Business

No Kidding: Gov’t Issues Study of Study of Studies

The headline, although it sounds like a joke, is completely, 100 percent serious. The government issued a study to study a study done on government studies.

We’ll give you a second to figure that one out.

“The Pentagon was inundated with so many studies in 2010 that it commissioned a study to determine how much it cost to produce all those studies,” Alyssa Newcomb writes for ABC News.

But now the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has finished a study of the Pentagon’s study of studies and found it to be “lacking.”

“The study of a study of studies began in 2010 when Defense Secretary Robert Gates complained that his department was ‘awash in taskings for reports and studies,’” Newcomb reports, “He wanted to know how much they cost.”

But here we are in 2012 and the Pentagon review is still “ongoing” and it’s for this reason (because it seemed like they weren’t making any headway) Congress tasked the GAO with reviewing the Pentagon’s review.

The conclusion in the GAO report doesn’t reflect very well on the Pentagon.

“The GAO found only nine studies that had been scrutinized by the Pentagon review, but the military was unable to ‘readily retrieve documentation’ for six of the reports,” Newcomb reports.

The Department of Defense’s “approach is not fully consistent with relevant cost estimating best practices and cost accounting standards,” the GAO report claims. In fact, according to the report, the Pentagon study oftentimes excluded crucial costs including manpower.

“The Pentagon ‘partially concurs’ with the GAO’s report,” Newcomb writes, “The cost of the study of the study of the studies was not available from the GAO.”

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Comments (56)

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  • TwilightWarrior
    Posted on May 14, 2012 at 5:11pm

    *facepalm*

    Report Post » TwilightWarrior  
  • DockyWocky
    Posted on May 14, 2012 at 3:59pm

    “The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has finished a study of the Pentagon’s study of studies and found it to be “lacking.”

    And just a reminder: The head of Pentagon security is a moslem. I bet that ain’t in any official reports.

    Report Post » DockyWocky  
    • turkey13
      Posted on May 14, 2012 at 4:48pm

      A few years ago the government paid some college $260,000.00 to find out why 3 years fell of their trikes! If they had asked men could have gave 2 sentence study and told them kids don’t have good balasnce at that age. I bet this study cost millions!

      Report Post »  
  • blair152
    Posted on May 14, 2012 at 3:26pm

    A study of studies? How much did this boondoggle cost us?

    Report Post »  
    • lukerw
      Posted on May 14, 2012 at 8:11pm

      Now… we need a Study… of People whom make Studies!

      Report Post » lukerw  
    • Mtroom
      Posted on May 14, 2012 at 10:34pm

      They are in the process of developing a process, that will make that process easier..

      Report Post » Mtroom  
  • moreteaplease
    Posted on May 14, 2012 at 2:52pm

    All of this redundant studying and still they keep making the same dumb mistakes. Nobody knows how much all of this cost and results have gone missing, if there ever really were any.

    This all sounds like a friend of a friend of a friend getting a friend a job.

    Report Post » moreteaplease  
  • dadsrootbeer
    Posted on May 14, 2012 at 2:39pm

    Can’t wait for them to run my health care.

    Report Post » dadsrootbeer  
  • llotus
    Posted on May 14, 2012 at 2:12pm

    They are looking back to see if anyone was looking back to see. Lotus.

    Report Post »  
  • s0ck_monkey
    Posted on May 14, 2012 at 2:03pm

    I read somewhere once that the government spent somewhere around 4 million dollars on a study to deteremine how much time the average housewife spends in thr kitchen….

    Nice to know that the $4000+ I’m paying in taxes this year is being put to good use…

    Report Post »  
  • Apple Bite
    Posted on May 14, 2012 at 2:02pm

    They’ll never reach the end when you have Liberals adding to the list of lists. You want to see an end to this buffoonery? Kick out the Progressives on both sides of the aisle!

    Report Post » Apple Bite  
  • Arshloch
    Posted on May 14, 2012 at 1:35pm

    Stupid is as stupid does.

    Report Post » Arshloch  
  • MammalOne
    Posted on May 14, 2012 at 1:30pm

    This isn’t as complicated as the writer of this article is making it sound.
    1. The pentagon conducted a bunch of studies in 2010
    2. They put together a commission to summarize what money went to what study
    3. This commission wrote a report on their findings
    4. The Government Accountability Office read this report and said it was not adequate.
    5. The GAO put together a commission to figure out what other information they need to deem the report adequate.

