Another reason to reform government contracting with private companies, or do away with some of it, became clear this month.

Former employees of Blackwater, which contracted for much of the security in Iraq, said that the company promised $1 million to Iraqi officials if they would silence their criticism of the company following the shooting deaths of 17 citizens.

Blackwater received as much as $1 billion in contracts in Iraq from the U.S. government to provide protection for U.S. and Iraqi officials. In doing its job, the company earned a reputation in Iraq for taking the law into its own hands. Several times, Iraqi leaders said they did not want Blackwater in the country, and after the deaths of 17 civilians in 2007, leaders said that again. But they backed off their remarks later, which could be attributed to the alleged $1 million bribe.

Blackwater also has been accused of tax fraud and overbilling for services.

Advocates of government contracting contend private companies can provide goods and services cheaper than government can obtain them itself. That’s debatable when companies engage in fraudulent practices and create disreputable images of Americans in the countries where they serve.

In the last eight years, government spending on contracting has more than doubled, much of that still due to the U.S. military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to the Government Accountability Office last year, cost overruns totaled $295 billion over the life of the projects by 95 defense contractors.

In March, President Obama announced a reform of contracting oversight with new rules in place by this past July 1.

“We are spending money on things that we don’t need, and we are paying more than we need to pay, and that’s completely unacceptable,” the president said.

It’s not just unacceptable. It’s poor economics, and it’s time to reconsider much of the contracting that the government does, especially Defense contracting.