"Sounds like a conspiracy theory?" It's reflective of every other action this government has taken since it has been in power. Basically, they are all a bunch of crooks, who started a war and cost us and Iraq hundreds and thousands of lives to profiteer themselves and their cronies to endless wealth. Remember what Ray Charles' mother used to say to him: scratch a liar, find a thief. Who has lied more than the Bush administration? And exactly what do you think those lies are hiding? Of course it's a conspiracy, starting with the big one, 911. All of it was planned from the outset by evil men, and now it is going awry. Finally.

As to the administration's actions and inactions, let's just say that it has presided over GSA's degradation as a useful procurement czar, let the agencies play badly with each other regarding GWACs and other vehicles, and
continued the permissive and inconsistent enforcement of the standards of conduct and professionalism of both contracting officials and contractors. Again, the government and the industry (and the citizen-taxpayers) benefit when the small minority of incompetents and bad apples are rooted out.

As for relationships, in your own personal life, a lot purchases you make and sales of things you own are based on relationships. It is inescapable. Smart buyers and sellers like to deal that way, unless the item is a pure commodity.

Only a foolish government buyer would not seek to know the
companies and managements that it does business with or may depend on. Ditto for companies trying to sell to the government.

You can allow relationships to exist without compromising fairness. It takes some doing, but it is not impossible. Some agencies have made that easier, e.g., the proliferation of industry days and being open to thoughtful technical exchanges with contractors.

If you want to see unbridled corruption and lack of fairness, just try hermetically sealing (figuratively, of course) buyers and sellers from one another.

Lazy proposal evaluation panels never interview the finalists' management. And earlier, they repel anyone seeking to understand their program and requirements. Only the management of companies waiting for a handout would fail to try to get to know their prospective clients and gather information about their needs.

Contractor shenanigans that we've seen have little to do with relationships. They have a lot to do with lack of competence and professionalism, and maybe a dose or entitlement and larceny. These companies are a minute fraction of the hundred thousand or so firms doing 30 million transactions per year with the government.

Strident critics of government contracting have never put forth the stats that would show we're saddled with more than a small number of corrupt and incompetent contractors. There have to be more than are ever disciplined, but it's still got to be a very small fraction. But that's a fraction that needs to be identified and suitably penalized.

As for the government, you can have relationships if you play be the rules, the rules are sensible to protect the taxpayers, and, you have discipline and good supervision and accountability. Let's elect people who want to have a civil service like that, rather than kill the messenger, tolerate mediocrity, and wipe out the players in government and industry.

Also, we need to tighten up the rules on revolving doors in both directions, as well as take sensible steps to increase competition as the industry becomes more concentrated.

"You get the kind of government that you deserve" remains as true as ever.

The people to continually blame the Bush Administration need to look a little further to the House and Senate. Senators and Reps. who arrange meetings with contracting officials to steer certain contract awards to their constituants are just as guilty as the Bush Administration. The Reps and Senators who continually add last minute amendments to bills to subsidize special interests groups are even more guilty than the Bush Administration - much of this problem occurred before the Bush Administration. Contracting abuse is a huge thing created by loopholes and exemptions in the laws made by the House and Senate. Our entire goverment is corrupt - and the prior post is right - we got what we deserve - we continually reelect these crooks. We need to throw them out of office - every last one of them and start over.

You're not a conspiracy theorist when the evidence leads you to a rational conclusion. What's going on in gov't today is the institutionalization of cronyism. Ex-agency employees return to their friends for contracts, back scratching from the most basic to the highest levels. The danger is even greater now because no one wants to hear the truth. If you know the truth, the dangers we are now exposed to because of this rampant cronyism, you have to do something. The checks and balances designed by our nation's forefathers have been completely swept away. Some of the most honorable gov't employees must openly blow the whistle in order to protect public safety, and thus sacrifice their careers, their good names and endanger their families' welfare. They rapidly find their messages make them pariahs. Nothing changes regardless of their sacrifices. Indeed, we do get the gov't we deserve.

Surely you jest! Were you born yesterday?

As long as I can remember, the last 10 years anyway, protests were the "kiss of death" to future proposals...at least where I worked.

If you want to verify, ask any major contractor in the USAF what they think are IBM's prospects after protesting ECSS.

I have been around a lot of years and have yet to find anything, which has been uncovered, in past Administrations, which comes close to the 'good ol' boy' network of this Administration.

Perhaps, since I also watched the "Fahrenheit 9/11" Documentary, I've become a bit more skeptical. However, I have been seeing some substantial links to the Bush 'buddies' and the contracts which were given as 'no bid' contracts.
Sure, we hear there are no other companies large enough to do the work... and so on.

In all my years, the Army Corp of Engineers used to do the same kind of work as Halliburton, and the whole BlackWater debacle... What ever happened to the good ol' days, when there was some fairness in the bidding process. Well, at least there was some actual bidding in the process...

We, (I) have witnessed some pretty shady dealings going on within and without this Administration - not the likes of anything since Watergate; which now seems quite trivial in comparison.

On top of all this are the corrupt politicians which seem to keep popping up their nasty heads!

Most obvious are those who continue to 'preach' against the evils of "homosexuality" while, talking up family values - then, they just get caught in their own web of deceit and lies.

This is, I believe, one for the history books! Those most guilty, preach the loudest, of that which they deem as immoral, illicit, and illegal.

What a mell of a hess!

Until we get a Congress and a President that is willing and able to shut the money off to Government contracts. Nothing will change. If our Country had to pay off our deficit before writing any more checks for contractors, the problem would be solved. People inside the beltway are so out of touch with the rest of America it is pathetic. When is our government, with the help of insiders and government contractors going to stop bleeding the American people dry. Look at the statistic for wages, poverty, health care, fore closures, inflation, personal savings, incarcerations. Americans have maxed out their credit. If anyone of these government contractors had to pay the percentage of interest to gross domestic product, that we pay on our National debt, they would be out of business. Think about it. Maybe that is what this is all about.

To Michael Lent:

It's true that businesses operate on relationships. I've never worked anywhere that didn't hire mostly friends, relatives, etc. of current employees.

Not true for the government, not supposed to be, anyway. Civil Service employees are supposed to be hired on merit.

Aren't the competition rules just as much to give everyone an equal chance at government "goodies" as they are to get good value for the taxpayer?

http://ciberia.ya.com/mvyhz/ sex toys