Show Me the $700 Hammer
By Tom Shoop | Thursday, December 27, 2007 | 01:27 PM
By Tom Shoop | Thursday, December 27, 2007 | 01:27 PM
The folks over at the editorial page of the Washington Times are disappointed in the recently unveiled Office of Management and Budget Web site containing data on federal contracts, grants and loans, USAspending.gov.
It's not that the data presented on the site isn't useful. USAspending.gov provides "real insight into government's operations," the paper's editorial writers say. They also laud "the ease with which ordinary Internet users can ask questions, begin searches and find information."
So what's the problem? More detailed data would be nice, the paper says. And then comes the real issue: "Nor are $700 hammers and new "Bridges to Nowhere" easily discoverable on this site, we're sorry to report."
At the end of the day, it's all about the horror stories, isn't it?
Comments
Helen,
You are right on the money. We spend so much time looking for the sensationalism of it all. The VAST majority of civil servants look at money spent / authorized as if it were our own (because we know it is!). There is never enough recognition of those who are so deserving. I'm a fed financial analyst and know what you have to do - so let me say THANKS to you!
Guy
Actually, there never was a $700 hammer. The hammer was part of a kit that contained some fairly high priced items in it. A congrssional aide was asked to break down the cost of all the items and took the short cut of just dividing the total cost by the number of items. Voila - a $700 hammer.
Dana | Thursday, January 03, 2008 | 09:00 AMMaybe there were no $700 hammers and no bridges to nowhere. As a contracting official I'm getting real disappointed that more isn't told about the contracts we award that are working and at a reasonable cost to the tax payer. I'm all for transparency and I believe that the Transparency Act is long overdue. However, it would be nice to see an editorial about how well the government's overworked and underpaid contracting officers, contract specialists, and purchasing agents work to be good stewards of the people's money.
Helen | Thursday, January 03, 2008 | 08:14 AMABOUT THIS BLOG
Government Executive Editor Tom Shoop takes a look at news and events affecting the federal bureaucracy, from the perspective of a longtime observer of government.
feedARCHIVES
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
- May 2006
- April 2006
- March 2006
- February 2006
- January 2006
- December 2005
- November 2005
- October 2005
- September 2005
- August 2005
- July 2005
- June 2005
- May 2005
- April 2005
- March 2005
- February 2005
- January 2005
- December 2004
- November 2004
- October 2004
CATEGORIES
- Budget
- Comings and Goings
- Congress
- Defense
- Factoid of the Day
- Fedblog
- General News
- Government Operations
- Headline of the Day
- Homeland Security
- Intelligence
- Management
- Oversight
- Pay and Benefits
- Photo of the Day
- Political Appointees
- Press Release of the Day
- Procurement
- Quote of the Day
- The White House
- The Workforce
- The Workplace