Ride the Lightning

The Most Wasteful Government IT Projects of 2013 – Always a Close Contest!

December 31, 2013

"You don't actually think they spend $20,000 on a hammer, $30,000 on a toilet seat, do you?"  I love that line from Independence Day. I'd tell you how many times I've watched that movie, but you would lose all respect for me. I have resigned myself to the fact that it is comfort food for weary brains. But Julius Levinson may have been wrong – it is pretty remarkable what the government DOES spend money on. A $20,000 hammer may not be such a surprise . . .

Duplicate IT projects appear to be leading the wasteful IT spending pack according to an Information Week article. But nipping at their heels are projects on which we spent a fortune and then canceled as well as malfunctioning IT systems. I love that we pour buckets of gold into a contractor's pocket, it delivers a crappy product – and then we pour more buckets of gold into those overflowing pockets to get right the second time what should have been right the first time.

I don't mind paying taxes – until I see how stupidly my money is spent. I'm not sure whether to advise reading the article or to suggest you have a wee dram instead. The latter might be better for your blood pressure.

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