurd, especially at such a difficult time.
Lawmakers desperately need to find cost savings across the federal government instead of doubling down on budget-busting boondoggles. They can start by closing the book on the disastrous F-35 program.
Blogs:
Monday: L-Band Wireless Spectrum Myths Vs. Facts
Tuesday: Coalition of 15 Organizations Supports “Getting Americans Back to Work Act”
Thursday: Time to Put the Broken and Bloated F-35 Program to Rest?
Friday: Profile in Courage: Bill Gates
Media:
May 16, 2020: The Livingston Parish News (Denham Springs, LA) ran TPA’s op-ed, “TPA report finds taxpayer-funded broadband networks not worth the money.”
May 17, 2020: The Tennessee Star (Nashville, Tenn.) mentioned TPA in their story, “Tennessee Economist and Others Urge Donald Trump and Congress Not to Impose Price Controls to Fix Surprise Medical Billing Problem.”
May 17, 2020: Catalyst ran TPA’s op-ed, “Federal Rules Holding up Lab-Developed COVID-19 Tests.”
May 18, 2020: WBFF (Fox, Baltimore) interviewed me about Operation Warp Speed.
May 18, 2020: Tuscaloosa News (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) ran TPA’s op-ed, “FCC shows shrinking digital divide, which likely would have been smaller without Title II regs.”
May 19, 2020: Townhall ran TPA’s op-ed, “This is No Time for Green Giveaways.”
May 19, 2020: TPA Executive Director Tim Andrews appeared on “The Sam Sorbo Show” (nationally syndicated) to talk about the HEROES Act.
May 20, 2020: Tim appeared on “The Alan Nathan Show” (nationally syndicated) to talk about the World Health Organization.
May 20, 2020: Tim appeared on “The Hard Question” (1590 WCGO; Chicago, Ill.) to talk about the World Health Organization.
May 20, 2020: I appeared on the “C.L. Bryant Radio Show” (nationally syndicated) to talk about the potential for further relief legislation from Congress.
May 21, 2020: WBFF (Fox, Baltimore) interviewed me about weekly unemployment filings.
May 21, 2020: I appeared on WBOB Radio (600 AM and 101 FM; Jacksonville, Fla.) to talk about unemployment and re-opening the economy.
May 21, 2020: The Center Square ran TPA’s op-ed, “Latest GAO report shows sensible first steps to cutting spending.”
Have a great weekend, stay safe, and as always, thanks for your continued support.
Best,
David Williams
President
Taxpayers Protection Alliance
1401 K Street, NW
Suite 502
Washington, D.C. xxxxxx
www.protectingtaxpayers.org
