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Powdermilk's comments:
on Million Dollar Ideas?
Oregon grants de facto taxing power to various private entities that supply mission-critical goods and services to the government. A conspicuous example is the licensing of proprietary software, used on somewhat more than 10,000 desktops in government offices. Free, public domain software would often be a satisfactory substitute.
With $1 million over two years, an effective demonstration project could be accomplished which would prove the point and provide step-by-step instructions for a transition. Many distinguished local professionals would be happy to provide pro bono consulting on this. Biggest obstacle would probably be a culture change, getting managers and IT supervisors to see the possibility. Implementation (like any change, such as revisions to commercial software suites) presents certain challenges, and should be an emphasis of the demo project.
Continuing the effort after the grant would entail savings rather than costs. Savings would continue to pay dividends over subsequent years. A bonus would be that, in many cases, ceasing to use certain commercial products could improve security.
posted 2 years, 10 months ago
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on Covering Kyron
Would responsible journalism place things in perspective, supplying a factual context for risk estimates?
From what I have read, it can be really dangerous to take kids to a family physician. Just look at this story from Virginia:
http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2010/02/08/prsb0208.htm
Meteorite came right through the ceiling into the examining room! We are all exposed to space!
posted 2 years, 10 months ago
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on Covering Kyron
Would a "respectable" source engage in "yellow journalism"?
posted 2 years, 10 months ago
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on What Are Workers Worth?
Details of specific situations would help here. If the gross ratio is accurate, another possible interpretation of the same data would be that in some situations Oregon asks managers to get things done with hardly any staff. Giving a small handful of people statewide responsibility for an important task may mean that they're spread rather thinly.
Having managers and professionals spend time sorting and carrying out trash, hunting for abandoned boxes to use for sorting papers, trying to fix broken equipment, doing clerical work to support quirky "electronic" systems, etc., may not enhance the efficiency of managerial and professional work ... but if no staff are available, either time must be spent on such tasks or the tasks don't get done.
An appropriate "whistleblower" arrangement could enhance efficiency, if effective action followed the reporting of problems. But effective action requires appropriate staffing. (From my own observations, bringing in contractors has often made things worse ... but that's another issue.)
posted 2 years, 10 months ago
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on What Are Workers Worth?
As a state worker, may I respectfully acknowledge the Governor's recent suggestion to "keep your pay in line with your counterparts in the private sector." Recent national data indicate that I might get a substantial raise (perhaps 30% to 40%). With a higher salary I'd cheerfully spend more in the local economy.
But where would the state get the money? Would tax dodgers have to pay their taxes? Could the state replace expensive proprietary computer software with free, open source equivalents? Or might the state's commercial suppliers accept an across-the-board cut (of roughly 5%) as many state employees already have?
posted 2 years, 11 months ago
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on What Are Workers Worth?
Would parsimony be served by better whistleblower protection? If so, how should that work?
Vendor arrangements, like the tax system, might provide a complex and varied tapestry for further study. Practices in those domains aren't primarily due to "state worker" behavior.
(People I know in state government must double-check that all the i's are dotted and the t's crossed any time a dollar is spent. Employees would expect to be disciplined and/or prosecuted for anything inappropriate. I would be surprised if the Attorney General's office didn't want to learn specifics regarding any serious allegations implied by the above post.)
posted 2 years, 11 months ago
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on An Hour With Al Gore
Jimmy Carter once commented in an interview that if the United States were to apply to the Carter Center for supervision to assure credible results in a presidential election, the Center would have to turn down the application due to factors such as the role of money in politics and disparate treatment of candidates by mass media. Mr. Carter's comment sadly reiterated a concern articulated years ago by John Gardner, whose work has helped us understand the extent of the problem. What realistic, practical steps should now be taken to reduce corruption in American politics and improve the legitimacy of our political culture?
posted 3 years, 6 months ago
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on Sex Ed
An article available at this URL http://www.cochrane.org/reviews/en/ab005421.html provides a formal review of peer-reviewed studies pertinent to evaluating the effectiveness of abstinence-only sex education programs for HIV-prevention in countries such as the United States. The abstract includes this statement: "Overall, the trials did not indicate that abstinence-only programs can reduce HIV risk as indicated by behavioral outcomes (e.g., unprotected vaginal sex) or biological outcomes (e.g., sexually transmitted infection). Instead, the programs consistently had no effect on participants' incidence of unprotected vaginal sex, frequency of vaginal sex, number of sex partners, sexual initiation, or condom use."
posted 3 years, 6 months ago
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on Primary Conversations: Portland Mayor
1. A uniformed Portland officer said "I'm not going to do anything about that" when I pointed out a semi-trailer truck parked on the wrong side of the street next to a fire hydrant, trailer blocking a second lane of traffic, for the purpose of delivering beer.
2. How many Portlanders have spent time and money following official instructions for connecting to the city-sponsored wifi system, only to be told that no connection is feasible and if it were they'd have to spend additional money on proprietary software from a single source?
3. As I walked to work across a bridge yesterday, an enormous mushroom cloud of diesel soot rose from routine operations of a locomotive below. I was still coughing 24 hours later. If a single instance of such a chemical assault was accompanied by a political statement of intent to harm Americans, would the government's response be the same or different?
Cynicism about government can be increased by bending the law to grant favors and exceptions to the well-connected and powerful. What would candidates for the Mayor's office say about this general theme?
posted 5 years ago
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