GSA Emails Recount Inside Story of Exploding Toilets

First time accepted submitter v3rgEz writes "Six months ago, the toilets of the General Services Administration started exploding, injuring two employees and beginning the agency's spiral down the drain of bad press (this is the same GSA now under fire for pricey Vegas conference flings). E-mails just released under FOIA now show the culprit: Compressed air + ancient plumbing + leaving it all unattended."

Comments

Bad Press or Bad Behavior?

[codepunk]

The GSA is a prime example of why raising taxes on anyone I don't care what class is beyond stupid.

Re:Bad Press or Bad Behavior?

[girlintraining]

The GSA is a prime example of why raising taxes on anyone I don't care what class is beyond stupid.

Be thankful you don't get all the government you pay for.

Re:Bad Press or Bad Behavior?

[Anonymous Coward]

That assumes there would be no consequences from the elimination of the GSA. Their budget is about 20 billion. You're flipping out over a tiny portion of it, and ignoring the other work they do because you have no personal experience with their functions.

Keep making assumptions like that. After all, if you don't recognize the benefits, it can't be that important. The GSA actually does a lot to avoid excess duplication of effort on the part of the other government agencies, even including those who you would support.

And your concept of the EU is...amusing. The reasons they are separate nations is cultural and historical, not because of any deliberate political decisions, and no, they will not be adopting your libertarian wet dream.

Mostly because they realize there's more to good government than national defense and highways. I don't know why, maybe it's because they think about power generation, environmental pollution, health care and the like. And sometimes, it's a bigger concern than a single US state can handle. Heck, sometimes the US even has to work with other countries in a co-operative framework.

Damn centralization! It gets in the way of anarchist individuality which means somebody somewhere is being coerced! To Arms!

Re:Bad Press or Bad Behavior?

[Darinbob]

I'm sorry, when my toilet is spewing sewage and the plumber asks for money to fix it, that's pretty heavy handed coercion!

I don't understand this rabid anti-tax stance. You get something in return for taxes, maybe not as much as we'd like but it's a necessity. If no one is taxed then you have no roads, no sewage, no water, no defense, no social security or medicare, no police, no fire departments, no free schools, etc. Unless you're wealthy of course and just buy your own.

The point of the GSA is to centralize administrative services and save money. Maybe they can be better at it but if you throw them out the deficit gets worse. As for Vegas conferences, these occurred every year in the past as well, and they were damned expensive even when Bush was president, and yet people are treating this like it's suddenly a new thing.

One thing I find amusing is that cities that have outsourced government services and end up paying more in the long run, and some folk actually claim to be happier this way because even though they pay more taxes at least there are fewer direct government employees. The logic is absurd and does not make sense until you understand that politics is just another form of religion.

It really is Rome all over again

[mc6809e]

A corrupt government allows one of the most basic necessities of civilization, indoor plumbing, to decay while money is literally spent on wine, clowns, and magicians.

Re:Rank hypocrisy

[Tailhook]

GSA that sets the rates

There are no rates. There is only pull. If you have the pull you can invoke whatever exception is necessary and reserve whatever hotel room you want, because exceptions are baked into all of those rate schedules and spending rules. You only need enough pull to get away with invoking them.

Neely ran his little fiefdom just like a gangster. Mess with him and he ruined your career. There are thousands just like him at every level of government.

Booze and hookers for the Secret Service. Planet wide GSA jet set. $800k/year city managers. One boondoggle 'green energy' political payoff after another.

I'm looking forward to the US credit crisis. It's been a long time coming and nothing short of an extinction level caldera eruption can stop it now.