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Is the Federal Government the Most Interesting Tech Startup For 2009?
With all of the recent focus on technology and the promises to continue "getting stuff done" by the US government, Techdirt's Masnick suggests that they might just be the most interesting tech startup to watch this year. "But, of course, talk is cheap (especially in politics). And, while Chopra (and Vivek Kundra, the government's CIO) both actually have a nice track record of accomplishing these sorts of goals in their past jobs, the proof is in what's actually getting done. We'd already mentioned at least one success story with the IT dashboard at USASpending.gov, but can it continue? I have to admit, a second thing that impressed me about Chopra was that, even with such a success, he didn't focus on it. The fact that he got together such a site in such a short period of time is impressive enough, and while he mentioned it in his talks, most of them were much more focused not on what he'd already done, but on what he was going to do — and the plans all seemed quite achievable.
I thought the days of Haliburten were over ...
What would make you believe that? Because the Democrats are in charge? Pa-lease. That just means the no-bid contracts will be going to their friends instead of those of the GOP.
Amazing how the new kind of politics looks and smells a lot like the old, isn't it?
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
If your idea of interesting is running 10 year old operating systems on 15 year old hardware then yes it is interesting.
If your idea of interesting is trying to run something new and being shut down by 10 year old policies, having the network gate keeper with the only word in there vocabulary is no then yes it is interesting.
If you think its so interesting head on over to usajobs.gov and waste some of your life. I'm heading back to private industry where were driven by profit or efficiency. Find the problem own the problem fix the problem. Not find the problem sit in two and half years of meetings discussing the problem and one day we can actually devote some funds to fixing the problem... 3-4 years later.
They should work with Obama to get executive orders and statutes written to position the federal government's management to not only hire 1099s like the private sector can, but to have that become the norm.
That will never happen. The public sector unions are huge supporters of the Democratic Party. Care to take a wild guess as to what they would think about a plan to increase the number of independent contractors working for government?
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
They should work with Obama to get executive orders and statutes written to position the federal government's management to not only hire 1099s like the private sector can, but to have that become the norm.
As someone who has worked a portion of their life living off of 1099s, I have to frown on that simply because contract work does not induce economic stability if done on a large enough scale. People want permanent jobs (well most people).
Living off of contracts month to month is great when you are young because you can take as much vacation as you need and you don't have to worry about having a boss you don't like for that long.
But sometimes work gets slow and you have to turn to other work besides IT especially in a down turn.
I've always believed in having internal IT not because of the efficiency aspect but because it provides economic stability for those involved. Its more of an ethical thing to me.
I'd rather have my tax dollars go to that.
"I am the king of the Romans, and am superior to rules of grammar!"
-Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (1368-1437)
I thought the defining features of a startup were being small and not having any money.
There's companies out there like that? Every one I've ever worked at has been find the problem, pass the buck, blame others, pass again, hire an outside consultant too much to fix the problem, let him do a half assed job, declare success, give the manager in charge a bonus. Private is no better than government, government just has more due to scale and gets more publicity on their problems.
I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
you ever thought of what would happen without government? Lessee... The government runs the vast majority of water and sewer plants. No clean water to drink. Raw sewage in our rivers and lakes. The government controls the airways. Do you really want anarchy in the skies when you fly? The government builds virtually all of the roads in the US. Want to go back to the days of the toll roads of the last century? (Do some historical research first.) The government mandates most of the safety features on cars. Want to go back to the death traps of 1950s cars? The government provides fire fighting, EMS, and police protection. Read up on what used to happen when firefighters were private. So please, think before you drink any more Rush koolaid, OK? "Starving the beast" makes great rhetoric, but it's downright dumb as an idea and a way to live.
Spending $18,000,000.00 of my money is funny!?
No, its not. The US Federal Government has been in business continuously since the late 18th Century. Its not, by any sane standard, a startup.
It remains, as it has been for the whole time compting has existed, one of the biggest customers for (and funders of) new computing technology, and any major initiatives it has in that area will have potentially wide-ranging impact on the industry, but an established institution engaging in one or more new technology initiatives is a different beast than a tech startup.
initially:
AND in the end:
Gov't the new tech startup? This is looking bad. Really bad.
