Latest / The Fiscal Policy Podcast with Fexingo: Government Budgets, Stimulus, and Public Spending
Why the Government Pays a Fortune for Ordinary Items
Every year, federal agencies buy mundane items like hammers, coffee makers, and office chairs at prices that would make any private-sector buyer wince. In this episode, Lucas and Luna dig into the procurement rules that push the government to pay two, five, or even ten times more than a typical retailer for identical goods. They walk through the Federal Acquisition Regulation's obsession with fairness and process, the preference for small businesses that can inflate costs, and the surprising truth about why a $40 hammer made headlines in the 1980s but the system hasn't changed much…
The skinny
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