[ndarwincorn]

I get the impression you're over-simplifying this and grasping for whatever assumption you need just to try to make your point.

While some of us have run with my oversimplification, there are plenty of comments in this sub-thread about down-selecting. Your answer to that is a giant assumption on what the article (which again is rigorously sourced) 'implies'.

> The article also implies other contractors are also listed, although they don't get similar preferential price treatment.

In fact, the IG report[0] that is cited in the selection of the article I replied with has nothing to do with McKinsey, but a different contractor altogether. Reading comprehension is your friend here: "In 2013, the GSA Inspector General traced a similar situation with different contractors."

Agencies aren't necessarily selecting the more expensive item. As you point out, in most cases they have a mandate not to. They're awarding the bid to an already-short list designed to generate the highest IFF possible for the GSA.

Which is what the article's about.

[0]https://www.gsaig.gov/sites/default/files/audit-reports/A120...

[bumby]

If anything, my intent was to guard against the oversimplified conclusions by adding some nuance. I concede the point that it's larger than just McKinsey. But it seems like people are extrapolating to make a point that the government is forced into picking between just a few favored firms. That point is central to the author's larger theme about the politics of monopolies. The issue I have is, while there seems to be some graft, it doesn't mean there is a monopoly. In the same vein:

> They're awarding the bid to an already-short list

This makes it sound like the GSA is forcing agencies to select from a small handful of contractors from a list catered to make the GSA the most money. I don't think it's actually true and it seems like it's inferred from the article without evidence. There are literally thousands of vendors just in the IT Services schedule mentioned in the article[1].

What seems more likely is what another commenter stated. Agencies select the excessively expensive McKinsey because they are essentially buying social capital.

Edit: there’s actually over 13k vendors listed under IT services [2]

[1]https://www.gsa.gov/technology/technology-purchasing-program...

[2] https://www.gsaelibrary.gsa.gov/ElibMain/scheduleSummary.do?...

[ramblenode]

I was also wondering this. There seems like a pretty good case for the headline, but the more interesting question from the article is whether funding the GSA through some alternative (appropriations) would save the government money compared to the IFF. Which may come down to the kind of behavior the IFF incentivizes, whether it be corruption or self-serving yet legal optimizations. The information you provided about the base rate would have benefited the article by giving some idea of the scale on which the GSA operates.