This is either a complete waste of our money, another example of entitled government workers (like, why can’t they buy their OWN stuff??), or a real serious question: is something about to happen (or could happen) and they won’t tell us? From the Washington Free Beacon (reformatted, emphasis mine)
The Department of Treasury is seeking to order survival kits for all of its employees who oversee the federal banking system, according to a new solicitation. The emergency supplies would be for every employee at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), which conducts on-site reviews of banks throughout the country. The survival kit includes everything from water purification tablets to solar blankets.
The government is willing to spend up to $200,000 on the kits, according to the solicitation released on Dec. 4. The survival kits must come in a fanny-pack or backpack that can fit all of the items, including a 33-piece personal first aid kit with “decongestant tablets,” a variety of bandages, and medicines. The kits must also include a “reusable solar blanket” 52 by 84 inches long, a 2,400-calorie food bar, “50 water purification tablets,” a “dust mask,” “one-size fits all poncho with hood,” a rechargeable lantern with built-in radio, and an “Air-Aid emergency mask” for protection against airborne viruses. Survival kits will be delivered to every major bank in the United States including Bank of America, American Express Bank, BMO Financial Corp., Capitol One Financial Corporation, Citigroup, Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Company, and Wells Fargo.
Why can’t these banks buy their own durn kits – just another “bank bailout” along with the Feds? Look, if you look at what is being asked for, it’s certainly a crap list for a “survival kit” – heck, it’s a horrible “get home” bag, truth be told. I’m back to thinking “a complete waste of time”. Seriously, while water (after air) is most important, 50 tablets? And nothing to hold the water in FIRST? A Life Straw would have been a much better bit of kit for that. But a lot of people knowledgeable on this topic would go “what the heck??”
The mission of the OCC is to “ensure that national banks and federal savings associations operate in a safe and sound manner, provide fair access to financial services, treat customers fairly, and comply with applicable laws and regulations.” The agency has roughly 3,814 employees, each of which would receive a survival kit. The staff includes “bank examiners” who provide “sustained supervision” of major banks in the United States.
Got news for you – if there is an event that requires a “get home” exodus by all of them, I’m not thinking that bank failures are going to be the most important thing at the moment. People are going to be more worried about being “safe and sound” themselves and not a bag (or a disk farm) of cash or financial instruments. After all, if you’re dead, you won’t care. But I DO wonder if some bureaucrat just overloaded on National Geographic’s “Doomsday Prepper” and just reacted (er, and badly) or if there is some real sound reason for concern (but once again, a lot to be desired on the execution side).
It is not clear why the Treasury Department is ordering the kits. Contracts for survival kits are usually made for the military, or law enforcement such as the FBI.
