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Repository
Editorial…
Government quality
counts, too
Apr 12, 2011
The issue: Republicans’ federal budget plan
Our view: Congress, Obama should take cue from Voinovich’s perspective
As a U.S. senator from Ohio, George Voinovich proudly called himself a
“deficit hawk.” He didn’t want the federal government to spend a nickel
more than necessary or a nickel more than it had.
If only we really were talking about nickels and not trillions of
dollars.
But as concern about deficits grows, President Obama and members of
Congress should be mindful of Voinovich’s perspective.
While he wanted much more attention paid to the deficit, Voinovich, who
retired at the end of the last Congress, also wanted government to
provide good service. He knew that efficient, effective government
happens not just by watching how the money is spent but also by hiring
good employees and cultivating their talents and loyalty.
The prospect of a five-year freeze on federal employees’ pay and a
10-percent reduction in the federal work force — key tenets of the
Republican budget plan introduced last week by Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan
— should raise questions about unintended consequences affecting the
quality of government delivery of services.
As Congress tackles competing budget and deficit-reduction plans, it
first should agree on whether federal employees are overpaid. A recent
Associated Press analysis cited a study indicating that federal
employees make nearly double what the private work force does if one
looks only at average wages. If you look at comparable jobs, 85 percent
of government workers make about 20 percent less than their
private-sector counterparts, This, AP explains, is because the
government has outsourced most lower-paying jobs to the private sector.
As a senator, Voinovich spent a decade working to enable the federal
civil service to recruit talented men and women to replace retiring
baby boomers. He fought for many kinds of flexibility in hiring and
working conditions, including the option of merit pay, to make
government service appealing.
We wouldn’t presume to speak for a retired senator on the current GOP
budget plan. But we know this: Not only did he want lean, efficient
government, he also understood the need for a well-trained, valued
federal work force. He never said this could be done on the cheap.
Read it at the Canton Repository
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