For company I am working at, it is acceptable to pay more for even long term consultanst, than to pay market price for experienced developers. The reason explai

For company I am working at, it is acceptable to pay more for even long term consultanst, than to pay market price for experienced developers. The reason explained was, that it is different budget line - HR does not want to "overpay" for emplyees, so consultancy is the only option.