Up next, thoughts on hammer shopping from the Pentagon
The US Government, as a public service, has a piece on how to get out of debt. Ok, after you stop laughing, maybe we could all email that piece to our congress monkeys?
3 Responses to “Up next, thoughts on hammer shopping from the Pentagon”
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January 23rd, 2012 at 1:14 pm
The reason why hammers cost $500 on government contracts is the way the contracts are written. It isn’t “buy 10 good hammers for driving penny nails and deliver them by noon on 1/23/2012 to X location.” The contracts always state “The vendor shall deliver as many hammers as are requested, of types to be specified at a later date, no later than 36 hours after the request is made by email.” Contractors either need illegal information to bid on the contract (i.e. need to know the guy in charge), or they need to guess.
If you promise to get for me any type of toilet I demand on short notice, you’re going to charge me a premium price for that toilet even if I only ask for a latrine to be dug.
January 23rd, 2012 at 1:45 pm
Actually the reason that they’re $500 is that they’re not standard Craftsman hammers. They’re military spec items that are different than normal ones and are optimized for military purposes or environments (non-sparking, non-magnetic, high temp, whatever). But the changes from commercial units mean a small production run that makes them much more expensive.
I also especially love when the military tries to make items unbreakable while quadrupling the cost and doubling its weight instead of just buying and issuing spares of the commercial item you could get at Sears.
January 24th, 2012 at 12:47 am
I sent a letter to my state and federal legislators. It looks like this:
“I recently found out the Federal Trade Commission published an article called “Knee Deep in Debt” (February 2011). It talks about how bad debt is, and how Americans ought to spend only within our means.
I have included it with this letter for you, because I think it would be wonderful if the United States Senate would follow this advice. However, I know your time is important, so I have highlighted some portions for you:
“The first step toward taking control of your financial situation is to do a realistic assessment of how much money you take in and how much money you spend.”
“Your public library and bookstores have information about budgeting and money management techniques.”
“If you’re not disciplined enough to create a workable budget and stick to it… consider contacting a credit counseling organization.”
In summary, Senator xyz, I hope the United States Senate will consider following the Federal Trade Commission’s advice to Americans.”