How Governments Waste Billions on Unused Software Licenses

The Fiscal Policy Podcast with Fexingo: Government Budgets, Stimulus, and Public Spending · Jun 1, 2026 · 8m · transcript

Episode 24 of The Fiscal Policy Podcast digs into a hidden drain on public budgets: unused software licenses. Lucas and Luna reveal that governments at all levels collectively waste billions of dollars annually on software subscriptions and licenses that sit idle. They focus on a 2025 audit of the U.S. federal government by the Government Accountability Office, which found that agencies spent over $3.2 billion on software licenses that went unused in a single fiscal year. The hosts break down why this happens — from fragmented procurement to lack of usage tracking — and compare it to how…