The point is that the discussion costs more than the purchase, so the only reasonable answer to a request to buy anything useful is "Yes, immediately, I'll buy

The point is that the discussion costs more than the purchase, so the only reasonable answer to a request to buy anything useful is "Yes, immediately, I'll buy one for every colleague who wants one". A manager who wants to save money on hardware is unprofessional (because they don't understand what is useful or not), an idiot (because they don't understand arithmetic and psychology), or both. Being unexpectedly denied, through a three-person meeting, a $30 software upgrade was a significant factor in my last job change.