The Week in Comments: Postal reform, health care and whippersnappers

A roundup of some of the comments received this week in the GovExec.com Mailbag. All comments are presented in their original, unedited form.

On Burning Question: Do federal buildings need potty parity?

Men use urinals. Ladies can use urinettes. Simple solution for an ever-incereasing simple population.
Steve

The Government building I used to work in had sofas and lamps in the womens' room. The mens' room looked like an interrogation room. If you took those out, maybe the women wouldn't spend so much time in there.
Dennis

Maybe if women didn't go to the restroom in small flocks the lines would be shorter. I have yet to see or overhear a man say, "I'm going to the bathroom, do you want to come?"
Mark LOL. Such a burning question. I always thought that when the need arises, men can share a urinal. Women don't have that luxury, so they queue up. The process is also a longer one for women; we have somewhat of an undressing/redressing process.
Cindy As a 42 year old male, I can say that I haven't shared a urinal, ever. Perhaps someone could invent a female urinal and then things would be right in the universe again.
Average Joe On Postal Service counts on Congress to get it out of a tight spot

Having mail picked up from and delivered to my home is one of the best services I will ever have. As one who doesn't live near a post office or a private mail service center, it's valuable. Considering the price of gas and time, I could not hand deliver a letter or package for anything near the price I pay for USPS. Why not raise the prices on postal services to cover actual costs and keep it in business? Our postal rates are very low compared to those in many other countries and our service is excellent.

Full disclosure: I'm not a former postal worker nor am I related to one. I, of course, want the system to be improved and made more efficient, but I want us to realize what a fine and needed service they provide.
Jeanne

USPS needs to do a top down or bottom up accessment. Things have changed drastically for USPS. More technology has driven mail volume down. Most companies if not all send electronic bills. The only type of mail I currently receive are catologs that I toss without reading into the recycle bin. Postal employees need to learn a new job skill and face the fact - the way USPS use to be is no more. Instead of cutting down to five days delivery how about one day. You postal people need to rethink your positions and come up with a more leaner better USPS. Those that can retire should. There is no justification for delivering the mail for more than 4 - 5 hours a day. Some days I get no mail at all. Face the fact, the same thing happened in the eighties - paper transactions and the paper pushing that went with it-went by the wayside with the increase in use of computers. I had to learn a new skill and I am sure many of you can too.
Taxpayer also On Burning Question: Do young feds know their place?

You young whippersnappers, get off my lawn! And guess what the old guys said when you came along...
W

Since there are always two (or more) sides to every story, let me throw my two cents in here. All those years ago the Boomers came into the workforce and were full of energy, enthusiasm, arrogance, and a definite lack of patience for the way things were being done. Time passed and slowly, but surely they became the driving force in everything they touched (both public and private). Now, a new generation full of energy, enthusiasm, arrogance and a definite lack of patience is entering the workforce.

The Boomers are doing what they always did - pushing back against what they see as a threat to them and the new generation(s) are pushing to get the Boomers to step to the music that their generation hears. It's sort of like what's played out in homes across the country every day - "My parents don't understand, they've never been young."

Except that the Boomers were young and stayed that way for longer than any previous generation. Trust me, it's hard to grow up and know when to step aside. But it's also hard to understand when to stand and wait, which is what every generation has had to learn and this one will, too.
Michelle Z

I think it's vital to hire exceptional talent regardless of age. However, if a young (or older), college graduate thinks it's OK to whip out a smart phone and text during a class that is substantially about their core job, they aren't suitable for any job, much less one that requires leadership. This is my point; my agency is inundated with this type of attitude among the new hires who are recent college graduates. It's "how they roll" and if I expect them to be respectful, or to seek out greater responsibility without whining about their current grade, I'm the one with the problem. That doesn't work. It's a generational paradigm that's eating away at our core values. I want their knowledge and enthusiasm, but they need to check the "'tude" at the door.
sam elliot

Those entering now with all the recent knowledge of their college education will find that the bureaucracy will suck it all out of you. I talked to a senior employee here also who said that in time, all the knowledge you learned will be drained away due to the constant bureaucratic red tape and "I didn't go to school to learn that (nonsensical) taskings that I have to do". The core hours of the day are spent attending useless time consuming meetings and providing information to managers that are too lazy to find the earlier email that was already sent. Over-multitasking on nonsensical stuff, so that you lose focus on what you were doing and have to constantly say "now what was I doing before I was so interrupted again". Oh, and add in the budget cuts to training so when you want to sign up for a class to keep your skills sharp, management says, "that's too expensive".
knew and was warned

Look at the announcements for intern positions. They want applicants who have held leadership positions during their college careers. They're not looking for young people who are just smart, motivated, creative, and interested in government. They only want to hire leaders. So what do you expect? How about deleting all those leadership requirements on the vacancy announcements and see if we find some young people who expect to do good work and not take over right away.
Cari

