Boeing’s $36,640 Trash Can

Until 2010, Boeing charged an average of $300 for a trash container used in the E-3 Sentry, a surveillance and radar plane based on the 707 civilian airliner. When the 707 fell out of use in the United States, the trash can was no longer a “commercial” item, meaning that Boeing was not obligated to keep its price at previous levels, according to a weapons industry source who spoke to RS. In 2020, the Pentagon paid Boeing over $200,000 for four of the trash cans, translating to roughly $51,606 per unit. In a 2021 contract, the company charged $36,640 each for 11 trash containers, resulting in a total cost of more than $400,000. The apparent overcharge cost taxpayers an extra $600,000 between the two contracts.

The image is a text-based news-style meme about Boeing charging the U.S. government exorbitant prices for ordinary trash containers used on E-3 Sentry aircraft. The punchline is the absurd escalation from an average of $300 to tens of thousands of dollars per bin after the item was no longer considered “commercial,” highlighting military procurement waste and taxpayer overcharging. People share it as a reaction to corporate price gouging, government waste, or ridiculous defense-contract spending. EN: The image is a text-based news-style meme about Boeing charging the U.S. government exorbitant prices for ordinary trash containers used on E-3 Sentry aircraft. The punchline is the absurd escalation from an average of $300 to tens of thousands of dollars per bin after the item was no longer considered “commercial,” highlighting military procurement waste and taxpayer overcharging. People share it as a reaction to corporate price gouging, government waste, or ridiculous defense-contract spending.

• @rzeczyzabawne / 10737 2023-07-16