October 27, 2009

They never have enough of our money; government, I mean. Maybe this is one of the reasons.

USA Today reports the Pentagon has awarded nearly $30 million in stimulus contracts to six companies while those companies were under federal criminal investigation on suspicion of fraud.

The companies claimed to be small businesses owned by minorities, which gave them preference in bidding for government contracts, according to allegations contained in Air Force documents. Government regulators found these firms were part of a larger minority-owned firm and so ineligible for small business contracts.

Do you see what's wrong with this? Incompetence by those who should have done background checks on the firms, which might have revealed they were under investigation. And then the very idea of special privileges to companies simply because of race. Not because of the quality of their work, or expertise, but strictly because of their race they get to go to the head of the line. This is an outrage!

Cal Thomas is a nationally syndicated columnist based in Washington, D.C.