We always seem to be hearing in the news that a government contract has been awarded to a company, which has not fulfilled its responsibilities. As a matter of fact this is so commonplace that one should be asking why does this keep occurring? Well, there are a number of reasons why this is the case.

Sometimes politicians persuade bureaucratic agencies to lean towards a certain government contractor and the bureaucrats know that they must comply otherwise they could lose their job and or their agency will not receive the funding it needs for next year’s budget. Those companies, which pander to podium pushing politicians through lobbying and fund raising for their campaigns tend to get the best contracts. We all know this is true.

Another common reason is that the government is known to be after the lowest price. Therefore many companies underbid the contracts just to get the work and then cannot afford to do the job correctly. Likewise many companies refuse to bid on government contracts because the government is so slow to pay and if you are a smaller company the cash flow could kill your business.

It is interesting that the government at all levels promotes small businesses and yet at the same time strings them out on accounts receivable sometimes for as much as 120 days or more. This seems quite un-reputable and unfortunate, but it is the truth. Some might say the government does not deserve the very best companies in the marketplace and that is upsetting considering the taxpayer is footing the bill. Please consider all this in 2006.

Lance Winslow