IT world tries to save federal government

"The federal government must move quickly to embrace the innovative methods and technologies that help drive productivity increases -- and cost decreases -- in the private sector. The alternative is to remain mired in deficit and recession, choking U.S. competitiveness and stifling the fundamental driver of our country’s growth and greatness, American society itself."

So concludes the Technology CEO Council "1 Trillion Reasons" report. The Technology CEO Council is "the information technology industry's public policy advocacy organization comprising chief executive officers from America's leading information technology companies", as stated on their website.

The Dell Palmisano Manifesto has arisen to challenge the administration to do what's right, smart, and urgently needed.


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Consolidating the government’s myriad supply chains is likely to save $500 billion. And applying advanced analytics to reduce fraud and error in federal grants, food stamps, Medicare payments, tax refunds and other programs could save an estimated $200 billion by making these programs more adaptive, responsive and even predictive.

This is not just theory. We’ve seen both the cost savings and the innovation that these approaches can unleash — in both the public and the private sectors.

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It's the Information Technology world's ultimatum to the federal government. The gist? Get your act together technologically, or perish.

The message: Government is old fashioned, trapped in outdated, easily compromised computer networks that need to be hardened. Now.

I can read between the lines. It's not just criminal fraud that's the problem. Government systems need to be upgraded and reinforced due to the cyberwar that Chinese and Iranian hackers are inflicting upon our critical utilities, military, and security operations.

As a member of the IT community, I applaud Dell and IBM for having the guts to boldly declare what needs to be done, immediately, to protect federal funds, taxpayer money, from abuse and impropriety.

But does the government, the least intelligent institution of human society, care about fraud? Is the government itself a clever hoax, a delirious delusion, a miserable throwback to hierarchical dysfunction that preceded humanity declaring itself a collaboration of equals?

Exposing systems fraud in an institution could backfire. Ruling elites are rarely humble and want everybody to think they themselves have all the answers. Outside help, from the private sector, is often insulted and ignored.

Especially if sleazy inside dealings are rampant and being carefully protected.

That is -- if foxes are guarding the hen house, a hen-house inspector specializing in fox eradication will not be a welcome guest.

If the current administration rejects this offer of FREE detective and corrective work, and will not yield to public pressures to accept it, we have all the evidence we need as to the quality and nature of the installed potentates.

Read the entire proposal: "Washington Can Save $1 Trillion" by SAMUEL J. PALMISANO & MICHAEL DELL at Politico 10/6/10 4:30 AM EDT

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