Latest / The Fiscal Policy Podcast with Fexingo: Government Budgets, Stimulus, and Public Spending
Why Government IT Projects Cost Ten Times More Than Planned
Why do government IT projects routinely blow past their budgets by 10x or more? In this episode, Lucas and Luna drill into the specific case of California's MyCalPAYS system—a $9 million payroll project that ballooned to over $1 billion before being abandoned. They explore the root causes: optimistic cost estimates, vendor lock-in, changing requirements, and the lack of accountability when projects are funded by taxpayer money. Lucas cites a 2023 study by the Institute for Government that found 70% of large government IT projects in the U.S. exceed their original budgets by an average of…
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