Those Who Can, Do; Those Who Can't, Blog About It

[verlaine]

For a long time I was steering clear of LiveJournal because (a) it doesn't work as a write-only medium, it's only any good if you read everyone who's reading you; and (b) keeping up with my overstuffed flist had become a full-time job, I had to commit a good number of hours to it a day to do it justice

Comments

[verlaine]

Tessa works for the local government (though she gets a year of maternity leave starting next week, yay) and it's very depressing hearing her talk about it. Having hired her on on the basis of her university degree and people mediation skills... as far as I can see they use her to do basic maths because no one else can do it. The office is infested with 50-something ladies who have been in the same job for over 30 years and cannot do the simplest tasks, but have total job security due to "seniority". Some of them are at retirement age but refuse to retire because they would be lonely and apparently cannot be made to. When there are cutbacks, and there are, there's a first-in-last-out policy so the new recruits are shown the door independently of any merit or facility they may have shown.

The private sector can do what it wants - if they want to pay people to produce pointless tat that fools can be persuaded to part with their money for, more power to their elbow, I guess. But if the government can operate without any apparent logic or efficiency or scrutiny, preferring to guarantee jobs-for-life and creamy benefits to any idiot who's once gotten through the door then actively recruiting the best people for the work, then I don't know what the point is any more. I don't want to work long hours for fat bonuses: my needs are few and simple. I just want to be doing the vaguely constructive minor functionary work that university-educated-classicist-types are obviously insanely proficient at. But there's no matching up of this type going on at all.

[barrysarll]

The system isn't there to achieve any theoretical result. The system is there to perpetuate the system, and any result is at best a bonus.

[verlaine]

I haven't quite reached those depths of cynicism yet. I think the (governmental) system is there to perpetuate the system *and also* carry out a fairly simple set of administrative tasks. It beats me why they can't do the second part of that remit well; I guess because you're right and the first part of the remit is what's actually important to them.

[bateleur]

I was nodding enthusiastically along to your first sentence there but the second is complete bobbins. The system has no purpose, it is simply the results of what has come before. Not only is it too big for even governments to control, it is too big to [i]understand[/i].

[barrysarll]

I wasn't implying anything conspiratorial there, just inertia. I agree with your characterisation of it, so I think it's just a matter of phrasing.

[bateleur]

Such is the power of inertia it makes me use bbCode by mistake!