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Trapped in the Bubble
Via The Corner, here is Austin Hill working up some righteous populist outrage at Townhall.com:
Last week the Social Security Administration flew approximately 700 of its managers from across the U.S. and Guam to Phoenix, Arizona’s posh Arizona Biltmore Hotel and Resort, for “organizational training.” The event, which included musical entertainment and dancing, skits, catered food,
cocktails, and a “casino night” featuring “door prizes,” cost us lowly taxpayers approximately $750,000.
Seriously? SSA managed to put together a three-day corporate training session for $1,071 per person? That's.....unbelievable.
Seriously. That's unbelievable. SSA must have some world class penny-pinching accountants and event planners on their staff. I doubt there's a corporation in America that would even try to budget less than two grand a head for something like this.
And why did SSA hold their training session at the "posh" Arizona Biltmore? Let me take a guess: because it's 120 degrees in the shade in Phoenix during July. The heat hits you like an anvil and the Biltmore practically gives rooms away for free in order to keep the place from turning into a ghost town. SSA probably paid less than they would have at a Holiday Inn in Schaumburg.
(Yep. $85 per night it says here. That's really cheap for a hotel with convention facilities for 700 people.)
Apparently this has been the outrage du jour among conservatives for the past few days. Sad. If they knew anything about how the real world works they'd be applauding, not catcalling.
A bargain!
Yeah, $85 a night is a steal. You can't get a Hampton Inn at that price.
At my company, I budget $1,200 for the average business trip - $400 airfare, $170 a night hotel, $75 per day meals, transportation, miscellaneous. The hotel and the last-minute meals at the airport kill you.
How do you know about
How do you know about Schaumburg?
If Conservatives
knew anything about the real world they'd become liberals because as we all know 'reality has a liberal bias.'
A boondoggle is still a
A boondoggle is still a boondoggle, even if it's done on the cheap. They could have easily accomplished this "organizational training" via online or onsite methods and saved a good chunk of dough.
Of course, it's hard to play the "close your eyes and fall back and your co-workers will catch you" game over the intertubes.
Using a virtual zip line isn't as fun as the real thing either.
The adults are away
Like you, Kevin, I read the Corner for insight into the id of the right (and also for occasional insight). It is amazing how much more unhinged it has become this week with the adults out cruising southern Europe. It's like Michael Rubin and Andy McCarthy feel they need to make up for the lack of posts by screeching even louder.
Spent several weeks in cheap Phoenix 5-star resort.
They practically give away rooms for free, summer season, and I had to do some work at a customer site.
I'm frankly skeptical.
I'm frankly skeptical. Cocktails may have been 'featured', but were probably not provided by SSA. If they were, it was illegal. Appropriated funds may not typically be used for alcohol.
Cocktails At SSA Training Meeting
I worked for SSA for 32 years in California. There were perhaps four meetings of this type I attended during that time, all in the desert in summer. The last big meeting put on by SSA in the SFO region was in 2000, if I remember correctly. You pay for your own meals (voucher later) and if you want to buy a cocktail, you buy it yourself, no reimbursement allowed. Per diem is capped, of course, and often doesn't cover the trip. The estimated cost of this training session for 700 people is actually around $700K. This works out to about $111.00 per person per year average annual training expense from 2000 to 2009.
Since the Disability backlog stituation has become critical, the volume of threats received in local offices has soared. Some of these threats are mere rants, others involve guns and people known to law enforcement. I understand that one of the subjects covered at the training session was office security, and how to assist employees who have been personally threatened or have witnessed violence in the workplace. FYI. Judge for yourself if the expense was justified.
People seriously turn into
People seriously turn into Scrooge whenever the topic of government expenses comes up. "How dare Bob Cratchet get an extra lump of coal on the fire!"
A boondoggle is still a boondoggle, even if it's done on the cheap. They could have easily accomplished this "organizational training" via online or onsite methods and saved a good chunk of dough.
That's true, but it's also true about pretty much every corporate retreat/industry conference in the private sector, too. I'm convinced the only reason for these things is as a bit of a morale booster, like a company picnic on steroids. Which may be a good enough reason to do them. In any case, there's really not much point criticizing the SSA for doing something most companies do as well. If we privatized SS, I'm sure those organizational retreats would be happening in Tahiti and Hawaii.
As a taxpayer, Austin Hill paid a fraction of a penny for this thing to happen. If he's really that upset, I'll gladly give him a whole penny just so he'll shut up.
Arizona
It may hit 120 at the peak, but it is still great in the morning, weather-wise. And if you catch monsoons (more in Tucson, I admit), they are spectacular. But don't let anyone know -- stay away from AZ!
