Affirmative Action Pads Contract’s Actual Cost
“A Door Slams” (Jan. 4), regarding state contracts for minority- and women-owned businesses, provided much needed data for evaluation of affirmative action programs. Apparently, Caltrans awarded a $13-million contract to a Watsonville, Calif., construction company that had only 3.5% female and minority participation. This award was protested by a Riverside firm whose losing bid of $15 million included 20% participation of women and minorities.
We now have an accurate estimate of the cost of affirmative action in awarding state contracts. It is $2 million on a $13-million program, or a 15% increase over and above the actual cost of getting the job done. Since the inception of affirmative action programs, state contracts have totaled billions of dollars, 15% of which was apparently unnecessary and used only to address some real or imaginary socioeconomic problems.
Does anyone else feel that taxpayer money could have been more wisely spent on education or law enforcement?
R.J. GOLIK
Manhattan Beach
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