The Week in Comments: Census questions, government rallies and the hiring process
The best in reader reaction to recent articles.
A roundup of some of the comments received this week in the GovExec.com Mailbag. All comments are presented in their original, unedited form.
On Census must change to survive
Why not collect most of the census information in the same fatal swoop with income tax. One mailing.
As a genealogist, I was shocked to see how little information is actually being recorded in the latest census. Gone are the crucial pieces of information necessary to track family history such as: birthplace of parents, languages they spoke, occupation, education, etc. The federal census is THE PRIME starting place for family history research. Please restore this type of information for all future census collection.
Here is a thought: Your Census should ask, "How many individuals reside in your household". That's it! Nothing else is your business!
Let's hope that the Census Bureau takes notice and changes. I made the mistake of listing my cell phone on the census form- for months they have called me wanteing to "verify" the information I already told them. Never again.
On Bush will discuss Iraq, 9/11, financial crisis in book
Just PLEASE don't make this an "its everyone else's fault" type read. Not that I will read it anyway...
The current occupant of the White House is making Bush look better and better with each passing day.
On 'Don't ask, don't tell' divides secretaries, commanders
I suspect this is mostly a generational issue. Most younger people I know could not care less about someone's race or sexual preference.
Mark is correct. It seems the young people have been heavily influenced all of their lives by liberal teachers, professors and media to support the gay agenda. Despite this, the military is not the apprpriate place for social experimentation. With age and experience it is easier to understand that well intention acts often have unitended and distructive consequences.
any "official" government opinion on homosexuality is unconstitutional, and violates the separation of church and state. All legal injunctions against homosexuality are based on religious positions, and this should not be ok with anyone of any faith
Air Force Secretary Michael Donley said Unit cohesion "does not depend on gender or orientation; it depends on conduct," I agree. Regardless of sexual preference, a soldier is and should be focused on the job while on duty. The "Don't ask, don't tell" law is a homophobic hang-up and should be repealed. Sexual activity has no place in the workplace or battlefield and offenders should be punished appropriately.
On Social Security employees get bonus Thanksgiving holiday
It is not fair that only "some" Federal Employees get an extra day off. Is this a fair goverment? NO
If one agency is going to have Friday OFF then ALL should have the same.
Does an agency even have the authority to give all of their non-emergency workers a paid day off? I am a Navy civilian (and have 26 years in various government agencies) - and do not think the day after a holiday was given by an individual agency - only by executive order from the president for all federal personnel/agencies.
On Burning Question: Would you rally to defend government?
This is a great idea, but unfortunately it will be drowned in the publicity over the other marches on Saturday. It would be nice to use a day like Veteran's Day for this, or even better, Public Service Recognition Week.
If, on my government salary, I could afford to get to WDC, I'd join the rally. However, I do believe that government is too big; primarily because the American voter and Congress have acted like it is the government's job to address every woe they have. An attitude like that, for more than 100 years, creates a really big government.
This is mindbogling. Some folks have taken the position of defending a non-defensible position. Let's face it, government does suck. It is unresponsive, oversized, indecisive, corrupt in many areas such as campaign funds, lobbying, stuffing pork into bills, etc, takes money from the people who earn it and deserve it and gives it to those who don't, is too unwieldly to funtion efficiently, and costs too much to operate. How on earth can anyone defend a position that it does not suck? These people need to get jobs and look at life from the productive side of the fence.
No, I wouldn't rally to defend government. Government is not reason, it is not eloquent, it is force. And like fire, it is both a dangerous servant and a fearful master.
I would if the organizers had found a mature slogan.
On Federal travel spending site takes flight
So now training is a "mundane category"? Great, this is all we need - another second guessing out of context web site with an anti-government bias. That's the only thing transparent about it.
Lovely. While I have seen instances of waste, I have a hard enough time getting authorization to travel, or getting authorization for my staff to travel, without having someone else looking over my shoulder and scrutinizing my vouchers.
Why doesn't the Federal government do more video-conferencing? Seems to me that would be cheaper than travel.
On Postmaster general steps down
Now if they would just sell the postal service to UPS it might work out. But first they must let the Postal Service go into bankruptcy (not the way GM did)and void all union contracts. That way UPS can start over and pay what the job will allow, not what the union wants to extort.
Everything happens for a reason... Timing is of the essence.. We must embrace change & strive for excellence in all that we do.. There is no "I" in "Team". We must all work together to succeed in this organization.
Nice of him to step down now. After he bankrupts the postal service. When he came on board there was a huge surplus. He managed to get his salary doubled during his tenure as well as about $600,000 in bonuses and perks yearly added to his $250,000 salary. I guess with all that he can afford to step down. I only wish I could come up with some kind of scheme to increase my earnings and receive some kind of bonus (any kind of bonus) where I work a bonus is only earned if the organization showed some kind of profit (yes I am speaking of a gov entity.)
On Official says Army must expedite civilian hiring process
This is good news for the Army and civilian workforce in general. The Federal Govt must work to attract and develop IT professionals if we are to stay at the leading edge of tech, and also be self sufficient. Its sad that we keep having to contact out for all of our IT services. We need to build that capability and core competency inhouse. Up front cost could be high, but the long term payoff would out weigh initial investment.
Expediting the civilian hiring process is great. Transparency into and control of the process is essential. This should apply accross the board to include internal hiring.
How about the US Army consolidate all the staffing software systems into one? How about the US Army put a time limit on how long supervisors/managers/unions get to review a PD or a series of applications? Just this alone will remove a lot of the time you are looking to save.
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