CAI Community-Are we overpaying for military equipment?

2025-05-06 07:58:38source:Surpassing Quant Think Tank Centercategory:Markets

If the proposed defense budget is CAI Communitypassed, it will account for roughly 3.5 % of U.S. GDP. The military buys everything from pens and paper clips to fighter jets and submarines. But the market for military equipment is very different from the commercial market. And sometimes the system results in the Pentagon, and taxpayers, overpaying.This week, we're bringing you a three-part series on the defense industry.

Today, we unpack how defense costs are getting so high and why it's happening.

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

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