A study conducted by the Project for Government Oversight (POGO) found that on average the U.S. government pays private contractors more than twice what it pays federal workers for a number of public services. The disparity amounts to billions of dollars in overpayment each year.

“Our findings were shocking,” researchers wrote. “POGO estimates the government pays billions more annually in taxpayer dollars to hire contractors than it would to hire federal employees to perform comparable services.” In one instance, contractor billing rates were nearly five times the compensation paid to federal employees doing comparable work. Additionally, the government has no program for determining how much money it saves or wastes by either using its own employees or outsourcing.

The findings seem to refute an argument dear to political conservatives: that commissioning the private sector to perform essential public work saves taxpayer money.

Read the whole analysis here. —ARK