Letter: Too much competition can be wasteful
Regarding the letter “
Army is wasting time by duplicating contract vehicles”: In no way will duplicative contract vehicles be eliminated. Don't forget the magic word “competition.” It is felt that competition breeds innovative solutions. This is true up to a limiting point where you have diminishing returns. There is just so much juice in a potato.
Contractors need to make a decent profit to provide a decent service. They go through financial gyrations to make it look like they are keeping costs down, but in the end they need to make a profit. As a result, you get the nickel and diming that gives government contracting a bad name.
The reality is we don't need all these vehicles. We need only a few that are focused in different areas. Competition is needed but must be realistic. The fact must be faced that competition can be wasteful and nonproductive.
Tom KesolitsTJK TechnologyWhat do you think? Paste a comment in the box below (registration required), or send your comment to
letters@fcw.com (subject line: Blog comment) and we'll post it.