My dad is stronger than your dad....

[Iowa Dave]

Years ago, we heard the directive to run the government like a business. I would routinely ask if we should run it like several pairs of like businesses,'large and small that had closed their doors or moved out of our fair city. This was not appreciated. However the push continued despite the fact that we pointed out we were a service, not a business. Then came the proliferation of employees who were behind the scenes, not out on the line. Costs increased but the number of police officers,'firemen,'park workers etc etc decreased or stayed the same while populations,'number of structures serve,'acres of public land etc increased. Something's gotta give. One thing that was good in the park sector was the formation of volunteer groups. Personally, I had to be careful to balance the tasks done by paid employees and volunteers on an almost daily basis. My role clearly changed over the years. We still live in a great countries, Americans and Canadians alike.
Dave

[MyronL]

Run the government like a business? Remember that business that jacked up the price of a vital medicine 2 thousand percent? Or the ones that ignored or hid the fact that their products were so poorly designed they were a deadly accident waiting to happen? Or the businesses that flouted common sense regulations by taking advantages of loopholes and thousands lost their life savings?

[Iowa Dave]

Exactly, when I used examples like that in front of Consultants the city council had hired I was often branded as 'not a team player. My leadership skills often allowed me to steer discussions sometimes making for a non-productive session. A butt chewing by my director later in the day was the norm but in the end, they never laid a glove on me. My mantra of Salis populi suprema lex, the people's safety is the highest law was also viewed as obstructionist to ill conceived special events too.
Dave

[rbryan4]

I agree with you both, Steve and Carl, to a point. My comments were mostly about federal employees - the ones I work with frequently due to the nature of my job. Most are necessary to be sure, but it's not so much the necessity, but the size and scope of government that I'm concerned with. State and local governments on the other hand are often stretched very thin. I too was a Police Officer, but for some reason, I don't really think of police work in the 'government employment' way - perhaps because it's so vital.

[C&G in FL]

Yes, I know what you mean Robert. And the Federal bureaucracies tend to be self sustaining. You have completed your work on cadmium and lead, find two more elements/compounds to add to the list to justify continued existence. And the Feds seem to think they have limitless budgets, unlike most state governments and almost all local governments.

[Steven M]

Originally Posted by C&G in FL

Yes, I know what you mean Robert. And the Federal bureaucracies tend to be self sustaining. You have completed your work on cadmium and lead, find two more elements/compounds to add to the list to justify continued existence. And the Feds seem to think they have limitless budgets, unlike most state governments and almost all local governments.

Oh how true. And unfortunately the feds do have unlimited money, they simply print more of it.

And as for running a government like a business, our Governor is a multi-millionaire venture capitalist/hedge fund manager who hates all unions, public employee unions in particular and is holding the budget hostage until he gets his way and we continue our race to the bottom. End of this rant.

And this all started with a joke that I found very funny.

Steve M

[Iowa Dave]

There are any number of pent up frustrations held by former employees of private and government operations. This afternoon I visited the Linn County outdoor learning facility with Rita and my grandson. What a beautiful facility. And free. While there I dropped in to see the county conservation Landscape Architect. He's a great guy and a good friend. He expressed frustration with an asbestos removal project he was working on. We shared a couple of asbestos war stories and then it was time for me to go get a chocolate malt while he kept working. And suddenly the sun came out and I felt very good being retired.
Dave

[escape artist]

Originally Posted by Iowa Dave

There are any number of pent up frustrations held by former employees of private and government operations. This afternoon I visited the Linn County outdoor learning facility with Rita and my grandson. What a beautiful facility. And free. While there I dropped in to see the county conservation Landscape Architect. He's a great guy and a good friend. He expressed frustration with an asbestos removal project he was working on. We shared a couple of asbestos war stories and then it was time for me to go get a chocolate malt while he kept working. And suddenly the sun came out and I felt very good being retired.
Dave

