November 24, 2008, 4:54 pm
Was $23,000 Too Much?
Apparently for the Washington Post, a $23,000 retreat for 46 government employees was too much.
Raw Fisher of the Post writes in an article titled Where's Firing Fenty When You Need Him? that "...the unbelievable gall it takes to mount such an expedition, especially as the city faces a nine-figure budget shortfall, is certainly worthy of some mayoral attention, in the form of a symbolic firing or two."
His problem seems to be that because we're facing a budget deficit, treating hard-working employees to some team-building is out of line.
He didn't take them to the Ritz. Nor did he order caviar and wine for his staff. He spent $500 per employee, or even less if you count him (which would make a theoretical 47 people). In an era of $500,000 retreats on the taxpayer dime (a.k.a. AIG), $23,000 for some leadership training and some team building doesn't seem that out of line.
There are certainly wastes in the DC government budget worth pursuing. This isn't one of them.
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