So I did some research… the Davis-Bacon act is good in theory, but according to a couple coworkers that have had to deal with it, it also creates a HUGE amount of administrative work, filings, interviews, double checking this and that, etc. She said they had 2 full time employees that did the Davis-Bacon paperwork full time, and they didn’t have a giant workforce or anything. So I can see how repealing the act for that time and location would allow progress to begin and progress faster. One would think that wages would still be decent, although this is no longer enforced, one would hope supply and demand would come into play and get people paid.
As for existing contracts for reconstruction, I can see where that may be a valuable thing. IE say the city government of SanFran has a rebuild contract with company Z to rebuild the roads if a giant earthquake hits. It is somewhat of a hedge, but a good one to have. That way if/when such a tragedy occurs, most of the paperwork is already done and work could progress quickly. A good plan.
My issue is that the companies that HAVE these exclusive, no bid contracts are all friends of the people in charge. Obviously, unlike the wars and THEIR existing contracts (you can see where this is going), the people who chose the contracts for reconstruction of New Orleans of SanFran have no control over natural disasters. (I don’t buy the Kyoto Treaty argument, although I do think the EPA/Federal Government needs to make stricter laws for emissions, be it from trucks or factories, but I digress). It just concerns me that friends are getting the hookups here to a degree that is unfair to others. An argument might be that only halliburton, shaw, etc have the ability/workforce to do such a job, I dunno. It just doesn’t sit right.
So if the government can ensure that the contracts are getting money into the workers pockets’ and not the friends’ pockets, I would be more at ease. But I don’t see that happening…
