Two new reports by US government auditors reveal, among other things, just how much the Homeland Security Department relies on private contractors. The reports are extremely dry and technical, so a snippet from each should suffice to illustrate the point.
1.)
In some cases, TSA was dependent on input and feedback from outside contractors…to resolve difficult accounting issues related to the development of its opening balance sheet.
Translation: The TSA’s approach to budgeting is akin to handing your local CPA few shoeboxes full of crumpled receipts the day before Tax Day.
2.)
The Coast Guard is using contractors to fill its acquisition personnel gap…
Translation: The Coast Guard hires contractors to pick other contractors and suppliers. This practice increases “the potential for conflicts of interest”—in other words, kickbacks. That’s what just happened with American public pension funds, which poured billions of dollars into craptastic mortgage-backed securities on the advice of ”third party placement agents.“ The results were disastrous.