Comment by nathan_douglas

I'm not a USDS employee, but I'm a federal contractor working alongside USDS employees, some of which I count as friends, and some of which have been fired. My views are my own, and take them with a grain of salt; I'm kind of an idiot.

The USDS is wonderful. Unfortunately, there are a couple factors that might have impacted its lifespan. I think the USDS has been a bit quiet about its accomplishments. One reason for that is the common public view of the government agencies as ossified and of government employees as slothful, ineffectual, and arrogant (which has not been my general experience). I think the USDS has been very willing to give its partner agencies the lion's share of the credit in order to assure future cooperation and avoid any public controversy, to refuse to play into that narrative.

Unfortunately, without a lot of publicity, I think there has been a faintness in the public perception of what the USDS does, and how well it does that.