Increasing Trade, Exports, and Overall Competitiveness : Browse Recent Ideas

1. What could the government do better to help increase trade, exports, and overall competitiveness in the 21st Century?

2. How can we better streamline the government’s trade, export, and competitiveness programs and services?

3. How can we use government resources in trade, exports, and competitiveness more efficiently and effectively?

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  Increasing Trade, Exports, and Overall Competitiveness »

  Cut All Houseing allowances

  Local hire civilians do not receive any allowances/benefits such as LQA or TQSA. That is not true. Some GS 9 and above, who got out overseas fell in the grandfather clause. I Know 2 GS11 and 1 GS 9 who get the Money and retired from the military overseas Cut all housing allowances for Govt civilians. Civilians making over $50.000. Why do they need their house paid for by our tax money, I as Civilian do not make that ...more »

  Local hire civilians do not receive any allowances/benefits such as LQA or TQSA.

  That is not true. Some GS 9 and above, who got out overseas fell in the grandfather clause.

  I Know 2 GS11 and 1 GS 9 who get the Money and retired from the military overseas

  Cut all housing allowances for Govt civilians. Civilians making over $50.000. Why do they need their house paid for by our tax money, I as Civilian do not make that much money and I deal with paying my rent not a moregage. Instead of cutting health care, and job Cuts 0f 60.000 civilians Cut housing allowances for all civilians. I heard that if LQA or TQSA was not offered No one would apply for the JOB.

  I would do the job just to have a job.

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Invest in Education:

  We need to offer incentives to folks to become teachers... In fact we need to spend a lot more resources in our crumbling education system period. This should be the next big project...

  1 comment for Idea: Invest in Education:

  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  CUT LQA and TQSA

  Local hire civilians do not receive any allowances/benefits such as LQA or TQSA. That is not true. Some GS 9 and above, who got out overseas fell in the grandfather clause. I Know 2 GS11 and 1 GS 9 who get the Money and retired from the military overseas Cut all housing allowances for Govt civilians. Civilians making over $50.000. Why do they need their house paid for by our tax money, I as Civilian do not make that ...more »

  Local hire civilians do not receive any allowances/benefits such as LQA or TQSA.

  That is not true. Some GS 9 and above, who got out overseas fell in the grandfather clause.

  I Know 2 GS11 and 1 GS 9 who get the Money and retired from the military overseas

  Cut all housing allowances for Govt civilians. Civilians making over $50.000. Why do they need their house paid for by our tax money, I as Civilian do not make that much money and I deal with paying my rent not a moregage. Instead of cutting health care, and job Cuts 0f 60.000 civilians Cut housing allowances for all civilians. I heard that if LQA or TQSA was not offered No one would apply for the JOB.

  I would do the job just to have a job.

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  1 comment for Idea: CUT LQA and TQSA

  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Streamline command structure:

  I am a police officer and I have several bosses… Who, oftentimes have the same duties. I have a direct supervisor who is sort of like an Police Operations specialist. I have a Provost Sergeant, who has pretty much the Same Job. I have a Deputy Director who acts as the director (or chief of police) when the director is away, but who also basically has an admin/operations job. And finally we have a director, who is overall ...more »

  I am a police officer and I have several bosses… Who, oftentimes have the same duties. I have a direct supervisor who is sort of like an Police Operations specialist. I have a Provost Sergeant, who has pretty much the Same Job. I have a Deputy Director who acts as the director (or chief of police) when the director is away, but who also basically has an admin/operations job. And finally we have a director, who is overall in charge of the entire section. In my estimation, we have two extra, unneeded supervisors: The Provost Sergeant and the Deputy director. The Police Supervisor should be bumped up in pay to acknowledge the potential extra duties of the Director and the other two positions can go away.

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Stop buying TVs

  Every time I walk into a office I see a 42inch LCD / Plasma hanging on the wall. Sometimes all its used for is an expensive poster. At most its a rolling billboard. Why does everyone and his brother need a tv?

  1 comment for Idea: Stop buying TVs

  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  total maintenance contracts

  years ago our academic leadership pushed total maintenance contracts to be implemented. Now rational thinking leadership finds out that a lot of these contracts are too expensive and want to get the outsourced tasks back. this is blocked by hiring freezes and the personnel reduction goal. Reviewing these contracts by independent and honest organisations could be a help Also to include the cost for administration, inspection, ...more »

  years ago our academic leadership pushed total maintenance contracts to be implemented. Now rational thinking leadership finds out that a lot of these contracts are too expensive and want to get the outsourced tasks back. this is blocked by hiring freezes and the personnel reduction goal.

