GOV2.0: Personality Tests for Public Employees
by Morgan WarstlerA recent blog post by economist Scott Sumner got me thinking about another way we could quickly improve our government.
We should require Public Employees to take personality exams before they are hired.
At issue is human “spite” and how it affects economic development. If you’ve ever dealt with public employees, certainly you know them to be some of the most spiteful monkeys in the barrel. They are capricious and angry, they forget who they work for, and they wield power arbitrarily. Somehow, you feel lucky when they actually do their jobs.
Caveat: Some aren’t bad. But WHY do we have to accept it at all?
Yes, firing them is next to impossible, but setting up new rules for hiring them is easy as pie.
The GOP should promise to establish a Civil Service Personality Exam for all public employees that weeds out those who don’t realize their job is to make private life easy.
What would the test look like? This:
In a trade, you can receive either
- $5 while your trading partner receives $4.
- $4 while he receives $1.
In a trade, you can receive either
- $1 while your trading partner receives $10.
- $0 while your partner receives $5.
To grade this test we just need the definition of economic spite:
So if someone doesn’t say #1 to both questions, she does not work for the government.
Across the board, we want civil servants to live without spite. We don’t want them resenting the free market. And this kind of public employee will be
- more likely to accept less pay when times are bad.
- less likely to be upset when private citizens make more than they do.
If we’re going to have public servants, we should hire the kind of employees we actually want to deal with day to day.
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231 Comments
Instead we get rude arrogant educated idiots who do not understand that labor makes money and wealth while government takes it.
…or we reduce the areas of our lives that are controlled by government and let the private secdtor do things effectively and efficiently
How about a test to determine whether or not the potential public employee understands that the money they use and are paid with comes from the American people, not the government or Obumbo.
My guess is that a vast number do not understand that basic concept.
How can they when the Ivy League lawyers in Congress obviously can't grasp the concept themselves.
As most private companies will probably attest, attitude on the job is an ongoing learning exercise by all employees. Especially in customer service. Compensation isn't the only factor in having happy employees. (We all know how well government employees are compensated.) Moral and achievement are important too. There is so much government bureaucracy could learn from private innovation and practice.
Another problem is that it doesn't matter how well or how poorly you do your job. The union says how much you get paid.
Better solution: Stop hiring them all together.
Talk about savings! and no annoying personality exams!
.
As long as we're indulging in wishful fantasy. . . can I have a pony?
.
Nowadays, with the government hiring requirements being even lowered, the usefulness of the millions of "public servants" has been shelved.
It appears to be in their training manuals to be obstinate, disrespectful and a disgrace to our country. Especially when they know they can't be fired.
We can stop this by dropping ALL RINOs and squelching the democrats who are in office and want to run for office. The next step is to defund and dismantle the multitudes of federal departments. This would, of course, cause the layoff of approximately 500 K persons. However, the yearly cost savings is $1.5 trillion. Now that is deficit reduction and equals approximately $4800 for every man, woman and child alive in the US today.
Besides, each and every state already have their own Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, HHS, HUD, Transportation, Energy and Education departments. There is nothing, AND I MEAN NOTHING, in the Constitution that allows the federal government to wield this type of power and control. The States have the rights and the ability. If we user our vote in November wisely, this would be a huge start back to the path of the true Republic and freedom.
Or just fire 50% of them- for a good start.
why not 100%? thats what i'd prefer personally. some might say its more humane to just start a hiring freeze and then let them retire. with less benefits. and no pension. i'd be alright with either of those options.
Hmm. I like it. How about a lie detector test for presidential candidates? That should thin the herd.
AND, bill the president for the cost of Secret Service, transportation, etc… when he golfs, goes on personal trips or campaigns for anyone other than himself while president! That would save a lot of cash right there!
It should be illegal for him to campaign for anyone else while serving as our President! Instead of serving US, he's working for his party. This applies to ALL presidents nomatter what party they're affiliated with!
Morgan Morgan Morgan. A personality test for public employees?
Is there enough diazepam in the world for those administering that test? Or are you suggesting that we can – as President Make.Believe suggests in a different context – truly "fundamentally change America?"
We have to start somewhere.
polygraphs for debates? HELL YES.
Not if you come from a non pony country…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RDLqb3umsw
the problem with using a lie detector as a basis is that people like obama believe their own lies. like o. j. simpson. he's still looking for the real killer, you know.
