Quote Originally Posted by thalassamania View Post
It costs, quite literally, millions of dollars to train a SEAL. If we can make his job even a tiny bit less risky by spending $5,000, then that is money well spent.
The problem is it does not cost $5,000 that is the point, it costs a lot more. And does it really make anything less risky? I don't really think so, but again that is not really the point I was originally trying to make, I was saying it is way too expensive for the general public.


Quote Originally Posted by thalassamania View Post
What folks don't realize about the toilet seat question is that is more a piece of accounting BS than actual seat cost. There is more put into the seat than most folks realize. You can go down to home depot and buy a plastic toilet seat for $20.00, but what did the one that is currently on your toilet actually cost? did you add in the time to select it, the vehicle expenses to pick it up, the worker expenses to install it, etc.? Those are some of the overhead costs you incur getting a seat, there are many more in industry. In addition, overhead for the entire program is typically assigned on a contract by dividing it up and allocating it equally to each item or system, this often makes an everyday item seem to be very expensive to people who do not understand the system or who have a need to make political hay.
The one on my toilet cost under $30, it took me about 15 minutes to drive to the store, 10 minutes to find and pick out the seat, 10 minutes in line and 15 minutes home. It took about 5 minutes to install it. I suppose at the rate of $.45/mile, it cost me about $10 in vehicle expenses. So $40 of actual expenses and about an hour of my time, even at $40 an hour that is still under $100, so we still have $9,900 unaccounted for. The REAL reason for the insanely high prices in political BS. Remember that some of the suppliers to the military are owned by the politicians, so of course it is in their best interest to overcharge, and again in their best interest to make sure the government pays for it. Think about it, they are the ones with all of the money and a retirement plan that would make ours seem like a joke.