Osrzag: Old computers lead to government inefficiency
U.S. President Barack Obama has proposed a meeting in April with leaders of technology companies to discuss how to improve the government’s information technology infrastructure. From The Hill‘s Hillicon Valley blog:
“Twenty years ago, people who came to work in the federal government had better technology at work than at home,” said [Peter] Orszag, director of the Office of Management and Budget. “Now that’s no longer the case.
“The American people deserve better service from their government, and better return for their tax dollars.”
The White House release that included Orszag’s comments said one “specific source” of ineffective and inefficient government is the huge technology gap between the public and private sectors that results in billions of dollars in waste, slow and inadequate customer service and a lack of transparency about how dollars are spent.
This doesn’t mean the public will necessarily see the physical results of any upgrade. The inefficiency is seen as within the government, rather than in the government’s interactions with citizens.
“Improving the technology our government uses isn’t about having the fanciest bells and whistles on our websites — it’s about how we use the American people’s hard-earned tax dollars to make government work better for them,” Obama said in a statement.
