The private sector is losing jobs every, single day. Here in the US, we lost some 550,000 jobs last month - this is considered good news because we didn't lose 600,000+ jobs.
And as much as I think most Public Sector minions couldn't hold a position in the "real world", they do enjoy the comfort of never needing to worry about losing their job.
Additionally, from my experience, most forms of government bureaucracy are stellar examples of waste - waste of intelligence, waste of manpower, wasteful processes, waste of tax dollars.
In a recently released report from Lexmark International Inc. and a survey conducted by Alexandria, Va., marketing firm O'Keeffe & Co. it is revealed that the government is wasting millions of dollars in useless printing. (no way!)
The study, which is based on a survey of 380 federal employees, found that the U.S. government spends nearly $1.3 billion annually on printing.
Of that, about one third, $440 million, nearly $1 million a day, is wasted on useless pages.
"It makes way too much sense," said David Williams, vice president of policy at Citizens Against Government Waste, a Washington-based think tank.
"We see a culture of bureaucracy. When given a choice, even with these huge technological advantages, you don't see the government taking advantage of this. Private industry and business has taken advantage, but this government hasn't," Mr. Williams added.
What is more interesting is the dollar amount wasted, $440 million, is more than four times the amount President Obama recently asked agency managers collectively to eliminate from their administrative budgets.
On average, federal employees print 30 pages of paper every work day and respondents say that they discarded about 35 percent of the pages the day they printed them.
Ninety-two percent of respondents acknowledged they did not need all the material that they printed, and more than two-thirds said they could print less if they tried.
"Printing at work is made very easy, so I tend to print without thinking about it," one respondent said.
Lexmark recommends that federal agencies have a comprehensive printing policy in place, including how to better use digital documents.
"Agencies need to look at how to deploy and manage technology, not just from the perspective of putting a printer out there to be used, but around really understanding it as a service to your employees," said Brian Henderson,Lexmark's federal information solutions director. "How is printing strategically going to enable your mission?"
All is not lost, as 10 percent of survey respondents report a working under formal printing policies, and 20 percent said that their agencies had restrictions on color printing.(LOL)
Additionally, the Homeland Security Department expects to save more than $40,000 in part by printing fewer copies of the fiscal 2010 budget- posting online.(LOL, 40k savings?)
The Agriculture Department is developing a Web-based utility billing system that could save more than $670,000 annually.
"President Obama has called for fiscal responsibility, and identifying and eliminating unnecessary printing is a simple first step," said Marty Canning, a Lexmark vice president.
"Clear, standardized, and enforced agency printing policies, as well as increased reliance on secure digital records, will help change the employee printing habits that have become so ingrained in the government 'corporate culture' and enable agencies to decrease their carbon footprint," Mr. Canning added.
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All well and good.
But if I were Lexmark, I would stay clear of the Obama Public Sector Gravity Well - else, Mr. Canning could find himself working for Olivetti or in line with the ex-CEO of GM.
Articles, sources:
Federal workers throw out millions of pages a day.
Report recommends crackdown on excessive printing.
Olivetti
Wednesday Morning Federal Newsstand
Survey: US government could save millions on printing
The Lexmark report
Click to email me.
If so, then isn't it just a "conversion"?
