Like most democratic administrations, the Obama administration publically professes to (1) crack down on federal contractor abuse, (2) make contracting information more transparent, and (3) substitute federal employees for contract personnel. These may be laudable goals, and the administration's intentions may be sincere. The administration will show that these things are happening in some publically visible cases. What actually happens in the real word of the bureaucracy may not be the same as what is perceived by the public. The bureaucracy will continue to contract out because they have to get things done.

The Democrats' agenda of switching from contract labor to hiring more federal employees is based on the premise that government employees are more efficient and effective in carrying out the government's work. While there may be some truth in this argument at the policy level, it can hardly be taken seriously at the program operations level of government. The trend toward outsourcing more and more government work began way back because of government's inherent high employee costs, inefficiencies, and ineffectiveness, all the result of a lack of profit motive. Are we going to start that exorbitantly expensive cycle again--bring it in, find that nothing gets done, and go back out again? And waste money while at the same time dramatically adding stimulus and war costs to the federal deficit? The working-level bureaucracy will not let that happen. It has work to do.

In this current environment of jobs, jobs, jobs, the working-level bureaucracy wants contractor help as fast as contracts can be approved. For small to medium sized businesses this means holding a GSA schedule contract.