It does not get anymore Republican than this as from as a Washington Post article reports Wednesday. The party of: "capitalism" "smaller government" "fiscal responsibility" and "pulling yourself up by your bootstraps" gave Carnival Cruise Lines $236 MILLION no bid contract to house victims of Hurricane Katrina over a six month period. This equals out to $1,275 a week for the room, board, and meals. However, a REAL seven day Caribbean cruise will on average coast only half that at $599 a person. That is a 100% markup which does not include the entertainment and other perks, and oh yeah, the ship actually moves and goes places. These ships plan to just bob up and down for six months in port. It is by no surprise that the Carnival Corporation contributed over $171,000 to Republicans last year, 58% of all political contributions. Democrat Sen. Barack Obama has the quote of the week:
"When the federal government would actually save millions of dollars by forgoing the status quo and actually sending evacuees on a luxurious six-month cruise it is time to rethink how we are conducting oversight. A short-term temporary solution has turned into a long-term, grossly overpriced sweetheart deal for a cruise line."
Over 100,000 vacations were canceled due to the storm and the double priced government FEMA buy out. I wonder what percentage of those people were Republican? But Carnival defends is most generous offer to hurricane victims. They even claimed $44 million as part of their expenses, which included fuel for the docked ships. A spokesperson for Carnival stated:
"In the end, we will make no additional money on this deal versus what we would have made by keeping these ships in service," said Jennifer de la Cruz, a Carnival spokeswoman. "That has been our position from the outset, and it has not changed."
Probably the most Republican part of this is the tax status of the Carnival Corp. They are based out of Panama... imagine that. The company paid only $3 million in taxes on $1.9 billion income. Most American corporations pay around 25% where Carnival pays 0.15%.
What even sweetens the deal for Carnival is that the three FEMA payed for ships are not even been used to capacity.
The Ecstasy and Sensation had to set sail for safer seas as Hurricane Rita rolled in. They re-docked Monday. By Tuesday morning, 625 were aboard the Ecstasy, a fraction of the 2,544 passengers once registered. An additional 820 were aboard the Sensation, down from 2,579.
And those ships have fared better than the Holiday, docked in Mobile, Ala., with 342 on board. FEMA had hoped for 1,800.
I mean, what a deal, contribute to Republicans, pay 0.15% in taxes, and get double ticket prices for six months for less expenses and less actual occupants.
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
2 Comments: