4 ms·

I work at a Fortune 500 (non-tech) company, and your first two paragraphs are very familiar. I’m not sure why people often act like the government has a monopo

by Merad 9y ago

I work at a Fortune 500 (non-tech) company, and your first two paragraphs are very familiar. I’m not sure why people often act like the government has a monopoly on lazy and incompetent people.

pc86 9y ago
It's not something special to government, it's just that any place with a lot of red tape, a lot of organization/bureaucratic process, and where one person is a relatively insignificant contributor will have it. The problem is that for many government is the biggest example of that type of organization.
moduspol 9y ago
Do taxpayers pay for your Fortune 500 company's employees' salaries? These things happen everywhere, but in the private sector, that inefficiency only lasts as long as the rest of the company carries it. It's the taxpayer funding and political difficulty in fixing that make the incompetence of government employees more problematic.
- crdoconnor 9y ago
  That's such a load of bullshit. If it's an oligopoly or monopoly in a market where the consumer has very little market power, you are just as unable to avoid funding this profligacy. I guess you could give up medical care, internet and having an education, but if you're going to do that why not just 'vote with your wallet' with your taxes too and move abroad.
  - moduspol 9y ago
    There are edge cases in the private sector where it is similar, but it's very much the norm in government work.
  - freedomben 9y ago
    I don't disagree with your argument, but I do call attention to your opening sentence. > That's such a load of bullshit. Assuming you don't know each other and talk this way IRL, then it seems to me a violation of HN guideline 1: > Be civil. Don't say things you wouldn't say face-to-face. Don't be snarky. Comments should get more civil and substantive, not less, as a topic gets more divisive.

4 ms·

I work at a Fortune 500 (non-tech) company, and your first two paragraphs are very familiar. I’m not sure why people often act like the government has a monopo

by Merad 9y ago

I work at a Fortune 500 (non-tech) company, and your first two paragraphs are very familiar. I’m not sure why people often act like the government has a monopoly on lazy and incompetent people.

pc86 9y ago
It's not something special to government, it's just that any place with a lot of red tape, a lot of organization/bureaucratic process, and where one person is a relatively insignificant contributor will have it. The problem is that for many government is the biggest example of that type of organization.
moduspol 9y ago
Do taxpayers pay for your Fortune 500 company's employees' salaries? These things happen everywhere, but in the private sector, that inefficiency only lasts as long as the rest of the company carries it. It's the taxpayer funding and political difficulty in fixing that make the incompetence of government employees more problematic.
- crdoconnor 9y ago
  That's such a load of bullshit. If it's an oligopoly or monopoly in a market where the consumer has very little market power, you are just as unable to avoid funding this profligacy. I guess you could give up medical care, internet and having an education, but if you're going to do that why not just 'vote with your wallet' with your taxes too and move abroad.
  - moduspol 9y ago
    There are edge cases in the private sector where it is similar, but it's very much the norm in government work.
  - freedomben 9y ago
    I don't disagree with your argument, but I do call attention to your opening sentence. > That's such a load of bullshit. Assuming you don't know each other and talk this way IRL, then it seems to me a violation of HN guideline 1: > Be civil. Don't say things you wouldn't say face-to-face. Don't be snarky. Comments should get more civil and substantive, not less, as a topic gets more divisive.