Did Pentagon Lose Billions, Pennies at a Time?

In 1969, an aeronautical engineer at North American Rockwell http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30456930/: Every hour, he was being overpaid by roughly 2 cents, or one-third of 1 percent of his pay. Spurred by an incentive program that rewarded employees for finding wasteful spending, Walter T Davey submitted the discovery to his superiors and suggested a simple fix. It was so simple to correct, said Davey, a 79-year-old retired Air Force colonel now living in Newport Coast, California, just change a few digits in the coding software. A surreal experience followed: For decades, Davey has attempted to correct a calculation that he believes has cost taxpayers several billion dollars. He has alerted contractors, legislators, and federal auditors — all to no avail, even though a 1981 federal report seemed to confirm his calculations. Through it all, he said, no one has challenged the numbers