Thread: Do you ever wonder if people in government jobs work?

IMHO, just so you know they are not all lazy, my husband is a GS-12 and he works his ass off and has for 30 years.

He also takes no gifts of graditude, must be extra careful of conflict of interest, and he goes to ethic classes once a year.

I also think one of the biggest problems with the federal government is hiring people who are incompetent or not qualified for the job, Bush was extremely well known for that...look at Chertoff and this is a problem all through the government.

SOSADFORUS
American workers are the best in the world...
But too many people are working for government and not in the private sector..
It would seem any government who has "work" for that many people (over 50% of the working population) ..is a suspicious enterprise..

Originally Posted by xyz

SOSADFORUS
American workers are the best in the world...
But too many people are working for government and not in the private sector..
It would seem any government who has "work" for that many people (over 50% of the working population) ..is a suspicious enterprise..

I'll agree with that, and I think the purpose of that is to keep people working so they can make the unempolyment look smaller and keep their agenda with the NAU and immigration on course.

Goods points made on both sides. I used to be one of those Rush Limbaugh conservatives that believed that anything government (besides military of course) was inefficient and wasteful, and as much should be privatized as possible. That privite companies always promote the best, pay the hardest workers the best etc.

The job I had before my current job was for a private beverage distributor. Let me tell you, the best DO NOT always get the best pay, promotion etc. Often times its the best ass kissers, those tightest to management etc. Those people tend to be the very lazy inneficient folks that gov't employees are described to be. While people who are not buddy-buddy with management pick up the slack for those who are. If there was too much work too be done at a certain account some workers would just bail, and they would send me in the next day to do not only my work, but all of the work that the ass kisser decided not to do. The ass kissers pretty much got the over-time that they wanted (even though they were getting out of actually doing work). While the rest were pressured to work for FREE. We were told that if it took us over 40 hours, then we "weren't going fast enough." And we had to attend mandatory meetings FOR FREE at 5:00 in the morning.

I worked for a criminal "efficient private enterprise company."

They exploited my hard work. They rewarded cronyism. I would say they were anything but an efficient company. All of their accounts hated them. The union shops were better respected by the accounts. Not everything is as simple as Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh would make it.

Check out Lou Dobbs latest work, Independents Day. He has a chapter called "Shadow Government." Where he lays out how public infrastructure is being privatized at the EXPENSE and disaproval of the public. Public infrastructure and utility is being privatized for profit and in many cases being outsourced to foreign companies. You don't have to be a commie to believe that some things can be owned and used by the commons. Americans have a much different perspective than the rest of the First World when it comes to government controlled sectors of the economy. We also work longer weeks, and get much less vacation time. I think this influences the way we see anyone who works in government, and the different conditions in those feilds as opposed to the private sector.

BFR said:

The job I had before my current job was for a private beverage distributor. Let me tell you, the best DO NOT always get the best pay, promotion etc. Often times its the best ass kissers, those tightest to management etc. Those people tend to be the very lazy inneficient folks that gov't employees are described to be. While people who are not buddy-buddy with management pick up the slack for those who are. If there was too much work too be done at a certain account some workers would just bail, and they would send me in the next day to do not only my work, but all of the work that the ass kisser decided not to do. The ass kissers pretty much got the over-time that they wanted (even though they were getting out of actually doing work). While the rest were pressured to work for FREE. We were told that if it took us over 40 hours, then we "weren't going fast enough." And we had to attend mandatory meetings FOR FREE at 5:00 in the morning.

I worked for a criminal "efficient private enterprise company."

Boy, you sure got that right. I hope other readers would agree. I've worked in construction a long time, mainly unionized, and that pretty much echoes what I have seen there. I've always tried to use my head and be innovative and skilled, but have come up on the losing side so many times against people who can play up to the bosses (of whatever company I'm working for) And like you say, they call in skilled people to get them through a crunch, and then just turn it back over to the screw-ups who reap lots of lucrative over-time. Seen it many, many times. On top of that the union has affirmative action-type progams which lead to further inefficiency, and I think the employers (contractors) feel if they didn't comply they would possibly have a lawsuit or labor relations complaint to contend with. In other words besides their inherent sloppiness, they are forced to be P.C., too.

It then came as no big surprise that contractors would start resorting to illegal labor. Between cronyism, affirmative action, and just plain laziness they were ready, I think, to go under.

humans :can't live with them , can't live without them.

I think if government workers had to live with the insecurity that those of us in the "free market" live with , they would work.
I also think any real creativity will be pounced on and destroyed by
other employees, so numbing out is the survival response.
If you want to get something done,don't tell anybody about your plans, cause everyone will sabatoge them.

a fed employee actually spoke in double negatives to me on the phone and then tossed my entire case.
It's difficult to have any respect for gov workers and most people resent them because they can't be fired.

