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February 2008
February 29, 2008
Letter: CIO meeting's positivity not highlighted
I actually found the conference to be much more positive than this article represents in terms of accomplishments and how the CIOs are stepping up and taking on the complex challenges they face each and every day to protect our data, their users and the taxpayer's interests.
Letter: Reader displeased about use of RFID chips
This is sickening, [a radio frequency identification] chip the same as they use to implant into animals and now humans.
Letter: Civil servants are in the power seat of change
I think we need to recognize civil servants’ discretion to improve things without need of many new laws or regs. The bureaucrats make almost all the hires — that’s one of their best opportunities to improve the breed of civil servants.
Letter: New feds can learn from 'lifers' about implementing change
When my mentoring boss felt I had a handle on not only the specific area I was assigned to supervise but also how it fit into the larger picture he became my greatest supporter for change.
February 27, 2008
Letter: Stop stripping Americans of their privacy
A reader says we should enforce the laws already in place instead of finding new ways to take away Americans’ civil liberties.
February 25, 2008
Letter: Too much competition can be wasteful
A reader responds to a letter to the editor by saying that the government only needs a handful of contract vehicles to ensure healthy, productive competition.
Letter: Health benefits should be up to the company
A reader says the new law requiring agencies to ask contractors about the health benefits they offer their employees is a waste of resources.
Letter: Two-factor authentication is vulnerable
A reader says the jury is still out on whether dual-factor authentication can overcome its security weaknesses.
February 22, 2008
Letter: Army is wasting time by duplicating contract vehicles
Does it serve the interest of the taxpayer to have the Army crank up another [indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity]?
February 21, 2008
Letter: Outsourcing security is a bad idea
A reader argues that it makes more sense for civil service employees to handle security rather than spending their time training and overseeing contractors.
Letter: Degree required for acquisition workers
Regarding "In search of contracting officers": "...eliminate the requirement of a college degree... ." Did he really utter those words?
February 20, 2008
Letter: Delays in VA benefits part of a bigger problem
The VA intentionally, refuses to recognize the basic fact that humans are a compilation of systems. This results in unconscionable delays in veterans receiving deserved benefits, a tactic that is repugnant to American values.
Letter: USPTO has 'hoteling' program, not a flexible telework program
Many other patent professionals would prefer to keep their agency office space and have the flexibility to telework for two days per week, as the article showed one USPTO manager doing -- but the agency refuses to allow thousands of rank and file employees to do so.
Letter: Finding truth in exit interview unlikely
Procurement is a small world, and it doesn't take long for news to travel. So why would someone commit "career suicide" and tell why they're really leaving.
Letter: Step increases provide little financial boost in NSPS system
To me, these articles/blogs are very informative. But those of us who are in the lower [General Schedule] grades, who have reached step 10 receive nothing, other than the locality pay at the beginning of the year.
Letter: DNA authentication is best
A member of the intelligence community advocates relying on DNA scans — stored in a stand-alone system — because other authentication methods are vulnerable to tampering.
Letter: Charbo’s job was never easy
A reader says lawmakers should be ‘in the trenches’ rather than criticizing Scott Charbo’s efforts as DHS’ chief information officer.
Letter: NSPS misinterpreted
Some organizations in Europe have jumped on the NSPS bandwagon, only to change their minds later, one reader reports.
February 19, 2008
Letter: Our leaders must get serious about national security
A reader says Congress should penalize DHS for delaying a project to secure the country’s border with Mexico.
Letter: Security and monitoring go hand in hand
A reader says monitoring is a component of security and must be conducted with security in mind.
Letter: Walker will be missed
A reader praises the comptroller general for listening to employees and upholding sound fiscal management practices.
Letter: OPM should say what it means
OPM says it takes five years for a pay-for-performance system to be successful because that’s how long it takes for knowledgeable employees to retire or give up fighting for a fair system, according to one reader.
Letter: Walker's human-capital changes unsuccessful
Hopefully in his new job he will not continue to promote himself as a 'human capital expert' after the mess he made at GAO, leading to the first union in the agency's history.
