Sometimes without thinking about it much you stumble on a problem and a solution within seconds.  Here's an example.

My friend Dave has to go to a conference in Washington, D.C.   He has a government expense account.  He called a hotel in Washington and told them he was attending the conference and was immediately offered the "government rate."  (Sounds good, huh?).  Dave asked what the rate was.  "$181.00 a night."  His expense account covered that, but he still asked if that was the best rate.  "It doesn't matter.  You get charged the government rate."

Dave said to me later, "I'm sure I could get a cheaper room, but what would my incentive be?"  Very true.  So there's the problem: people on an expense account with the government have no incentive to save money.

Why doesn't the government provide that incentive?  If Dave can get a hotel room for $101.00 and save $80.00, why not give him half the savings?  He gets $40 and the taxpayer saves $40.  It's a simple solution and it would doubtless save the country a few million dollars a year.

Write to your Congressperson.