That article spells out exactly what you have been saying about defense spending and how companies have a monopoly on the industry. It's a sad commentary on the state of affairs and I wouldn't be surprised if it is even more prevalent than this.
President Eisenhower talked about this back in 1959-1960. He was in the unique position of being at the top of the political and military food chains.
As far as monopolies, I suppose they do to some extent. How many companies are there who can provide the weapon platforms the government requests? It's a fairly small list.
