Our Sad Missed Opportunity for Greatness

The disaster in Puerto Rico is now an opportunity for America to demonstrate just how great we are. Here we have an island of ours that have 3 million inhabitants who have had everything destroyed. America has the opportunity to create a perfect utopia there using all the knowledge and labor force we have to create a new modern safe efficient place for people to live. American colleges are full of engraining students and professionals that can create safe wind resistant housing, efficient water purification centers and renewable energy sources especially with wind from the ocean breezes and solar power from the bright sun there that surround the island. Instead of tapping into our companies and giving them contracts to make America shine, Trump is giving work to his good old boys club of campaign contributors that are unqualified for the job.

Here we are five weeks after the hurricane and most of Puerto Rico is still out of power. Already Congress is investigating a bogus deal that Trump awarded a contract to a tiny company to get the power back on. The company just happens to be located in the home town of a member of Trumps cabinet. Today 75% percent of the island is still without power. Both the Republican and Democratic parties are asking why a small Montana company called Whitefish Energy was awarded a $300 million dollar no-bid contract. Since when do we just give money away to businesses? America has ALWAYS encouraged its companies to bid on infrastructure projects and welcomed new innovated contracts developed for the good of our people. Not Trump. He just gives our tax paying money to his buddies!

Republican congressmen don’t even know what was the process that gave this small company such a large contract? The largest previous Federal contract given out to this small company that is a two person two year old company was for only $1.3 million dollars to upgrade power lines in Arizona. This is the largest contract awarded to date for Puerto Rico recovery efforts. This small company will have to rely on sub-contractors to do the project and who the hell will they hire? Why isn’t Trump tapping into our many renewable energy sources that are large companies that can be regulated?

No one knows if the small company will even be capable of doing the enormous task they were given. Whitefish Energy subcontracting rates are enormous. So expect lots of money to be wasted. The Company will pay $462 dollars PER HOUR for a supervisor.

               $319 dollars PER HOUR  for a lineman.

The company heads are under scrutiny too. Whitefish is backed by HBC Investments that gave $33,000 dollars to the campaign to Texas Governor and now our Energy Secretary Rick Perry who has NO experience to run an energy department in our government. He danced on the TV show Dancing With the Stars. The company also gave $28,200 to Trump’s campaign. The company is based in Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke’s home town in Montana. America was great because it gave opportunities to all who wished to compete in business. Bidding on contracts is part of our free enterprise system. Trump is a Dictator who gives contracts to those who greased his and his buddies palms with campaign contributions.

Too bad the world has to see what the new America created by Trump has become. An embarrassment to all.