If a Government goes "hog wild" spending in February it could be because that is about the time the Departments get their money - the Appropriations Act being signed later and later in the Fiscal Year and then having to get the apportionments approved before having access to full-year funding. Prior to that, the funds they have access to are restricted - there is limited access to funds for supplies and subsequently many employees purchase ordinary office supplies out-of-pocket.
Also, the money for computers is a part of the Salaries & Expenses appropriations. You may not be aware of this, but budget offices have to deal with an increase in salaries the beginning of January without having gotten additional money in the Appropriations Act to support it (budgets being based on "current" [read prior-year] salaries).
I don't agree with departments receiving "much less" money following a year when they didn't obligate 100% of their funds, it is more than likely that reductions occur having nothing to do with the spending ratios. There are a large variety of reasons why funding levels differ from year to year and I won't bore anyone by going into them.
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If a Government goes "hog wild" spending in February it could be because that is about the time the Departments get their money - the Appropriations Act being signed later and later in the Fiscal Year and then having to get the apportionments approved before having access to full-year funding. Prior to that, the funds they have access to are restricted - there is limited access to funds for supplies and subsequently many employees purchase ordinary office supplies out-of-pocket. Also, the money for computers is a part of the Salaries & Expenses appropriations. You may not be aware of this, but budget offices have to deal with an increase in salaries the beginning of January without having gotten additional money in the Appropriations Act to support it (budgets being based on "current" [read prior-year] salaries). I don't agree with departments receiving "much less" money following a year when they didn't obligate 100% of their funds, it is more than likely that reductions occur having nothing to do with the spending ratios. There are a large variety of reasons why funding levels differ from year to year and I won't bore anyone by going into them.