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The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction has found another tale of fraud, this time involving the "world's most expensive gas station":
"DOD charged the American taxpayer $43 million for what is likely the world's most expensive gas station." That's what Special Inspector General John F. Sopko found when he looked at the construction of a natural gas station in Sheberghan, Afghanistan.
According to the report, at most that station should have cost about $500,000. But in this case, the Department of Defense's Task Force for Stability and Business Operations awarded Central Asian Engineering a contract to build the station for a little under $3 million. But somehow the spending got out of control. Here's how the inspector general explains it in the report:
The Task Force spent $42,718,739 between 2011 and 2014 to fund the construction and to supervise the initial operation of the CNG station (approximately $12.3 [million] in direct costs and $30.0 [million] in overhead costs).
To make matters worse, the inspector general found that the Department of Defense didn't even study whether a natural gas station would be used in Afghanistan. And when the IG came asking questions, the Department of Defense said that all the people who worked on the project were gone, now, so they could not provide answers as to why a project that should have cost $500,000 ended up costing nearly $43 million.
NPR's article lists previous coverage of wartime corruption and waste in Afghanistan. For example, $7.6 billion has been spent on countering opium poppy production in Afghanistan, yet production reached an all-time high in 2013.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Covalent on Wednesday November 04 2015, @10:01PM
And I think he's right: the purpose of the federal government is to provide jobs for otherwise unemployable people. Ever go to the DMV, post office, county clerk, etc. and encounter a completely incompetent worker? They have a job though...
Now he's a bit cynical so maybe not all of the people employed by Uncle Sam are unemployable. But lots are. And so rather than giving them welfare (and time to cause trouble) we give them menial jobs that feed hem and keep them busy.
Which is why a hammer costs $18,000 and a toilet seat costs $200,000 and a gas station costs $43,000,000. Because it includes wages for dozens and dozens of contractors and soldiers and support people and and and and and ...
So which do you prefer? Welfare or $43M gas stations?
You can't rationally argue somebody out of a position they didn't rationally get into.
(Score: 5, Touché) by NoMaster on Wednesday November 04 2015, @10:10PM
Umm ... isn't only one of those part of the federal government?
I see now why you think your father-in-law is brilliant. It's all relative...
Live free or fuck off and take your naïve Libertarian fantasies with you...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 04 2015, @10:54PM
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 05 2015, @02:56AM
Welfare is itself a make-work program for all those social workers.
(Score: 1) by nitehawk214 on Wednesday November 04 2015, @10:55PM
I never understand why Republicans are against welfare for citizens but are all for welfare for the military industrial complex.
I guess pork is more important than health.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday November 04 2015, @11:30PM
Another problem with your theory is that many of the people who got rich in Afghanistan and Iraq (or in general through defense spending) are private contractors. Boeing, Raytheon, Blackwater/Xe, Halliburton, and many smaller players. Many have friends in government and military, and retired generals and Congressmen have a nice selection of executive positions waiting for them.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by deadstick on Wednesday November 04 2015, @11:53PM
Which is why a hammer costs $18,000
So, why don't you go into the hammer business?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 05 2015, @07:04AM
Umm... those "normal" items can sometimes indeed be expensive (think space-rated stuff for NASA), but I'd bet in most cases are made to appear so expensive because they serve as a pretext to funnel money to other ends, e.g. black programs, bribes and so on.