4 ms·

Billions of dollars is a massive overestimate. It will indeed cost dozens of millions, but billions? Come on. We're not building the F-35 here.

DigiDigiorno 3y ago
Look up the cost of the healthcare.gov website project* People complain about government contractor costs for a reason *Last I checked it was north of a billion in 2014 dollars
- toomuchtodo 3y ago
  Great example. It was the genesis of the US Digital Service and 18F. Complaints are valid, but so should be recognition that the government took rapid action to course correct. Promises made, promises kept. https://www.usds.gov/report-to-congress/2016/healthcare-dot-gov/ https://www.usds.gov/report-to-congress/2016/healthcare-dot-... (US Digital Service: Stabilizing and Improving HealthCare.gov) https://archive.is/Boysy https://archive.is/Boysy (Washington Post: White House launches ‘U.S. Digital Service,’ with HealthCare.gov fixer at the helm) https://www.usds.gov/report-to-congress/2016/projects/ https://www.usds.gov/report-to-congress/2016/projects/ https://www.itdashboard.gov/reports https://www.itdashboard.gov/reports And a project close to my heart as an identity/auth wonk: https://login.gov https://login.gov
- tzs 3y ago
  Healthcare.gov on the backend had to interface with systems from a bunch of different government agencies and companies. Many of those systems had not been designed to interface to other agency and company systems. They all had their own APIs and data formats. That all greatly increased the complexity of the project. An IRS e-filing system would just be adding a public interface for taxpayers to a system they already have.
deanmoriarty 3y ago
It will absolutely cost more than a billion dollars. Have you seen the cost of other government web services?
- TedDoesntTalk 3y ago
  And, like all software, it is not a one-time cost. Maintaining a system like this is an ongoing cost for decades to come. Well-spent money.
RajT88 3y ago
Yeah, the article states some range between 64 million and a few hundred million. But over the course of years, total costs will surely be over a billion. I'm happy to indulge the lobbyist quote in that spirit.
maybelsyrup 3y ago
> We're not building the F-35 here. That's true -- one potential upside of the IRS plan is that an online tax submission site cannot constantly crash into the ocean.

DigiDigiorno 3y ago

Look up the cost of the healthcare.gov website project* People complain about government contractor costs for a reason *Last I checked it was north of a billion in 2014 dollars

toomuchtodo 3y ago
Great example. It was the genesis of the US Digital Service and 18F. Complaints are valid, but so should be recognition that the government took rapid action to course correct. Promises made, promises kept. https://www.usds.gov/report-to-congress/2016/healthcare-dot-gov/ https://www.usds.gov/report-to-congress/2016/healthcare-dot-... (US Digital Service: Stabilizing and Improving HealthCare.gov) https://archive.is/Boysy https://archive.is/Boysy (Washington Post: White House launches ‘U.S. Digital Service,’ with HealthCare.gov fixer at the helm) https://www.usds.gov/report-to-congress/2016/projects/ https://www.usds.gov/report-to-congress/2016/projects/ https://www.itdashboard.gov/reports https://www.itdashboard.gov/reports And a project close to my heart as an identity/auth wonk: https://login.gov https://login.gov
tzs 3y ago
Healthcare.gov on the backend had to interface with systems from a bunch of different government agencies and companies. Many of those systems had not been designed to interface to other agency and company systems. They all had their own APIs and data formats. That all greatly increased the complexity of the project. An IRS e-filing system would just be adding a public interface for taxpayers to a system they already have.

deanmoriarty 3y ago

It will absolutely cost more than a billion dollars. Have you seen the cost of other government web services?

TedDoesntTalk 3y ago
And, like all software, it is not a one-time cost. Maintaining a system like this is an ongoing cost for decades to come. Well-spent money.

RajT88 3y ago

Yeah, the article states some range between 64 million and a few hundred million. But over the course of years, total costs will surely be over a billion. I'm happy to indulge the lobbyist quote in that spirit.

maybelsyrup 3y ago

> We're not building the F-35 here. That's true -- one potential upside of the IRS plan is that an online tax submission site cannot constantly crash into the ocean.