I work for the government and this strip describes more than one project I have been on. Though as the engineer I was the one deciding to buy double. I alwasy have all of my techs ready with shopping lists. As soon as any money frees up (expiring, doomed project, etc), we buy like there's no tomorrow. Sometimes it is the only way to get the correct tools as no one wants to buy stuff used on multiple projects. It isn't gouging. It is planning for the future.