Giving LOST New Meaning

No, this is not a LOST post. It's about our government losing things.

New documents reveal that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues to lose hundreds of computers per year. At least one DHS component agency maintains that the losses fall within accepted accounting standards.

In fiscal year 2008, inventories of lost, stolen, and damaged equipment show that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) combined to lose no fewer than 985 computers. Meanwhile, the lost, stolen and damaged report for ICE shows 13 vehicles classified as "lost" or "not found during physical inventory."

CBP's total inventory (immediately below) of lost stolen and damaged equipment tallies 1,975 pieces at a total valuation of $7.5 million.

I was against Homeland Security from day one on libertarian grounds - give government more power and government will always abuse it, even if they start out doing something good and necessary.

I cannot believe these people still have jobs. They lost 985 computers. How does one lose a computer, exactly?

Here's a couple of charts so you can see that I am not making this up:

2008 CBP w remarks

2008 ICE LDD w remarks


CBP insists that none of the lost computers contained any sensitive or classified data. Furthermore, the agency told the Independence Institute, "CBP accounts for a total of 92,351 various types of computers in our active property inventory," and continued that, "[a]n annual loss of 549 [computers] for 2008 represents a loss rate of less than .59 percent, which is well within loss rates deemed acceptable by industry for asset accounting (ATSM standards)." The agency also asserted that they strive for 100 percent accountability of all property.

"If CBP can lose more than 500 computers, and say categorically that there was no sensitive data on any of them, then I don't know what CBP is using their computers for," Caldara added.

CBP's inventory also shows 235 night vision scopes classified as lost. CBP said the losses resulted from the merging of Office of Border Patrol with CBP. In an email response to the Institute, the press office said, "Currently, CBP accounts for 13,866 pieces of night vision equipment. These losses represent 1.69 percent of total inventory."

In light of a trillion dollar deficit, this is small potatoes, although who knows how that phrase every became synonymous with insignificance.

Are there good people who work for the government? Of course. But there seem to be an awful large number who are unaccountable, lazy slackers who should be fired.