FEMA taxpayer gouging

I stopped to talk to a FEMA home inspector a few days ago as he waited outside a house for the owner to arrive. He was there to determine the amount of damage to the house, how much was covered by insurance, and how much of the cost FEMA would cover.

The FEMA inspector was not, as you might think, a government employee. No, private business is so much more efficient! Why is it then that it costs $250 to inspect each home? The FEMA inspector said he made $40 a house. He said his company, the government contractor Parsons Brinkerhoff, gave him a list of 50 houses to inspect, and told him to come back in three days for another list. Training? Minimal. He said he was just getting started, but because so many people were difficult to contact (duh, FEMA still has them scattered across all 50 states), he was only able to clear six houses a day. I asked how much Parsons Brinckerhoff made on each house. He couldn't confirm a figure, but he said the talk around the camp where inspectors are living is that Parsons Brinckerhoff takes $200 per house. Oh sure, I suppose that just about covers the IT costs, transportation, paperwork, wining and dining FEMA officials, and lobbying congress and the White House. Actually, Parsons Brinckerhoff probably got a no-bid contract to do the project.

You know Parsons Brinckerhoff right? They're one half of the Bechtel-Parsons Brinckerhoff partnership contracted to oversee the Big Dig - Boston's project to divert 7.5 miles of its central roadway through a tunnel under the city. The project ws bid at $2.5 billion in 1985. By 2005, the cost had exploded to $14.6 billion. In the meantime, the partnership was being investigated for misleading the federal government about cost overruns and engineering problems. Then, just as the tunnel was scheduled to open, serious engineering problems were discovered. The tunnel leaked, forcing a delay in the opening pending an engineering and safety study.

Despite similar concerns on a number of Parsons Brinckerhoff engineering projects, the company continued to be rewarded with more contracts in which the same problems of cost overruns and faulty design emerged. With such a record of inefficiency and incompetence, it's a wonder that the company continues to win federal contracts.

Oh, but this is the Bush administration we're talking about. Year after year, Parsons Brinckerhoff donates thousands of dollars to Republicans - 8 to 1 over Democrats.

As we now know in the wake of the criminally pathetic federal response to Hurricane Katrina, the Bush administration favors its cronies over a record of experience and competence. Parsons Brinckerhoff fits the Bush administration profile perfectly.

Another Parsons Brinckerhoff FEMA home inspection contractor I talked to who had more experience said he was able to clear ten houses a day. Yep, you're doing the math right if you calculated that he's making $400 a day. I'd bet he's working seven days a week, but let's just say conservatively that he's working a five-day week. That's $2000 a week! $8000 a month!

Hell - I'm quitting my job! I could use summa dat bling!

Actually, a lot of homeless, jobless locals really COULD use some of that bling, and I'm sure they'd be ecstatic to live in a tent city if it meant they could not just support their families, but get rich besides. Unfortunately, the rebuilding of New Orleans is being contracted out to people from out of town, and taxpayers are being sent to the cleaners.

But hey, you know how it is with the Bush administration - war and disaster are just business opportunities!

But what do I know? I'm just saying there might be a story to be told here that the mainstream press is missing.