Letter: Replacing people with technology is not the answer
At a time when there are too few government employees, it's odd for a presidential candidate to suggest even fewer are needed.
In the past decade, while government has been embracing technology, there has been a very strong trend toward increased outsourcing, typically in the form of large contracts to large technology and engineering companies.
Although such firms are often indispensable partners, a common finding of the Government Accountability Office and inspector general studies has been that there are not enough government employees to oversee and manage those complex efforts. At a time when it is widely acknowledged that government operations are being hurt by a lack of project managers, managers, contracting personnel, and management and budget analysts, it seems an especially odd time for a presidential candidate to propose replacing even more government staff with technology.
Anonymous
Commerce Department
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