June 19, 2005: Headlines: Figures: Staff: Journalism: Charleston Gazette: Charlie Peters says: Franklin Roosevelt was a great believer in starting new agencies to get a job done. They don't have to defend old mistakes. They can hire the best people instead of having to retain the old employees, too many of whom are short on talent or set in the wrong ways.
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June 19, 2005: Headlines: Figures: Staff: Journalism: Charleston Gazette: Charlie Peters says: Franklin Roosevelt was a great believer in starting new agencies to get a job done. They don't have to defend old mistakes. They can hire the best people instead of having to retain the old employees, too many of whom are short on talent or set in the wrong ways.
Charlie Peters says: Franklin Roosevelt was a great believer in starting new agencies to get a job done. They don't have to defend old mistakes. They can hire the best people instead of having to retain the old employees, too many of whom are short on talent or set in the wrong ways.
Journalist Charlie Peters, the founder of "Washington Monthly," was the head of the Evaluation Division under Founding Director Sargent Shriver.
Charlie Peters says: Franklin Roosevelt was a great believer in starting new agencies to get a job done. They don't have to defend old mistakes. They can hire the best people instead of having to retain the old employees, too many of whom are short on talent or set in the wrong ways.
Franklin Roosevelt was a great believer in starting new agencies to get a job done. They don't have to defend old mistakes. They can hire the best people instead of having to retain the old employees, too many of whom are short on talent or set in the wrong ways.
Consider the incredible accomplishments of the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Works Progress Administration in putting millions of the unemployed to work during the Depression.
During the war, many new agencies functioned well. What has always amazed me most is the Office of Price Administration, which managed to hold prices down in the face of incredible inflationary pressures generated by shortages not just of gasoline, but of almost everything.
I was a part of a new agency, the Peace Corps, in 1961, and know how exciting it can be to be involved with a whole bunch of people, almost all of whom have the right stuff. This doesn't mean that you ignore the value of experience. But it does mean you're free to pick off the best of the experienced people from other agencies and mix them in with bright young people capable of learning fast and motivated to give the job their best.
Al Kamen says: Supporters of the Millennium Challenge Corporation point out that it is very hard to start an agency from scratch, something that cannot be done quickly.
Millennium': Challenged
Millennium': Challenged
Paul V. Applegarth , head of President Bush 's oft-criticized major foreign aid initiative, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, is resigning after just 18 months on the job. The announcement came two days after the leaders of five African nations complained to Bush that bureaucratic bottlenecks are making it hard to get assistance.
Congressional critics, noting the slow pace of disbursement, say that although the MCC has approved hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to four countries, much of that remains in the pipeline. And on Thursday, a House subcommittee recommended $1.75 billion in funding for the aid program, $1.25 billion less than Bush had asked for.
Supporters point out that it is very hard to start an agency from scratch, something that cannot be done quickly. But eyebrows were raised recently when the MCC announced it had approved turning over the financial management of a large grant to Madagascar to a nonprofit, German-government-owned corporation.
When this story was posted in June 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:
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Returned Volunteers met with author Philip Weiss in Baltimore on June 18 to discuss the murder of Peace Corps Volunteer Deborah Gardner. Weiss was a member of a panel that included three psychiatrists and a criminal attorney. Meanwhile, the Seattle U.S. Attorney's office announced that Dennis Priven cannot be retried for the murder. "We do not believe this case can be prosecuted by anyone, not only us, but in any other jurisdiction in the United States." Read background on the case here. |
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Story Source: Charleston Gazette
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Figures; Staff; Journalism
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