Government Computer Failures [Like ObamaCare] are Normal

How could the U.S. Government make such a mess of the roll-out of the website for ObamaCare? Actually, government computer systems incompetence is normal. The reaction to www.HealthCare.gov presupposes that our government normally does these things well.

ObamaCare is high profile and under the microscope. The filibuster and shutdown confrontation brought intense attention to the roll-out on October 1. But the U.S. Government routinely bungles computer projects large and small and wastes money.

Why didn't the Federal government learn anything from past fiascoes? How could President Obama imagine that the Federal Government could hijack and control one-sixth of the nation's economy when it repeatedly botched previous, less-ambitious projects? ObamaCare is vastly more complicated in design than the socialized medicine prevalent in European countries.

The Internal Revenue Service made an even worse disaster out of its $8 billion computer upgrade project labeled its "Business Systems Modernization." First, the IRS wasted $3 billion in the 1990's. Then the IRS started over in 1999 with a new attempt. By 2004, eight major projects were over-budget by $200 million, according to the U.S. General Accounting Office and the congressionally chartered IRS Oversight Board. The first stage to go live was three years behind schedule and $36.8 million over budget.

Old news? Well, did we learn anything? By the time we get to ObamaCare, why is Washington still repeating the same mistakes? CIO Magazine wrote in 2004: "Contracts with vendors didn't have clear deliverables. And no one, either within the IRS or among its dozens of contractors, was held accountable for results."

I found that nearly 100% of the time, “the suits” executive decisions were based on the assumption that off-the-shelf computer systems work.

If it looks like a computer and is marketed as a computer, it must be *a working computer* ... is their assumption.

So, they buy many, and technicians then attempt to make the computers work, as in *really* make the computers actually do work, as in be reliably productive.

With machine controls, such as for robots, that’s a must, or the supplier of the robots is in for big losses and quickly.

With computer systems, it is often very difficult to get “the suits” to realize how much effort is required to fix and improve the computers ... up to a status of working reliably.

“The suits” DO NOT aim for that status. These “suits” are the same Bush-bot/Clinton-bot/Romney-bot/Obama-bot -types whose objectives are not the moon, rather, their objectives are the obsequious “best practices” and other buzz-wordities of the perfumed-corporate-culture: ie appearances.

Bush-bot/Clinton-bot/Romney-bot/Obama-bot -types all choose to believe that “the computers work” and so their answer is H1B Visas - to get cheap labor to fix things. In other words, to cut the cost of these executives’ mistakes.

Used to be different ...

For a while in our country, there were true leaders - captains of industry - meaning industrious people who spent a lot of time on the floor and in the trenches to make things work *reliably.*

There are now, such captains, but most are not in major executive positions; instead, such captains are kept around, in order to make things work *reliably* because in the end, “the suits” higher up realize that the product must work *reliably.* (Classic situation in the USSR and in countries that are under the yoke of national socialism.)

The government is very fearful of capable captains, commanders, majors, and colonels.

In the private sector, many executives are as fearful of capable captains, commanders, majors, and colonels.

Because, capable captains, commanders, majors, and colonels are determined to make things work *reliably* and *that* exposes all the wordity that makes up the fine “suit” of “the suits” in addition to such “suits” many mistakes.

One of the captains whom I remember, was technically an enlisted man in the USAF, but he was an industry captain -— you could just see it.

He was a maintenance specialist on big aircraft. He happened to be near a large tourist bus that had broken down, and he went over to see if he might be of some help.

Some other mechanics plus a few bureaucratic-types (”the suits”) were milling around, discussing various socialization and political exercises in order to establish the pecking order, given that they were stymied, and that ad hoc organizational structure was *NOT* working reliably.

In comes this “captain.” Without much time listening to the basic story re technical failure, he simply attacks the problem, tools in hand or nearby from his maintenance support vehicle.

It did not take too long for “the establishment” to back away a little, as this fellow performed surgery on the big engine at the back of the bus.

Soon, a crowd developed around this “captain,” as it became obvious, that he was determined to fix the engine and make it run reliably. “The suits” could not stop him, as it was also obvious, that THEY HAD NO CLUE AS USUAL and further finger-pointing and “executive decision-making” would prove that they should have kept quiet.

Among the astonishing accomplishments that afternoon, was that this “captain” was *clearly the man in charge.* Also, his uniform remained almost immmaculate. He moved almost as if not burdened by the struggles of ordinary man; his eyes focused upon the many parts and pieces and workings ... and his hands were guided by his focus.

When he finished his work, there seemed to be a moment of silence, as all just looked at him and appreciated his truth.

He was an artist and craftsman, with substance that is otherwise a fabrication within the resumes and wordity of today’s “suits.”

In a well-run plant, the plant managment does not want to see “the suits” and discuss how service will be attained with results working reliably; instead, the plant management wants to see the service “captains” who make things happen.

ObamaCare Failures’s reaction was to reach out to the talking heads - “the suits” - which is pretty much guaranteed to make the next, and then the next, ObamaCare Failure to occur.

That is the way of perfumed suits in government and in the [former?] private sector.

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