Latest / The Fiscal Policy Podcast with Fexingo: Government Budgets, Stimulus, and Public Spending
Why the Government Spends Billions on Unused Software Licenses
The federal government spends over $3 billion annually on software licenses it never opens — and state and local agencies add billions more. Lucas and Luna dig into a 2025 GAO audit that found one agency alone had $480 million in unused Microsoft Office allocations. They trace the problem to procurement rules that reward buying in bulk, a budgeting culture that treats 'use it or lose it' as gospel, and a perverse incentive where managers would rather waste money than risk running out. Then they look at three fixes: a shared-services model out of Utah, a federal pilot that ties…
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