[crusso]

> You really think $33 million is a reasonable number for building a web interface to existing data?

Apparently, he/she does.

I really wish I could understand why, though. Government corruption and waste hurts us all. Why do some people blow it off so easily?

[_delirium]

Sure, I'd like to reduce government corruption and waste. However, I think most of the problems relate to scale and bureaucracy, not the public/private distinction. I've seen enough of how large multinational companies work to have my doubts about the private sector's efficiency and honesty, as well.

I suspect a lot of people opposed to "government" and "taxes" in some general sense have ulterior motives, mostly relating to libertarian ideology ("taxation is theft", etc.) or just plain not liking to pay taxes... as opposed to honestly assessing the efficiency of different organizations.

[jbooth]

Yeah, they should just have private subcontractors handle this stuff. Like IBM Federal or someone.

[crusso]

Well, since the government is the one that set up the whole game including how much they would pay for the work, how sub-contractors would be chosen, what methods would be use to ensure accountability and a quality product, etc. -- I think the target of your sarcasm is misplaced.

By the time IBM Federal got the project and could start coding, some bureaucracy of failure had already decided that $33M was a fair price for the specifications that they provided.

I know people who work on government projects like these. I know how the subcontractors are chosen. I can almost guarantee that the subcontractor who received this job had some special "in" with the decision maker on the government side through nepotism, trips to strip clubs, cash payouts, political connections, or something.