Latest / The Fiscal Policy Podcast with Fexingo: Government Budgets, Stimulus, and Public Spending
How the Government Spends 4 Billion on Obsolete Mainframes
The US federal government spends over $4 billion annually maintaining mainframe computer systems that are decades old. In this episode, Lucas and Luna examine the cost of technical debt in public sector IT, using the case of the IRS's IBM zSeries mainframes from the 1990s. They discuss why agencies cling to outdated hardware, how it drives up procurement costs, and what it means for taxpayer-funded efficiency. Specific examples include the Social Security Administration's COBOL-based systems and the Department of Defense's legacy payroll platforms. The hosts also explore the…
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