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Return to Article: Administration modifies definition of success in job competition effort

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  Did the administration finally figure out that it bit off more than it could chew? Granted, it wasn't this administration that started this contracting out nonsense but this one has taken the ball and is running with it at full speed without looking in front of it to see that it's about to crash into the goal post.

  Why doesn't the administration just admit that it was unrealistic to expect all these different agencies to all be able to just contract out 15 percent of their jobs at the snap of a finger? And who decides what jobs can be contracted out anyway? Certainly not people who actually do any of the work in those jobs. Rather, you have political cronies making most of these decisions with perhaps some token input from civil service managers who are as out of touch with what goes on down here where the real work of agencies is being done as the political cronies.

  By the time the administration figures out that contracting out 425,000 federal jobs just isn't going to happen, there will be a new administration.

  Chancellor Carlyle Roberts, II Posted June 3, 2003 9:22 AM
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  This is a prime example of why Congress does not want to give DoD or any other agency control of the civilian work force. Bush is not making his stated goals, so he simply changes the definition to try rather than do. They will apply the same criterion to personnel - you get a big raise, if you try - you don't have to do! Therefore, the friends of the political appointees only have to try, they don't have to achieve. We need a Harry Truman who will adopt the NIKE statement of "Just do it!" At least the government - even in bad programs - needs a goal of do it not try to do it.

  GovExec.com reader Posted May 27, 2003 8:04 AM