Kinda like the fable of the ant and the grasshopper or the stomach and the tapeworm. I lean more to the stomach and tapeworm. The worm can be destroyed with a pill, but there are billions of grasshoppers.
I would be willing to compromise- just add no unions allowed.
Did you mean a "real" pony?
They understand it, they do not care.
Is not their money after all.
How about a unicorn? LOL.
I sell to the government. I am convinced people work in government because they couldn't get a job in anything else. Sorry to say that, but it's true.
Oh, you are so correct. Let him use part of that 400 grand salary for his private pursuits.
That would eliminate all professional politicians. Excellent idea.
If we’re going to have public servants, we should hire the kind of employees we actually want to deal with day to day.
I think your ire, while understood, is IMO better directed as follows:
If we’re going to have a nation, we should elect the kind of Congress we actually want to deal with day to day.
If you want to see how low we've gone, hit the local DMV. At least in Illinois – I can't believe that customer service civil servants could be so hateful for no reason. Not all of them – correct. But far too many, when good folks out there are out of work.
And how about we cut congress' salary? What private sector citizen can do so little, for so many, while getting so much benefit?
Here is the test.
Do you want to work for the government?
If so let us know how it's going in canada/mexico because we are full up here.
Stop hirng and start firing, those that are not fired get the pay cut, and you can never make more than the pension earns, and by earns I dont mean via tax payer funded endless deposits.
These a-hats need to earn a real living like everyone else and stop living off the backs of their fellow citizens.
We need top down leadership here so Obama, sorry your first.
I got both answers correct. Can I be a public service employee? I only want to be president for four years with a real, conservative congress – No rinos or libs allowed. It would be drill, baby, drill; work, baby work; and build, baby, build on day one of my administration. Day two. Slash corp tax to 20%, institute a flat tax of 15%, cut fed salaries to be more in line with private industry, and kick all lobbyists out of DC. Day three. Start cutting government down to size in accordance with Jefferson's idea of small govt and purse strings tight. Day four. Return Rights to the States per the Constitution. Day 5. Start defunding useless departments within government – EPA, FCC, DOE, Day 6. Review previous five days. Day 7. Give thanks that the Good Lord gave me the chance to help save the Republic, Constitution, Bill of Rights, and The citizenry within. Week two and all following would pick up the slack until my term expired.
Would most likely need to increase the size of the Secret Service ten fold, but I could live with that.
Dream, baby, dream. I can dream the impossible dream..
I was informed that my house was no a required response are by the local fire department, sure they will keep taking the property tax money that funds them, but the service is now apparently optional.
Imagine if you even tried to run a business like this.
First question, "Where you born in the United States of America?"
Funny how the only person holding a doctorate (five doctorates actually) in my government office is also our token rude, arrogant, idiot, liberal, who is also the office site's union steward, and (you'll be shocked by this one) the office's quantifiable leader of non-productivity. Was also a huge fan of the health care scam, and when I suggested it was unaffordable, replied that he'd never thought of it that way…
Of course my department is focused on being a benefit to the whole community we serve so we (especially field staff) are mostly a conservative bunch, as compared to the far larger (5x the personnel, the budget difference is astronomical) Dept. of Social Services where our liberal, over educated, under performing, union lackey is the norm.
A little off topic:
If you spent 1 million dollars a day since Jesus was born until now, it is less than a Trillion dollars! Heard that on the radio today. Scary!
Term Limits! No more "career" politicians.
You Monopolized Quite a bit of space with that.
Were you drunk when you typed all this nonsense or was it cut-n-paste? You don't even make sense. "Capitalism is a materialist term of analysis"? What is it analyzing? You're off your meds idiot. I guess you're not alone though. Most socialists morons try to string unrelated words together in an attempt to sound intelligent, but in the end all they do is prove to be nothing more than rambling jackasses who haven't a clue as to what they are talking about.
You even compare capitalism to feudalism and dare to say one is a synonym for the other. Proof positive you are completely in the dark about the subject.
Feudalism: the legal and social system that existed in medieval Europe, in which vassals held land from lords in exchange for military service.
Capitalism: an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and distribution of goods, characterized by a free competitive market and motivation by profit.
Apple meet orange. Of course you can say "I meant it in an abstract way for which you could never understand". To which I would reply, "You mean you changed the meaning to suit your own ends like you leftist braggarts did with the constitution? In which case you wouldn't actually be comparing capitalism to feudalism anymore, now would you?"