Boots, I worked for the County of Orange for 6 years. Prior to that, I worked in the private industry for 21 years. Wow. What a big difference.

Because of 21 years of competing with the best private-industry people and the ever-present threat of getting fired if I didn't do a good job, I was used to working hard and efficiently. So I naturally brought this work ethic to my new govt job. Oh Boy! Believe it or not, I was dubbed "Speedy Gonzalez." One SUPERVISOR even asked me, "Why are you so fast? I didn't need this for another 2 weeks!"

I was dumbfounded. I was never asked that question in the private industry. Usually, it was "I want it yesterday!" there. LOL. All I could respond to this govt supervisor was "I don't see the need to wait."

FYI, instead of giving in to "the County way," as they called it, I stuck to my "private industry way." Wouldn't you know it; I climbed the ranks like a rocketship. Well, not because I was so good, but look at my competition!! LOL.

One word: TENURE. That's what it's all about. Have you ever heard the saying that "getting a govt job is job security"? My brother explained it another way: "Once you pass your probation period, it will take an Act of Congress to fire you." You can't be fired at will with a govt job.

Because govt agencies are not in the business of being in business, aka making a profit, there is no need to work efficiently. Money keeps pouring in no matter what, by way of taxes, even if you SLEEP ON THE JOB. So, whether you put in your 10% or 110% (like I did), the money will still be there. You can't do this in private industry, where you can be fired at will for not bringing in the dollars.

Hope that helps.

One of my neighbors is 30 and was told again and again, she is going beyond her job description. This person has been reprimanded by a manager for questioning things. A secretary put an extra big stack of cases on my friends desk while 2 other employees were on vacation.
So my friend did the work. The next week she was reprimanded for doing the work (beyond her job), and not questioning the work load??? Go figure.

The other person is a guy, who has gone legally blind because he was already borderline diabetic and is a drunk, who won't stop.

He is in graphic design on computers (but can't see). He is late for work, does not show up and is sick a lot. How can he be doing his job. Yet he has been doing this for at least 7 years. Also in his early 30's.

As a taxpayer, I resent that this second person will be on the CDC payroll forever, and not doing his job. I also resent that the first person, who does her job, is being harassed because of doing a good job.


Maybe the Feds need to be forced to earn a profit. These folks get great benefits and retirement.

Originally Posted by bootsalinda

One of my neighbors is 30 and was told again and again, she is going beyond her job description. This person has been reprimanded by a manager for questioning things. A secretary put an extra big stack of cases on my friends desk while 2 other employees were on vacation.
So my friend did the work. The next week she was reprimanded for doing the work (beyond her job), and not questioning the work load??? Go figure.

The other person is a guy, who has gone legally blind because he was already borderline diabetic and is a drunk, who won't stop.

He is in graphic design on computers (but can't see). He is late for work, does not show up and is sick a lot. How can he be doing his job. Yet he has been doing this for at least 7 years. Also in his early 30's.

As a taxpayer, I resent that this second person will be on the CDC payroll forever, and not doing his job. I also resent that the first person, who does her job, is being harassed because of doing a good job.


Maybe the Feds need to be forced to earn a profit. These folks get great benefits and retirement.

boots, the ONLY GOVT AGENCY THAT WORKS ON PROFIT is the UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE. They are very proud of this too. Singlehandedly, they are the only govt agency that pays for itself.

All Post Office jokes aside, I have to admit that the USPS has been doing a great job overall. I rarely NOT RECEIVE my mail. In fact, I receive too much! LOL. But the point being, if a govt agency is required to produce its own revenue, aka profits, they will act like a private-industry business -- maximize resources and eliminate waste. Witness the USPS. They are continually revamping ways to serve us better and faster. And who benefits? US.

Captialism is the best vanguard to taxpayer gauging. I wish all govt agencies would be like the USPS.

(Disclaimer: the poor USPS is up against the Internet. I don't blame them for deficiences in that area. They are doing their best to compete in the Internet age.)

Originally Posted by grandmasmad

I wanted to get a County of Los Angeles job when I lived in LA....I scored 96% on the test....but I couldn't be hired because I was not bilingual Spanish....I am bilingual German...but that didn't count.....

My Brazilian friend, with FOUR bachelors degrees (science, psychology, education, and foreign languages) is MULTILINGUAL in Portuguese, French, German, English, AND SPANISH...yet she CAN'T find ONE multilingual position in Dallas, TX! I am multilingual in English, Portuguese, AND SPANISH...and I CAN'T find a multilingual job, either!