Funmurphys: the Blog

Government Contracting

If you haven't seen federal government contracting in operation, it's hard to appreciate how slow and cumbersome it is. It suffers from the pressing need for politicians "to do something" coupled with the mentality that says that the solution to any problem is more rules and regulations. We saw that mentality in operation when the response to a couple of kids breaking a bunch of laws and shooting up Columbine H.S. was the call for a whole bunch more laws.

Thus there are rules on top of rules, multiple forms to be filled out, and above all, the presumption that everyone involved, on both the government and contractor side, is out to screw the government in some way, shape or form. This is why the U.S. government spends more money auditing its employee's travel than it does on the actual travel itself. This is why certain companies specialize in government procurement and/or services while most won't touch it with a ten foot pole.

I think this is why it is proving hard for the CPA to spend money in Iraq, and why most of it goes to American companies. Who else can comply with our blizzard of contracting requirements? And this is why the captured money spent by the Army at a unit commander's discretion was so valuable - they spent it like you or I would -- to get the job done for the best value. The Army set up its own checks and balances, and the most important thing is that the program is new enough not to build up too many rules and regulations.