Katrina: A Whirlwind of Free Spending
Nothing gets me riled up more than unnecessary government meddling in personal and trade affairs. Except maybe one thing. And that's unnecessary government spending in the first place. Politics aside, we can all agree that when the Feds award contracts with limited or no competition or specify dole-outs to protected minority groups over others, taxpayers suffer. The most blatant example of government waste and free spending of late is not Iraq. Rather, it's Katrina relief and rebuilding.
According to
CNN, the government is investigating "The propriety of four no-bid contracts together worth $400 million to Shaw Group Inc., Bechtel Group Inc., CH2M Hill Companies Ltd., and Fluor Corp. that were awarded without competition." But it gets worse. The complete "tally for Hurricane Katrina waste could top $2 billion next year because half of the lucrative government contracts valued at $500,000 or greater for cleanup work are being awarded with little competition." If I were George Bush, I'd have a hard time sleeping at night knowing the waste going on in my back yard. But then again, President Bush has proven that he's a RINO (Republican in Name Only) when it comes to spending. Anyone -- leftist Obama included -- would take this issue more seriously.
- Jason Busch
Tweet
TweetBacks
Dennis, I love it! But you've got to respect the state-sponsored handwashing program, right?
... ;-)
in Canada, Shaw is "Shaw Communications"
in the flooring industry, Shaw is "Shaw Industries, Inc"
in the construction industry, Shaw is "The Shaw Group Inc."
http://www.shawgrp.com/
Heck, I would be willing to bet there are even some other "Shaws" in the world of supply.
Know your markets.
I'm no government contracting expert but, I kinda get the idea that the Federal Government might award (IDIQ) contracts in advance of disasters so that there does need to be a bidding process just prior to a response to a disaster. Part of the contract might be being prepared to respond to specified emergencies. In this listing http://www.fema.gov/business/activecontracts.shtm of active FEMA contracts, I doubt that each one of them corresponds to past federal emergencies. I suspect that some of these contract are contingent on future emergencies. Likewise, some the contracts presented as "no-bid" might have been "precompeted". Strategic sourcing requires setting contacts in place based on anticipated need.