The government loses a lot of money by being so incredibly tight-fisted. All costs must be approved in advance, to ensure nothing is wasted. So nobody in gover

The government loses a lot of money by being so incredibly tight-fisted. All costs must be approved in advance, to ensure nothing is wasted. So nobody in government can run a small project, see how it works out, then scale up if needed. It's all-or-nothing. Ironically, governments have less to lose if budgets go a little under or over - they get pretty cheap financing, and they are a big outfit who can absorb small variances within the system (as long as it's not systematic). If a small company has a project go over budget, it can kill them. But governments (who can afford the risk) pay extra for the surety.