Outsourcing Bites the Coast Guard

When you outsource something you take on an obligation to exert more, not less, oversight. The Republicans during their control of Congress have sought to outsource all sorts of things. That may be fine if they had also strengthened the oversight of the contractors to whom projects were assigned. Instead they did the opposite: they left the outsiders to run the show entirely. This was either naive ineptitude of the first order. Or it was venal graft. In either case we, the public, have been given the shaft. In the case of the Coast Guard we have also been made less secure. Here’s the story as told by the New York Times: Lawmakers Say Coast Guard Withheld Warning of Flaws in Cutter Design

This is not an isolated incident. Our oversight of the way in which our money is spent has been eroded by the anti-government ideology of the right wingers who are now vacating power. I suspect that we will learn of more projects where our money just disappeared into badly run projects. The Pentagon is still building planes to defend us against enemies who do not, nor will, exist. The duplication of programs is rife within the armed forces. Weapon systems are hugely expensive and need auditing independently of the military. Defense spending is supposed to secure us. It is not supposed to a fund for profit for a few contractors [Yes I know it’s looked like that lately!]

This is our tax money. We should know that it is being spent wisely. Perhaps we should outsource oversight so that congress cannot lard the pockets of its donors without someone blowing the whistle?