State Department Takes A Hit Of OPM

So, you thought that 20 million in Other People's Money (OPM) was a lot to send Elmo to Pakistan on his failed junket?  If Muppetpalooza wasn't enough for you, how about Muffinpalooza?  Well brace yourselves folks, the same government that brought you $16 muffins have really upped their game.  Ladies and gentleman, may I present the $6600 Kindle!

Don't get me wrong here, the Kindle e-reader is a great device.  Mrs. Crew has one that she loves, and the reading experience on it is top-notch.  However......it's not worth $6600.

The U.S. State Department has decided that the Kindle is the best e-reader to provide to libraries and U.S. friendly schools abroad, and on that I certainly agree with them.  Obama's State Department has awarded a contract to Amazon to provide 2,500 Kindle Touch 3G's to help those abroad learn English and become more familiar with the U.S. and its technology.  Sounds good, right?

Let's do the math.  The Amazon Kindle Touch 3G is selling this morning for $189.  See for yourself.  If the feds buy 2500 of them at $189, that is a total of $472,500.  Let's add $11 per unit for shipping/handling etc, that brings us to a grand total of $500,000.  That's a lot of money folks, but here's the punchline...the federal government is paying Amazon.....wait for it..... 16.5 million dollars for those Kindles.  Let me repeat....for 0.5 million dollars worth of stuff, the feds are spending 16.5 million of your tax dollars!  That works out to a nice tidy $6,600 per Kindle.

The State Department claims the obscene contract is justified because Amazon is also required to provide customer service, provide content wirelessly through its 3G network, and share data on how to access content.  In other words, ALL THE STUFF THEY ALREADY DO FOR EVERY TOM, DICK, AND HARRY THAT BUYS A FREAKING KINDLE FOR $189!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Read the contract specifications here, but please remove all sharp objects from your immediate vicinity before doing so.