Government has obligation to be competent

For our nation to remain strong, the vast majority of its citizens must be confident in a government's ability to perform vital functions at acceptable levels. It is with this in mind that I viewed the very recent tale of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management having its computer systems hacked for the second time within a year.

There is something very wrong with that. Our citizens will likely always disagree on the value of federal programs and/or on the merits of policy directions that our country has taken and/or should be taking. However, we should all be united in demanding that, once the policy or programmatic decisions have been made, they should be executed or implemented effectively and managed competently.

Regrettably, our government's record in doing just that is woefully inadequate. Consider the following:

• FEMA's miserable response to Hurricane Katrina that hit the Gulf Coast;

• The neglect of military personnel under care at Walter Reed Medical Hospital in D.C.;

• The V.A.'s neglect of veterans' health care needs by mismanaging care wait lists;

• The IRS's Lois Lerner's maltreatment of conservative groups;

• Edward Snowden's leaks of classified information from the NSA;

• The SEC's failure to detect Bernard Madoff's long-running Ponzi scheme;

• Healthcare.gov's launch fiasco;

• ATF's bungled "Fast and Furious" program;

• The many "missed signs" indicating the likelihood of the 9/11 attack;

• Multiple cases of Secret Service misconduct; and

• The State Department's botched response to the terrorist attacks at Benghazi.

Further examples could be offered. Citizens have a right to demand better performance from our public managers and employees. It is not partisan to insist upon effective governmental management.

Those who cannot or won't perform at high levels should be dismissed. The costs are too high if they are not.

Charles F. Falk

Schaumburg