Comments on: Startup to Overhaul $700 Billion Government Payments Program?

Startup to Overhaul $700 Billion Government Payments Program?

subdee — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 10:01:49 -0800

On April 17, Christopher Bing and Avi Asher-Schapiro of ProPublica reported that the administration is looking to replace the federal government's $700 billion internal expense card program, known as SmartPay, with a contract awarded to the private company Ramp. Ramp is backed by investment firms tied to Trump and Musk.

While administration officials insist that SmartPay is wasteful, both Republican and Democratic budget experts say that's wrong, according to Bing and Asher-Schapiro. "SmartPay is the lifeblood of the government," former General Services Administration commissioner Sonny Hashmi told the reporters. "It's a well-run program that solves real world problems...with exceptional levels of oversight and fraud prevention already baked in." "There's a lot of money to be made by a new company coming in here," said Hashmi. "But you have to ask: What is the problem that's being solved?"

By: subdee

subdee — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 10:08:17 -0800

The new system will use "AI" to identify supposed waste, fraud and abuse. Because of course it will.

By: jedicus

jedicus — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 10:11:19 -0800

Ramp charges an interchange fee of something like 1.5 - 2%. Even assuming the government got a bulk discount down to 1%, that would still be over $7 billion per year, about 5% of DOGE's total "savings". And of course, once Ramp has its hooks in, it would have every incentive to ratchet up those fees. I would expect DOGE goons to push for the wholesale deletion of the SmartPay system, to ensure that there's no way back once the government is literally on the Ramp.

By: star gentle uterus

star gentle uterus — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 10:26:01 -0800

This is concerning, the DOJ should investigate.

By: Dr. Twist

Dr. Twist — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 10:35:27 -0800

The new system will use "AI" to identify supposed waste, fraud and abuse. Because of course it will. My work uses an expense processing system that claims to do the same. Mostly what it does is make headaches.

By: TheWhiteSkull

TheWhiteSkull — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 10:41:31 -0800

This is concerning, the DOJ should investigate. If only the President knew!

By: evilDoug

evilDoug — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 10:43:34 -0800

This is concerning, the DOJ should investigate. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Oh, you mean seriously?!

By: adamsc

adamsc — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 10:43:45 -0800

It looks like the current overhead rate is under a tenth of a percent based on the article, and I bet even these guys might hesitate before jacking that up too much. AI is perfect for their needs because they can tack on a huge charge for advanced fraud detection and the huge number of false-positives can be politicized as proof of widespread fraud for an audience which won't hear about the inevitable retractions.

By: Pedantzilla

Pedantzilla — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 11:20:09 -0800

Holy shit, this has DISASTER written all over it!

By: wenestvedt

wenestvedt — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 11:25:13 -0800

It's like someone has never used that exemplar of Thoroughly Modern Expenses & Payments platforms, Concur -- which, of course, completely sucks.

By: toodleydoodley

toodleydoodley — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 11:47:07 -0800

Who could have foreseen th—

By: windbox

windbox — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 12:02:47 -0800

You know what's funny is you look at a democratic socialist country like Norway and their sovereign wealth fund and that's an actual facet of government truly being run like a business - literally it is a team of portfolio managers and quant analysts making investments trying to get optimal returns like Blackrock or Vanguard would. And then in America "running the government like a business" means pointing out everything is wasteful under some bullshit pretense of "generating efficiency" so you can hire your stupid fucking cronies and their stupid pointless fucking start up to fuck everything up but hell yeah we got the contract, bro!

By: pthomas745

pthomas745 — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 12:24:24 -0800

"How Can I Steal Your Money If You Are Going To Be Watching?"

By: caution live frogs

caution live frogs — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 12:25:57 -0800

wenestvedt: "It's like someone has never used that exemplar of Thoroughly Modern Expenses & Payments platforms, Concur -- which, of course, completely sucks." Oh my god does it ever. That system is complete and utter garbage. Every time I need to submit travel expense records I curse Concur and wish ill upon all who had a hand in spawning that ill-begotten website. Nothing in the system is logical, every action you take feels as if you're doing it wrong, and if it feels as if you did it CORRECTLY guess what, you didn't. There's a whole section that lists all your travel expenses and you can upload receipts there. BUT GUESS WHAT that is the WRONG place, you need to go into a completely different section that looks EXACTLY THE SAME and enter your receipts THERE instead. Why? Because who knows, that's why.

By: clavdivs

clavdivs — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 14:18:53 -0800

Next, back to the gold standard.

By: MtDewd

MtDewd — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 15:37:06 -0800

To be fair, it's easier to find fraud and abuse if you're the one doing it.

By: opinions

opinions — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 15:41:52 -0800

I have nothing to add to the trash fire that is overhauling the government payment program, but I just wanted to share that used to work with folks who pronounced it "Conquer" and I really enjoyed that.

By: TheWhiteSkull

TheWhiteSkull — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 16:05:21 -0800

Next, back to the gold standard. Balderdash! Bimetalism is the only way to preserve the Republic!

By: clavdivs

clavdivs — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 16:50:31 -0800

Secretary of the Treasury:Yukon Cornelius.

By: 1adam12

1adam12 — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 17:28:43 -0800

Bimetalism is the only way to preserve the Republic! We don't accept electrum pieces here, traveler.

By: eustatic

eustatic — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 19:55:50 -0800

They are looting.

By: DeepSeaHaggis

DeepSeaHaggis — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 21:06:35 -0800

WFA (What Fucking Assholes)

By: numaner

numaner — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 07:56:44 -0800

I just wanted to share that used to work with folks who pronounced it "Conquer" and I really enjoyed that. My wife pronounces it like that, because people that taught her the system says that, and when I inquired why don't pronounce it like the verb, she shrugged, apparently no one looks at the name and think of the verb for some reason.

By: JohnFromGR

JohnFromGR — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 12:27:56 -0800

All watched over by machines of loving grace.

By: thecincinnatikid

thecincinnatikid — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 15:25:23 -0800

This is concerning, the DOJ should investigate. But not, like, before becoming investors.

By: wenestvedt

wenestvedt — Thu, 01 May 2025 15:13:26 -0800

The word "concur" implies agreement and comity; "conquer" implies ruthless humiliation and pitiless contempt. Users of this expense-tracking software will all have a preference for one of those two associations....and I am putting my betting money on the second one.