Hi: Iowa Dave... My Dad used to mix asbestos powder with water in a pail and hand dip cloth strips into it to plaster on hot water/ steam pipes. No mask or gloves or Has Mat suit. Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[Iowa Dave]

Alf,
A lot of us did a lot of bad things to our bodies in the line of work we were in. Add that to the extracurricular after work boozin, ladder climbing, tree cutting, you name it foolish things and it's a wonder any of us are still going. However, from my graduating class of 562 in 1966, Eighty one have died and I'm sure work hazards got a few of them through cancer etc. What's that old line? I'd like to go peacefully in my sleep like grandpa at 85, not screaming and crying like my relatives in his car.
Hope you're having a great week when everybody is Irish at least for a day.
Dave

[captmath]

Originally Posted by C&G in FL

Steven, I think your comment about wanting the services but not wanting to pay for them is dead on!

Where is the "like" button?

[Art M.]

Yeah, I know this started as a joke, but if it is going to evolve into a rant, I want to pile on too. I've always wanted to be a Knight erRANT.
It is pretty clear that free enterprise can claim a lot of the credit for making this country as rich as it is.
But I get a little irritated when it is assumed that government is necessarily inefficient with lazy employees, and private companies are efficient with motivated employees.
A couple of anecdotes: (1) A quarter century ago our church built a new sanctuary for about $1M; a year or two later, we received a large check (about $5k to $10k as best I can remember) from the city because some 'faceless' bureaucrat discovered that the city had overcharged us for one of our building permits, and this person made the extra effort to correct the error. We had no idea that we had been overcharged, so never would have thought of requesting a refund. (2) In the last month, we have upgraded our home cable TV, phone, and internet service. As in every previous dealing with this large, private company it has taken several calls to correct errors they made along the way, even though every person I dealt with was pleasant and sounded competent.
I think that most people want to feel useful and helpful to others, whether they work for government or the private sector. I personally think it is only a small minority who grab any opportunity to behave as a parasite on the rest of us.
[Full disclosure: I spent my entire career employed at a Federal Laboratory, where most of the people I knew were enthusiastic about their work, and put in well over the 40 hours a week they were paid for and expected to work. Work on the "Cathedral of Fusion Energy" continues, I hope, to completion. I'm optimistic that a few of the 'bricks' that I installed may survive in the final structure.]

[escape artist]

Hi: All... Had a guber mint job of sorts. Drove a transit bus for near 20 yrs. Our rule was "There's a 1000 reasons for being late... but none for being early". Only twice got to leave work early. Once taken off the bus for a kidney stone attack, and once the bus broke down just before my shift finished. Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[rbryan4]

I'd say it has to do more with bureaucracy than it has to do with government vs private sector. Bureaucracy kills innovation, creates inefficiency and waste, and frustrates end users. It's just that government is known for bureaucracy perhaps more than the private sector is. I've seen the good, the bad and the ugly in both worlds.

[padlin]

Might be that the most visible parts give a bad rep to all the parts. Think of the town road crews seen by all, 6 people standing around while 1 or 2 are working. The lines at the DMV waiting for indifferent workers. The call to the IRS help line. We hear all the time about the stalemate in Washington while seeing scenes on the news of an almost empty House of Representatives or the Senate discussing or voting.

My impressions are formed by what I experience and by what the news reports.

[Patandlinda]

Originally Posted by padlin

Might be that the most visible parts give a bad rep to all the parts. Think of the town road crews seen by all, 6 people standing around while 1 or 2 are working. The lines at the DMV waiting for indifferent workers. The call to the IRS help line. We hear all the time about the stalemate in Washington while seeing scenes on the news of an almost empty House of Representatives or the Senate discussing or voting.

My impressions are formed by what I experience and by what the news reports.

Pat

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by padlin

My impressions are formed by what I experience and by what the news reports.

Yep, and in this age of instant information and poorly researched media reports....