Government Contracting

In the previous post I wrote abou thow government contracting can serve political purposes: sinc eFederal workers are more likely to be Democratic, and business people more likely to be Republican, contracting allows Republicans to provide a service by not creating bureaus, and Democrats.

the Washington Post has an artilce today from the point of view of contractors who worked very hard to be successful, or happened to get lucky, or both:

Contractors Cash Out but Try to Stay Humble

By Ellen McCarthy
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, April 10, 2006; A01

Washington companies received $52.5 billion in federal contracts in 2004, an increase of more than 55 percent over 2001 and the largest concentration of government work in the country, according to the Institute for Public Policy at George Mason University.

While federal employment has remained mostly steady, or declined a bit, over the past 30 years, this "outsourcing" masks how many people indirectly depend on "government jobs."