Bush’s General Contractor Government

As President Bush sheds internal government capabilities in favor of contracting to the private sector, it behooves us to consider the Pentagon’s experience in such matters. For 15 years, the Defense Department has increasingly relied on outside companies for services it used to provide internally. According to an AP news article, Iraqi auditors found overpricing, waste, and a lack of expense documentation in government contracts to the tune of $10 billion.

Their report also urged the Pentagon to reconsider its growing reliance on outside contractors to run the nation's wars and reconstruction efforts. Layers of subcontractors, poor documentation and lack of strong contract management are rampant and promote waste even after the GAO first warned of problems 15 years ago.

So this accounting disaster occurred over a decade and a half with 6 of those years under the Bush administration? Who could have foreseen such unprecedented waste? Someone needs to as it's coming full bore to education and health care...