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Generally, when you fail to deliver on a project at work, there are a few things that are guaranteed to happen. Being held accountable, or staying on the job until it is done, or maybe even being fired, all come to mind.
Not in government, though! The old saying of “screw up and move up” was never more evident than in yesterday’s hearings of why the HealthCare.gov rollout was such a debacle.
Testifying in front of Congress, Cheryl Campbell of CGI Federal (the company paid to create and design the website) said, “we didn’t have enough testing time” and that CMS (the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a branch of HHS) knew that there hadn’t been enough testing.
Translation: Not our fault! Blame CMS!
CMS communications director Julie Bataille testified that yes, there wasn’t full scale testing done, but they had a “compressed time frame” in which to finish.
Translation: Not our fault! We needed more time! Blame whoever set that deadline of October 1st!
Whether they realize it or not, CMS has just blamed these two for why the rollout was such a colossal failure:
The president was the one who insisted that October 1st be the launch date, even touting it in speeches. By the time he was giving that speech, CGI Federal already knew the site wasn’t ready, and they had told CMS. Presumeably, CMS told someone at HHS, who then told HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius that the website wasn’t ready.
And if Sebelius knew, and she let President Obama give that speech, then she should be fired.
Or maybe President Obama knew, and told her to get it fixed, and gave the speech anyway.
I have no idea.
What I do know is that we have an administration who continually runs on the Lando Calrissian theory of government – it was always someone else’s job to fix the problem, and it’s not their fault that it didn’t get done right or on time.
The American public should be screaming at the top of their lungs, demanding some kind of accountability for this fiasco. I hear only a low murmur, not a collective roar. Our apathy merely guarantees that the “screw up and move up” mentality will continue to live on. It’s sad that the American public, who would have no hesitation about sending a plate of food back to a kitchen at a restaurant if their order got screwed up, feels that this level of incompetence and finger-pointing is acceptable when it comes to government programs.
Peggy L. says: Now they are saying it will be up and running pefectly by November 30th. I call BS. They also are saying there are more people signing up then really are because they are neglecting to mention that those people are having to go on Medicaid. It’s one big cluster and the only ones paying are us.
Jodi Giddings says: My two cents: I don’t think the ObamaTAXCare website/program is a failure. I think it’s doing precisely what it was designed to do: destroy healthcare as we know it, in order to usher in single payer, meaning government control of our healthcare with zero choice. The lovelies at the IRS have already proven themselves willing to target the freedom of speech of people like me who oppose destructive progressivism and the insurance-hocker-in-chief, Captain ShamWOW. It will not hesitate to target me, and anyone who dissents, for the rationing of our care.
The American public should be screaming at the top of their lungs, demanding some kind of accountability for this fiasco. I hear only a low murmur, not a collective roar. Our apathy merely guarantees that the “screw up and move up” mentality will continue to live on. It’s sad that the American public, who would have no hesitation about sending a plate of food back to a kitchen at a restaurant if their order got screwed up, feels that this level of incompetence and finger-pointing is acceptable when it comes to government programs.
Well, when the pool of people who actually have “skin in the game”, i.e. pay taxes continues to shrink with the rise in recipients of entitlements and the bulk of this economy’s anemic job growth being part-time workers, this really shouldn’t be a shock.
Melly the Pirate says: I want to know who in the first place suggested these incompetent people to design the site I’m wondering if there isn’t some sort of kick back program going on since this administration is quite good at that (re: “Green” companies going BK from all the Gov’t grants, etc.).
Jodi Giddings says: I’ve been wondering the very same, MtP. This stinks to high heaven.
Nina says: Jodi is absolutely on target with her first comment. They are setting this up to fail so that all the ‘know it alls’ can point fingers and lecture nd bully us into a single payer system.
As for the roll out of the program itself – that Go Live has been the worst I’ve ever seen … CGI and every other contractor involved would be FIRED if this was any other entity. But NOOOO . .its the gubmint! So they get to blame everyone else and STILL pocket our money!!
Jennifer says: The best idea for a Halloween costume I have head lately-a guy holding tons of insurance forms in a broken wheelchair as the Obamacare roll out. #winning
This post proves it, we need to fire anyone who engages in crony capatalism-so I vote BHO and Moochelle first!
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