Who's making the money?

(Is there a knowledgeable insider who can do the math? I’m just a curious but outraged onlooker.)

So, we’re adding 10,000 new ICE agents. We’re paying them generous entry-level salaries, “signing bonuses”, performance bonuses, unlimited overtime (at overtime rates), & healthcare. (I’ve seen no mention of per diem reimbursement. Have you?) Whew! That’s a bunch of my taxes!

Have you looked at how these folks are outfitted? Uniform, boots, weapons, weapon holders, ammunition, helmet, protective vests, caps, kerchiefs, masks, gloves, eye protection, communication devices. How much does it cost to outfit a single ICE agent? Now multiply by 10,000. And then ask, not who’s paying (WE THE TAXPAYERS ARE), but who got the contracts for all these provisions? Who’s making the money?

Then ask what is the allowable mark-up. With the purely transactional considerations embraced by the uber-capitalists, this is just another boondoggle for preferred, selected contractors. Remember the Cheney/Rumsfeld no-bid, cost-plus contracting initiatives that made the Iraq invasion hyper-costly. Looks like we’re doing this again. Where is congressional oversight? I would say we never learn, but the reality is: some do. Some who got rich during the Iraq war have pigeon-holed past ways of doing business that eventually caused an outcry. After an appropriate time, these folks pull out the tried-and-true public exploitation methods and get back in the game, or share their memories to educate a new generation of get-rich-quick “entrepreneurs.”