I know it’s fun to make fun of Jackson and its leadership

[HailStout]

But Mobile says hold my beer

Facebook

www.facebook.com

 

[615dawg]

Society has pushed public service as demeaning, a place for lazy workers, etc. And the result is good, qualified people are out of our classrooms and our government.

Something similar (I think it was around $3 million) happened in Madison County, MS not too long ago, and it ended up being someone's girlfriend that was hired and did not know what she was doing.

 

[The Peeper]

But Mobile says hold my beer

Facebook

www.facebook.com

View attachment 1495929

I hear the scammers worked for the City of Jackson**........................................makes sense

 

[OG Goat Holder]

That sounds like something that can happen to anyone.

They did have that scandal about a decade ago where the County revenue commissioner committed a bunch of felonies. So maybe this was an inside job too.

 

[DawgatAuburn]

Coming soon - The City of Mobile Learing Center

 

[J-Dawg]

Society has pushed public service as demeaning, a place for lazy workers, etc. And the result is good, qualified people are out of our classrooms and our government.

I'd say it's a 2-way street. The stereotype of guv workers being lazy had to start somewhere. I'm originally from a town that the biggest employer was the federal government. As a kid 30+ years ago the idea was graduate high school, get a degree, come back and work for the guv because its a stable job and you basically can't get fired or let go. I think that mindset has been around since the explosion of big government and it has led to complacency and ineptitude for several generations now. Worked the first couple years out of college for the state government and can 100% say that was the mindset around when I was in civil service. Realize thats all anecdotal and not necessarily applicable across the spectrum.

 

[615dawg]

I'd say it's a 2-way street. The stereotype of guv workers being lazy had to start somewhere. I'm originally from a town that the biggest employer was the federal government. As a kid 30+ years ago the idea was graduate high school, get a degree, come back and work for the guv because its a stable job and you basically can't get fired or let go. I think that mindset has been around since the explosion of big government and it has led to complacency and ineptitude for several generations now. Worked the first couple years out of college for the state government and can 100% say that was the mindset around when I was in civil service. Realize thats all anecdotal and not necessarily applicable across the spectrum.

I totally agree. My point is that good people generally avoid government work because of it.

 

[dawgman42]

I'd say it's a 2-way street. The stereotype of guv workers being lazy had to start somewhere. I'm originally from a town that the biggest employer was the federal government. As a kid 30+ years ago the idea was graduate high school, get a degree, come back and work for the guv because its a stable job and you basically can't get fired or let go.

 

[johnson86-1]

Society has pushed public service as demeaning, a place for lazy workers, etc. And the result is good, qualified people are out of our classrooms and our government.

Something similar (I think it was around $3 million) happened in Madison County, MS not too long ago, and it ended up being someone's girlfriend that was hired and did not know what she was doing.

I don't think it's that we have pushed public service as being demeaning. I think the incentives do not tend to attract the hardest and most competent workers. There are plenty of departments or agencies that go because of one highly competent person just being a workhorse. And their reward is a lot respect from the people that deal with them regularly while getting basically the same pay as other workers, and usually much less compensation per productive hour spent working. There's not an easy way to fix that to my knowledge. If you try to reward competence, it is just as likely to be taken by politically connected but incompetent workers.

It's a slightly different dynamic in the classroom and we've made it worse by overblowing how poor teacher pay is. But teacher compensation is good because it guarantees a relatively high floor with the option for relatively few hours compared to the private sector, along with being benefit heavy. Two teachers with the minimum certification starting out today will make 119% of the median family income in Mississippi before accounting for the value of pension and benefits. Two teachers with 10 years in teaching will make about $98k in Mississippi without any local supplement. So you're talking being 33ish and having a family income that's 134% of the median family income in Mississippi, again, before accounting for more benefits. But for people with a lot of confidence that they can excel in the workforce, that's a sacrifice. They don't care as much about the high floor or lower hours or stability. They want the high earning potential. But I think a lot more people would be happy to be teachers if they had a better idea of the alternative. I have known plenty of people that would have been good teachers that spent a decade trying to make meaningfully more than teachers, and some that spend that time and don't ever really become better off.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

I don't think it's that we have pushed public service as being demeaning. I think the incentives do not tend to attract the hardest and most competent workers.

And those incentives that are attractive (think PERS benefits here) are loathed by many critics which means many competent people are pushed to go elsewhere.

 

[ZombieKissinger]

Nearly died of Cheriogotis once and have been weaker every since

 

[Xenomorph]

And those incentives that are attractive (think PERS benefits here) are loathed by many critics which means many competent people are pushed to go elsewhere.

I’m right there with you on this. People on msg boards always decry the PERS system like it’s giving some golden parachute to a Fortune 500 CEO… meanwhile they would never consider working a teacher’s job for that pay for 25 years and putting up with crazyass parents… PERS or no PERS.

 

[HotMop]

Nearly died of Cheriogotis once and have been weaker every since

Ever since I had it I can't fart without exploding diarrhea.

 

[jethreauxdawg]

I mean…what…how….surely the logistics of this aren’t “Tommy hit send and the money was gone.” I’ve wired small amounts of money and the process was rather tedious and annoying to me. Surely a municipality has some sort of very strict procedures for how they move large amounts of money. Who is their bank? Surely the bank has incredibly strict procedures when wiring large sums of money. The phrase used in banking is “wires get you fired.” Every bank I’ve ever dealt with was very strict with wiring money.

 

[champdawg.sixpack]

I don't think it's that we have pushed public service as being demeaning. I think the incentives do not tend to attract the hardest and most competent workers. There are plenty of departments or agencies that go because of one highly competent person just being a workhorse. And their reward is a lot respect from the people that deal with them regularly while getting basically the same pay as other workers, and usually much less compensation per productive hour spent working. There's not an easy way to fix that to my knowledge. If you try to reward competence, it is just as likely to be taken by politically connected but incompetent workers.

It's a slightly different dynamic in the classroom and we've made it worse by overblowing how poor teacher pay is. But teacher compensation is good because it guarantees a relatively high floor with the option for relatively few hours compared to the private sector, along with being benefit heavy. Two teachers with the minimum certification starting out today will make 119% of the median family income in Mississippi before accounting for the value of pension and benefits. Two teachers with 10 years in teaching will make about $98k in Mississippi without any local supplement. So you're talking being 33ish and having a family income that's 134% of the median family income in Mississippi, again, before accounting for more benefits. But for people with a lot of confidence that they can excel in the workforce, that's a sacrifice. They don't care as much about the high floor or lower hours or stability. They want the high earning potential. But I think a lot more people would be happy to be teachers if they had a better idea of the alternative. I have known plenty of people that would have been good teachers that spent a decade trying to make meaningfully more than teachers, and some that spend that time and don't ever really become better off.

And what agency do you work for?

 

[FreeDawg]

Society has pushed public service as demeaning, a place for lazy workers, etc. And the result is good, qualified people are out of our classrooms and our government.

Something similar (I think it was around $3 million) happened in Madison County, MS not too long ago, and it ended up being someone's girlfriend that was hired and did not know what she was doing.

Society has pushed public service as demeaning or public service has been a cesspool for so long society correctly assesses public service?

Wherever anyone falls on that, I think it’s fair today to say the best and brightest don’t flock to public service, they flock to the private sector. Public service largely attracts those who seek power.