Why the Federal Government Pays More for Light Bulbs

Episode 46 of The Fiscal Policy Podcast digs into a seemingly small but staggeringly wasteful line item: the price the US government pays for standard light bulbs. Lucas and Luna trace how a single General Services Administration contract for 60-watt equivalents costs taxpayers 8 times what a warehouse club charges. They walk through the procurement maze — the Buy American Act, the Trade Agreements Act, the 50-page specification documents, the 90-day payment terms that bake in a risk premium — and show how a modest reform in one agency cut costs by 40 percent. A clear, concrete look at how well-intentioned rules inflate every light switch in a federal building. #GovernmentSpending #Procurement #GSA #TaxDollars #Waste #LightBulbs #BuyAmericanAct #TradeAgreementsAct #FederalContracting #PublicSpending #Efficiency #Economics #FiscalPolicy #Podcast #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #LucasAndLuna #June2026 Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo