ONLY MEDIOCRITY WILL BE TOLERATED!
This is one of those rare posts in which we’re not naming names. Hell, we’re not even going to name the agency in question.
Why not? Well, it’s not a huge deal in the grand scheme of things, and doing so would serve no purpose other than to get someone fired. And we don’t want that on our heads unless the head in question is worth rolling.
Accordingly, we are presenting this anecdote of life at a typical South Carolina government bureaucracy for instructional purposes … as an example of the sort of colossal waste of taxpayer resources that goes on every day in the Palmetto State.
Ready?
“Friend of mine goes to her boss because she’s being asked by a new manager to help him with Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint,” one of our sources told us. “She doesn’t mind because she doesn’t have enough to keep (her) busy, but now she’s essentially doing his job. She either wants more money or for him to do his own work. Boss tells her she will put her in for a temporary raise, and she needs to take more time doing her own work.”
Wait … what?
Yes you read that right … this supervisor instructed a subordinate to “take more time doing her own work.”
In fact the supervisor went on to say this employee was “working too fast for a government employee” and is making other employees look bad by comparison.
Crazy, huh?
Obviously we’re not saying all government employees are lazy … or all bureaucratic supervisors are as corrupt as this particular individual. We’re just saying there is way too much of this sort of thing going on in government at all levels – and there’s never any accountability for it because the taxpayer spigot is always set to “more.”
In other words there is a perpetual, increasing reward no matter the outcomes being produced … i.e. the exact opposite of the free market.
Also important to remember? Even when government is operating efficiently, it’s often doing things it has no business doing … which is every bit as bad as when it performs a core function inefficiently.
Anyway … that’s our object lesson for the day. Class dismissed!
18 comments
Hmmm…Just one side of the story.
WOW. A bureaucrat being told to slow down. There can be no global warming, hell just froze over.
Large bureaucracies in corporate America work the exact same way. If you are too efficient you accused of “making everyone else look bad” because they can’t keep up with you. If you continue to be efficient you are punished by being given multiple “projects” and being expected to assist (read: do her job) the boss. Government isn’t the problem as much as bureaucracy. Whether private or public they are evil.
Having experience with many state and local governments, there is one thing that makes me grit my teeth, and that is when one industrious person is being overworked and asks someone else to help to at least let him/her leave on time — and I hear Mr/Ms LazyButt say, “Oh, but that’s not my job!”
(expletives deleted…)
Bureaucracies exist solely for the sustainment of the bureaucracy and the bureaucrats that dwell in them. All other functions are secondary.
‘dwell’ — interesting use of this word
Excellent point. For every story you hear on Fox or Rush about moochers off the public teat or lazy gov’t workers and intrusive IRS staff…there’s always a private sector story as well to match it.
Should also consider pretenses in a bureaucracy. Yesterday Clemson appointed a new Vice President / Provost. Seems like a good guy with a solid record. Now consider the “search” process. Last summer the Board of Trustees hired a new President for the university, an individual who served as President at West Virginia. The new President made a big deal of assembling a 21-person search committee for a new Provost, saying he wanted the best a national search could bring. The university retained an executive search firm to assist (minimum fee of $50,000), and more than 400 nominees and applicants were identified. Yesterday’s Provost hire: A dean from West Virginia who worked for the new Clemson President there. He has Clemson undergraduate and Master’s degrees. While he appears to be a solid choice, the process has again wasted the time of many people. And that is not the first 50-100k search, either.
Just ask the C of C BOT how much they wasted on a search for their new president.
Hey FITS: This is not too sexy. I’m knocking it out the park with this gay stuff. Off the charts: http://scdigest.blogspot.com/
Of course if you say anything not politically correct, your readers bolt in droves. A lot of freedom, if you’re not leftist. It’s kinda boring when you box yourself as just another voice for the liberals.
Shit, that means your blog got one hit today? Way to go, Unamerican Pyscho.
Yeah, and that was his mother.
“That’s job satisfaction! Woman who works as professional sex toy tester has 15 orgasms at work a week. ”
WOW..!! –and she is wearing a truly terrific outfit…
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2711694/Woman-works-professional-sex-toy-tester-15-orgasms-work-week.html#ixzz394zfFVsq
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2711694/Woman-works-professional-sex-toy-tester-15-orgasms-work-week.html
“ONLY MEDIOCRITY WILL BE TOLERATED!”
It is fire red South Carolina . . . what did you expect!?!
You don’t know the tenth of it. Management incompetence in agencies may be the mysterious cosmic Dark Energy it is so abundant and pervasive.
I first read of the Ferguson Doctrine here on fitsnews I think:
http://educatingsouthcarolina.blogspot.com/2011/07/purge-of-doe-employees-recalls-ferguson.html
Nameless, faceless anecdotes. No dates, no times, no departments named. No evidence whatsoever. Typical of anti-gov types.
Please, I beg all you anti-gov folks…move to Somalia. You won’t have to worry about any gov’t getting in your way over there.
This article is very accurate of the attitude within the state and local government. I know this will create a firestorm but when most employees have not been given more than a 2% increase in the past 5-7 years which only covers their insurance and SC retirement going up, and most agencies have consolidated positions when one leaves and splits those duties amongst one or two other employees…yes the attitudes will suck. Do more with less and be happy because you have a state job!
Governmental jobs used to mean stability, with less pay but more long term benefits. These are slowly being taken away Nikki “I have nothing but contempt for state employees” Haley.
The ones who work the hardest are rewarded by having more dumped on them because they can handle it while your co-worker who has no initiative plays Candy Crush all day and makes the same amount.
Start electing Judges. Having them appointed by State Reps encourages corruption and blatant favoritism.