SEC Spends Millions To Reorganize Desks

Multi-Million Dollar Desk Reorganization at the SEC Called "Unnecessary"

(CBS)  CBS News investigative producer Laura Strickler and Sarah Fitzpatrick reported this story for CBSNews.com

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While Wall Street executives were sinking the economy and Bernard Madoff was ripping off investors, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was engaged in a multi-million dollar effort to...rearrange their desk chairs at their Washington D.C. headquarters.

"This is a total waste of time that we should be spending conducting investigations," said Steve Ellis, Vice-President of Taxpayers for Common Sense who calls SEC’s $3.9 million dollar desk reorganization "preposterous."

According to a new report from David Kotz, the Inspector General for the SEC, employees were subjected to a massive reorganization in 2007 and 2008 that they now say was unnecessary and did not improve organization or communication. Over 600 employees, 81% of those surveyed by the Inspector General, said that the rearranging of desks was not "worth the cost and time."

One SEC employee quoted in the report said, "Taxpayers should be outraged, and we should be wholly mortified, to be wasting such an incredible amount of money and time on this."

Then SEC Chairman Christopher Cox ordered a cost benefit analysis of the "Restacking Project" but the IG found the analysis was never done.

"That the very agency that oversees our financial system does't see the need to perform a cost-benefit analysis is a cause for concern for taxpayers," Ellis said.

The SEC was widely criticized in 2005 for overspending its budget by $48 million for its lavish headquarters near Washington DC's Union Station. Less than two years later, the agency decided to undertake the reorganization of offices and desks to "enhance communication" between its employees.

The 'Restacking Project' relocated approximately 1,750 employees over 7 floors of the SEC’s headquarters. However, the Inspector General's report concludes that there are "serious questions about whether the [reorganization] project was necessary and whether it had any meaningful impact on communication among or productivity of the staff."

And while Executive Director Diego T. Ruiz claimed that SEC management was in favor of the costly reorganization, the results of the Inspector Genera's confidential survey suggest that employees claim they were not consulted until "after the fact."

[keithle1]

How many managers are highly intelligent/capable & really help out their organization/agency/company? What percentage? Maybe 20%? So many average & below-average managers schmoozing & b-s-ing their way to the top. Going from one meeting to another. No one makes a decision. Just going around in circles. No one wants to stick their neck out & speak the truth. God forbid! They worry about meaningless, stupid stuff. When they send an email around to everyone, you need someone to translate it into employeespeak instead of managementspeak . But still they make all of this money & enjoy great benefits. Fantastic "golden parachutes." Must be nice.

[oldwhiteguy1]

I see some are quick to blame Obama- BUT- read the story...
The SEC was widely criticized in 2005 for overspending its budget by $48 million for its lavish headquarters near Washington DC's Union Station. Less than two years later, the agency decided to undertake the reorganization of offices and desks to "enhance communication" between its employees.
2005-2007...hard to pin that on Obama

[sjc_1]

This is the sort of rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic that you see with incompetent management. They can not deal with the real issues, so they resort to something that they can deal with.

[stormdreamer]

Yes this makes me very mad. But I'm more upset that our media people will report this info but there is never a 'quick-link' to respond to the very people who ARE the problem, and to let them know how we feel. What we think about what they have done is part of the 'ethics' they need to learn/re-learn that their behavior is not 'right' by us, THE PEOPLE.

[bumpedoff1]

Hey nothing about freddy mac and Fannie mae bounses

[wogerwabbit]

This ALL happened under Bush. Pizzing our money away and opening the hen house to the foxes. Say what you will about both parties being corrupt as we all know they are (you'd be a fool to dispute it), but I'll put my money on the Dems winning this bout... with a knockout punch. The Repugs have no defense... weak jawed, limp wristed and feeble on offense, and I might say... girlish in their attacks. Shooting themselves in the foot at every conceivable opportunity doesn't help their credibility either... I wish the Republican Party I grew up with and used to belong to would grow up and allow me to belong once again and help mend the disease that has afflicted them since the terminal disease known as "Newt Gingrich" was pronounced upon them some 30 or so miserable years ago in his Contract On Ameirca... and to think that feeble minded basturd is considering running for president. Talk about bring a knife to a gunfight... I cry at the fate of the party I loved.

[tincup356]

what does our government spend money on that is NOT a waste? People are mad because Madoff had a ponzi scheme going? Why do those same people not recognize,,,the the great social security program....is the very same thing? ANY politician in Washington from EITHER party will tell you...social security is broke and in trouble,,,the reason for that ...you have to go back to the Vietnam war....they paid for that with social security and from that act and every time they diverted money from social security to other things,,,,,,they were robbing the system and the people that paid that money in,,,,only to make their payments with the deductions from other peoples checks to cover. All in all,,,,they have misappropriated those funds and they are robbing one generation to pay another ,,,,,,,Just a ponzi scheme, just as illegal as what they charged and convicted Madoff for,,,,,,,,It is time to clean house in Washington,,,,,,our only hope relies on setting term limits and completely OUTLAWING the lobby dollar,,,we MUST rid Washington of career politicians,,they are nothing but SCUM, Traitors fits them much better....that goes for BOTH scum parties.

[Yes_ABWH_Fan]

..uh...hello mrs_neves...it occurred in 2007, when BUSH was in office!

[midwest_mind]

Was KBR hired to move the desks around?