Feds spend billions on consultants

[Michael Hardner]

Either or, eliminate or outsource, the end results is the same. (guess I should re-read the OP)

Not at all.

Eliminating means the service is not provided, and there is no cost.

Outsource means the service is still provided, but by a private entity and the cost likely changes.

[pfezziwig]

All levels of governments are guilty of the same thing, here in Halifax we pay for consultant reports from political cronies who provide good PR by promptly creating a report in support of what the government wants.

Government can't even get outsourcing right. In the private sector outsourcing reduces the number of full time employees required, in the public sector the staff levels increase even while outsourcing.

[fellowtraveller]

Government can't even get outsourcing right. In the private sector outsourcing reduces the number of full time employees required, in the public sector the staff levels increase even while outsourcing.

True that, though not always. For example, Public Works did a wave of outsourcing in the nineties. dropping thousands of cleaning staff who earned 2 to 3 times the wages/benefits of comparable private sector cleaners for exactly the same work. There was little or no increase in supervisionf the new contractors, as they already employed property managers who supervised the cleaners and now switched to watching the contractor. They did something similar in the outsourcing or property management earlier this decade, but kept pretty much everybody in a frenzy of newe job descriptions and shuffling of lesser duties. Of course, any cost/benefit analysis now comes up with the conclusion the outsource was a failure, when the process itself meant it was utterly doomed from day one, and everybody knew it.

I do not blame the politicians alone, I blame the senior managers who lack both the courage and the correct incentives to act responsibly on behalf of taxpayers. There are absolutely no consequences for mediocrity at any level. Why give a shit when nobody else does?

[William Ashley]

Ottawa have the public service sector and yet the Feds go out outside, to get their information, why? The taxpayers are paying the public service to do this job and we are now paying an outside source too. It's very hard to understand this government about what it says about spending and what it ACTUAL does about spending and the taxpayer is alway on the hook for the damage done. http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/12/04/consultants-union.html

Personally I'm not concerned so much on what is being spent on anymore.. only about how much is being spent on nothing useful.

Perhaps the consultants can suggest for federal politicians to get a brain and figure out how to do good things.. or better yet to consult the politicians to make the public smarter so they don't reelect stupid politicians who can't think for themselves.. or rely on private consultants that need to get paid rather than specialists that are based on NFP institutions, actually learn about the issues they are talking about and making policy decisions for.. that is novel.

Edited December 10, 2010 by William Ashley