One day at lunch I was complaining about how long it takes to do something in a federal agency, and how the delays end up costing money. A wise colleague of mine explained that the U.S. government's SOP isn't about efficiency, it's about fairness.
Buying services or products is the clearest case. The rule is fair competition. Everybody should have a chance at earning the taxpayer's money. Exceptions to the rule require formal, written justification, at the least. Usually you also have to convince someone in the Contracting Office that no one else on the planet has the same peculiar advantages as the one contractor or vendor you want to use. Makes sense, good policy for public money.
So, now I want some pictures taken on Pine Ridge Reservation. I want to hire a Lakota photographer who lives on the rez. I've got a couple names, a few leads, and I'd like to have some competition, get more than one price. Very hard to do.
This doesn't seem efficient or fair. But then, that's true of anything between the U.S. government and Indians.
.
Buying services or products is the clearest case. The rule is fair competition. Everybody should have a chance at earning the taxpayer's money. Exceptions to the rule require formal, written justification, at the least. Usually you also have to convince someone in the Contracting Office that no one else on the planet has the same peculiar advantages as the one contractor or vendor you want to use. Makes sense, good policy for public money.
So, now I want some pictures taken on Pine Ridge Reservation. I want to hire a Lakota photographer who lives on the rez. I've got a couple names, a few leads, and I'd like to have some competition, get more than one price. Very hard to do.
This doesn't seem efficient or fair. But then, that's true of anything between the U.S. government and Indians.
.
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