The C-17A Globemaster III is the newest cargo jet in the US Air Force. The total procurement program cost $62 billion dollars for 180 aircraft. The program was plagued by cost overruns, schedule delays and technical problems. An example of the technical problems encountered was that prime contractor McDonald Douglas (now Boeing) did not specify the software language to be used for the C-17. Consequently, subcontractors delivered software written in every known computer language of the time. Equipment integration was a nightmare, and resulted in the most computerized aircraft ever built--the giant aircraft only has a crew of three --relying on 19 different embedded computers.VERSUS
New Orleans' water and sewer system is in danger of collapse after the salt water intrusion caused by hurricane Katrina. The corroded system is being held together by "tape, glue and spit". The city is losing 50 million gallons of water a day to leaks, and raw sewage is leaking out of sewer pipes at an undetermined rate. The system was in bad shape before the storm. EPA had ordered roughly $650 million in improvements in the 1990's. The cost to fix the system is estimated at $5.7 billion over twenty five years. FEMA has set aside $150 million for repairs so far, noting that it only has responsibility to restore the system to its condition before the storm. The local water and sewer agency would have to raise water bills by as much as 80% to begin raising enough money for repairs.