The question of whether or not a college education pays has been rumbling on the sidelines of reform discussions for some years. It got a renewed kick in the rear this week when PayPal co-founder, Facebook investor and billionaire Peter Thiel offered 20 promising young people a $100,000 not to go to college and insteadRead… Read more »
Maine has passed significant health insurance reform allowing for more interstate purchasing and insurance subsidies for some citizens. Amendments to the bill include measures to keep rates from rising in rural areas and will ensure that people do not have to travel long distances for health care. The measure passed the state Senate 24-10 andRead… Read more »
I recently did an OpEd on Yahoo News on my views of Medicare and some of the pending proposals to reform the system. As I was writing the article, I came to a somewhat startling conclusion. Check this link to see what it was: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20110512/pl_ac/8453683_near_retirement_govt_worker_will_forgo_medicare_1. How many other federal workers out there are concerned aboutRead… Read more »
When thinking about the Federal Hiring Process I think what a nightmare! Last year the Obama Administration ordered the federal recruitment and hiring process to be overhauled. In the Washington Post article, Making a few strides on hiring reform, Joe Davidson highlights the massive effort of the pilot online assessment program –Assess Pilot. According toRead… Read more »
What if the President and Congress made spending decisions based on what they wanted to achieve rather than on individual agencies and programs? That’s the premise of portfolio budgeting. Has its time arrived or is it still . . . A Pipe Dream? Maybe, but it is actually being done by other countries, such asRead… Read more »
This piece was originally published for Bloomberg Government on 03/11/2011. The Obama White House announced plans in December to transform the way federal information technology projects are managed and executed. Its 25-point implementation instructions to federal agencies include many good ideas, from the adoption of light technologies and shared services to aligning the budget andRead… Read more »
I am enjoying the ideas being generated to reform government at http://governmentreform.ideascale.com. Those who are interested can submit their ideas by April 15 and let OMB know what they think about the scope and effectiveness of government programs, areas of overlap and duplication, unmet needs, and possible cost savings. Check it out, but vote forRead… Read more »
As part of an effort to reform the federal acquisition process for technology, US Federal CIO, Vivek Kundra, unveiled an ambitious 25-point plan for addressing many of the issues that plaque the way the government purchases technology in hopes of delivering more value to the taxpayer. Part of the implementation plan was to counter theRead… Read more »
Two opposing views have emerged this week regarding communications with industry. According to Sen McCaskill (D-MO), chairwoman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s Contracting Oversight Subcommittee, the current relationship has apparently clouded the judgment of contracting officials to the point where objectivity has been compromised in contract award decisions. During a recentRead… Read more »
Vivek Kundra, U. S. Chief Information Officer, and Dan Gordon, Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy Federal IT contracts can be difficult to manage if the government’s requirements are not well-defined or are developed with incomplete information about the market; this often results in waste, delayed program delivery, and erosion of the value of IT investments.Read… Read more »