A Lesson in Government Spending

Washington's reliance on contractors is supposed to save you money -- it's called "privatization." But the Government Accountability Office has already found some responses to Gulf Coast hurricanes are costing you too much -- thanks to privatization.

GAO’s preliminary observations about the purchase of classrooms by the Army Corps of Engineers illustrate what can happen when sound contracting practices are not followed. -- GAO

The GAO believes the Army Corps of Engineers may have overpaid for temporary classrooms. The GAO says the problem may be that members of the Corps had no clear picture on how much temporart classrooms should cost.

Instead of relying on competitive bidding, or looking around for other prices -- they trusted the vendor's explanation about what the price should be.

The deal wound up costing you $39 million.

The GAO didn't say how much the deal should have cost, but suggests the Corps should have shopped around. (GAO)