Federal Government

Improving Your Agency's Leadership Clout Among Employees

Tom Fox | Posted 05.17.2012

Read More: Leadership, Best Places to Work, Federal Government, Federal Employees, Federal Leaders, Federal Government Employees, Federal Government Leaders, Business News
Tom Fox

I've got some good and bad news for federal leaders. On a positive note, federal employees' views of their leaders have been on the upswing since 2003 based on an analysis of the Best Places to Work in the Federal Government rankings.

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The Power of WE

Paul Boden | Posted 05.08.2012

Read More: Human Rights, Affordable Housing, Western Regional Advocacy Project, Social Services, Social Justice, Democrats, Public Housing, Civil Rights, Housing Crisis, Privatization, Homelessness, Policing, Homeless, Housing, Police, Community Organizing, Jail, Republicans, Business Improvement Districts, Federal Government, Public Goods, Corporate Control, Politics News
Paul Boden

Why wouldn't our government want the people being governed to be educated, healthy, well-housed and able to freely be in nature? Is it wrong to think that government should want these things for all people?

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A New Solution For Child Welfare

Deborah De Santis | Posted 05.01.2012

Read More: Child Abuse, Housing, Homelessness, Foster Care, Children's Health, Federal Government, Children, Impact News
Deborah De Santis

Many of our public systems have embraced supportive housing for their highest need populations. And now child welfare agencies are poised to incorpora...

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Calling for Storms

Cindy Auten | Posted 04.19.2012

Read More: Mobile Devices, Earth Day, Federal Government, Mobility, Telework Exchange, Telework, Technology, Security, Federal IT, Tablets, Telecommuting, Technology News
Cindy Auten

With the increasing use of mobile devices like laptops, smartphones and tablets, an organization's infrastructure must be able to support a new workforce that doesn't work strictly from their office.

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"Jerry Duty"

Jerry Zezima | Posted 04.17.2012

Read More: Jurors, Court, Humor, Brooklyn, "Law & Order, Hollywood, " Judge, Las Vegas, Jury Duty, Federal Government, Hotel, Atlantic City, Jokes Jury Duty, Satire, Jury Duty Jokes, Jury Duty Humor, Comedy News
Jerry Zezima

It was an offer I couldn't refuse: Report to jury duty for a mob trial or wake up next to a horse's head. My wife, Sue, who wakes up every morning next to the other end of a horse, said it would be safer to do my civic duty than to end up on trial myself.

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Feds Express Appreciation for Attrition

Steve Ressler | Posted 04.10.2012

Read More: Govloop, Human Resources, Employee Turnover, Budget Cuts, Government Budget, Federal Government, DC News
Steve Ressler

High attrition rates are often considered negative indicators for an agency's health, but last week GovLoop blogger Doris Tirone wondered: "Is there an upside to high turnover?"

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Responding to Romney's Op-Ed on Abolishing the Affordable Care Act, and His "Alternative"

Paul Abrams | Posted 05.23.2012

Read More: Massachusetts Healthcare Plan, Cost-Shifting, Federal Government, Mitt Romney, Medicare, Budget, Afforedable Health Care Act, Deficits, Mitt Romney Health Care Speech, Romney Obamacare, Politics News
Paul Abrams

On the second anniversary of the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act, Mitt Romney penned an op-ed for USA Today. One must respond immediately, because Mitt may Etch-a-Sketch himself to a different position before this is published.

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The Woman Who Produces the Federal Budget (And Your Passport)

Tom Fox | Posted 05.14.2012

Read More: U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), Davita Vance-Cooks, Gpo, Federal Budget Deficit, Federal Government, Politics News
Tom Fox

A business executive with more than two decades of private-sector experience, Vance-Cooks joined the GPO in 2004 and is the first woman to hold its top position.

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The Myth of the Out-of-Control Federal Government

Bob Greenstein | Posted 04.30.2012

Read More: Deficit, Debt, Entitlements, Baby Boomers, Social Security, Medicare, Federal Government, Federal Budget Deficit, Government Spending, Federal Spending, Federal Budget, Politics News
Bob Greenstein

My colleague at the Center, Richard Kogan, authored a wonderful summary of our new report tackling the question, "Are the Size and Reach of the Federa...

