Latest / The Fiscal Policy Podcast with Fexingo: Government Budgets, Stimulus, and Public Spending
How the Government Pays More for Office Supplies Than You Do
Episode 37 of The Fiscal Policy Podcast dives into the absurd world of government procurement: why a simple box of paper clips can cost the federal government five times what you'd pay at an office supply store. Lucas and Luna trace the problem from the 1930s Buy American Act through complex bidding rules, procurement officers who fear auditors more than waste, and the perverse incentives that drive public-sector purchasing. They focus on a 2025 Government Accountability Office report that found a single agency was paying $87 for a $15 office chair, and a small pilot program in Tennessee…
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