Federal employee unions are complaining that replacing government workers with contractors does not actually save money. According to the unions, which sites some cases that seem to confirm their theory, contractors get the jobs by underbidding them, losing money for the first year. By the time the contract comes up for a new bid, the original government employees have all found other jobs (inside the government or out) and cannot easily be given the mission, so the contractor suddenly increases the price of the contract and the government is stuck without any reasonable alternative.--Stephen V Cole