When is the last time the Federal Government asked you what you want it to do? Been a while, hasn’t it?
Here is yet another example of how elections really do matter. The Trump administration, via Mick Mulvaney and his Office of Management and Budget, wants your input.
They set up a web page on the White House website and are asking for suggestions from citizens on how to make our federal government “more efficient, effective, and accountable to the American public.”
They want you to name names. They are asking for details. If you have seen a federal agency that is not operating at, shall we say, “peak efficiency”, here’s your chance to do something about it. Trump and Mulvaney want to know which agencies, boards, and commissions are screwing up, wasting money, or are no longer even necessary, and visitors to the website are encouraged to share their ideas and solutions in detail.
In addition, citizens are asked to weigh in on federal government management reform and reorganization of the government. How damn refreshing is that?
It’s hard to resist the temptation to “select all” for elimination or reform and hit enter. So I zeroed in on all the departments and agencies related to the Indian Reservation debacle.
Rumor has it that Mulvaney and his team are also planning to “tech up” the government to modern business standards, something I have advocated for years.
Information technology (IT) advancements have been at the center of a transformation in how the private sector operates—and revolutionized the efficiency, convenience, and effectiveness with which it serves its customers. The Federal Government largely has missed out on that transformation due to poor management of technology investments, with IT projects too often costing hundreds of millions of dollars more than they should, taking years longer than necessary to deploy, and delivering technologies that are obsolete by the time they are completed. We are working to close the resulting gap between the best performing private sector organizations and the federal government.
— Office of E-Government and Information Technology
Of course asking for input and actually using it are two very different things. But I find it flattering to even be asked, after two terms of total arrogance in the executive office.
So I hope you will take a few minutes and look over the long list of agencies. Consider whether the National Endowment for the Arts is still deserving of taxpayer support, and check yes or no.
Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side
Do you love me,
Do you want to be my friend?
And if you do
Well then don’t be afraid to take me by the hand
If you want to
I think this is how love goes
Check yes or no
Tom Balek - Rockin' On The Right Side 