Letter: Revolving background specialist announcements questioned
Agencies have announced, recruited and interviewed background specialists only to have the administration cancel the announcement and reopen.
Letter: Pay for performance is a 'zero-sum game'
Without more funds, the new system is a zero-sum game. If one person gets more someone else gets less! Just another beauty contest.
Letter: Added IP addresses with IPv6 useful for security
The services available with IPv6 do not exist in IPv4, which requires additional layers of application to be written, with often unanticipated consequences and few, if any, standards.
Letter: Collaboration suffers when performance pay objectives not well-established
The lack of a financial or profit motive in government makes pay for performance problematic because employees are not competing against another organization, so it tends to foster more internal competition.
Letter: Performance pay diminishes freedom, protection
Pay for performance eliminates protection from negative personnel actions by managers who can harass and fire employees who don't cooperate when asked to overlook policy violations. This is one of the most basic reasons government employees are needed.
Letter: Performance pay system needs more funding, restructuring
NSPS is constrained by funds available to award for performance, just like the demonstration projects of previous years. This forces supervisors to fit the actual performance and adjective grades of their employees into a "normal distribution model" to not give "too many" high marks.
Letter: Union, employees have little room to complain about pay increases
Given the reports earlier this month that AVERAGE pay increase for employees under the NSPS was in excess of 7 percent, I find it hard to understand the wailing, moaning and gnashing of teeth from government employees and their union representatives on this issue.
Letter: History repeats itself in pay- for-performance system
USDA tried the performance pay system in the 1980's; it was called the General Merit system. It failed because additional funding was not provided for true merit raises.
Letter: E-filing won’t take off until it’s free
A reader argues that taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay companies to file their tax returns.
February 14, 2008
Letter: IRS needs to set up direct e-filing
One reader says third-party providers charge outrageous fees to file tax returns electronically.
Letter: Vigilance is the key to stopping espionage
One reader expresses concerns about foreign nationals working at government agencies and says feds should have ongoing training in all aspects of security.
February 13, 2008
Letter: DOD workers lose out under NSPS
A reader says employees at civilian agencies are guaranteed annual pay increases, unlike their DOD counterparts.
Letter: NSPS will never work
A reader says that if the government wants an evaluation system that works, it should adapt the Army’s approach.
February 12, 2008
Letter: How much are contractors paid to overlook the obvious?
A reader says DHS and Boeing ignored basic tenets of IT development when working on SBInet.
February 11, 2008
Letter: An opportunity to consolidate clearances
A reader says the need to integrate the suitability and security clearance processes has not been addressed before, but the effort could save money.
Letter: It’s cheaper to mail my tax return
A reader takes issue with IRS’ e-filing fees.
Letter: A question of manipulation
A reader responds to a story about large firms taking contract dollars intended for small companies.
February 7, 2008
Letter: The reality of the clearance backlog
People need to understand the impact that the security clearance backlog is having on individual lives, writes one reader.
February 5, 2008
Letter: Bosses don’t like ‘bad news’
One reader says he’s hesitant to trust political appointees’ reports to OPM about the success of NSPS.
Letter: Bush is setting the stage for a health care showdown
One reader says the president wasn’t up to the task of making Medicare more efficient so he’s leaving it to his successor to tackle the problem.
February 4, 2008
Letter: Ferriss’ ideas ring true
A reader who started a company to provide support to busy professionals finds much to agree with in Judy Welles’ review of “The 4-Hour Work Week.”
Letter: NSPS is a betrayal of government employees
One reader says NSPS is nothing more than an attempt to “diminish wages, steal retirements, hoodwink faithful employees and steal from civil service employees.”
February 1, 2008
Letter: Determining official business use of Internet will create more red tape
One of my concerns is: I'm able to obtain information from the Internet that's relevant to the support I provide today and the support I will likely be providing in the future. Web sites like this one keep us all informed of today's and tomorrow's needs.
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