Same as above - please find some evidence of me railing against the AIG conference after their bailout....
guys, people who work for the government aren't robots, they need outings also, the gov't sent all their managers on a motivational conference for less than $1100 a manager? its really not that bad
oh rly? The only difference is that we HAVE to pay for these outings as opposed to me given the option of boycotting a company if I disagree with their practices. The economy is in the crapper, everyone is cutting back, but our government, which is running the trillion dollar deficits, are handing out vacation packages. If these guys want vacations, then do it the same way the rest of us Americans are doing it ... with our own money. You're the perfect citizen ... if only it were 70 years earlier and we were germany.
So let me get this straight... Middle management positions suck no matter where you work, right? Morale is extremely important in any organization, right? The Social Security Administration is an organization that serves the public, right? Wouldn't this "outing" boost the morale of over worked managers and give them a sense of worth and value to their organization? Wouldn't we all benefit from having managers at the SSA who are knowledgeable, and have the most current and up-to-date information pertaining to how to best serve their customers? The Gov. is a business as well. And they have to deal with employee relations just like everyone else. The benefits that the SSA provide to society by far outweigh that $700,000 price tag. This issue and those similar to it are minutely related to this country's economic woes... Focus on the real issues with gov spending. Employee conferences never have been and never will be the down fall of a nation's economy. Just some thought from an HR perspective.
Look, I'm a fiscal conservative, but 700K isn't even a drop in the government budget's bucket and it was used to help the running of a fairly major government institute. There's a lot worse cases of wasteful spending that are going on then something minor and pointless like this.
Those argue on behalf of the G-Men have no sense of reality. Corporations exist to make profit, governments serve the public. Government employees should have no lack of motivation or enthusiasm to serve the people. I don't see the local police department or post office take lavish trips to pump their egos. Can't handle it? Try getting a job in the private sector.
Lavish? At just over $1000 per person? Would there be any outrage if everybody got a $1000 bonus instead? What's the difference? The only difference I see is that here the money was sent to bring the people together for face-to-face meetings. And while I can't give specific examples, I'd be shocked if police officers and postal workers didn't participate in conferences paid for by their offices.
I think you are confusing capitalism and democracy/liberalism. Given that, my previous statement stands true.
