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"I remember reading horror stories on Slashdot a dozen years ago of how government IT contractors were paid so much and did all the work because full-timers wer
by pmorici 10y ago
"I remember reading horror stories on Slashdot a dozen years ago of how government IT contractors were paid so much and did all the work because full-timers were supposedly incompetent and wishing there were some way this could change."
I think this is an often repeated phrase that amounts to a political talking point used by people who want the government to outsource more work to private contractors than might otherwise be fiscally prudent.
- stephenhuey 10y agoYes, I definitely don't want to reinforce that and I do agree that narrative is used to give work to more contractors than necessary (I was just using that to paint a portrait of how people perceive contractors versus government employees). Someone in the Marines isn't paid a lot in cash for what they do, but they do enjoy well-deserved honor and satisfaction in serving in a mission and other intangibles. I know there's a big difference between military and other government workers (members of the military put their lives on the line a lot more), but I do think that just as a Marine enjoys dignity in their work, it is possible to shift the perception of other government workers and give the positions more dignity by raising recruiting standards, empowering the workers to take on more responsibility and playing a stronger role in fulfilling the mission.
- maxxxxx 10y agoIt's probably hard to be proud of your work when you know that at least half of your bosses (congress and a lot of political appointees) passionately hate that the fact that your job exists. I doubt that the quality of people the military hires is much different from the quality but military people know their service is appreciated.