Every time you turn on the news, you see reports of government workers behaving badly. We've rounded up the top 10 -- most recent -- misconducts.
1. GSA parties
Considering the lavish conferences, retreats, and bonuses paid for by the General Services Administration, it is disturbing to think this was the same agency in charge of spending President Obama's fiscally irresponsible stimulus package. While not every federal agency parties like the GSA, multiply waste and unnecessary expenditures across the entire federal government and the rationale of the tea party becomes clear.
2. Secret Service prostitutes
The Colombian romp with prostitutes by Secret Service agents and members of the U.S. military reflected poorly on the nation, just as President Obama was attending the Pan-American summit. We won't go into all the sordid details of the sexcapades at Cartagena's Hotel El Caribe, but let it be said that we expect a higher standard of conduct from the men who protect the life of the president, than we do for the president himself (see Clinton, William Jefferson).
3. Fast and Furious debacle
The Alcohol Tobacco and Firearm officials who approved the Fast and Furious operation allowing high-powered weaponry to fall into the hands of Mexican drug lords acted with reckless disregard for the outcome of their actions. That outcome turned out to be the deaths of hundreds of innocent Mexicans and the killing of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. That the Justice Department won't come clean on the details of the operation, only makes the malfeasance worse.
4. Do-nothing Senate Democrats
The most essential task of just about any professional enterprise is crafting an annual budget. Tell that to the Senate, where the Democratic-controlled chamber hasn't passed a budget in three years. Enjoy your do-nothing fiefdom while you can, Harry Reid. Come November, your title will be minority, not majority, leader.
5. Panetta's pricey trips
No one expects the defense secretary to fly commercial, but was it really necessary for Leon Panetta to take 27 weekend trips home to California, costing taxpayers some $800,000, or nearly the cost of a GSA convention in Las Vegas? Each round-trip cost taxpayers some $32,000, and Panetta reimbursed the government $630 per jaunt. Sure, it's nice to get out of Washington, but that's three trips every month to spend time on the Panetta walnut farm.
6. Federal tax scofflaws
One good way to tackle the mounting budget deficit would be to collect back taxes from federal employees. A report by the Internal Revenue Service showed that nearly 100,000 federal workers owed a combined $1 billion in back taxes. Some $2 million could be collected just by going after members and employees of the U.S. Senate.
7. Afghan photos
Yes, it is tough being a soldier in a war zone, but still part of their job is not to embarrass their nation or put their fellow warriors in harm's way like the military personnel did by posing with dead Afghan bodies. The worse crime, however, is that the Los Angeles Times would publish the photos.
8. TSA bullies
We are sure that there are many fine employees working for the Transportation Safety Administration, but their overall antics are wearing thin. Reports of juvenile behavior and criminal activity among TSA workers seem routine and their full-body pat-downs of grandmothers and small children are heavy-handed and nonsensical.
9. Anthony Weiner
The former Democratic congressmen was still on the government payroll when he Tweeted racy photos of himself on his government-issued BlackBerry. Weiner tried to fight to keep his job, but ultimately the public embarrassment was too severe to withstand. His resignation opened the door for Republicans to gain a House seat that they hadn't held in over 50 years.
10. Justice for Trayvon
What were Justice Department officials doing stoking racial division following the Trayvon Martin shooting? Members of department's Community Relations Service worked with the mobs protesting the lack of action by the police in the shooting, teaching leaders how to manage the crowd and arranging a police escort for a group of college students marching to demand George Zimmerman's arrest. The only action by the Justice Department in the case should have been to indict the thugs putting a bounty on Zimmerman's head.
Remember I didn't come up with any of these. If you disagree with any of them, take it up with the author of the article.
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11:52 AM
PFF
System Bot
Wichita Member
Posts: 20658 From: Wichita, Kansas Registered: Jun 2002
Some of us really enjoy our positions within the Federal Gov't and strive to do everything we can to promote the best possible image within our power, be it to our limit or sometimes above & beyond. It is very difficult to portray that however when examples such as above really put a hamper on employees that really want to make a difference and do the best they can.
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02:51 PM
Raydar Member
Posts: 40747 From: Carrollton GA. Out in the... country. Registered: Oct 1999
An example of Federal Employees behaving good.... Myself and a team of 4 others saved the federal government 32 Million dollars this year. I can't go into detail on how, but it was a simple computer solution to a MUCH larger problem.
We even got recognized for it
What they did with that 32 million.. Well that is up to them I suppose.
Some of us really enjoy our positions within the Federal Gov't and strive to do everything we can to promote the best possible image within our power, be it to our limit or sometimes above & beyond. It is very difficult to portray that however when examples such as above really put a hamper on employees that really want to make a difference and do the best they can.
And us State workers too.
There is bad in every industry, but when its public funded it makes more of an impact, even more so if they are in a position of authority.
Well of course not. It's just that, as with any cross-section of society, the hairballs get all the press.
Unfortunately, as the OP demonstrated, there are a lot of hairballs.
Remembering that the federal government is one of the largest employers in the country, I think if you go by raw %, its not as high as it seems. ( still too high, but not worse than the private world )
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05:48 PM
Gokart Mozart Member
Posts: 12143 From: Metro Detroit Registered: Mar 2003
An example of Federal Employees behaving good.... Myself and a team of 4 others saved the federal government 32 Million dollars this year. I can't go into detail on how, but it was a simple computer solution to a MUCH larger problem.
We even got recognized for it
What they did with that 32 million.. Well that is up to them I suppose.
Not all government workers are bad. I even have some family members who work for the government, so I know this is true. The examples given in the article above are just the ones that have captured headlines because of their outlandish behavior and wasting of tax payers money.
