FEMA bought 200,000 Katrina trailers for $59,800 each. These trailers came with an 18-month life expectancy. Someone must have known they were “trailer trash” before they were delivered. The trailers were to be sold to the general public after use, the money from the sales to be returned to FEMA. That’s the law. Instead, it seems that the money from the sale of these toxic trailers went for SUV’s, agency decals, tree removal services, travel expenses, and prepaid purchase card accounts, GPS systems and on and on to the tune of almost $13 Million. The final report is expected to be out on Friday. (I doubt it will be the “final” report, but….)
FEMA’s “latte factor” goes above and beyond what anyone could have imagined. FEMA is the definitive study on government waste and mismanagement. And, I do hope someone is studying it.
The first lesson I learned when I entered the world of corporate America was the Principle of the 7 P’s. Maybe FEMA needs to learn the same lesson. Proper Positive Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.
FEMA was ill prepared to handle the disaster from the onset. Just by virtue of “Emegency” and “Management” being a part of the agency’s name, one would think it included planning ahead. Most emergencies aren’t planned, but they should be planned for. It’s now obvious there was no competent plan followed by incompetent management.
If the waste had been concentrated in one area of lack of management, perhaps we would not be so critical. However, a local trucking company sent a single refrigerated 18-wheeler to New Orleans carrying ice. They were paid $10,000 for the single round trip. It’s my understanding that the truck sat on the highway for close to two days outside New Orleans, no one offering instructions on where to go or how to get there. We know it was a disaster. We know there was chaos. We also know that there was no management in place… except “Brownie” who was enjoying photo ops with George W.
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