The sequester bite is taking a toll on government programs. According to the NY Times the sequester is temporarily changing the way the government does business.
One example is pulling out of an international space conference held in the US. “We talk about being a leader in space exploration,” said Elliot H. Pulham, the chief executive of the National Space Foundation, which sponsored the symposium in Colorado that features experts from around the world, but now not from NASA. “But it’s hard to be a leader if you don’t show up.”
On the opposite side are elected officials such as Senator Tom Coburn, R- OK, who think that sequester makes agencies think about their spending . “There is no question that federal employees should have some travel and go to some conferences, but most of it has nothing to do with their jobs. It’s a perk.”
One federal employee talked about having to drive to an airport to rent a car and then drive another 10 hours to reach a conference. Sure, the government saved the difference between the actual air fare and the rental of the vehicle, but what about the loss of 2+ days of productivity?
Another view comes from the US Travel Association, which wrote a report on the value of government participation in meetings.
At CommCore we have seen the impact of the blanket sequester. As a taxpayer I’m all in favor of eliminating waste, but random across the board cuts are, as they say, a cleaver when a scalpel will do. Of course, some Media, Presentation and Critical Thinking training can be done on-line and by reading. But like driving a car the only way you can good at learning the right behavior is with in-person guided training.