Eating crow

The following is a quote from a comment about my post on how government does not respond well.

“The last time I received service like that from a public office...yesterday at the library. A women listen to my story of why my books were late, removed the fine and then assisted me in finding the books I needed. When I could not get them, she ordered them from another library and showed me how I can do that online from my home.”

Excellent! It just goes to show me two things: That the people in government are NOT out to get you. It is not the individual that is a problem. It is the system. The system is just not effective in running an economy. Please note how it was a teaching moment and it is in his best interest to learn how to do it himself. Not have someone else do it for him. Once again, the history of the United States should be adequate proof of this.

The second thing is that the best response will be at the local level. The higher up you go into any organization, the less responsive it becomes. This applies to business and non-profit organizations as well. What really cripples government (Among other things) is the inability to fire people. People like the librarian in this example are NOT the problem. It is the ones who are not working out and you can’t get rid of that are the problem. What is even more important, is that the person who should be fired in many cases will actually do better if they are forced to take a new direction that better suits their strengths. Business can (except in union shops) and frequently do this. I see it all the time where I work. And I have gone through it. It can really be a soul-searching event. I have benefited from it beyond what I expected. Government employees are just as human as the rest of us.