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One Of The Worst Places To Work In Federal Government Is..

Posted 02.26.2012

Read More: Video, John Morton, ICE Employment, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Federal Government, ICE Employees, ICE Jobs, Immigration, Worst Places to Work, Latino Voices News

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, also known as ICE, often gets a bad rap from the media for their treatment of immigrants and this year...

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Alhurra and the Arab Spring

Hussain Abdul-Hussain | Posted 04.17.2012

Read More: Radio Sawa, Arab Spring, Federal Government, Washington, Alhurra, Public Broadcasting, Walter Isaacson, Voice of America, Media News
Hussain Abdul-Hussain

There is one thing in common between Congress-funded Arabic TV, Alhurra, and countries of the Arab Spring. Both have unaccountable leaders, who have been in place since forever, and who look like they are staying indefinitely.

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Occupy The Truth: Whistleblowers Conference Rolls Into UC Berkeley

Greg Archer | Posted 04.16.2012

Read More: Government, Government Bailout, Occupy Wall Street Protest, Activism, College, Federal Government, Protest, Occupy Wall Street, Government Spending, UC Berkeley, Bradley Manning, Bradley Manning Wikileaks, #Occupywallstreet, Annie Sprinkle, Occupy Movement, Video, Naomi Pitcairn, San Francisco News
Greg Archer

An upcoming three-day political huddle, dubbed "Occupy the Truth: Whistleblowers Conference," piqued my interest. Think of it as an advocate/activist/info-gathering fest.

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Bureaucracy Bashing, Obama-Style

Rena Steinzor | Posted 04.10.2012

Read More: Regulation, Federal Agencies, President Obama, Bureaucracy, Obama Administration, Federal Government, Politics News
Rena Steinzor

By casting regulatory agencies and the people who work there as tin-eared buffoons, the President makes it all the harder for the agencies and their advocates to get the political support they need to adopt badly needed safeguards.

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Are Clergy Public Servants? Gov't Says NO!

Brad Hirschfield | Posted 04.10.2012

Read More: Federal Government, Religion and Politics, Separation of Church and State, Student Loans, Faith, Public Service Loan Forgiveness, Student Debt, Religion News
Brad Hirschfield

Are clergy and teachers of religious faith/thought public servants? Is their work on par with that of others who work for 501c3 non-for-profit groups and for government agencies? The federal government has changed its mind about that.

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Just 6 Percent of College Students Want To Work In Government: Poll

The Huffington Post | Alexander Eichler | Posted 02.07.2012

Read More: College Students, Government Workers, State Government, Deficit, U.S. Economy, Video, Unemployment, Federal Budget Deficit, Federal Government, Employment, Jobs, Hiring, Government Jobs, Local Government, College Graduates, Business News

The public sector, the part of the economy experiencing cuts at every level, may soon be facing a staffing crisis of sorts. Just 6 percent of stud...

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IRS Offering Free Tax Help For Modest-Income Earners

AP | By EILEEN AJ CONNELLY | Posted 02.05.2012

Read More: Taxes, Income Tax, Irs, Volunteer-Income-Tax-Assistance-Program, Free Tax Help, Tax Help, Federal Government, Tax Counseling for the Elderly, Internal Revenue Service, Federal Programs, Video, Business News

-- Tax laws are so complex many taxpayers don't feel comfortable filing out their own returns, but getting professional help can be expensive. Belie...

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Most Americans Want The Government To Combat Foreclosures: Poll

The Huffington Post | Alexander Eichler | Posted 01.27.2012

Read More: Foreclosure Crisis, Housing Market, Housing Prices, Mitt Romney, Real Estate, Mortgage Refinancing, Housing Crisis, Barack Obama, Home Foreclosures, Housing Values, State of the Union 2012, Federal Government, Real Estate Values, Home Prices, Refinancing, Foreclosure, Obama State of the Union, State of the Union, Video, Business News

With no end in sight to the foreclosure crisis, a majority of Americans are calling on the government to do something about it. Fifty-eight percent...

