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Fair Problems with government? Where do I start?
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As if being large and complex isn’t hard enough, those challenges are complicated by factors that are unique to government. There’s no profit motive. Working harder and doing better at governing doesn’t mean you make more money. You can’t give bonuses to your best employees. If you gave more money to employees who come early and stay late; or those who are smart and hardworking and bring work home; or those who are always on time, have a good attitude, solve problems and always exceed expectations; or those who are always under budget on expenses and exceed revenue projections, there would be cries of cronyism.
If a government employee buttonholes the chief executive — the county executive, the mayor, the governor, the president — and says, “You stink, and I’d never vote for you,” that chief executive can’t fire that employee without being subject to a claim of political discrimination.
There are additional civil service and union rules that apply to government that make it difficult to reward or discipline employees. If you’re a chief executive, the press and your opponents succeed when they demonstrate that you’ve made a mistake, and those in the latter category sometimes try to make sure you screw up. Then they’ll happily leak it to the press, which will willingly make the most of the opportunity to fulfill its duty as the Fourth Estate.
Most government decisions are questioned by part-time legislators who have their own political problems, and many members of a chief executive’s senior staff are not paid commensurate with their ability to do their jobs — especially with the public already angry about overpaying for many government jobs whose wages are the result of decades of victories by public employees’ unions.
Government is tough — I would argue, tougher than business. The CEO (often an elected official) makes less than in the private sector, is at some function almost every night, and usually comes to question why he or she ran in the first place. Combine the size, the complexity and the unique circumstances and it’s no wonder government isn’t run like a business.
If a government employee buttonholes the chief executive — the county executive, the mayor, the governor, the president — and says, “You stink, and I’d never vote for you,” that chief executive can’t fire that employee without being subject to a claim of political discrimination.
There are additional civil service and union rules that apply to government that make it difficult to reward or discipline employees. If you’re a chief executive, the press and your opponents succeed when they demonstrate that you’ve made a mistake, and those in the latter category sometimes try to make sure you screw up. Then they’ll happily leak it to the press, which will willingly make the most of the opportunity to fulfill its duty as the Fourth Estate.
Most government decisions are questioned by part-time legislators who have their own political problems, and many members of a chief executive’s senior staff are not paid commensurate with their ability to do their jobs — especially with the public already angry about overpaying for many government jobs whose wages are the result of decades of victories by public employees’ unions.
Government is tough — I would argue, tougher than business. The CEO (often an elected official) makes less than in the private sector, is at some function almost every night, and usually comes to question why he or she ran in the first place. Combine the size, the complexity and the unique circumstances and it’s no wonder government isn’t run like a business.
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