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Vivek Ramaswamy, a prominent American entrepreneur and founder of Roivant Sciences, has thrown his hat into the ring for the Republican Party nomination in the upcoming 2024 United States presidential election. In a recent post on X, Ramaswamy voiced his concerns regarding the Pentagon’s budget and its allocation to for-profit defense contractors. He expressed his apprehensions, stating, “Just over 6 months ago, the Pentagon announced its largest budget in American history: $842 billion, *half* of which will go to for-profit defense contractors.”
He went on to shed light on the origins of what he referred to as the military-industrial complex, which traces back to a secret Pentagon dinner hosted in 1993 by Bill Clinton’s Secretary of Defense, Les Aspin. This gathering, often referred to as the “Last Supper,” was convened with the intention of convincing the nation’s top defense contractors to merge and consolidate their operations, Ramaswamy said in his post.
Ramaswamy argued that this strategy had indeed worked, leading to a substantial reduction in the number of prime defense contractors in the United States, which plummeted by 90%. In the 1990s, there were over 50 prime contractors, but today, only five remain, resulting in a concentrated cartel of defense contractors who profit significantly from military conflicts.
He further illustrated the staggering increase in the cost of military equipment, citing the example of shoulder-fired Stinger missiles used in the ongoing Ukraine war. In 1991, each missile cost $25,000, but today, replacing one missile in Ukraine costs over $400,000, even after adjusting for inflation and product improvements, representing a more than sevenfold cost increase.
Ramaswamy also raised concerns about the financial practices of major defense contractors. In 2015, a Pentagon review uncovered substantial overcharges by Lockheed Martin and its subcontractor, Boeing, for the Patriot’s PAC-3 missiles, with total profits approaching 40%. He questioned whether it was coincidental that the Department of Defense remains the only US federal agency that has never completed or passed an audit.
United States Department of Defense Audits
In November 2022, the United States Department of Defense underwent its fifth-ever audit, revealing its inability to accurately track over half of its assets. After a thorough examination conducted by 1,600 auditors, who scrutinised the DOD’s $3.5 trillion in assets and $3.7 trillion in liabilities, it was disclosed that approximately 61 percent of its assets remained unaccounted for. This was conveyed by Pentagon Comptroller Mike McCord to the press last year.
Federal law in the United States has mandated audits for all government agencies since the early 1990s. Starting in fiscal year 2013, all government agencies except the Department of Defense had managed to meet this requirement. The sheer magnitude and complexity of the Department of Defense, which comprises more than half of the nation’s discretionary spending and encompasses assets ranging from personnel and supplies to bases and weaponry, posed significant challenges in the auditing process.
In December 2017, defense officials initiated a comprehensive audit of the DOD’s financial records, marking the agency’s first-ever such audit in its history. Regrettably, this endeavour did not pass the following year, nor did the subsequent four attempts.
It was never anticipated that the agency would achieve a passing grade, primarily due to underlying accounting issues that officials estimated would require years to rectify.
Due to the unavailability of crucial accounting records needed for a complete assessment, all five audits resulted in a “disclaimer of opinion,” although some improvements were noted with each successive audit.
According to a report from The Hill, these audits revealed several new weaknesses in the DOD’s asset accounting procedures. The assets in question encompass nearly 2.9 million military personnel, equipment and weapons, including 19,700 aircraft and over 290 ships, as well as physical assets like buildings, roads, and fences across 4,860 sites worldwide.
To facilitate the auditing process, the department conducts 27 separate, smaller audits, consolidating the information to obtain a comprehensive overview and to avoid discrepancies between records and reality.
Anti-Woke Crusader
In recent years, Ramaswamy has adopted a staunchly conservative stance. In his 2021 bestseller, “Woke, Inc.,” he strongly criticizes the decisions made by certain large corporations to base their business strategies on social justice and environmental concerns. He also condemns “wokeism” as a subversive influence on hard work, capitalism, religious faith, and patriotism. This book significantly elevated Ramaswamy’s standing within conservative circles, marking the beginning of his rapid ascent as a prominent figure on the right. In February, Ramaswamy announced his bid for the presidency, even though it initially appeared as a long shot. While he still lags in the single digits in most opinion polls, he has been steadily gaining ground against many of his competitors, most notably Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is now struggling to maintain his second-place position.
Ramaswamy’s forceful and combative performance in the first debate, where he outlined an agenda even more conservative than Donald Trump’s on some issues, drew significant attention and both praise and criticism. This boosted his standing in certain Republican primary polls.
He has vigorously defended Trump while also reaching out to Christian evangelicals, a pivotal segment of the Republican primary electorate. Despite his Hindu background, Ramaswamy has been emphasising the idea that the United States is founded on “Christian values” and “Judeo-Christian values” and has presented himself as an American nationalist.
Ramaswamy’s Eight-Figure Ad Campaign
Meanwhile, Ramaswamy is poised to launch a substantial eight-figure advertising campaign in the US states of Iowa and New Hampshire in anticipation of the upcoming third Republican primary debate next week. The 38-year-old biotech tycoon from Ohio will place a significant focus on these early-voting states as part of an endeavour to strengthen support for his candidacy.
Ramaswamy’s campaign has justified the timing of the ad purchase, asserting that initiating substantial advertising expenditures earlier would not have been strategically prudent, even though his national polling numbers currently average at 4.6 percent, according to The New York Post. The campaign is planning to commence its advertising efforts, encompassing broadcast, cable, radio, digital, and direct mail, starting on Saturday.
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