131–140 of 224 posts
One has to wonder whether it really makes sense to port instead of taking a look at the workflow and simply implement it from scratch.
If (re)writing software has taught me anything is that sentences that start with "simply" or "just" actually mean that you don't fully understand the problem.
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I work for a state government agency with a big software problem that has a hard time hiring for this reason. We've got some talented devs only due to the fact that they enjoy living in the area, not because they enjoy getting half(or less!) what they'd make in the private sector.
I would work for the government (I did, a couple times) on projects I think will benefit my fellow citizens. This tax reform is not like that.
Public sector employers need to compete in the same job market as private sector employers. I can only speak about my department but we're hamstrung by bureaucratic and legislative inertia that is completely out of our control. I believe the mission of my department is an important one but if the private sector software market was more robust in my city and pay scales were just as disproportionate as they are now I would choose a private sector job 10 out of 10 times. The only ones here not constantly checking LinkedIn are the lifers that already have a fat pension and are reasonably close to retirement.
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Here is one of the two young entrepreneurs (19 and 23 years old) that secured ~$300M DoD contract. So obviously, it is not as bad. ;) In 2005, Packouz (23 years old at the time) joined Efraim Diveroli (19 years old at the time) in Diveroli's arms company AEY Inc. By the end of 2006, the company had won 149 contracts worth around $10.5 million.[1] In early 2007, AEY secured a nearly $300 million U.S. government contra…
since nobody mentioned already, there is an enjoyable film that was recently made about these two individuals called "War Dogs".
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> This is how it ends up with huge armies of bureaucrats doing things that could be easily automated. Less bureaucracy and lower costs sounds like something anyone would agree on, but remember that a large part of congress has run on anti-tax promises. Hampering the efficiency of the IRS is one way of making good on that.
This is not a partisan issue. Both parties have a long history of meddling with the IRS and generally making things worse.
Java seems like a good choice for the IRS. There are legions and legions of programmers well versed in Java, since its among the most commonly used programming languages to introduce programming at universities. This means the IRS should be able to focus its hiring on "People who know tax law and can use Java" instead of "Java experts that know enough tax law to be dangerous". Its not the flashiest language, but I th…
It might be a peripheral plus for an applicant, but it's more important they are a competent programmer.
"Tax law" changes constantly - you truly cannot reasonably expect a developer to "know tax law" and be a competent programmer.
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This is not a partisan issue. Both parties have a long history of meddling with the IRS and generally making things worse.
No, you can't say it's bipartisan when Republicans have consistently sought to intentionally damage the IRS by underfunding it. They even tried to impeach the IRS chief because he wouldn't go along with their manufactured fake news scandal about the Tea Party.
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Gradle plugins? I wouldn't choose it over Java full time but it has some niceties like multi-line strings to help with testing.
Those can be written in Kotlin now.
It's Gradle build scripts themselves that can now be written in Kotlin instead of Groovy. I haven't tried that yet, but it sounds pretty fresh.
Java seems like a good choice for the IRS. There are legions and legions of programmers well versed in Java, since its among the most commonly used programming languages to introduce programming at universities. This means the IRS should be able to focus its hiring on "People who know tax law and can use Java" instead of "Java experts that know enough tax law to be dangerous". Its not the flashiest language, but I th…
What makes you think the developers have to "know tax law"? It might be a peripheral plus for an applicant, but it's more important they are a competent programmer. "Tax law" changes constantly - you truly cannot reasonably expect a developer to "know tax law" and be a competent programmer.
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There's not a single "federal employee medical plan", there's a set of insurance plan choices like most large employers and you choose what level of risk/deductible and coverage you want for what you're willing to pay. Standard Flex Savings and Health Savings plans are also available. AFAIK you're eligible to sign up on day one of employment just like most employers. My wife is a fed, last year the government contrib…
So, your medical plan evaporates the moment you stop working for most federal agencies? Just like my private employer's medical plan? And guaranteed pensions are no longer a thing? What is left as a justification for below-market salaries? Employment opportunities in government-dominated towns (which do not have healthy private-sector economies), and more job security?
There is still a small guaranteed basic pension that federal employees pay into, but it's not really enough to retire on by itself. It's one part of their 3 part retirement plan. Couple it with Social Security (the second part) and you could probably scrape by and remain reasonably well fed and housed if you relocated somewhere rural and cheap, but if you plan on retiring and staying put you're going to have to save using the TSP (the third part) like anyone else saves with a 401k.
I can't provide a blanket statement for why people are federal employees though, it's probably different in each industry. My wife is part of the scientific and regulatory side of the oil and gas industry and [benefits included] she doesn't earn substantially less than her private industry peers in similar scientific roles. And that industry is notorious for frequent and cut throat boom-bust cycles which brings it even closer to parity over the long haul. As a software developer though, not a chance. The desirability of the roles they have and the compensation even with benefits is not usually very attractive and the federal hiring process is bonkers compared to most companies.
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No, you can't say it's bipartisan when Republicans have consistently sought to intentionally damage the IRS by underfunding it. They even tried to impeach the IRS chief because he wouldn't go along with their manufactured fake news scandal about the Tea Party.
Republicans like Obama who reduced funding for the IRS multiple times while in office?