  Reviewing these contracts by independent and honest organisations could be a help Also to include the cost for administration, inspection, management and handling cost from the goverment side to the contract cost.

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Civilian Drawdown -Restructuring DXecision Review

  Establish an external to DoD review process for reviewing drawdown and restyructuring of civilian positions. Senior leaders (SES, GS 14-15) will NEVER identify their own position for elimination and we end up reducing the workforce making them do more with less. In the end a dedicated workforce gets the job done, with excess sweat and blood, and the managers get the credit. But in the end the average goverenment employees ...more »

  Establish an external to DoD review process for reviewing drawdown and restyructuring of civilian positions. Senior leaders (SES, GS 14-15) will NEVER identify their own position for elimination and we end up reducing the workforce making them do more with less. In the end a dedicated workforce gets the job done, with excess sweat and blood, and the managers get the credit. But in the end the average goverenment employees average salary has gone up creating the impression that they are all overpaid.

  Once the recomendations are in you need an external non-partisan review to see if the cuts are fair and just. Have efficiencies been found or was it just done to save certain peoples jobs. The senior decision makers expect that the proper staff process and reviews have been done and will go with the recommendations if they sppear reasonable. They do not take the time to see, for example, if there were 10000 GS15 positions did we only go down to 9990 while from 100000 GS1 we went down to 85000? Someone needs to be the honest broker.

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  8 votes

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  productive work force versa administrative work force

  The reality is that the productive workforce is decreasing and/or is replaced by contractors. Every firm on the economy tries to keep the unproductive administrative sector at a minimum level. But we are dominated by an academic lobby who thinks that there has to be a master degree to order a contractor to replace a light bulb.

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Reasonable Pensions for congressmen

  Do we really need to pay such large pensions for congressmen? Federal employees only get a percentage of their top three years of salary. Why not the same for all governement employees (congressmen and the president)! Why not make some stipulations like you need to conplete a minimum of two terms to even be eligible. My not make it a reasonable percentage. And if you get another job, hold off on the pension until ...more »

  Do we really need to pay such large pensions for congressmen? Federal employees only get a percentage of their top three years of salary. Why not the same for all governement employees (congressmen and the president)!

  Why not make some stipulations like you need to conplete a minimum of two terms to even be eligible. My not make it a reasonable percentage.

  And if you get another job, hold off on the pension until they reach retirement age like all Americans.

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Privatisation of Government Systems

  A lot of the major communities / cities (i.e. Paris, Atlanta, etc.) all around the world review prior privatisation initiatives for water supply and electric supply and other systems. A lot of them take it back. It's too expensive, it's poor service, there's lacking maintenance.... Have a independent and honest organisation do this review which also considers the real costs if done inhouse. Not the ones who did it in ...more »

  A lot of the major communities / cities (i.e. Paris, Atlanta, etc.) all around the world review prior privatisation initiatives for water supply and electric supply and other systems. A lot of them take it back. It's too expensive, it's poor service, there's lacking maintenance....

  Have a independent and honest organisation do this review which also considers the real costs if done inhouse. Not the ones who did it in the past.

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Audit Congressmen and keep them legit

  Every federal employee who has a Government Purchase Card (GPC) or Government Travel Card (GTC) get audited quarterly and if they are found to have misused funds they are held accountable and can face fines and prison time. Why not do the same for all congressmen and the spending they do. Do we really need to pay for large expensives cars for them to drive around in. Do they have to stay in 5 star hotels. Do they ...more »

  Every federal employee who has a Government Purchase Card (GPC) or Government Travel Card (GTC) get audited quarterly and if they are found to have misused funds they are held accountable and can face fines and prison time.

  Why not do the same for all congressmen and the spending they do. Do we really need to pay for large expensives cars for them to drive around in. Do they have to stay in 5 star hotels. Do they need private plans? All federal employees when traveling are told to fly the cheapest way possible. Why not congressmen?

  In the Official mail business, we are taught to send the mail the cheapest way possible to save money, why not the same practives for all government employees in all facets of their jobs?

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Bring back the Army Draft - Do Away with Contractors

  The Army used to be self-sustained. Now many many jobs that used to be done by soldiers (at much less cost and much more efficiency) are now done be contractors. Eample: Gate Guards, Bus and Truck transport drivers. Plus, if the draft were re-started, many of the costs now used in recruiting would be eliminated and if more soldiers were needed draft them. I certainly wouldn't hurt any able bodied "American" to serve ...more »

  The Army used to be self-sustained. Now many many jobs that used to be done by soldiers (at much less cost and much more efficiency) are now done be contractors. Eample: Gate Guards, Bus and Truck transport drivers. Plus, if the draft were re-started, many of the costs now used in recruiting would be eliminated and if more soldiers were needed draft them. I certainly wouldn't hurt any able bodied "American" to serve a couple years in the service of their country.

