It's time to change the civil servant law
November 18, 2008 - 9:28am.
To Whom it may Concern in the Newly elected Congress & Obama administration......
IT'S TIME TO CHANGE THE CIVIL SERVICE LAW REGARDING JOB PROTECTION! THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS!
Political Positions Shifted To Career Civil Service Jobs
Just weeks before leaving office, the Interior Department's top lawyer has shifted half a dozen key deputies -- including two former political appointees who have been involved in controversial environmental decisions -- into senior civil service posts.
The transfer of political appointees into permanent federal positions, called "burrowing" by career officials, creates security for those employees, and at least initially will deprive the incoming Obama administration of the chance to install its preferred appointees in some key jobs.
Similar efforts are taking place at other agencies. Two political hires at the Labor Department have already secured career posts there, and one at the Department of Housing and Urban Development is trying to make the switch.
Between March 1 and Nov. 3, according to the federal Office of Personnel Management, the Bush administration allowed 20 political appointees to become career civil servants. Six political appointees to the Senior Executive Service, the government's most prestigious and highly paid employees, have received approval to take career jobs at the same level. Fourteen other political, or "Schedule C," appointees have also been approved to take career jobs. One candidate was turned down by OPM and two were withdrawn by the submitting agency.
This is wrong, Wrong, WRONG! It's not right that anybody working for the government cannot be fired. That's not the reality regular people work with every day. In fact it's counterproductive to getting good workers.
THIS MUST BE CHANGED RIGHT AWAY!
How about just sticking it in the middle of the Bailout Bill where nobody will read it, know about it or care? That's normal operating procedure anyways!
Government is suppose to be of the people, by the people, and for the people, not of the rich people, by the rich people and for the rich people. Once again, it's class warfare. Which is really not something to be taken lightly, although nobody seems to care.
The way our bureaucracy is NOT working, major changes need to happen RIGHT AWAY! We have been promised change and if we don't see it in 2 years (especially with a majority in both houses), there will be hell to pay!
We have a fiscal crisis in this country and in this govt. It's time to change the law, so that the size of this huge mess of a bureaucracy can be more reflective of our society and reward people who do good jobs and reward incompetent and inept political appointees of outgoing administrations.
President Obama, and the newly elected Democrats in Congress, need to fix this ASAP!
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And where will this hell
And where will this hell come from - the People? They don't fear us in the least. They've shown about as much concern for the People as a hawk with a field mouse.
Remember 1994? Remember
Remember 1994? Remember 2006? History marks a lot of changes when people are fed up! That's what this election said....people were fed up with the Republican party and their failed policies.
The Dems said in 2006 they didn't have enough members to do anything for the past 2 years, so the people voted and gave them the majority in both houses of Congress and the White House.
Now they must do something, or they face a repeat of history.
You know, Grif, my mom taught me if you can't say something nice don't say anything at all. You wanted issues and I said I would discuss issues after the election....which I am. So if you don't have something constructive to offer on an issue, but just want to spout more of the same old negative, unconstructive crap you've been spouting for months, then please do it on someone else's blog.
People do listen. And people do participate. And people don't know that these things are even happening if we don't bring them to the forefront of people's attention. If they don't know it's happening, then nothing can or will change.
Just because this election is over, doesn't mean the work is done. There's a lot that needs to be done, and it is up to us, to keep it out there, to bring it up so that it can be changed.
The work is just beginning if we want to see changes. Change doesn't just happen because we put a different face behind the desk. Change happens when we stay alert and participate in the process and demand our govt work for us instead of for the ruling class.
And what changed after 1994?
And what changed after 1994? 2006? Nothing.
As a memeber of CHB, I'm allowed to comment on articles and blogs. Last I knew, Washington doesn't check with this website for instruction or input.
The only thing that ever changes is the size and scope of government - always growing. And frankly, just because my comments may not be agreeable doesn't mean that I haven't digested the information you've provided.
Yeah, when we get fed up we just hand power over to the other side. That always does us a lot of good.
PC: While I share your
PC:
While I share your outrage, I will point out to you that while lawyers can be hired into the Civil Service at any level, and while it is legal, but perhaps not morally permissible, to change Schedule C jobs to career positions, they are also hired into the "excepted service" and it is much easier to rid yourselves of them.
At this website:
http://www.opm.gov/transition/TRANS20R-Ch5.htm
if you scroll down just a bit you will find:
" Positions Excepted by the Office of Personnel Management. There are two other categories of positions that OPM has administratively excepted from the competitive service because it is not practical to hold competitive examinations for them. These are Schedule A and Schedule B positions.
