I think I see the problem here

An article in today's Washington Post (full article here) contains a link to the original "whistleblower" reports of examiners slacking off at the USPTO.  

One of the whistleblowers, a disgruntled SPE, is quoted as saying,

“As a government employee, I can no longer sit by and watch this problem get any worse,” the supervisor’s complaint continued. “We have lost sight that we are a government agency who works for the taxpayers. We are not accountable to the taxpayers.”

 To which I respond:  EXACTLY.

The USPTO isn't accountable to the taxpayers.  Because the taxpayers don't support the USPTO.  The USPTO runs on fees paid by patent applicants.

Let me repeat that, just so there's no misunderstanding.

TAXPAYERS DON'T SUPPORT THE USPTO.  THE EXAMINER'S SALARIES ARE PAID BY PATENT APPLICANTS.

Maybe, just maybe, if examiners had an understanding of who's really paying their salaries, patent examination would improve.

Next week, I'll address the question of whether it makes any sense to have examiners track their time, when they're on a production quota.