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Investment in real property - reduce lifetime costs

  The investment in real property of army buildings and equipment is optimized to get the investment low. Nobody cares about the lifetime cost of that invest. A lifetime cost analysis should be mandatory for all invests during the planning phase and the results of it should be the main decision criterion.

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  10 votes

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  CANCEL THE NAFTA TREATY AGREEMENT!!!

  Bring back the jobs to the USA!!!!

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Alternative Energy

  The United States has approximately 1/2 of the worlds hydrothermal features. If the United States were to utilize areas such as Yellowstones thermal features and create energy from those features it would make the USA more competitive and less dependent upon foreign powers for oil.

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Corporate tax to fund college undergraduate programs

  American corporations draw upon the graduates of our colleges to build up their corporate world. Why not help fund the undergraduate programs via corporate taxation that is distribution to our nation's colleges and universities.

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Research grants: Require support of college undergraduates

  Make it a requirement of any application for government funds for research grants to entend a portion of the grant to undergraduate support. The undergraduate programs are the seed grounds for future research workers, and any research money should nurture that seed ground.

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Leave this site open!

  Why is it that my agency just sent out the link to this site this morning when I see people posted 20 days ago, and it is suppose to close tomorrow? Doesn't set a good example of communication. I think there are also many others that are affraid of recourse if they do put something on here. Those people should understand that change doesn't happen if nothing is said.

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  increasing tariffs on imported goods

  since nafta was signed by clinton we have steadily lost jobs to countries that have a work force willing to work at slave labor wages so these big companies make huge profits this way but if the US were to increase tariffs to points that they wont make these profits unless they were to bring the jobs back to the US we could get the jobs and quality back to american made standards

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  * Make it easier to review these ideas

  Scrolling back about 15 pages takes forever.

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  International Small Farmers Market

  The ability to produce food is one of the greatest under-utilized assets of this country. The USG could broker an international market for small farmers to sell their crops to needy nations directly. The farmer simply puts his crop up for sale on the market. The purchasing country pays for delivery of goods and a 3% buyers comission, 1.5% to the farmer, 1.5% to the USG for administration costs. This accomplishes ...more »

  The ability to produce food is one of the greatest under-utilized assets of this country.

  The USG could broker an international market for small farmers to sell their crops to needy nations directly. The farmer simply puts his crop up for sale on the market. The purchasing country pays for delivery of goods and a 3% buyers comission, 1.5% to the farmer, 1.5% to the USG for administration costs.

  This accomplishes three goals. (1) Puts farmers to work. (2) Ends farm subsidies. (3) Exports American Good Will.

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Provide school vouchers

  School vouchers are very important. As the President refused to send his children to public schools and we pay, via his salary for his children. I believe all children should be able to escape what he and Michelle consider a poor choice for education.

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Streamline Healthcare

  Shut down the bizarre attempt to nationalize medicine. Government is inefficient. This current foolishness will cost about ten times more for health care or provide ten times less benefits. There are about 20 people for every soldier in the armed forces due to government inefficiency. If we are going to make a more efficient government, the current stupidity put forth by the administration must stop. Or admint we ...more »

  Shut down the bizarre attempt to nationalize medicine. Government is inefficient. This current foolishness will cost about ten times more for health care or provide ten times less benefits. There are about 20 people for every soldier in the armed forces due to government inefficiency. If we are going to make a more efficient government, the current stupidity put forth by the administration must stop. Or admint we love to waste taxpayer money and continue.

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Medical Tourism in US

  Suggest selecting few locations at great vacation areas for non-emergency surgeries like knee replacement, back surgeries and others. Send patient to those sites for selected procedures with travel expenses and their spouses can tag along. It would be easier to hire qualified professionals at these vacation areas and patients would be happy to go for small vacation also. This would significantly decrease Fee Basis money ...more »

  Suggest selecting few locations at great vacation areas for non-emergency surgeries like knee replacement, back surgeries and others. Send patient to those sites for selected procedures with travel expenses and their spouses can tag along. It would be easier to hire qualified professionals at these vacation areas and patients would be happy to go for small vacation also. This would significantly decrease Fee Basis money and improve patient satisfaction.

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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  Govt Contract Escalation Rates.

  Eliminate cases where the escalation rate/fee on govt contracts is an automatic 4% per year and replace with previous year inflation rate plus 1%, 1.5%, or 2% escalation rate based on performance of the contractor. Implement across all federal agencies, potentially saving billions of dollars per year.

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  Submitted by Community Member 2 years ago

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