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Obama job plan includes increasing engineering graduates??? 21

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lacajun, I was referring to all of the little things within an organization that can typically get in the way of an improvement project execution. First, questioning wether the project was defined correctly, how you plan to demonstrate improvement, is the root cause analysis sound, are the real root causes addressed properly with corrective actions, how do you get funding, pull in other resources, if you spend the money want a guaranteed improvement, zero tolerance for failure, prepare a detailed timeline. Basically paralysis by analysis. I've worked on too many projects where I knew what the problem was, how to go about resolving it, but then had the project plan nit picked to death by management. I perservered (usually), but spent way too much time with petty administrative details that slowed the project down. Removing these barriers would have made my life easier and helped the organization reap the improvement rewards more quickly. Throwing more warm engineering bodies at the problem will not help as much as stripping away the red tape.
 
Fisch88, I see you are onto management. Red tape is the manager's tool to frustrate subordinates. Frustration is not something a manager should be adept at instilling. It is fatiguing, isn't it?

Pamela K. Quillin, P.E.
Quillin Engineering, LLC
 
I have noticed that there is a sort of "selective respect" towards engineers and scientists. Politicians and management are quick to point out how important they are, or how lucky an organization is to have such people in their stable. This is usually in the context of trying to impress an outsider such as an investor or voter.

Sadly, it doesn't usually carry through into how we are actually treated on a daily basis.
 
TheTick: this sort of respect is lip service, which is easily given. "You people are critical to public safety and our economy blah blah blah..."

The people politicians actually respect are employers, because these people donate to their campaigns. That's why they keep the supply taps wide open...
 
I'm sort of fond of Hayek, but the Keynes theory we seem to be following dosen't seem to work. And although Keynes seems more popular, very few people even know what theory we are following and who developed it.

We have learned so much, or little from the past, that history seems to be repeating it self.

 
Interesting...
 
Going back to the orignal post. Is this micro managment on the highest level?

No that would have to be from the UN.
 
SnTMan,
While I completely agree with your position on the legitimacy of government, the unfortunate truth is that government is made up of human beings, with human tendencies.

Suppose your life path looked something like this:

Private School -> Ivy League University -> TA at said University -> Staffer for Politician X -> Elected local official -> Elected Senator/Representative -> etc etc etc

You are LITERALLY qualified for no other job than as a bureaucrat. You'd therefore have to make decisions against your own interest when performing your job as a bureaucrat (an anti-capitalistic act): putting the greater good of your district/state/country ahead of yourself and your family (re-election). It's unreasonable to expect that any politician would behave in a way that he thought might hinder his chances for re-election, especially if he isn't qualified for anything else and has no other skills. The solution would be to impose term limits at every level of government, for both elected and appointed officials. That sort of solution is laughable though, just like it would be laughable for those in power to be subject to the same laws as those they govern. See: Obamacare.


To the original post, Obama's plan is not a jobs plan. It's stimulus II, paid for by a tax increase on small business. It has no chance to become law, but if it did, union employees would get some nice new projects to work on, unemployment beneficiaries would get another 50 weeks of paid vacation, and the private sector would be decimated. Sounds like exactly the right legislation if your agenda is to centralize as much power as possible.

-TJ Orlowski
 
TJO, how about we pay all of them to just STAY HOME:)

Acutally what I mean is they can do anything they want, travel, book speaking engagements, hold election events and fund raisers, etc, etc, keeping all current pay and benefits. But if EVEN TWO of them meet on official business, they, all of them, lose said pay and benefits for the full year.

We'd be money ahead..

Regards,

Mike
 
Strange that what he proposes has so much potential, he just dosen't follow through. Like instead of paying people whos homes were flooded, just hire them, (at inflated rates,) to fix the flooding problem.

The flooded homes, usually in a less desirable location, can either be rebuilt, or the land sold.

The inflated pay would be in place of FEMA money.

(No it's just another of my goofy ideas).
 
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