Sure, but that was just a thought experiment to show that ~50% efficiency isn't some insanely low number. If you wanted you could ask for their records and dig

Sure, but that was just a thought experiment to show that ~50% efficiency isn't some insanely low number. If you wanted you could ask for their records and dig in, and I bet most people would find each individual expense is reasonable. Then you add it all up and are somehow still surprised at how much running a large scale operation really costs. And sure, we can delete the cost of office rent for government workers, but you have to add in the nice benefits package and you have to add in all the mileage they get reimbursed for driving their cars, and the fact that a considerable portion of their time is lost in training and meetings that don't directly support accomplishing the CCT's core mission. None of those things were included in my thought experiment, and erode the efficiency a little bit at a time. Source: Am statistician employed by the government.