IGs: The Demoralizers?

Steve Kelman, Harvard University professor, former Clinton administration procurement policy chief and occasional GovExec contributor, has an op-ed in the Washington Post today on inspectors general. The gist of his argument: They give out too many demerits and not enough gold stars. "IGs seem to subscribe to the opposite of the theory that if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all," Kelman writes. This, he says, "demoralizes civil servants."