Not sure what you're
tagged as:- solution
Not sure what you're smoking, but night time temps are going to be above 90 degrees this week meaning health officials are worried about populations dying from heat AT NIGHT, and humidity is low with no monsoon in sight.
Upside is that the hookers on Van Buren and Jefferson are also making great deals, especially for government workers.
Conventions are for fun, not
Conventions are for fun, not training. A pure waste of taxpayer money at a time when we are in crisis.
"...musical entertainment and dancing, skits, catered food, cocktails, and a “casino night"
Austin Hill also brings up
Austin Hill also brings up an old story about AIG, a $440,000 meeting at a resort hotel in California, a boondoggle condemned by the White House at the time. What he doesn't note is that the AIG trip involved maybe a tenth as many people. I think that makes a difference, along with the kinds of things that were paid for.
As for the argument that it could have been done remotely, hooking up 700 people in an online multi-day training conference--right.
Because they're patriots
Republicans like to think anything done in the public interest must be as cheap and shoddy as possible.
Because they're patriots.
At least for research dominated organizations.
These sorts of events allow people with similar interests to get together, and get interesting collaborations started. While its certainly possible this could happen with an internet meeting, in all probability a lot of opportunities are missed by not having the meeting. It is usually the informal meetings that pay off the most.
AND the Arizona Biltmore was
AND the Arizona Biltmore was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and is an architectural landmark! Kevin is right on about the heat like an anvil and the rate. The last time is attended a conference at the Biltmore I paid $125 for the room -- in 1986!
Another feather in the Biltmore's cap:
my grandfather was employee of the month for June, 1938. No lie.
Wasn't designed by Wright.
Influenced by Wright, but not designed by Wright.
120?
Nah. It's only... 110 right now. ;-)
Yes, that is why you can get screaming deals at AZ hotels in July. ;->
"If they knew anything about
"If they knew anything about how the real world works they'd be applauding, not catcalling."
No, they would be catcalling anyway. They need to get mad and they need to vent. It's all they have.
And BTW, MacGruber and Luther are talking out of some orifice other than their mouths. In some cases, there is simply no substitute for F2F and group meetings, and properly organized (which this clearly was), conferences like this can work you to exhaustion.
(I'd also be willing to bet that they demand only the highest and most-up-to-date qualifications of public servants AND expect them to work for pennies.)
Conservatives ... what a waste of good carbon ...
My brother led some
My brother led some workshops at this event.
He said it was hot, but preferable to his last SSA event. Buffalo in January!
GOP, the party of Fear and Anger
I'm trying to figure out which aspect of the GOP I can tolerate the most. Their 'angry at the world' side is kinda fun to watch, like seeing a kid throwing a tantrum. As long as you are not too close and it is not your kid. Their 'I'm afraid of the big bad world' side is easier to take in the short run, and it is easier to take close up, but it is still awfully wearing in the long run. A psychologist would say the anger comes from the fear. I dunno, I guess I prefer to watch the anger on TV and take the fear close up.
Tripp
Hey guys we should outsource
Hey guys we should outsource social security to the PRIVATE SECTOR.
It will be SO MUCH less costly and more efficiently administered.
Cheap
I'm guessing anyone could meet for nearly nothing in Phoenix in July.
Phoenix is a pit and right now it is a 105 in the shade pit.
accomplished this "organizational training" via online or onsite
Online isn't free -- if they would need to develop any meaningful new software to do training it could be quite costly. And the time required to test and debug the software would be significant. A face to face meeting can be more efficient time-wise.
I, too, generally consider conventions boondoggles and wastes of money. But before anyone decides it's a *huge* boondoggle I'd like to see a real breakdown of the costs and alternatives. I'm pretty sure the waste we are talking about here is essentially tiny.
Also, I assume that similar outrage was expressed over no-bid contracts and the *billions* of dollars that have simply disappeared in Iraq, right? I mean, once that inefficiency is taken care maybe we can work our way do the list to this.
Lets Be fair Here
Re Russell's comment above: Let's be fair here; the question whether Frank Lloyd Wright designed the Biltmore is open to debate. The architect of record was a FLW disciple, Albert McArthur. He invited Wright to assist in the design and there is evidence FLW did a significant amount of work. The layout and plans were definitely by McArthur but the manner of construction, concrete masonry cast with a intricate texture, definitely Wright's. It is a striking building, and similar in many ways to FLW's Tokyo Hotel project, which suggests a larger share on his part, but the project was probably such a collaboration that the feud over who designed it is silly. The reason I belabor this is, being an architect, I'm unemployed. I ain't got nuthing better to do......
McCain held his loser party
McCain held his loser party at the Biltmore in November.