...........Does a dollar spent on a Federal workforce generate more, less or the same level of productivity as that dollar spent in the private sector? Purely a guess on my part but I suspect the following comparative productivity scale:
Federal workforce - Low to medium
Private for profit workforce (contracted to government or subsidized by government) - Medium
Non-profit workforce (grants by government) - Low to Medium
Non-profit workforce (not dependent on government) - Medium
Private, for profit workforce (not contracted or subsidized by government) - High
We may not be able to put a dent in the debt or deficit but surely we can demand the highest level of productivity for every dollar spent.
The Federal workforce is incredibly productive.
And thanks to Congress, parts of the Federal workforce are totally unproductive. Particularly when it comes to incorporating new technology into government.
Almost all the significant technological innovations in recent years that have increased productivity have come Federal programs.
It wasn't Al Gore, but the internet did come from Federal programs. The GPS system has totally revolutionized mapping and surveying making so much more productive. Even self-driving cars came from a DARPA program. The concerning part is that so much of American innovation comes from the defense industry. The same goes for the biological sciences.
BUT almost everything done under a Federal contract or by Federal employees is in the public domain.
The Federal government doesn't get any royalties from the internet, GPS, or even the self-driving cars. USGS maps in the US are supplied to business at well below cost. It is one reason why GPS maps are so much better in the US than in Canada, where the government charges high fees for the use of government products.
If you look at ineffective Federal programs and "waste" and "abuse" in those programs can directly be linked back to Congress.
At my first professional job with the Forest Service, I walked by the accounting department and they were going nuts trying to balance the books to the nearest penny. I gallantly, offered the spare change in my pocket to balance the books.
I was told that I didn't understand, but somebody in Congress passed a law that the books for that program needed to be explained to the nearest penny. I suspect a Congressman ran for election and probably won when he said that he made the Forest Service account for every penny for this program. Right, so now the government is spending dollars to find pennies!!!
And my gallant offer to balance the books. Well, I suspect that would be considered fraud and of course an example of a Federal employee not following the law.
I have heard that Congress needs to stop writing laws that tell the Federal employees WHAT to do, and HOW to do it. Instead Congress needs to pass laws that tells Federal employees what they need to accomplish and do oversight to make sure it is accomplished in an efficient manner.
There is no reason for government agencies to be of low productivity. It is OUR government it can be whatever we want it to be.