"-- Schedule A Positions. . . .. Attorney positions are also in Schedule A because OPM is prohibited in its appropriations legislation from spending funds to examine for attorney positions."
Now I understand why most
Now I understand why most people don't give a squat about gov't. It doesn't make sense to them. (lol)
Personally, I don't care what it takes to change this. It must be changed.
Gov't should be reflective of the people it serves. In the real world, ABSOLUTELY NO ONE has a guaranteed job. This should also apply to civil servants no matter what position they serve.
Pay and longevity should be reflective of hard work and job performance, attendance, etc. just like a real job. Political appointees that a part of the ruling class should not be imposed on regarlar people by someone totally irrellevant and on the way out the door regardless of who they are.
PC: The rise of the Civil
PC:
The rise of the Civil Service Commission, now the Office of Personnel Management, came during TR's term in office as he advanced his progressive/fascist ideas. Prior to that time almost all Federal jobs were subject to the (to the victor belong the) spoils system. With the change in an administration, everyone was turned out and replaced by favorites of the new incumbent. This led to massive inefficiencies as the loss of corporate knowledge was pretty much 100 percent.
At the Federal level civil servants are among the most dedicated, hardest working people in the US. I find different levels of service ethic at state, county, and local levels, but every involvement I have had with Federal employees has been universally positive.
About a year ago I filled out an online application for Social Security on a Saturday morning. I dreaded the task, assuming it would take hours and hours and then some. The form took no more than 20 minutes to fill out. Then on Monday morning I got a phone call from my "caseworker" at Social Security. I was so suspicious I asked for his name and called him back because I thought I might be being scammed by someone who had intercepted my application.
I looked up the local office number and called back. Silly me! Jack assured me everything was OK. He spent almost an hour on the phone with me, going through every phase of the process and telling me what I needed to do and where to go to get the things I needed.
Then he told me I should make application on behalf of my two minor children. When I asked why, he laughed and assured me that this was something I REALLY wanted to do. The upshot was that I was entitled to as much pension on behalf of my children as I was in my own right. One, he didn't have to tell me about entitlements for my kids. Two, he could have sent me an unreadable letter telling me what I needed to do and then acted smug when I called for help.
Hell, I've even gotten good service when I've called the IRS and asked for help.
And these people are NOT exempt from punishment or dismissal, especially at the Federal level. No, it's not always easy to get rid of someone, but it can be done, and when it needs to be done almost all managers do it, distasteful and time-consuming as it can be.
Where you can have real problems is at the state and local levels. The old boy network is particularly strong at city and county levels, especially in rural areas. There you will often see family relationships getting firmly in the way of efficient administration. Also there is less real awareness of the need for efficiency.
But at the Federal level, where things are being cut to the bone, that's not the case.
Obviously it's not the case.
Obviously it's not the case. Political appointees getting "tenure" so to speak, is not a good thing and should be changed in my opinion, starting yesterday.
Unfortunately, I have not had the same type of experience with federal employees that you and honestly can't say that I personally know anyone who has a positive experience with govt employees. I know both my parents have gotten completely exasperated with employees for Medicare and Social Security.
Hell, look at the post office with another multi-billion dollar deficit. My bet is that there are a lot of unproductive people on the payroll who are unproductive because the are not accountable in their work the same as regular folks.
Regardless, We have to start whittling down this huge freakin bureaucracy if we want to get a grip on it. These political appointees are a cancer on honest people in our govt.
The postal service was moved
The postal service was moved to corporate status quite some time ago.
As for political appointees... they almost always function at the Senior Executive Service level, where most of those folks that you want to get the jobs can't qualify. They were usually appointed for more than their political ties... specific knowledge and skill... maybe it's just their politics you abhor. If so, hang on cause that's all about to change with the other brand of political hacks coming to town. As for their honesty, bring your specific evidence to the contrary to the table... or is this just another diatribe for its own sake?
Who says the Dems aren't
Who says the Dems aren't listening? Here's one for all the naysayers.
Senators Urge Bush To Halt Job Shifts
By jove, I think they finally learned thier lesson......
which is.......LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE!
And for those of you who
And for those of you who think Dumbya won't lift a finger to stop this abuse:
http://medianeedle.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/bus...
I love that picture (lol)!
I love that picture (lol)!