Latest / The Fiscal Policy Podcast with Fexingo: Government Budgets, Stimulus, and Public Spending
Why the Government Pays More for Printer Ink Than Blood
Episode 61 dives into a bizarre inefficiency in public procurement: the U.S. federal government spends hundreds of millions of dollars annually on printer ink, paying up to 10 times the retail price per milliliter. Lucas and Luna trace the roots of this problem to a 1995 policy called the 'Best Value' rule, which prioritizes lowest initial bid over total cost of ownership. They examine a 2024 Government Accountability Office report that found the Department of Defense paid $2,400 for a single ink cartridge that retails for $94. The episode also explores how a small pilot program in…
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