I don’t understand how any liberal big government loon can say that “all is well” when you keep seeing this kind of flagrant abuse. From what I understand all officials from the GSA are on paid leave, and the chances of them being fired is slim to none unless charged with a crime. Pensions will also be intact.
Next is a different viewpoint that I found interesting, he talks about how Mr. Neely may not have even thought that this was wrong, because after 34 yeasr of service, it was just natural to abuse taxpayers money this way….damn sad.
“A few facts for perspective on what I’m about to say. First, Mr. Neely is a career civil servant, meaning that while he was initially appointed to his job by an Administration prior to the Barack Obama Administration. He has worked for the federal government for 34 years. I emphasize his tenure because we need to understand he has spent almost, if not all, of his professional career working for the federal government – or, more importantly, the taxpayers. He has served under Democrats and Republicans.
Second, Mr. Neely works in a regional office of the GSA, on the West Coast, far, far from Washington, DC. I emphasize this because we need to understand the complexity and size of this nation geographically and, as we’ll see shortly, governmentally. Mr. Neely works generally autonomously, probably with little oversight, and (even though I haven’t seen his personnel records or reports thereon) with great deference from his coworkers because of his longevity and obvious ability to navigate and survive the politics of the GSA and numerous Presidential administrations.
During my short tenure in Washington I came to one horrific understanding: most of Washington considers taxpayer money nothing more than monopoly money. Need more for your program? Find a sponsor on the Hill and viola! you’ve got your money. Granted not everyone has this attitude and many members of Congress and many civil servants will vigorously become penny pinchers, watching every one of our nickels and dimes. But unfortunately the great majority think we can just spend and spend and spend and spend.
Mr. Neely is a victim and a perpetrator of that attitude. He succumbs to the overseers who want him to spend money; and, he justifies his existence by expanding and growing the programs he oversees. Mr. Neely, a civil servant with all the legal protections of a protected class, works without much fear of dismissal. He works 3,000 miles from most of his political superiors ensconced in Washington, DC. Mr. Neely, with a bank of historical knowledge in his head, is essential for the political class as he understands the programs and mission of GSA and can manipulate the political appointees to his favor.
