I don't think you understand how government works, how they buy things, what data archiving/security requirements they have and, well, frankly, the value of pap

I don't think you understand how government works, how they buy things, what data archiving/security requirements they have and, well, frankly, the value of paper as an archival medium. About thirty years ago I worked on a sizeable archival project. Technology deemed "modern" at the time was very hard to justify. Why? Because nobody could truthfully answer a simple question: What happens when the hardware/readers go obsolete? Well, the first thing that happens is that you have to migrate ALL of your data from the old medium to a new medium before the old one goes out of style. That's all the bean counters had to hear to know they'd rather keep things on film. Film, as the argument went, is good for a long time if stored properly and all you have to do is shine a light through it. The started a slow transition to digital some 20 to 25 years after that conversation. Guess what? They were right. The film was --and still is-- in pristine condition.