You bounce around from line to line, never linking a single one, and NEVER once do you provide anything that even remotely resembles supporting evidence to the nonsense you spout. You are yet another product of the socialist propaganda machine that has been churning in this country for decades. Nothing more than a useful idiot.
Stan,
You are absolutely, 100% correct.
The one, and only reason that people choose to work in government, is simply because they could not survive in private industry. That is one of the reason the questions on the Civil Service exam are about on a 7th or 8th grade level. So the morons can pass the test.
Honor and Dignity would suffice.
And How many states make up the United States.
Oh now, that's just silly. "Reduce" the controll of government…. Unheard of! Blasphemy!
/sarcasm
I'm sure that your request will be lost in the mail….Pony?….What pony?….but…We do have this pig……..
It hits closer to home if you substitute "city counsel" for congress….I know I am not welcome at my city counsel meetings…
………..lost my dignity on a rant at obama. Would honor suffice for now.
Many words you spew ….yet nothing true to view….
you sir….are an empty soul….who talks to much about being empty….
Might as well be Pegasus! A friggin' flyin' horse!
Totally agree with this post that gov. workers generally suck. With that said I have to give props to the DMV office off of NE 82nd in Portland, OR. I've been in there twice now and even though the wait still sucks and the atmosphere is still the DMV stereotype the people who work there have been shockingly pleasant, personable and professional.
Was that Sir Walter Raleigh in the pouch pack or can?
Thank god this will never come true.
If you can work somewhere else, the soul-killing environment of working among so many misfits and cranks will drive you out. Been there, done that.
Ooo, whadju do?
Dude, did you run out of Prozac today? My gosh, take it easy before you give yourself an aneurism.
Be very careful mugiwara, that kind of educated idiot can go off the deep end quite easily. They may one day run into a simple uneducated soul with determination who has worldy success and the pretty lady and kids who retired a wealthy person at age 40. It drives them up the walls. Trust me on this as I retired at age 50 and some are still seething with jealousy after almost 6 years as they must continue to slave on in their cubes on the cube farm.
JoAn
Careful what you wish for…In the Obama world, he likes to use "pony" as a verb, as in Joan," you need to PONY up more taxes so I can have that ObamaStash every pinhead on the street thinks I have…."
I am a man of few words….they didn't like the ones I used to describe their policies….and I didn't even tell them what I really thought!………..
Doesn't line up with the Workers' Paradise USSA you dream of, pinko?
Anyone who answered (2) to both, is a liberal.
It's all about the envy. It's now the official the law of the land, in fact, since Obama has redifined the poverty line as a percentage of the median income. That's right- it ain't what you have, it's what the other guy has.
Old Russian story: a peasant met a magician who promised him a wish- on the condition that whatever he asked for, his neighbor would receive double. The peasant thought for a moment, and then said,
"make me blind in one eye."
That is the liberal mentality in a nutshell.
Since 1980, the rich have gotten richer- and the poor have gotten richer, and the middle class have gotten richer. Adjusted for inflation, real personal incomes for the three middle quintiles have gone up 15% on average.
But the libs can only shriek about the fact that the "rich" have done even better.
It's all about the envy.
How much have Obamas, Reid, Palosi, Clintons, Soros, Emmanuel, Frank, CCX, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Gore, and all other progressives surrounding the current administration made since BHO took office???
How many private sector businesses has government taken over since BHO took office? Let's see: GM, Chrysler, AIG, Banks, Healthcare Industry, and the list continues to grow day-by-day.
I don't know about a pony,but come Nov. there will be a lot of Jackass' with nothing to do
Sadly, this is not the answer, and I'm glad it's not. One, as others have stated, the problem is the size of government. Two, Federal employment is a simple game of having a background that you can demonstrate is clean, and then simply attaining tenure on the first day of your fourth year. There are oodles of federal employees out there whose job it is to assist applicants in filling out their pages long "Federal Resumè". No one can successfully write this document without coaching from others who have a lot of experience with them.
You see, the answer to these questions is obvious to the leeches who wish to attain tenure in this government. "Answer what they want to hear" is rule number one of applying for a Federal job.
