Google's Lease of NASA Airfield Criticized By Consumer Group

Spy Handler writes Yesterday's announcement that Google will lease Moffett Field from NASA for 60 years drew criticism from a group called Consumer Watchdog, which stated "This is like giving the keys to your car to the guy who has been siphoning gas from your tank. It is unfairly rewarding unethical and wrongful behavior. These Google guys seem to think they can do whatever they want and get away with it – and, sadly, it looks like that is true.”

Comments

what?

[DoomSprinkles]

NASA doesn't need this place and Google has some cool ideas they want to lease it for and this is unethical? What?

Re:what?

[Matheus]

Consumer Watchdog wants to complain about something... trying to make a name for themselves? (Naming themselves after what they consider themselves to be wasn't good enough?)

The primary complaint they have against Google: Google got cheap gas from the US Gov't while leasing hangar space at this airfield. Boo Freaking Hoo. It is specifically mentioned that no loss of money occurred so they weren't even selling the gas below cost they were just selling the gas at below retail which they are more than entitled to do (When there are $5M of *savings I can only guess what the total bill was anyway!)

Reality of the world: When you have a lot of money you pay very little per unit than everyone else because you can afford to buy a LOT of whatever "it" is. Simple economics (Economy of Scale).

As far as this deal going forward: NASA gets a lot of money they need and gets to take a not insignificant amount of maintenance cost of their balance sheet at a time when their budgets are not exactly glamorous. If the $1.16B is even spread over time that's $19.4 M per year income plus $6.3M in savings = $25.7M net gain per year for giving up use of something they are not using. (Oh yeah and $200M in renovations of property they'd still own too)

I really don't like organizations that make noise for no reason when there are plenty of worthy causes in the world.

Re:what?

[MouseTheLuckyDog]

If as other posters claim, the government was paid more for the fuel then they paid for it, I would can it win-win.

Re:what?

[AcidPenguin9873]

Discounting the jet fuel so it could remain on-site and not have to be moved seems reasonable to me. If NASA sold it to someone else, they surely would have had to sell it at a discount anyway because it was located at an otherwise-unused airfield and would have to be transported somewhere else. Transporting jet fuel isn't free.

Re:what?

[Drathos]

Google got that fuel at discounted prices by using those planes to do work for NASA. It's not like they just showed up and said 'fill 'er up!' out of the blue.

Wrong analogy

[AaronLS]

Their gripe is based on a previous case of Google being given discounts on fuel purchases, which the watchdog group themselves admits did not negatively impact the government or NASA. Google didn't steal this fuel or commit fraud to get these discounts. Their opinion is simply that it was unfair preference shown to Google(which, if anything, is misconduct on the part of NASA). So comparing this to stealing gas is unfair on the part of the watchdog group.

"These Google guys seem to think they can do whatever they want and get away with it"

So because Google was given got some fuel at a discount, "these Google guys" shouldn't be allowed to do anything at all anymore? What are they getting away with? Oh god they've leased some land and given the government some money for something that would have otherwise depreciated in value unused! The atrocity!

Re:Wrong analogy

[Spy Handler]

Two things. Yes, NASA selling cheap fuel to Google may not illegal but it's unethical to some observers. Can you or I buy fuel cheap fuel from NASA? No. It's favoritism, pure and simple.

Second, a 60 year lease is basically forever. Everyone currently working at NASA or Google will be long dead when the lease is over. So NASA is basically saying they don't need the land anymore. What would've been a more transparent action for a government agency? A. partition off the few buildings they want preserved as a museum and sell/lease the remainder of the 1000 acres in a public auction, or B. give it to the same guys that some have accused you of giving preferential treatment in what seems to be a sweetheart deal (995 acres in Silicon Valley is pretty pricey).

It doesn't help that Google has been flying NASA execs to gala events and seen hobnobbing with them. Replace Google with Monsanto or Microsoft and the same situation would likely provoke a different response from Slashdot readers.

Don't Understand the Complaint

[crmanriq]

"While this arrangement did not cause an economic loss to NASA or DLA-Energy, it did result in considerable savings for H211 and engendered a sense of unfairness and a perception of favoritism toward H211 and its owners. "

So nobody lost money. It sounds like Google found a way to save money (thus being good stewards of corporate cash).

In 2011 Google offered to pay a big chunk of restoration costs for the hanger, and NASA instead decided to sell or lease it. It was used for Star Trek in 2009, but other than that it seems to have sat empty.

So instead of an empty unused hanger, NASA is getting 6.3 million per year for the next 60 years.

I really don't see who is losing anything here.

Not for free

[jamesl]

Not for free is Google getting Moffett.

"In fact the lease gives Google unprecedented control of a federal facility to use as its own playground," said John M. Simpson, director of Consumer Watchdog's Privacy Project.

In fact the lease gives Google control of a federal white elephant in exchange for $19.3 million per year plus taxpayer savings of $6.3 million per year. Total $25.6 million to the good for taxpayers.

Re:Jealous?

[NatasRevol]

The complaint is literally "they got cheaper gas" probably because they were big customers & looking for a place to live long term.

It's exactly like typical business negotiations.

Oh, and the cheaper gas was roughly 1% of this deal.

In other words, Consumer Watchdog is a whiny fucking bitch.