How dare they refuse to fit the mold.. bet they felt that key phrases such as 'I haven't been trained", "I'm on my break", the "regulation says" shouldn't apply to them. Or bet they put in personal OT to get the job done... We sure can't have them polluting the work space.
dan ketter

What the "older" feds need to realize is that this "sense of entitlement" tied solely to seniority is also a huge problem. My point is that everyone needs to earn their position and pay based on merit and job performance...whether they are young or old. It is just as wrong to infer that someone deserves anything just because they have longevity IF they don't exhitbit mediocre of even sub par job performance. The American, taxpaying public deserves better. I am a "younger" fed that came in 3 years ago as a GS-13 and EARNED promotions to a Supervisory GS-15 position in just 2 years because I was and still am a high performer. So, I do not agree that anyone should "know their place" due to age. If I felt that way then I wouldn't be where I am today. My PLACE is in management because I exhibit strong leadership skills and have the skill, ability and good judgement needed to be successful in this role. I did not have to be a 20+ year civil servant to do it!
Supervisory Accountant

On Feds would feel health care reforms

Thomas Jefferson said it best when speaking of government. Wonder what he would think today of this grand experiment, The United States of America, if he were standing here now. This Health Care Reform Bill (health care my eye) is the beginning of the end of your hard earned freedoms. To have a government that REQUIRES me to pay for the health care of those who do not, will not work to earn it, is beyond understanding. I have never, in 62 yrs, seen anyone, with or without health insurance, refused care at a public hospital. How dare my government impose such a law on me or any citizen of America when that citizenry has stated without doubt it did not want this abomination. Can you say America Bankrupt? Get used to it. We will soon join those countries that have for generations been in debt to such an extent they will never recover. My, the future looks rosy.....cause I will just quit my job, have free health care and Obamaworld will pay my mortgage, car payments, provide me free gas, a home, food, and anything else I will ever need. Wonderful world. Now, can anyone tell me who in God's name will be paying for all this? YOU! Cause I ain't gonna be earning any money. Why should I? Since the Gov is gonna take it anyway through whatever devious ploy they come up with. Except it will exempt our illustrious ELECTED officials.

"Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny."
Thomas Jefferson

"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them."
Thomas Jefferson
James

Clearly the politicians who crafted this bill do not particularly see Federal employees as a constituency of theirs but rather unions like SEIU and the UAW. Federal employees wake up and smell the coffee; you've been had by your unions.
Paul D.

As a user of the current FSA for dependent care, $5,000 is barely enough to cover 1/2 a year worth of daycare expenses now. Maybe Congress should look at putting a cap on the cost of daycare - then reducing the FSA cap would make sense. Otherwise, it's making it's own options obsolete. I guarantee if this happens, this current Fed will not take part in the FSA option.
ProudFed

It is about time that this country passed some meaningful health-care reform. But this must only be a start. This country needs to join the 21st century and have a single payer system and everyone in this country should be covered equally. As to the affect on Federal workers, oh well, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. I am willing to sacrifice for the benefit of others but I know the vast majority of federal workers are greedy, self-absorbed, holier-than-thou's, that could care less about those less fortunate than themselves.
JTerry

As a federal employee, I can't think of a single thing that the Federal Government manages well. And now we want the Federal Government managing something so personal as our health care?? And just wait until doctors decide they want to take early retirement or cut their hours from full-time to part-time in order to avoid high taxes. Then who will take care of us??? Elections have consequences.
KJCM

On State will hire contractor to supervise private embassy guards

Wow, the State Department wants to hire a contractor to supervise their other contractors. Just more proof that there is little-to-no adult supervision or leadership at State. What a sad waste of tax dollars.
American

At what point does contract oversight become inherently governmental? Is the government not satisfied with having governmental missions performed by contractors that it now has to layer contractors on top of contractors to accomplish a mission that should be governmental to begin with?
Cave

On TSA nominee won't commit to collective bargaining rights

I am not a big fan of unions, but I will say that TSA needs to be fully unionized. I have been on several major deployments and not once, did TSA ever lack for volunteers to deploy in order to assist, so that "flexibility" argument is bogus. Everyone keeps talking about the screeners but they forget all the other people in TSA. TSA is about to change the journeyman level for the TSA Inspectors from an I-Band (GS-13 equivalent) to an H-Band (GS-11 Equivalent)and we have no help at all in trying to prevent this from happening. I have never heard of any federal agency ever lowering their journeyman level before this but yet, you will see that there is no change in all the J/K positions in HQS being made, the only changes are to the people working in the field. All of TSA needs to have union representation as it will also cut down or hopefully eliminate all these higher level vacancies being filled by unqualified people based on who you know.
TH

Perhaps the question she be asked why TSA employees want to unionize? How are the rank and file employees being treated that makes them believe they need union representation? There is good reason for it as TSA is anything but "employee friendly". Over the many years I've worked for TSA (and I've worked for two other federal agencies), I've never experienced such hostile treatment and anti-employee sentiment. TSA seems to thrive on developing policies that do not benefit employees (and their morale) when it could just as effectively do the opposite.
Employee