Government Contracts... The next thing to be tackled?

[CJ3Flyr]

As we sit here on the verge of a potential debt-driven currency crisis some things come to mind.
- We spend too much money at State and Federal levels.
- We need to spend less.
- Pork, waste and unfunded mandates also come to mind.

I can see that ethics & transparency have been missing and are sorely needed. There needs to be a focus on the founders intentions that people serve in Congress then go home, not make a career of it. That's part of it.


In the midst of all of this I keep coming back to spending less. So... the big question: How do we spend less and have a minimal reduction in services while maximizing the reduction of gov't interference? I can see pay and benefits packages for gov't workers need to be looked at. I can see processes and red tape need a good hard look too. One area of red tape that could save big money IMHO is the contracting process. I know very little about it other than we have $600 toilet seats. I understand we have them because of tort, too many agencies overseeing a project, some bizarre and some legitimate compliance standards and many other factors.

How do we get it so the gov't can go to Home Depot and buy a toilet seat? How can we do that without sacrificing quality? How do we empower on the local level without tempting people to steal and cheat? Stealing, cheating and then working around the resultant laws is part of how we ended up where we are; greedy, stupid (ie shortsighted) people wreck everything. Somebody stole 'x', some company shorted the gov't on a promise in either, quantity or quality and a rule, process or oversight was added then someone went to work for an exemption or 'crack' for the new law.


Basically how do we make gov't consumption more efficient without being vulnerable to greedy, stupid people? I am talking about everything from Dept of Interior, DOE, DOD et al.


If you had a 'clean slate' to set up a system of gov't contracting what would you do? What would some of the checks & balances be? What would a lean, mean, safe & effective system of awarding contracts look like?

Let the :rockthrow:begin

 

[techno]

Basically, we need a government run by hairdressers and taxi drivers. They know how to fix everything.

 

[Jeff Kleb]

Fixing Government


Until we rein in government (especially at the federal level), it is going to be hard to control spending. We would not be in such a mess if Congress (and the White House & Supreme Court, of course) would READ and OBEY the US Constitution. The powers given (i.e., enumerated) to the federal government are clearly outlined in Article One, Section 8. Much of the legislation passed & then signed into law is blatantly unconstitutional -- yet nobody does a darn thing to challenge it or stop it. Most every government servant (appointed or elected - from a county sheriff to the President of the USA) swears an oath to uphold and defend the US Constitution.....yet they seem to do anything possible to circumvent it once they take office!


When we have government, particularly at the federal level, going so far outside the boundaries of what it is supposed to do and it gets involved with so many things that should be left to the states and to the people (as per Amendment Ten), why should we act surprised when it gets so big, intrusive, expensive and corrupt?

Is it too late to fix things? Probably. Can we afford not to fix it? Heck no! Our children, their children and grandchildren cannot afford to keep where we seem to be headed.

Until we elect people who have the cojones to "just say no" when it comes to pork, fraud and waste; I doubt we'll ever dig ourselves out of this mess.
:50cal:



"A man with a gun is a citizen. A man denied one is but a subject."

"What part of 'shall not be infringed' do they not understand?"

 

[MikesToy]

I won't be surprised in the next millineum or so all jobs will be gov't jobs. So the gov't owns you.

 

[CJ3Flyr]

Basically, we need a government run by hairdressers and taxi drivers. They know how to fix everything.

:biggrin2:Yep

Until we rein in government (especially at the federal level), it is going to be hard to control spending. We would not be in such a mess if Congress (and the White House & Supreme Court, of course) would READ and OBEY the US Constitution. The powers given (i.e., enumerated) to the federal government are clearly outlined in Article One, Section 8. Much of the legislation passed & then signed into law is blatantly unconstitutional -- yet nobody does a darn thing to challenge it or stop it. Most every government servant (appointed or elected - from a county sheriff to the President of the USA) swears an oath to uphold and defend the US Constitution.....yet they seem to do anything possible to circumvent it once they take office!


When we have government, particularly at the federal level, going so far outside the boundaries of what it is supposed to do and it gets involved with so many things that should be left to the states and to the people (as per Amendment Ten), why should we act surprised when it gets so big, intrusive, expensive and corrupt?

Is it too late to fix things? Probably. Can we afford not to fix it? Heck no! Our children, their children and grandchildren cannot afford to keep where we seem to be headed.

Until we elect people who have the cojones to "just say no" when it comes to pork, fraud and waste; I doubt we'll ever dig ourselves out of this mess.
:50cal:



"A man with a gun is a citizen. A man denied one is but a subject."

"What part of 'shall not be infringed' do they not understand?"

I agree 100% (surprise surprise)...
All of that is true. Let's say we can get to a pork free place how do we get costs down? Obviously tort, streamlining processes etc. How can we award contracts without the burdens of having to comply with ridiculous, tedious and burdensome non-relevant regs?