    I’m sure this happens in business all the time. A company hires someone to figure out where the companies’ money its being spent and write a report about it. The management reads this report, says it’s not specific enough and then hires someone to find the missing information. You can try to drown the situation in “study of a study of studies” language but it’s actually quite simple if you THINK about it.

    Report Post » MammalOne  
    • OniKaze
      Posted on May 14, 2012 at 2:03pm

      Agreed, I don’t think it is as rediculous as it sounds… After all, we are not talking about 10 or even 100 studies… I am sure we are talking in the thousands, and if that is the case, then it will take a group (study) to look into, to make sure this monies spent on this were allocated accurately and not just wasted (like I am sure most of it was).

      Will They screw it up and waste MORE money, sure…. But the idea behind this is reasonable..

      What begs the large question is not why are we doing this, but Why were there so many studies done, that we need a study to study the studies…

      Man, I think I just may have confused myself for a second there…

      Report Post » OniKaze  
    • MammalOne
      Posted on May 14, 2012 at 2:58pm

      haha, right. It seems like there would be one person or a small organization of people who are in charge of overseeing this type of thing from the start.

      Report Post » MammalOne  
    • TomCody
      Posted on May 14, 2012 at 6:34pm

      Yes, but business spend its own money…Where the Federal Government spends our money…and borrowed money…to find out non sense.

      Report Post » TomCody  
  • Freedom1984
    Posted on May 14, 2012 at 1:13pm

    Reminds me of The Kinks song “Nine to Five”.

    “Answering phones and dictating letters, making decisions that affect no one. He’s lost in paperwork and up to his eyes, he‘s checking a list that’s been checked out before and he’s starting to lose his mind”.

    Report Post » Freedom1984  
    • woebegone
      Posted on May 14, 2012 at 2:05pm

      Thanks for that. There a lot of really good, decent, well educated smart people, demoralized beyond belief because this government is beating them to death with it’s insane over-regulation and dictation of outcome without respect to actual data. These people wanted to use their skills to move forward, but had no idea that “politics” had anything to do with them–but here they are in a political stranglehold. These people also want to be people; own a house, marry, have children, educate their children, aspire to their children having more success, than they did, be astounded by their children’s gift. What do these people find? They are surfs to an anti-intellectual, anti-success king that believes their skills and gifts are an artifact of an essentially racist America. Their gifts are not gifts, their contributions are not contributions, their gifts and contributions are nothing more than examples of the racist preference of America for the overclass. Obama’s attitude is the height of racism–because I am a heterosexual wasp I don’t have any voice in America? Sorry Bill O‘Reilly but to my mind this is a sick bunch of MotherF’ers. School me and John Lovitz all you want–as much as you want an interview with Obama-strong language is warented, and by the way Mr O’Reilly, you have nothing to teach me.

      Report Post »  
  • RightPolitically
    Posted on May 14, 2012 at 1:06pm

    I think it is painfully obvious: WE NEED MORE GOVERNMENT! They just can’t handle the workload.

    Report Post » RightPolitically  
    • RightPolitically
      Posted on May 14, 2012 at 1:22pm

      All I can say is, if Romney wins HE HAD BETTER STRAIGHTEN THIS CRAP OUT!

      Report Post » RightPolitically  
    • MammalOne
      Posted on May 14, 2012 at 1:31pm

      Of course he will. Progressives have a great track record of transparency, budgeting, and government efficiency.

      Report Post » MammalOne  
  • momrules
    Posted on May 14, 2012 at 12:59pm

    I wonder if the people doing the study to study the studies ever get confused and study the studies instead of the study that studies the studies?

    I can see where they might drink a lot.

    Report Post »  
    • Freedom1984
      Posted on May 14, 2012 at 1:25pm

      Again: This also reminds me of a Kinks song, “When Work Is Over”.

      “When work is over, he likes to hit the bars, and at the boozer we’ll have another jar, because drinking helps ease the strain, of his boring occupation, dull conversation, living by the book and the rules and regulations”…..

      Report Post » Freedom1984  
  • pap pap
    Posted on May 14, 2012 at 12:39pm

    If the first “Study” failed then you shouldn’t create a “Study” to study the “Study”. You should disband the failed “Study” and start with new more qualified people. Then you have just one “Study” going on at the same time.

    If these “Study’s” are all deemed to have failed then why are we doing them ???

