Defense contractors are fat cats

This NYTimes article opens with the statement:

The wellspring of this prosperity is not just the Defense Department’s vast payroll, nor just the fat profit margins of its contractors.

I am honestly glad that military spending is being cut over the next 10 years because heretofore, my tax dollars are lining the pockets of these purveyors of death and destruction. Defense budget reduction aside, this system of reaping profits from government contracts seems odd to me. My ideology is slightly different: For me doing anything as a citizen of a country is not about making profits. Representing the country is a noble cause, an honor even. Mixing profits with a cause so pure tarnishes its virtue.

Then again you can argue that precious little is pure in this world. Look no farther than the infractions of <insert religious body here>.