YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK – AT 1:20 P.M. ET:  We depend on the Census Bureau to be accurate, complete, and honest.  Lots of luck.  From the Washington Times:

Employees in the Census Bureau’s hiring office bilked the government out of $1.1 million in pay they never earned, broke government rules by hiring friends and tried to intimidate whistleblowers who ratted them out, according to a new inspector general’s report Thursday that said supervisors even “led” the misconduct.

The worst of the employees overcharged for at least 1,277 hours, collecting nearly $65,000 for time that wasn’t actually worked. Another better-paid employee charged for 890 hours not worked, collecting more than $85,000, and still another collected $74,488 for 478 hours never worked — at an hourly wage of more than $155.

All told, 40 employees in the office — more than half of the workers during the time examined by the Commerce Department Office of Inspector General — were found to have claimed bogus hours worked.

The Census Bureau has reacted forcefully, saying employees named in the report who have access to “sensitive” systems were put on immediate leave. The agency also vowed to use whatever legal means it can to try to get the money back from the dishonest employees.

COMMENT:  I wonder how they were chosen in the first place.  When more than half the employees in a section are corrupt, we have to assume that hiring procedures may have been influenced by factors other than excellence.

September 18, 2015