4 ms·

Bring back small time corruption. It’s reserved for the super wealthy in the US but if foremans could grease the wheels every now and again things go a lot fast

by mozman 4y ago

Bring back small time corruption. It’s reserved for the super wealthy in the US but if foremans could grease the wheels every now and again things go a lot faster. You used to get this for free in NYC as you had to bribe someone to avoid concrete delivery delays and rejected mixes. They made sure all the little guys with a tiny bit of power stayed out of your way. The industry is now known as expediters and depending on the city is useless. As a country I think we forgot how to do business. It’s clear people aren’t happy with their wages..

usui 4y ago
Doesn't tolerance for small-time corruption necessarily manifest into tolerance for big-time corruption?
- mozman 4y ago
  We already have ubiquitous big time corruption. Just look at corporate America.
lbriner 4y ago
It doesn't have to be corruption, which tends to reward the people in the know far more than those who aren't! There is already the concept of an expedited payment. You want the concrete on the agreed schedule, it's $3000 but if you need it express because you screwed something up, you can pay $500 and we'll get another driver in etc.
- mozman 4y ago
  Being in the know is a major advantage in life. If you are pragmatic and know how to talk to people life is so much easier.
lazide 4y ago
Ugh. That just makes it worse as more money disappears into the cracks and there is less accountability. The issue is the folks paying for it don’t demand results, they usually prefer it get drug out. It means more fees to the folks involved, a longer time in the cushy job overseeing it, etc. It’s usually the taxpayer or some large entity where the leaders are political and can get in on the graft, or are easily fooled. Once the planning authorities get out of the way, just look at most private construction - anything where it’s not a giant megacorp or entity paying for it. It’s done in 1/5th the time of equivalent public works, and at a fraction of the cost too. In most of these places, the politicians/leaders know how to control the captive base, and the captive base just shrugs and pays their taxes without demanding better. So as long as the graft isn’t too obvious, ‘everyone wins’ - except the end user of course. But they usually don’t actually need it (as in someone dies or an economy collapses or whatever), so they just putter along bitching about it without doing anything or looking closer. I guess that’s also part of the issue with having something that ‘mostly works’ already, no rush to replace it.

by mozman 4y ago

usui 4y ago

Doesn't tolerance for small-time corruption necessarily manifest into tolerance for big-time corruption?

mozman 4y ago
We already have ubiquitous big time corruption. Just look at corporate America.

lbriner 4y ago

It doesn't have to be corruption, which tends to reward the people in the know far more than those who aren't! There is already the concept of an expedited payment. You want the concrete on the agreed schedule, it's $3000 but if you need it express because you screwed something up, you can pay $500 and we'll get another driver in etc.

mozman 4y ago
Being in the know is a major advantage in life. If you are pragmatic and know how to talk to people life is so much easier.

lazide 4y ago

Ugh. That just makes it worse as more money disappears into the cracks and there is less accountability. The issue is the folks paying for it don’t demand results, they usually prefer it get drug out. It means more fees to the folks involved, a longer time in the cushy job overseeing it, etc. It’s usually the taxpayer or some large entity where the leaders are political and can get in on the graft, or are easily fooled. Once the planning authorities get out of the way, just look at most private construction - anything where it’s not a giant megacorp or entity paying for it. It’s done in 1/5th the time of equivalent public works, and at a fraction of the cost too. In most of these places, the politicians/leaders know how to control the captive base, and the captive base just shrugs and pays their taxes without demanding better. So as long as the graft isn’t too obvious, ‘everyone wins’ - except the end user of course. But they usually don’t actually need it (as in someone dies or an economy collapses or whatever), so they just putter along bitching about it without doing anything or looking closer. I guess that’s also part of the issue with having something that ‘mostly works’ already, no rush to replace it.