No, if someone wants to work in the Federal government, they should do more than answer the personality quiz, which has got to be some kind of joke. But they should LIVE by answer #1, by getting paid less than equivalent private sector jobs. Indeed one regulation that federal employees should live by is that that their pay cannot exceed 90% of whatever the market pays on average in the private sector, and tenure should be a possibility only for outstanding federal employees who have worked for the Federal Government for at least 15 years or so.
How bout this question…."Who do you admire as a President of the US?"
If they say Carter or Obama …We say…."Thank You Loser., don't call us, we'll call you"…"Next…."
and if you don't like the old one…we'll send a new one with some different lipstick on it….too bad the personality test wasn't administered to a certain POTUS turning our country into a socialist/marxist nightmare….
[...] » GOV2.0: Personality Tests for Public Employees – Big Government [...]
That would actually be $733,650,000,000. Come to think about it, that is still less than the first stimulas bill Obama passed.
You want to know whats scarier, is the fact its true. I think maybe, just maybe, we have a spending problem.
LOL!
Thanks. I needed that today!
Testing for personality assumes that government drones actually have one in the first place.
People exiting the government job roles are not qualified to work in private industry,,,,also why would they take the reduction in pay and benefits? i just read the in Madison WI. the highest paid city employee is a bus driver.
outlaw public employee unions,,,,,or simply require that all contract modifications be put on ballots so that the real employer,,,,you know the ones who actually pay the bills (aka-tax-payers) can vote on those changes
Mr. Ed's illegitimate offspring. Afterall, we have talking horses in congress and the white house.
I like the old "Gong Show" approach
used to be 57 but now he dis-avows AZ so it is only 56
I heard that they are using ebonics on the test forms,,,oh yeah and doodles are acceptable as answers.
Those that CAN,,,,DO
Those who CANNOT get elected to the highest office in the land.
You have to stop using multi-sylable words,,,,it just gets them confused.
That re-definition of the 'poverty level is guaranteeing that the war on poverty CANNOT be won,,,,EVER.
Where else in the world is the greatest health risk for the 'impoverished',,,,,,obesity??????
Press 'one' for English,,,,,,,press 'two' for a ticket to get the hell out of this country!
[...] » GOV2.0: Personality Tests for Public Employees – Big Government [...]
[...] » GOV2.0: Personality Tests for Public Employees – Big Government [...]
it would be a vast improvement if we could even agree to pay all these bureaucrats, regulators, nannies, busybodies, etc., their full salary & bennies to DO NOTHING AT ALL. they wouldn't even have to report to 'work'- they'd be doing us all a favor by just staying the hell out of the way.
also the reason they go 'postal'. when it finally hits you that you're unqualified to work at the post office, you're gonna snap and it's gonna be ugly…
the DMV office i use- small town NC- is another exception to the rule (and no wait!). funny how that sort of decent, pleasant service in a government office is so shockingly noticeable. nobody ever says, "You won't believe this: I was in (insert name of almost any private business here) and they were actually nice to me and seemed to appreciate my patronage!" the exact reverse is the norm…
'tenure' in any form whatsoever, should NEVER be granted for ANY JOB ANYWHERE, public or private. not after 15 yrs, not after 1500 yrs, not EVER.
Elected by or employed under, still skating along with the protection of a Union. Crazy! And to think people are afraid of Big Biz.
Exactly.
[...] » GOV2.0: Personality Tests for Public Employees – Big Government At issue is human “spite” and how it affects economic development. If you’ve ever dealt with public employees, certainly you know them to be some of the most spiteful monkeys in the barrel. They are capricious and angry, they forget who they work for, and they wield power arbitrarily. Somehow, you feel lucky when they actually do their jobs. [...]
[...] » GOV2.0: Personality Tests for Public Employees – Big Government [...]
[...] » GOV2.0: Personality Tests for Public Employees – Big Governmentand if you don’t like the old one…we’ll send a new one with some different lipstick on it….too bad the personality test wasn’t administered to a certain POTUS turning our country into a socialist/marxist nightmare… … Read more [...]
[...] » GOV2.0: Personality Tests for Public Employees – Big Government [...]
[...] » GOV2.0: Personality Tests for Public Employees – Big Government [...]
[...] » GOV2.0: Personality Tests for Public Employees – Big Government [...]
[...] » GOV2.0: Personality Tests for Public Employees – Big Government [...]
[...] » GOV2.0: Personality Tests for Public Employees – Big Government [...]
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