I am very close to government, deal with it day in and day out, some as a consultant, some as a contractor, some as independent oversight. Some, as a consultant trying to get something approved through the bureacracy. Some, as the child of a 40-year government employee.

Waste comes in many forms. I see it every day. Some of the stuff that you mentioned happens on a smaller scale at the state and local level.

The problem, IMHO, is not so much contractors to the government. It is vesting too much responsibility in large contractors. With the pool spread, there is competition, oversight, and pressure to do the right thing or lose your job. With one or two very large corporations, there is little incentive to innovate, oversight, or price competition.

How's that for a small business guy, who regularly competes with firms 100 or 1000 times our size?