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From: stu3@mhuxh.UUCP (Mark Modig)
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Disparity in US vs Soviet weapons spending
Message-ID: <255@mhuxh.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 3-Dec-84 14:41:24 EST
Article-I.D.: mhuxh.255
Posted: Mon Dec  3 14:41:24 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 4-Dec-84 08:31:32 EST
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Summit, NJ
Lines: 52

John Litvin writes:

>I noticed in yesterday's (Wednesday) WSJ that The Supreme Soviet, or Parliament
>was told that '85 arms spending will be equivalent of $22.38 billion.  As the
>Journal noted, Soviet spending on arms is believed to be about 2X that amount
>by some creative accounting.  Anyway, say they're spending about $50 billion
>on defense.
>
>The same day's Journal had an article about how the Pentagon is firm on its
>request for $333.7 billion budget for fiscal '86.  
>
>What gives?  How come there is a nearly 7X difference between the two countries
>on spending?
>

Well, as the informed reader will see, the Soviet figure is for
1985, the Pentagon figure for fiscal '86.  Obviously, there will
be a huge increase in Soviet spending in 1986.  We won't belabor the
point further [and expose our ignorance about what month the fiscal year
really begins (I've narrowed it down to one of 13 possibilities)]
and point out that it is difficult at best to compare calendar and
fiscal years. 

Seriously, you are assuming that a dollar here buys the same a
dollar would in the Soviet Union. (Actually, this is true.  What can
you get here for a dollar these days?)  Labor, for example, is
considerably more expensive over here.

The competitive bidding for weapons systems here is a joke.

Also, American stuff usually is much more advanced (read:expensive)
in terms of all sorts of cute technological frumistats.  The sort of
technology that goes into our weapons costs.  Equivalent Soviet
weapons are usually simpler and thus cheaper.

I presume the Soviet government owns its weapons factories in
reality, even if it does not on paper.  Profit does not figure into
their calculations.  Here the government must deal with private
contractors that are not nearly so controlled.  I seriously doubt
whether you could get away with charging the Soviet government $700
for a hammer.  Here you get rewarded with a new contract to help
build more and bigger technological wonders.

Mark Modig
ihnp4!attunix!mom
      ^^^^^^^--new address
P.S.  Those guys in Stockholm, Holland, and Amsterdam, Sweden are
wrong.  I'm an American; I live in New Jersey, a small colony of New
York, which, I guess, is located next to Yorkshire (they expanded,
I'm told), though I can't seem to find it on the map.
Anyway, we (or is it us?) Americans know, there ARE 13 months in the
year.  Count 'em!)