Welcoming Washington 2.0

"Leadership, tone, and vision...that all starts at the top."

-Valerie Jarrett, Co-Chair, Obama Transition Team

This week has been incredibly busy for Washington. While pundits and media moguls scramble to predict the next line of leadership to waltz into Washington this January, I am anxiously awaiting an overdue upgrade. As the nation came together declaring change in the way we run this country and demonstrating hope is more than a movement, we ushered in what I call Washington 2.0.

Stay tuned to this blog where I will report on the upgrade that is coming to this town. YES WE CAN!

To Change Washington, Move Out?

Not sure where the time has gone these past few months. Oh wait, it has been consumed by economic crisis, debates and election coverage. Living in Washington, I get a lot of friends asking me "What is the problem with Washington? How is this economic rescue plan really going to work? Are these politicians serious?" I assure them, I have no insider information and I am reading the same articles and editorials as the rest of America.

One editorial that stuck out to me was a NYTimes Opinion piece that appeared on September 9th. Simply titled, To Change Washington, Move Out, this piece made some interesting recommendations for "real change" in Washington. The main idea - decentralize the executive branch government. The article discusses how top heavy Washington is, possibly plagued by its own bureaucracy. It also attacks the cost of living for us Washingtonians. Does it really chase away talent from our town?

Don't get me wrong, I do think that the cost of living in the district is pretty high, but I don't know of talented people who when offered the job they want, stop and say, "I just don't think this is going to work out - the cost of living is too high here." Let's be honest, they will happily take the job and move out to the Virginia suburbs to save a buck or two.

The author makes another interesting suggestion - move the IRS to New Orleans and DEA to Michigan. He also offers up Homeland Security and the Department of Veterans Affairs. I wonder if the government would be willing to take on this telecommuting challenge. These agencies might have to finally consider upgrading their information technology, networks and bandwidth capabilities. This move would be a great start in the Government 2.0 movement.

More transparency, less bureaucracy and of course job creation in areas that need it. It would be great if the government entered into a partnership with Cisco or IBM to properly wire towns to host government agencies. Since most work is done now on computers, e-mail and the Web, would it really take that much change? Training could be virtual, performance review meetings can be hosted through telepresence suites, and reporting can be pushed via web portals. Doesn't sound like a bad idea to me. Let's see if the next administration takes a bite of the idea. Does anyone else like this idea?