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Federal Government Opening Late

The Huffington Post | Posted 01.23.2012

Read More: Video, Metrorail, Vincent Gray, District of Columbia, Federal Government, Icy Weather, Metrobus, Office of Personnel Management, National Capital Region, Federal Government Late Start, Federal Government Closed, Weather OPM, DC News

WASHINGTON -- Freezing rain and slick roads in the D.C. region have prompted the Office of Personnel Management to delay the opening of the federal go...

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Sharing Best Practices Across an Agency

Tom Fox | Posted 03.20.2012

Read More: Strategic Advisors to Government Executives, Federal Agency, Managers, Federal Government, Partnership for Public Service, Chief Information Officers (CIO) Council, Best Practices, Business News
Tom Fox

The most high-performing organizations I've worked in or witnessed develop best practices as a result of their senior leaders setting clear expectations that employees should be sharing their knowledge across their agency.

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In Over Half Of U.S. States, Spending To Exceed Revenues

Reuters | Posted 03.10.2012

Read More: Taxes, Video, Budget Gaps, Federal Government, Standard and Poor's, National Conference of State Legislatures, Reuters, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Municipal Defaults, Budget Deficits, Medicaid Healthcare Program, Municipal Debt, Business News

By Lisa Lambert Jan 9 (Reuters) - More than half the U.S. states will not have enough revenues to cover spending demands in the fiscal...

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Government Accounted For Nearly A Third Of All Layoffs In 2011: Report

The Huffington Post | Alexander Eichler | Posted 01.05.2012

Read More: Pentagon, Financial Industry, U.S. Economy, Financial Sector, Financial Industry Layoffs, Public Debt, Retail, Challenger Gray & Christmas, Consumer Spending, Local Government, Layoffs, State Government, Retail Industry, National Debt, Unemployment, Postal Service, Wall Street, Job Cuts, Government Layoffs, Federal Government, Military Spending, Government Jobs, Defense Spending, Video, Business News

For government workers and financial sector employees, last year was a particularly bad one -- and 2012 likely won't be much better. More jobs were...

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With the Chesapeake Bay, Solving a Complex Leadership Problem

Tom Fox | Posted 02.29.2012

Read More: Stakeholders, Leadership, Conservation, Partnerships, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Federal Government, Katherine Antos, Chesapeake Bay, Smarter Ideas, Green News
Tom Fox

"Much of the work the federal government does relies on effective partnerships, and cleaning up the river and streams that flow into the Chesapeake Bay is no exception."

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Both Public And Private Sector Wages Barely Grew Over Twelve Months

The Huffington Post | Alexander Eichler | Posted 01.23.2012

Read More: Corporate Profits, Peer Benchmarking, Income Inequality, Wages, Wage Stagnation, Federal Pay Freeze, Federal Spending, Income, Local Government, Public Sector Jobs, State Government, Video, Minimum Wage, Low Wages, Federal Government, Occupy Wall Street, Public Sector Wages, Federal Employees, Private Sector Wages, Business News

Whether you work for the government or the private sector, it's likely your salary didn't go up much in 2011, but federal workers saw their wages grow...

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Immigration Law Free-for-All

Andy Schupak | Posted 02.18.2012

Read More: Supreme Court, State Government, Immigration, Arizona Immigration Law, Federal Government, World News
Andy Schupak

I recently interviewed Harry DeMell, an immigration lawyer and member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, about states taking immigration...

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Amid Portal Problems, USAJOBS Turns Frustration to Friendship With Social Media

Steve Ressler | Posted 02.11.2012

Read More: Social Media, Youtube, Govloop, Twitter, Usajobs, Facebook, Government, Career, Federal Government, Careers, Jobs, Video, DC News
Steve Ressler

When USAJOBS -- the online portal for federal jobs -- shut down for a few days in October to launch it's new website, government job seekers and recru...

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