I've worked on more than one contract supporting numerous others and I concur with OP. I guarantee you'll get the same answer from most people that have been in the contracting trenches.

I mean, I think the personal sharing of any story implies that someone else's views or experiences may vary, no? The fact that it concerned you to the extent that you called it out is certainly notable.

Other people may have had different experiences. But that is absolutely not what I saw, not from my colleagues, not from my friends at other firms, and not from the general consensus around DC at the time.

I work with a number of contractors who say exactly the same thing as GP. There is so much cash that is just going down the drain with no accountability. That being said, venture capital is pissing away huge amounts of capital with no measurable output either. Capital allocation is bad across the board.

The difference is that venture capital getting pissed away is on the VCs; they took a risk and maybe they lose out or win big, but it's on them.

The out of control DoD spending is your tax dollars, which could go to fixing bridges or to schools or hospitals, etc.