30. The
price the government pays for standard weapons purchased from military
contractors
is determined by a pricing method called “historical
costing.” Historical costing allows
contractors to protect their profits by adding a
percentage increase, based on the current rate
of inflation, to the previous year’s contractual price.
Which of the following statements, if true, is the best
basis for a criticism of historical costing as an economically sound pricing
method for military contracts?
A. The government might continue to pay for past
inefficient use of funds.
B. The rate of inflation has varied considerably over the
past twenty years.
C. The contractual price will be greatly affected by the
cost of materials used for the products.
D. Many taxpayers question the amount of money the
government spends on military
contracts.
E. The pricing method based on historical costing might
not encourage the development of
innovative weapons.
解答为：
If the original contractual price for the weapons
purchased incorporated an inefficient use of
funds, then, since historical costing merely adds to the
original price, it preserves these
inefficiencies. An economically sound pricing method
should at least allow the possibility of
reductions in price as such inefficiencies are removed.
Hence, A is the best answer. Because
historical costing responds to inflation, B and C are
consistent with the economic soundness of
historical costing-the rate of inflation and costs that
are reflected in inflation. D offers no
grounds for questioning the economic soundness of
historical costing in particular. Historical
costing
applies to standard weapons only, not to the innovative weapons that are
mentioned in E.
请问答案中说的inefficient
use 是什么，能否用中文解释一下背后的逻辑关系？谢谢！ | 
