ivinsfan
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2007
- Messages
- 10,200
These days I can't even distinguish a good deed from a bad deed. As they say, hold on to your hat...No good deed goes unpunished.
These days I can't even distinguish a good deed from a bad deed. As they say, hold on to your hat...No good deed goes unpunished.
IMO inefficiency is baked into the system. There is always turnover of the most capable employees in any organization, public or private. In private organizations, though, the loss at the top is offset by firings, layoffs, etc. of the poorest performers. Hence the quality distribution of employees stays somewhat balanced. In government (and to some extent in most union employee populations) there is no such culling of poor performers. It is too hard. So the overall employee population quality is lower than in organizations where the necessary culling takes place.There’s no one for waste, fraud or abuse in government or anywhere else. But our Federal government does a lot of great things, many very efficiently.
I’ve seen that in private organizations too.Yes. Having worked at one time for a government contractor, i can tell you the impetus was "spend everything in the budget, however you can, or they will decrease it next year".
This is a symbol of what is wrong.
Flieger
I saw that when I w*rked part time for a University. They ended up with piles of equipment, still in boxes, stored in a janitor's closet because, had they not spent the money, their budget would have been curtailed the next year.Yes. Having worked at one time for a government contractor, i can tell you the impetus was "spend everything in the budget, however you can, or they will decrease it next year".
This is a symbol of what is wrong.
Flieger
Oh, yeah. Use it or lose it. Definitely not limited to the government. One early December I got a call from a good customer at 7-Eleven. "Oldshooter, send me an invoice for $15,000. I'll tell you later what it's for."I’ve seen that in private organizations too.
Yep. Bureaucracy я Us.Funny (sad?) story: DW and I walked into our City Hall to buy a parking permit to the park. Two women sitting at two desks side by side. "Oh, I'm sorry we only sell the permits on Tuesdays and Thursdays...today is Wednesday. I do have them here in my drawer (shows them to me) but you'll have to come back tomorrow."
Me: "OK, I read that there is someplace else that I can buy one today, is that so?"
"Yes" .... long pause
"OK, where?"
She doesn't say a word but instead just points to the woman sitting next to her. "You'll have to ask her".
Woman #2: "Yes, you can go to the Rec center. They sell them every day".
I understood the reasoning but it was strange at work when we were struggling to find the money to set up a computer forensics lab and dealing with the "bits 'n pieces" way of doing that. This was mid to late 1990's so this was all brand new territory to management. One day a very nice lady from Management and Budget stopped by and said "We're having a problem finding something to spend $40,000 on. Is there a chance you can help us out?"Yes. Having worked at one time for a government contractor, i can tell you the impetus was "spend everything in the budget, however you can, or they will decrease it next year".
Heh, heh, sometimes the good guys still win! Thanks for the story.I understood the reasoning but it was strange at work when we were struggling to find the money to set up a computer forensics lab and dealing with the "bits 'n pieces" way of doing that. This was mid to late 1990's so this was all brand new territory to management. One day a very nice lady from Management and Budget stopped by and said "We're having a problem finding something to spend $40,000 on. Is there a chance you can help us out?"
I remember me and my partner looking at each other in astonishment, and trying very hard not to laugh with glee. I hasten to add that the money wasn't wasted, and we were picky about where it was spent. But for the first time we had a high quality lab that saved us a lot of time.
Funny (sad?) story: DW and I walked into our City Hall to buy a parking permit to the park. Two women sitting at two desks side by side. "Oh, I'm sorry we only sell the permits on Tuesdays and Thursdays...today is Wednesday. I do have them here in my drawer (shows them to me) but you'll have to come back tomorrow."
Me: "OK, I read that there is someplace else that I can buy one today, is that so?"
"Yes" .... long pause
"OK, where?"
She doesn't say a word but instead just points to the woman sitting next to her. "You'll have to ask her".
Woman #2: "Yes, you can go to the Rec center. They sell them every day".
The online site gives me several other locations in the area. The closest to me is 25 miles up the road in a small town (pop. 800) and the office is open only on Wednesdays from 9 to 4 (and closed for lunch!).
