But, a lot more people were employed during the public outcry (which around here wasn't that much of an outcry, unfortunately) of the $500 toilet seat. Bailout wasn't a buzzword. We weren't in a recession.

And sure, they print the checks, but they don't have any control over the amount.

Well, first of all someone had to take the time to report that there was a toilet seat that needed to be replaced. That was a government employee who apparently used the offending old toilet seat... getting paid. The report goes to the maintenance department who has to send an employee to validate that the toilet seat in fact needs replaced. That person goes and checks out the offending toilet seat and agrees that it needs to be replaced. They submit a report to someone who is actually responsible for submitting the request for a new toilet seat. The request is submitted, then someone has to issue requests for bids for the new toilet seat. The bids have to be received by someone who then has to pass them to someone empowered to make the decision for which bid should be accepted. (all of these are government employees getting paid). The contract is awarded to whomever is going to replace the toilet seat. That organization has to purchase a toilet seat that meets all federal safety requirements and specifications, so it can't be just any toilet seat... it has to be a specialized toilet seat. Then someone has to go out and uninstall the offending toilet seat and install the new toilet seat while following all government safety guidelines and using only approved tools... all of which is taken into account in the bid. The actual person doing this work must be a union employee making approved wages, so it's not just a guy found standing outside the Home Depot. When that is done, someone has to request someone to go check and make sure everything was done correctly and that the new toilet seat is appropriately installed and non-offensive. That person has to submit their report to someone for review. Then someone has to notify the person who was originally offended by the toilet seat that their trouble report has been resolved.

Add up all those costs and account for the fact that this was back in the late 80's or early 90's and what salaries were back then... and you have yourself a $500 toilet seat.

And, I forgot AGAIN to look at gas prices as I came home.

Mad Mema wrote:

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MzHartz wrote:

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Gawd. So actually, the toilet seat itself, while probably unreasonably expensive, isn't actually $500. It's the inefficiency of the government request process that's $500 with a toilet seat thrown in.

And then they have to bid it out, and probably choose the lowest price! lol

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The actual toilet seat itself was somewhere around $50 -$75 which was outrageous at the time, but as was explained in the report, it had to meet specific requirements and had to be purchased from an approved government vendor who also has to meet specific requirements for equal opportunity employment, safety, and whatever else.

I would seriously doubt the lowest bid would necessarily have won either because whomever was awarded the contract would also have to be one of the companies on the approved list of contractors who have met all of the requirments that apply to them by largely the same folks... EEOC and OSHA.

Never underestimate the power of the people who write the checks. They can make life as easy or miserable for you as they want. That warning came straight from my mom as advice when I went into the working world. She was the secretary to the Director of Payroll at GSA. My guess is she probably could tell some stories.

 

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I would assume (but this is the government) that they bid it out to only approved vendors.  And the point of bidding something out is to get the lowest price.