I just saw on CNN that the IRS spent over 50k in star treck spoof videos

[haele]

92. I had no problems with the lunch sing along team exercises they showed before -

That's just team building corporate practice, and, honestly, $6K is not much to spend on a office once a year for team building - especially if you're looking at reducing turn-over and mitigating employee isolation/poor morale in an office that serves the public. There does have to be some sort of employee maintenance effort because working for the government does not mean you should be treated like a disposable drone/slave during your working hours.
You do want a workforce that wants to work for the government, who feel like they're accomplishing something important - and sometimes that means footing the bill for a bit of lunchtime silliness or a monthly office birthday lunch to keep the employees more inclined to feel appreciated for doing the job for the public than sitting around wondering how quickly they can leave.

Okay, $50K for a Star Trek spoof and government paper-pushers acting like they're Division VPs of major companies instead of managers of public service divisions on the public dime rather than the shareholder's dime...even as Mid-level corporations can spend double that than that a quarter on various PR and "good morale" projects per corporate office without blinking and call such activities "necessary workforce investments".
Sounds like the IRS, just as the DOI, GAO and all the other congressional/executive administrative agencies, just following the Republican "run government like a business" culture that has invaded DC since the Reagan era. Cut the deficit, but keep the non-essential executive perks.
I guess what makes this whole issue truly scandalous is that these IRS officials are only making up to $200K/$300K a year and don't have access to stock options and massive bonuses for "cost cutting" - unlike their business-world counterparts - such as a Regent/Trustee at a State University or the Jr. VP/CFO for the Eastern Pacific/Northern Hemisphere operations at GE might get - and s/he probably could pull down a cool million a year. They're not making enough - their portfolio is not worth enough - to be treated nicely, no matter what or how well they are actually doing.

In case I have to let people know, the above couple paragraphs are pretty much cynical sarcasm.

From my experience working in the government, $50K (in today's dollars) for one "morale/team building event" is excessive, even if it's done as part of a conference. $50K is usually the max that any specific district is given for that type of budget line item. And there is a government rate for officials on travel; if the IRS officials were staying at a $1500 a night room, the government will not pay for anything over the government rate unless there were no other rooms within the area available, so the taxpayer was only footing up to $350 a night, and the official was footing the rest of the bill. I wouldn't be concerned at all at the $1500 a night room; this was an official, and s/he might have also included something like an anniversary vacation with a required working, conference or training event.
An official making $250K a year should be able to save up, knowing s/he is going to have to travel to DC for a scheduled three-day work conference/event, so s/he can pay for the spouse to come out and they can stay at a ritzy hotel presidential suite for a week, take two/three days vacation after the event, and come back to work the following Monday without comment from the taxpayer - who is also paying for the vacation time that government official is allowed to take from time to time. Just as any other employee is allowed to do, from the lowliest file clerk/cafeteria worker to the President of the United States.

There is an underlying issue here - and that is the culture of excessive "meritocracy" verging on plutocracy that has invaded management levels in both business and public service.
That instead of a service, or a lifetime investment, work and enterprise is a now financial competition - the employee is a business statistic, not a living, breathing entity that has a mind and motivation of it's own.
Instead of understanding that there are very few management or leadership positions needed and that most people will simply work for a comfortable, secure living and hopefully retire in equivalent comfort(my idea of winning!), that hard work is a sport by which a few become champions and all other people are worthless losers.
Somehow by being lucky enough, sycophantic enough, or quick enough to catch the few opportunities to make it "to the top" that your other equally hard working or harder working cohorts were not able to catch in time, you deserve all the perks, up to and including the lamentation of your enemies.
And sadly, the taxpayers and those who benefit via paycheck from the government are now apparently on competing teams -even though in most cases, they are the very same person. That's not a recipe for success for anyone but a very few.


Haele