| Comment Number: | OL-10502096 |
| Received: | 2/28/2005 10:53:37 PM |
| Subject: | Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Request for Comment |
| Title: | National Security Personnel System |
| CFR Citation: | 5 CFR Chapter XCIX and Part 9901 |
| No Attachments |
Comments:
Looking through these comments, it appears that about 80% or more of the comments express reservations or outright disapproval of this new personnel system, and with this kind of majority, anyone with an IQ higher than a rock has to know that this more than just a “common union response”. It is common practice for incompetent management to blame unions. Can such a majority be wrong? One of the most intelligent and thoughtful comments I saw came from a person who is a college graduate with over 33 years private industry and government experience. This person makes many valid points that the “Good ‘Ole Boys” don’t wish to admit. Indeed the current system does allow for good performers to be rewarded while allowing management the means to deal with poor performers. The “Good Ole Boys” just want to make it easier for management to reward their favorites without having to do much work. The problem I have experienced (and I too have a B.S. degree with 16 years Govt experience—so I know what I am talking about) isn’t incompetent employees (and yes they are out there) as much as incompetent management. I have seen far more incompetent management in DoD than I have seen anywhere else. If we are going to hold poor performers accountable, why not hold incompetent management accountable (including that axis of incompetence--Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld)? There are a lot of SES’s in my agency who are a joke and have no business being in these positions. I bet that a vast majority of DoD SES’s would never make it for very long in the corporate world. This new system will undoubtedly foster cronyism, politics, favoritism, and discrimination. We have a Secretary of Defense and an Administration that raise incompetence to a science—are we going to hold them accountable? Under NSPS they should be out on their butts immediately. (Now if they want to save their jobs, find those phantom WMDs in Iraq instead of lying to the American public). This Administration has a track record of rolling back constitutional and human rights in the name of National Security, can we seriously trust them with this personnel system (for the most part devised by Rumsfeld)? This new personnel system has two objectives, take away more rights from Americans (especially the right to strong and effective union representation and rights to appeal usually afforded to working people in the private sector), and to eliminate as many Federal Employees as possible to make room for contractors (which means money for Bush’s rich buddies). We must concede, however that there are problems with the current system, but nothing that cannot be remedied with some good enhancements or tweaking. If your toilet is over flowing, do you rip out the whole bathroom or tear down the whole house to fix the problem? The current system has worked fine for over 50 years, and is apparently good enough for just about everyone else outside DHS and DoD (and, if I am not mistaken, many within DoD will remain under the current system), so I don’t understand the rush to get this new system in place. With the practices of this Administration, I now see the contempt they have for the people that serve America (Remember, Bush did everything he and his connections could to get him out of his duty during Vietnam). I have an extremely bright and competent nephew who will soon have the opportunity to attend the college of his choice (and if he continues this work, will have a promising career ahead of him). He had at one time expressed an interest in following in his uncle’s footsteps in service to his country, but if the result of that service is going to result in him being stabbed in the back by the President he serves, I will do everything to convince him that civil service in DoD or military service is an undesirable career. This is the problem with this new personnel system, there will be a substantial brain drain and DoD will be unable to attract the best and brightest.