On Fri, 26 Aug 2011 12:36:51 -0400, "Robert Green"
wrote:


That's three bulleted list items that say the same thing. "First (second
and third) by eliminating the cumbersome bureaucratic red tape and the
redundant layers of supervision would streamline the task." Such a telling
error to make when discussing redundancy. It's a clue that private
citizens can be just as redundant as Federal employees.


Duck. There are Department of Redundancy Departments everywhere.

stuff snipped

In most cases, work has been
contracted out so politicians could get a sound bite that they 'reduced'
the number of government workers. They lied. All they did is sub the
work out. If I was benign dictator, number of employees would be defined
as the number of warm bodies in the building.

Yessir. I've been involved in lots of government contracting (lots of no
bid, special circumstance stuff, too) and I've never seen it save the
buckets of money people claim it will. Worse, still, there's just another
layer added to the process that often works out to confuse and delay the
work being done. Contracting out software is one of the worst areas because
once the contractor leaves or takes another job, good luck getting timely
maintenance from someone who understands the system. Oh, the eff-ups I've
seen with contracted software.

Much of the government contracting is pure corruption on all sides.
I saw something - can't vouch for the truth of it - about fed money
going to post-Katrina reconstruction.
The winning bidder - if it was even bid - skimmed about 30%.
Nobody knows how much was kicked back or in what form to the fed
bodies who let the contract.
Call him the "general."
Then he subbed the work to subs who subbed it further, each taking a
cut. The end workers were mostly illegals paid not much more than min
wage.
Googling Katrina contracts can reveal some of it, but I don't much
have the heart for it.
Contracting works well in business or government if there is a
dedicated and honest core staff overseeing it.
I was an IT contractor and I've seen it work.
Probably what the government needs is a Bureau of Contracting Bureau.
And its employees must be made to attend a School of Ethics School.

--Vic