OMB Director Blames 'IT Gap' for Government's Lackluster Productivity

What's driving up productivity costs in this country? A lot of things - but the answer probably depends on your politics. According to Peter Orszag, director of the Office of Management and Budget, productivity in the U.S. government can be blamed, at least partially, on antiquated technology.

Government productivity has declined significantly since the 1980s as it fell behind the private sector in upgrading its information technology, Orszag said in a speech Tuesday at the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C.

"From 1987 until 1995, private sector productivity rose by an average of 1.5 percent a year," Orszag told news media during the speech, reported on by Marketwatch and others. "Meanwhile, the public sector's productivity rose by only 0.4 percent per year -- or about one-third as much -- over roughly the same period."  

 

Closing the IT gap "is perhaps the single most important step we can take in creating a more efficient and responsive government," Orszag told news media during the 30-minute speech.

The Washington Post, which also covered Orzag's talk, said polls show that two-thirds of taxpayers are pretty sure the government is wasting their money.

One example: The U.S. Patent Office receives 80 percent of its applications electronically. But then patent office bureaucrats have to print them out and scan them by hand into an outdated case management system, the Post noted. That's why the average time for approval is three years.

Orszag told news media President Obama is seeking to modernize and reform government. The "far-reaching effort" is critical to achieving the president's pledge to freeze non-security spending and save $250 billion over the next decade, he said.