Recovery.gov Description FAIL

It's now showing up all over the social web and in news reports. The government run website Recovery.gov -- which was set up to help the public hold government accountable for stimulus spending -- lists a stimulus contract awarded to Clougherty Packing LLC for $1.19M for the listed service of "2 pound frozen ham sliced."

Read as stated, this description leads one to believe that the U.S. government spent nearly $1.2M for 2 pounds of ham ...sliced.

Now, as has since been clarified via a press release from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, "2 pound" refers to the individual size of each of the 760,000 pounds of ham that were actually purchased -- not just one very very expensive ham.

In putting out their press release, the USDA has completely missed the point as have most media outlets.

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