Why Do Government Contractors Exist?
Governing the United States of America is a Herculean task, and a lot needs to get done on a regular basis. Government workers enjoy excellent benefits, good salaries, and job security matched nowhere else. In point of fact, once someone is a government employee, they almost never have to look for a job again.
However, what if the government needs something done once? A large job of filing needs doing, or new training manuals need to be written. It doesn't make much economic sense for a government on any level to permanently hire people, with all of the salary, insurance and benefits that implies, for a temporary job. It also make little sense for the government to develop industrial facilities for things like airplane building or steel working when private companies have already put in the time and work. This niche is filled by government contractors.
Whether it's building a new office, making uniforms, customizing government vehicles, or providing a customer service call center, government contractors get a lot of the day to day work of government administration done. Even pharmaceutical and medical care is sometimes contracted out by the government in order to provide their people with the best care possible. One of the best things about government contractors is that because of their non-permanent status and pay based on job, they are frequently cheaper and more efficient than another government department would be. This results in increased job opportunities for citizens along with less expense to the taxpayer.
Government contractors have to find out what the government needs at any given time, usually through contract postings. Then, they bid on those contracts. The government chooses the bid that fits their criteria the best, and work proceeds. Bids are judged on several different criteria instead of just cost. Does the contractor have sufficient experience? Is the bid detailed and realistic? Cost, of course, is a consideration, but it can often cost more to have to redo a poor job than to just get it done right the first time.
Of course, stories of contractors who are seriously overpaid or who are corrupt abound. However, keep in mind that those contractors who make headlines for high charges or corruption represent a terribly tiny fraction of government contractors. Many government contractors are small businesses like any other. Government contracting is usually profitable, but so is any other business activity. While many government contractors do get paid slightly better than base market value, who would want to take a spaceship into orbit that had been built by the lowest bidder?
Government contractors are often the most efficient, best performing, and flexible tools at our government's disposal. Whether working on a local government contract for a new City Hall parking lot or a national contract for postal planes, government contracting has worked and will continue to work for our country.
Written by Sabre Consulting, Copyright 2008, All rights reserved.
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