Originally Posted By Faline "PHOENIX -- A Social Security Administration motivational management conference held at a high-end Valley resort last week cost $700,000, the SSA told the ABC15 Investigators. Costs for the conference at the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa included airfare, hotel entertainment, dancers, motivational speakers, and food, an administration official said. A spokesperson outside the SSA's Phoenix office declined to comment." Click the link to read more and see the lucky SSA attendees being motivated while they shake their unusual groove thangs. Sheesh. Spend our money Social Security Administration. We don't need it more than your employees do. I especially enjoyed this part: 'The SSA provided ABC15 with a list of courses provided at the conference, which included "Techniques to Empower You," "Mentoring the Generations," and "Emotional Intelligence."' Emotional intelligence, all right. <a href="http://www.abc15.com/content/news/investigators/story/Social-Security-spends-700-000-on-Phoenix/RrHYWi4IRka1mC7wJTm4uQ.cspx" target="_blank">http://www.abc15.com/content/n...4uQ.cspx</a>
Originally Posted By Faline And here is the link to the investigative research follow-up story: <a href="http://www.abc15.com/content/news/investigators/story/Congress-demands-answers-after-700-000-Arizona/QquF2A8bO0yZAOhtte5i6A.cspx" target="_blank">http://www.abc15.com/content/n...i6A.cspx</a>
Originally Posted By mawnck Pointless distraction. Now the news cycle is going to be all over this $700,000 "scandal," everybody's going to get all mad, the Republicans will point fingers at Obama, everybody will have shouting matches on the Sunday Talking Heads, tea parties will break out in every rural hamlet ... And meanwhile Goldman Sachs and their cronies continue to steal BILLIONS of dollars of your tax money, but nobody even starts a topic about that.
Originally Posted By Faline mawnck, wonderful point. I happen to agree with you. Goldman Sachs makes the Madoff affair seem like nursery school. You are absolutely correct, sir/madam. Let's see if we can find some good facts to share here in this forum.
Originally Posted By Faline Goldman Sachs (if memory serves correctly) paid a paltry $11 million dollars in taxes on (I will borrow your way) BILLIONS of dollars in profit. BILLIONS.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan They got room rates of $85 on rooms that go for $400 normally. Of course, does anyone ask if the conference was actually useful and a good thing, that Social Security personnel learned how to better do their jobs and serve the public? There's an idea that government workers must be chained to their desks, pecking away at a typewriter, or else they're being "wasteful." Maybe this conference was one big screw job to the taxpayer. But maybe it will result in a more engaged, creative workforce. We'll never know, because it will be declared a scandal and as mawnck said, the blaming and drama will overtake everything else. For a week or two. Then it'll be the next "scandal."
Originally Posted By Faline So they know how to use Priceline. Meanwhile the government workers of California are getting furloughed. (I am turning into a bitter prune. I apologize.) Here is an article on Goldman Sachs. This is a fun quote: "Critics pointed to Goldman's decision to pay billions for compensation. It set aside an average $226,156 per employee in the quarter, up from $129,200 a year ago. On an annualized basis, it comes to nearly $1 million per worker." <a href="http://www.thestar.com/business/article/666314" target="_blank">http://www.thestar.com/busines...e/666314</a>
Originally Posted By andyll This was a training conference that they put out for bid and cost about $1000/person. They had minimal extras unlike the conferences I attend. ( microsoft rented 6 flags for an evening ) The trainging conferences I attend cost around 4-5000 after travel/hotel. A conference like this is not to be confused with the sales, marketing, client and exec 'conferences' the likes of AIG puts on (and my company also) where they spend 100s of 1000s on dining/hotel/events and there is very little 'training'
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt Anybody stop to consider the $$$ that conference pumped into the local economy? With unemployment at record highs I'd say that $700,000 was money well spent keeping hotel employees, ground transportation folks, lighting and sound operators, decorators, bartenders, and restaurant workers busy.
Originally Posted By mawnck >>(I am turning into a bitter prune. I apologize.)<< Ha! I beat you to it. Yes, to comment (ahem) on the topic at hand rather than the one that I'm so livid about ... I'm with 2oony 2 - er too. Training conferences are not necessarily a wasteful expenditures. Nor do I think that all employees of any financially strapped business (including the SSA) should be condemned to a work life of unending drudgery.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan >>Anybody stop to consider the $$$ that conference pumped into the local economy?<< Yep, good point. But I guess it might be better if we kept government employees from having gatherings of this sort. Make them not take part in courses to learn new ways of doing things, or understanding their clientele a little better. I've been to conferences. Good ones are a full day's work, take you out of your comfort zone a bit, give you a chance to consider fresh ideas, give you a chance to connect with co-workers out of the area. In lean & mean times, budgets for conferences go away and are seen as wasteful or non-essential, just at the time when creative solutions are needed most.
Originally Posted By mawnck (We apologize for the inconvenience. Due to budget cuts, mawnck can no longer afford to use correct grammar.)
Originally Posted By DAR There's nothing inherently wrong with having corporations or government entities going on these business conferences. But since the government and a few of these businesses are using our money to fund these trips. I think it's not out line to ask why do these things cost so much. Or were they necessary at the time.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan It isn't at all out of line to ask that. But that doesn't seem to be what happens. What happens is they take a few names of the conference sessions, note that there was 20 minutes of dancing, and it becomes another "HOW THE GOV'T WASTES YOUR TAX DOLLARS" story. I mean, maybe it is a huge waste of money. If so, by all means, tell us why. But maybe it was one of the good conferences that actually will produce some measurable, positive results. It isn't the questioning of it I mind. It's lazy TV journalists pulling stuff out of context to tell a pre-scripted story.
Originally Posted By mawnck I think it's that they had food. Why should they get food? Hunger is a good motivator.
Originally Posted By Sport Goofy << It's lazy TV journalists pulling stuff out of context to tell a pre-scripted story. >> That and the need to expose "scandals" to drive headlines for those 10 second teasers that get viewers to watch.
Originally Posted By DAR <<cost $700,000, the SSA told the ABC15 Investigators. Costs for the conference at the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa included airfare, hotel entertainment, dancers, motivational speakers, and food, an administration official said.>> Airfare-Okay that will cost money. Hotel Entertainment-The guy playing in the hotel bar must make good money. But probably makes more on tips. Speaking of tips Dancers-Strippers Motovational Speakers-This is probably where most of the money came from. Food-Which I assume includes drink, but were these meals high class 5 course meals.
Originally Posted By andyll <<Food-Which I assume includes drink, but were these meals high class 5 course meals.>> For a conference that cost 1000K including hotel/travel I'd say not. I'd be shocked if alchol was free at that price. I pay 2500 for my microsoft conferences ( not including travel/hotel) and the meals are buffet.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Well, as someone who has run national government conferences, I can tell you that was probably the key costs. What it doesn't tell you is a lot of it will have been subsidised by exhibitors and corporate sponsors. and if it is like the UK government conferences, it was likely to have a wine reception (sponsored by a company), and one main dinner with a half or whole bottle of wine allowance per delegate. I echo Toony and Hans here, conferences are essentual for sharing ideas, and learning what is working elsewhere. Sadly conferences and training are often the first thing to be cut and yet they are needed even more in hard times. Heck, this whole conference still cost less than 1 showing of Fantasmic.