    Report Post »  
  • woebegone
    Posted on May 14, 2012 at 12:26pm

    As stupid as this sounds the truth is it is about time that someone studied the costs vs gain of the “studies” the government does. That the GAO is studying the Pentagon study proves the point. How many studies are we paying for, with ridiculously long time frames that are actually politically motivated to “buy” time and keep government workers perfecting their Freecell skills after they gathered a little data and made a graph that day? And how many of these studies actually adhere to any intellectually rigorous level of inquiry when the motivation is entirely political in the first place? These are the actual questions being asked in the study of the studies, and the study of the study of the studies–and these are good questions. Unfortunately it only takes common sense and experience to figure this one out; though honestly common sense can be seriously wrong at times–somehow in this case….Welcome to America a country that keeps arguably really talented people bogged down in stupid crap.

    Report Post »  
    • Stoic one
      Posted on May 14, 2012 at 12:43pm

      I do not think this is very hard at all. It goes like this: fed creates an annual budget for a “study”. For the bureaucrat assigned to this “study”, this can be a “career” – just never finish the “study”. the union or embedded rules and regulations will carry forward the obligation of doing the “study”

      Report Post » Stoic one  
    • woebegone
      Posted on May 14, 2012 at 1:28pm

      Absolutely. The truth is I have always wondered why government “studies” take so long to complete. Anyone that has anything to do with real scientific inquiry could complete these in 3 to 6 months–we are not dealing with basic research after all but the gathering of preexisting studies and the analysis of their data in a way that considers their technique and methods relative to each other. This can be complicated, and lead to additional studies to clarify certain issues, blah blah blah–but as much as I am all for basic research, no matter how stupid and obvious it may seem, this is the basis for building an absolutely solid knowledge base to build an argument. The problem is this–when well grounded results, re-examination of good to excellent technique is discarded and rerun, by more haphazard “government sanctioned” research in the interest of proving a hypothesis that is more politically motivated rather than motivated by actual curiosity–it makes me sick.

      Report Post »  
  • Brittany-Imbriaarts
    Posted on May 14, 2012 at 12:21pm

    More waste, form our government for a pointless reasons Sigh.

    Report Post » Brittany-Imbriaarts  
  • HorseCrazy
    Posted on May 14, 2012 at 12:14pm

    yes the studies are just stimulis for the universities have been for years. tax dollars funneled to wasteful universities for garbage meaningless studies to justify the university’s existence. I hope we get someone in the white house to clean house, and get the feds to stop funneling all of this money to these universities(and everyone else) with their padded bloated tuitions and their inability to educate anyone. the universities are more and more resembling the bloated wasteful federal government everyday. enough.

    Report Post »  
  • DagneyT
    Posted on May 14, 2012 at 12:11pm

    Is anyone surprised that ‘government efficiency’ is an oxymoron?

    Report Post » DagneyT  
  • elosogrande
    Posted on May 14, 2012 at 11:53am

    The disturbing fact, regarding this, is that no one will get fired – several people will probably get promotions.

    Report Post »  
  • 9111315
    Posted on May 14, 2012 at 11:46am

    There must be a solution. We must start with a study of the GAO study!

    Report Post »  
  • PunkMooCow
    Posted on May 14, 2012 at 11:43am

    “we are all dumber for having read this…..I award you 0 points and may God have mercy on your soul”

    Report Post » PunkMooCow  
  • tzion
    Posted on May 14, 2012 at 11:39am

    This reminds me of the Evian Conference. In this case, the committee established to determine how to deal with the plight of the Jews in Europe decided to establish another committee to handle the very issue they themselves were supposed to resolve.

    Report Post »  
  • Detroit paperboy
    Posted on May 14, 2012 at 11:39am

    I think we should give them more of our money……..

    Report Post »  
  • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
    Posted on May 14, 2012 at 11:33am

    No suprise; more massive government waste.

    Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
    • CatB
      Posted on May 14, 2012 at 11:40am

      @SNOW .. .they aren’t going to be happy until all private money are public funds. You work and gov’t takes it all and then return to you what THEY think you need to live. They have to spend us into debt along with all our future generations in order to achive this goal. Yes more and more waste…. all to achive their goal.

      Report Post »  
    • BernieKittyCat
      Posted on May 14, 2012 at 11:52am

      @ CatB

      Get out of my brain! I was just imagining that scenario in the shower this morning!

      Report Post » BernieKittyCat  
  • randy
    Posted on May 14, 2012 at 11:32am

    We’re doomed LOL

    Report Post » randy  
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