The address shows it to be a mile or so outside of town, and once I get there I find a county park of some sort and a handful of small buildings - no indication of any DL office. I had the office number and called to get directions. The lady who answered ("Driver's License Office, this is Beth") said sure, she'd be happy to give me directions but it would do me no good - she couldn't renew my license. I asked if the office was closed, and she said no, the computer she used to do the renewals was broken.
She offered to give me the location of the San Antonio DL office as well as a couple of others in surrounding counties. I said thanks, but maybe I'll just wait and come back when I can get it done here. Do you think your computer will be up and running again next week? She laughed and said she doubted it - since it had been broken for 11 months...
Thumbs up for me for others paying tax quickly.Gotta give a shout out to our Federal Government this morning. Staggered in to the computer with coffee in hand and opened up the email - this was before 6:00AM. Two Fidelity alerts, both in this format:
For account ending in 0000:
Money was withdrawn from your account through a direct debit in the amount of $xxxxx.00 by IRS.
If you authorized this transaction, no action is needed.
I had authorized the payments for taxes due and quarterly payment this date, but that money sure did get snatched muy pronto. Thumbs up?
I had just received paper checks for our Fidelity cash management account on the 10th. Had called in and got the routing and account numbers, but was feeling insecure about using them until I was sure no bad actor had snagged our checks. Got the checks and did online payment as the US mail is not really feeling that good or secure nowadays. Glad I did that too, as when I mailed some items later on the 14th at a driveup box at the local PO I discovered the ramp on the mail chute was coated in a tacky substance, so some letters were sticking - mail thieves taking opportunity of higher odds of enclosed check envelopes?Thumbs up for me for others paying tax quickly.
Meanwhile the check I sent in with my tax return has not cleared.
That's 2 thumbs up!
Always. I file on paper whenever I owe them money.What I have always done, and recommend to anyone else who still files tax returns on paper, is to take them to the post office and send them via certified mail, so I can tell that they have been delivered and not stolen along the way.
I recall one time when I was with what is now Verizon and was with a group that traveled a lot and we were trying to be frugal in the hotels that we stayed at... ok, but not too nice... but it didn't matter too much to us because we didn't spend much time at the hotel but we're either at work or eating out. I get a call from my boss ordering me to move the team to nicer digs until further notice. I am perplexed and foolishly ask why. He tells me that we were doing so well in comparison to budget that he was being pressured to reduce that category for next year's budget and was pissed so his solution was to give us all better digs. No good deed goes unpunished.I’ve seen that in private organizations too.
This reminds me of one of my most favorite signs:Funny (sad?) story: DW and I walked into our City Hall to buy a parking permit to the park. Two women sitting at two desks side by side. "Oh, I'm sorry we only sell the permits on Tuesdays and Thursdays...today is Wednesday. I do have them here in my drawer (shows them to me) but you'll have to come back tomorrow."
Me: "OK, I read that there is someplace else that I can buy one today, is that so?"
"Yes" .... long pause
"OK, where?"
She doesn't say a word but instead just points to the woman sitting next to her. "You'll have to ask her".
Woman #2: "Yes, you can go to the Rec center. They sell them every day".
It is great advice. I always go to post office and keep postage receipt so I know exactly when mailed. If I owed a lot would do certified mail.What I have always done, and recommend to anyone else who still files tax returns on paper, is to take them to the post office and send them via certified mail, so I can tell that they have been delivered and not stolen along the way.
What I have always done, and recommend to anyone else who still files tax returns on paper, is to take them to the post office and send them via certified mail, so I can tell that they have been delivered and not stolen along the way.
04/14/2025 | ACH | IRS USATAXPYMT 041425 |
I filed my FedTax on Friday, April 11 and was expecting a refund due to overpayments. Checked "Where's my Refund" this morning and they say it will be paid April 18. One week. Not bad.Gotta give a shout out to our Federal Government this morning. Staggered in to the computer with coffee in hand and opened up the email - this was before 6:00AM.
Use it or lose it.