I have worked for small to medium-sized companies all my life, with a short stint at a big multinational decades ago.
The medium and smaller outfits are often bought and sold, at which point you get a new set of managers, new procedures, new policies and new goals. Sometimes it goes smoothly, especially if the place was making money before the sale. More often, it was a mess; either there was a long, slow march though the departments, the heads being inexorably replaced one by one, no matter how hard they tried to adapt -- or the new owners would sweep everyone away as quickly as possible. The new acquisition would often be used as a kind of "lab," where new ideas would be tried, and quite often a new boss brought along all his old friends and family members. (One of the most duplicitous bosses I worked for was famous company-wide not for skill, but for marrying the daughter of a majority stockholder.)
You didn't always end up with the best and the brightest. What you got was the best-connected.
Governments are not companies. They've generally got hedges against cronyism and sudden changes, which help to protect citizens (and markets!) against uncertainty and the whims of new elected officials -- and their pals and relations. They have Constitutions, laws, court decisions and customs, a framework that members of the government abide by, a kind of contract with the people. They have competitive examinations for civil service jobs.
The United States appear to have elected a government that wants to break the contract. It has handed over the keys to the President's buddies, people who were not elected, not officially appointed and not confirmed by Congress and they are moving fast and breaking things with little regard for the human cost.
They say they want to slash the Federal workforce. But they're trying to chase away the people who process tax refunds and Social Security payments, veterans benefits and disaster relief. Is that what you voted for? Is this an experiment you want to be subjected to?
Update
2 months ago
15 comments:
IMHO he got elected by appealing to that portion of the population that will believe anything if it's shouted long enough and loud enough and appears to be salvation from "them" . . . for various definitions of "them".
From next door, we watch sadly as much that was good spirals into the dirt.
America and its friends deserved far better.
The problem is that there are problems the voters wanted fixed from the last administration. But, it's a bit like hiring an incompetent & possibly crooked contractor to do so- there's a good chance he'll not only make the problem worse, but will add some more problems in the process.
It is long past time to do what must be done...I did not vote for .10 cent eggs or cheap gas; What I voted for is this....Cut it, slash it, and burn it to the ground. Then start over.......Its the only way to be sure.
The New York Times Opinion article from Sunday by Ezra Klein titled "Don't Believe Him" is a long read, but hits home on what's going on. I was able to read it without a paywall on my phone the first time, but on my laptop, I had to create a free limited account to view it again. Worth it to give it a second read.
Yes, it most certainly is!
Tell me, you enthusiastic volunteers, what are people on Social Security or reliant on VA benefits (etc.) supposed to do in the meantime? Die off quietly? (I'm not asking for a friend -- I'm due to sign up for Social Security checks; overdue, in fact, but the website's been screwed up, thanks to...well, you can guess.)
Also, "Start over?" I haven't heard anything at all about "starting over." They're just trying to hack and slash.
But here's the deal: the Executive Branch does not actually have the authority to cut programs and departments established by Congress. Congress sets 'em up by laws and it requires Congress to take them down -- and in the meantime, the branch the President runs is charged with the "faithful execution" of those laws. Don't like it? Take it up with James Madison and the other Framers.
Mr. Trump is a moron in matters of government structure and the unelected, non-appointed and unconfirmed Mr. Musk is even more so. They're not going to fix anything, as we will all be finding out, probably sooner rather than later. I'm not looking forward to it.
"I did not vote for .10 cent eggs or cheap gas; What I voted for is..." un-inspected meat and produce and the dismantling of public health infrastructure.
That's not a plan, nor a philosophy, it's a tantrum.
If you look at what happened to the former Twitter, you'll see President Musk's shakedown cruise for what he's doing today. Now that ship has sailed, fully crewed. No port is safe from his depredations.
When you cut and slash, it isn't just the libs that get pwned, it's everyone.
For those who want to "burn it all down": go ahead and burn your own house down. Make sure all your assets are inside. Next, rebuild anew with what's left on site. Do you see a potential problem here?
Call it "Burn it Down"; call it "Year Zero"; even call it a "Cultural Revolution"- the end result is you inevitably end up with lots & lot of dead people and a destroyed nation that you later spend lots of effort to fruitlessly rebuild.
And for those who think that the 'lots & lots of dead people' is a feature, not a bug? Traditionally, it's often the Party Faithful who are first up against the wall.
One really dumb bit of cope I'm seeing is the idea that because Trump is firing people in the government, he can't be a tyrant. He's reducing the government's size!
But firing people in a government is not necessarily contra to the concentration of unchecked power into the hands of a few- tyrants always purge those they think are potentially disloyal, and remove institutions that might oppose their actions.
You got it, Joe. All he's doing is getting rid of anything/anyone he sees as obstructing his total control. Other than that, he has no "plan".
The felon in the White House and Elon Musk are a marriage made in heaven, each thriving on chaos.
Cop Car, the pairing was made in *some* afterlife, anyway....
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