Quick Hits - F-35s

Trump, F35s and jobs - Donald Trump hasn't even been sworn in and he's saving jobs and money for the American people. Once he's been inaugurated that's when things will matter.  When Obama was president, I objected to the government picking winners and losers.  This is clearly not that.  However it is small ball - the president cannot fix the economy by using the bully pulpit as a strong arm tactic against individual companies.  Nor should he.  When the government tells or pressures companies into doing or not doing things, liberty is in jeopardy.  But Donald Trump is not yet president.  As I said, what matters is what he does as president - tax codes, regulation and creating an environment where business can thrive, that is what will matter.

Nevertheless, this is good news:

The CEO of the aerospace defense company Lockheed Martin, Marillyn Hewson, pledges to create an additional 1,800 jobs and significantly reduce the high cost of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program previously criticized by President-elect Donald Trump.

“We are going to increase our jobs in Fort Worth by 1,800 jobs and when you think about the [F-35] supply chain across 45 states in the U.S. it’s going to be thousands and thousands of jobs,” Hewson said outside Trump Tower following a meeting with the president-elect.

“I also had the opportunity to give him some ideas on things we think we can do to continue to drive the cost down on the F-35 program, so it was a great meeting,” she continued.

This  involves national security, government contracts as well as jobs. This does matter, just like the Boeing Air Force One contract.