tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post8781284780639418532..comments2023-10-16T07:13:12.123-05:00Comments on A plain blog about politics: Consultants and KludgeocracyJonathan Bernsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-74085716602094357772013-11-05T01:30:44.246-06:002013-11-05T01:30:44.246-06:00Large corporations, especially US-based ones, have...Large corporations, especially US-based ones, have experienced exactly the same phenomenon. Once you begin to outsource core functions, you rapidly lose the ability to manage the contractors, which forces you to hire more consultants. What's even weirder, in a capitalist system, is that the cost savings expected by outsourcing are almost entirely a myth.<br /><br />In the few cases where there are cost savings, they come from screwing the workers. Lawn maintenance used to be done by people who were employed by the corporation, and the workers got the same benefits as everyone else. Then this function was outsourced, and the workers for the contractor don't get any benefits at all.<br /><br />Except in cases like these, the belief that outsourcing saves money is a strictly ideological one, and no amount of evidence to the contrary can convince the true believers to re-examine the premise.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02167853931127184984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-50303111316801171432013-11-04T21:38:38.213-06:002013-11-04T21:38:38.213-06:00This reminds me of your frequent complaints about ...This reminds me of your frequent complaints about vetting and (I think this was you) the ridiculousness of the 'no lobbyists' rule. Most of the these outside people must spend some of their time lobbying or other things that make it difficult to bring them in from the outside. Since their expertise will still be valuable to their aligned administration, that will only contribute to the problem. Thus, careful vetting of who gets in may be compounding the problem of outsourcing, especially on policy development.Jasonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11671050987524165406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-37459746954274083832013-11-04T21:11:15.022-06:002013-11-04T21:11:15.022-06:00We hardly suffer from a "weaker bureaucracy&q...We hardly suffer from a "weaker bureaucracy" in the area of national security. The NSA makes its own policy in almost complete seclusion from the democratic process. We've only seen meaningful oversight recently, as a result of leaks by a private contractor. So that's one way that the kludeocracy has served democracy. On the other hand, the existence of private contractors might enhance the ability of the NSA to lobby the President for more power.Couveshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00926561539205771774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-82117119631413678572013-11-04T19:39:22.482-06:002013-11-04T19:39:22.482-06:00As you know, swing voters don't spontaneously ...As you know, swing voters don't spontaneously become "upset" -- they hear and respond to arguments from the other side to the effect that their government is giving them a bad deal. So the relevant question for comparing systems (and I don't know the answer to it, though I have my suspicions) is whether there are features of the US system that make it less likely that outside contracting will become a partisan political issue and potential fodder for election campaigns.Jeffnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-20712154652065178412013-11-04T19:05:37.363-06:002013-11-04T19:05:37.363-06:00This ties in with the common complaint of the righ...This ties in with the common complaint of the right that the wealthiest households in the US now cluster around <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-income_counties_in_the_United_States" rel="nofollow">DC.</a><br /><br />Considering that the US is not a real country, it's not surprising that it looks more like a bustout every year. backyardfoundrynoreply@blogger.com