Professor Mark J. Perry's Blog for Economics and Finance
Cost of a Gateway laptop with 12.1-in. display, 550MHz chip and a year of free AOL in 2000: $1300 ($1633 in today's dollars)
MP: Compared to just nine years ago, you can now get more than twice the laptop computer for less than half the price. 
Dr. Mark J. Perry is a professor of economics and finance in the School of Management at the Flint campus of the University of Michigan. Perry holds two graduate degrees in economics (M.A. and Ph.D.) from George Mason University near Washington, D.C. In addition, he holds an MBA degree in finance from the Curtis L. Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. In addition to a faculty appointment at the University of Michigan-Flint, Perry is also a visiting scholar at The American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C.
6 Comments:
Again, why does military hardware cost more and more, even as the enemies we face become less and less sophisticated, and even as the private sector obtains gigantic improvements in output and productivity?
Electronics and computing power, the guts of the new military, is getting radically cheaper--and yet our military costs more and more!
The ossified lard, patronage, and corruption in our Congress-designed military spending must be enormous to overcome huge improvements in productivity and hardware in the last 20 years.
Simply astonishing.
I don't want higher taxes--I want a more-effective military.
@Benny: Do you realize how different computer hardware has to be for the military? For starters, it needs to be shock-resistant, sand-resistant, and able to stay cool in desert temperatures. It sure isn't cheap to meet all the requirements.
pseudo benny entertaining us again with his inability to do some simple homework...
Golly gee pseudo benny, look at what a minute's worth of googling found: ROCKY MILITARY GRADE, FULLY RUGGED NOTEBOOKS WITH 13", 15", & 17" DISPLAYS
What Does MIL-STD810E or MIL-STD810F Refer to for Rugged Mobile Gear?
"I don't want higher taxes--I want a more-effective military"...
O.K., tell you Representatives and Senators to dump Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid to start with...
Hmmm, I want fellow citizens with more common sense...
Will either of us get our respective wishes?
Benny,
As a US Army Infantry soldier and a veteran of 2 foreign conflicts, I would tell you that if you really care about the military and our national defense is really that serious a concern for you, then shut the F___ up, grab a rifle, and man a post. Otherwise, try to restrict yourself to your usual whining about agricultural subsidies.
Anon:
You don't answer the question.
Is there a reason that hardware produced for the military continues to skyrocket in cost, while hardware produced for private-sector use gets better and less-expensive every year?
If you care about national defense, wouldn't you like to see better military hardware for less? And a force structure appropriate to our needs?
And do you really believe the US Congress, which controls military outlays and is a famously ineffective and corrupt body, does a good job streamlining military outlays? You think Congress aces it?
And lastly, when it costs US taxpayers $1 million a year in marginal costs (I am afriad to calculate total costs) do you wonder if we can afford it? That any war of any duration will bankrupt us? As is happening now, to some extent? Have you checked our debt levels?
AS a taxpayer, I want better results. Blackwater can put a man on the ground for $200k a year and pay him $100k.
It is shocking when an extremely profitable government contractor can charge 1/5th what our own military charges.
The American right-ing needs to be honest about waste and fat in our federal government, even if some sacred cows get gored. Otheriwse, I see the federal budget never being balanced.
"AS a taxpayer, I want better results. Blackwater can put a man on the ground for $200k a year and pay him $100k."...
By golly pseudo benny you really do know how to make a fool of yourself...
You make absolutely ridiculous statments and have nothing credible to back it up...
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