Also labor laws that keep your employer from killing you for the sake of money; environmental laws - before the EPA you could NOT drive past Monsanto in Sauget with the windows down, even in 100 degree heat and no AC; government is there to write and enforce laws that protect me from you.
Anyone should be able to see from the Bush/Cheney years what happens when you have people who think government is always the problem running the government.
Good job, Brownie.
Free Martian Whores!
Ah yes. It's not so much the government that is the problem, it's those who run the government...
So you're telling me that there aren't any other qualified people out there who offered to build the site for less than $18,000,000? I find that hard to believe since even if they did it for $4,000,000 they would have a massive profit on it. Surely someone would have offered a better deal.
Oh well, the CIO position just mirrors so much of the rest of America. Either offshore all tech/information jobs or bring in cheap labor from India, like Kundra. I know some might take that as a racist comment. Or at least, their only defense for the guy is accusing those who question is position of racism... but really, what the hell ARE his qualifications? He's very young. He doesn't have much experience. And listening to him talk... he doesn't even have a clue what he's rambling about.
Only if more people vote for the union than vote against it. That's what elections mean, whether the votes are cast by checking a card or by raising a hand or by super-secret, computer-tallied, proprietary Sequoia machines.
Remember, the decline of the number of union workers in the US exactly tracks the decline of real income of American workers, which has been inexorable since the election of Ronald Reagan (who coincidentally, was also anti-union). People who like to spread FUD about unions and organized labor generally really ought to take a look at how organized labor was instrumental in creating a prosperous middle class in America who could count out safe working conditions and reasonable working hours. You can also bet that the people who are most decidedly opposed to organized labor really would rather the middle and working classes be a little less prosperous.
You are welcome on my lawn.
"I thought the days of Haliburten were over ..."
And, not to put too fine a point on it, the services contract to which you refer WAS bid. Companies bid on the cost of their services - labor rates, markup on subcontractors, etc. They won it. Did there scope increase dramatically with the start of the war? Sure. But the only differences between KBR and, say, Bechtel doing the work are:
1) We would have paid MORE for Bechtel
2) No one would have heard about it because of the lack of connection to Cheney
"As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly." A. Carlson
Right. Besides the aqueducts, medicine, roads, and irrigation, the bully has given us nothing!
Disclaimer: MINAA (Mummy! I'm Not An Animal!)
"Free flight" over the Pacific is one thing. Do you really want to free flight at, say, O'Hare? As for the fire departments, even volunteer fire departments have to comply with standards, and only the firefighters are volunteers. The facility, engines, and training are likely paid for by taxes. I don't know of a single FD that is run out of someone's living room, using private vehicles. I don't believe the gov't is the answer to all our problems, just as I don't believe it is the source of all problems. Government does certain things very, very well, and others poorly. Just like private industry. I refuse the neocon mantra that all government is a cesspool of waste and private industry is always the knight in shining armor.
Only if more people vote for the union than vote against it. That's what elections mean, whether the votes are cast by checking a card or by raising a hand or by super-secret, computer-tallied, proprietary Sequoia machines.
Except if you make me raise my hand in front of my co-workers and boss I'm potentially subject to intimidation and coercion by either side. Tell me, why are the Union folks so eager to see the elimination of the secret ballot?
People who like to spread FUD about unions and organized labor generally really ought to take a look at how organized labor was instrumental in creating a prosperous middle class in America who could count out safe working conditions and reasonable working hours.
And people who drink the Union kool-aid really ought to look a hard look at the downsides of organized labor. Tell me, would you rather work somewhere that rewards you for competence or somewhere that rewards you based on seniority? Guess which system is more likely under the unionized shop?
Unions were necessary back in the day. Anybody who has ever taken a tour of an old coal mine and seen the working conditions those poor bastards worked under can attest to that. The problem is that many of the Unions ceased to be about the workers a long time ago. Now they are all about protecting the institution and expanding it's power and reach. This tends to happen with most organizations after awhile and is one of the many reasons why I'm skeptical of unions.
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
I think you missed the phrase "ongoing technical needs", and, additionally, have failed to consider that the overall technical staff needs of a very large organization (like the government) may be far less variable than the technical staffing needs of individual units of such an organization.
Also, as far as dealing with "surge" needs, its really not hard to shed government employees that are hired for limited-term positions -- which exist in most civil service systems, including, I believe, the federal system -- when the term of those positions expire.