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Comment by MPSimmons | Hacker News Reader

I am certain that if Boeing thought that they could drop this without repercussions, they would absolutely do it.

They said a year or two back they will refuse to take on new fixed-price contracts going forward. Apparently the only way they can be profitable is by scamming taxpayers.

Time for nationalization, then.

If a producer of critical infrastructure cannot make profit without cutting corners, it should be nationalized so that the need to place profit ahead of anything and everything the producer does is eliminated.

then the taxpayers can foot the bill

It's a contract with NASA. Taxpayers already are footing the bill.

I think they mean for the continued costs of correcting the issues. It's a fixed cost contract, and Boeing is currently on the hook for the runaway costs this mission is incurring.

Why would the government need or want to own a producer that is not capable of producing things profitably while competitors that can do so exist in the market?

I agree with you but since the government is not great at managing cost and budgets, and private industry is showing burgeoning capacity to develop orbital vehicles, maybe it would be in the national interest to steward a winding down of the business and transfer of assets to other industry participants.

I hope they just cut their losses and sell the program to Blue Origin, they're a deep pocketed company who'd love to say they have an orbital vehicle

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