Sad story, need to vent

[Tilehelperdan]

So my ma works for the county at the job center. The past couple days this guy has come in looking for information on getting a job working on the highway expansion. She said he's this little old man who is a little bit slow. He lives on his own, but lost what I'm sure was a high paying job pushing a broom, and is having trouble making rent. Clean cut, polite and all around nice, just crapped on by fate.
Its hard enough for people with mental deficiencies to get ahead in life, but these times are making it worse. I feel bad for the guy. He just wants to work. And what makes me extremely mad is that the people who run the program were flat out mean to him. They wouldn't give him information on the test or where to go or when to be there. For the love of God, give this guy a break. If he wants to work, let him.
It is way too easy for society to cut people like this loose. To not care, and look away and ignore them. This guy, and plenty like him, probably never had a job with a pension or 401K. He probably never made enough to save a nest egg. And he certainly couldn't afford a banker to invest what he did make. And, like what all too often happens, when times got lean he was the first to go.
Its safe to say im kinda pi$$ed, and really upset.

Rant and bleeding heart over.

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[Shaughnn]

Dan,
In bureaucracies like where you mother works, showing any sort of preferential treatment, no matter how sympathetic someone's case might be, is usually prohibited in no uncertain terms. They have to follow rules, because those rules not only provide guidance but also shelter the social workers from both legal and physical retaliation. It's a sad case that this one man caught your attention, but he's hardly unique and there will be another dozen just like him going through your mother's office next week. Maybe more??
If it bothers you then decide on a block of your time which you can afford to donate out of every week and make that your mission. But you honestly can not blame the social workers for not doing what would seem both rational and compassionate to you and I. For every one who flounders, there are 20 who are helped. That's the nature of triage, and I'm afraid that unless we change the cultural mindset of America to be a more generous and empathetic place then triage is all they will ever be able to do.
Shaughnn

[Levi the Tile Guy]

and on the other side of this there are A LOT of people out there in good physical and mental shape that can't find work either. It's not that I don't have compassion but if I'm hiring I'm going to pick the best guy for the job. I do feel for the guy in the way he was treated, but times are tough on many americans and i stand fast in my belief that the work should go to the most qualified person period.

[Rd Tile]

the work should go to the most qualified person period.

And, how would determine who is the most qualified to push the broom, the one who complains this job stinks and pays like crap or the guy who is willing to do it at any pay rate with a smile on his face?:yeah:

[Levi the Tile Guy]

I guess you got a point there

[Davestone]

I say the county workers are jerks and could have been human, i can't see where it would have hurt to treat someone with respect.:shrug:I mean it wouldn't be the first time county workers were inconsiderate incompetent asses,been to the county many many times.:deal:

[HS345]

Bureaucrat mentality, might as well gits used to it. :shake:

[dgunnels]

AS a gummit worker let me say that Shaugnn pretty much hit it on the head. No matter what facet of a bureaucracy is involved the workers are in many cases hamstrung. Some of these rules were developed in a well meaning way, many were created simply to keep some higer-up from getting into hot water. A co-worker has a saying, "You can't get into any trouble if you don't make any decisions." There are many times when I'm reminded of something a former boss said to me once, (Use your most sacastic tone of voice.) "Now let's not bring logic into this thing."

[ddmoit]

Levi said:...the work should go to the most qualified person period. Richie responded with:And, how would determine who is the most qualified to push the broom, the one who complains this job stinks and pays like crap or the guy who is willing to do it at any pay rate with a smile on his face?

Jobs don't always go to the most qualified, nor should they. Richie shows an intuitive understanding of the concept of comparative advantage (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparative_advantage).

The concept is frequently applied to countries, but it also works for individuals. Let's take Michael Jordan as an example. He is a gifted athlete that excels at almost anything he tries (except baseball). Suppose that Micheal Jordan needs to have his house painted. It's not too hard to imagine that with some practice, Michael Jordan could be one of the finest house painters around. It is quite conceivable that there is no one that Jordan could hire who is a better painter than himself.

But, unless Jordan actually enjoys house painting, he will still hire a person who is perhaps less qualified than himself to do it. Why? Because of opportunity cost. While he may be a fine house painter, Jordan's time can be used for greater profit in other endeavors. So, a less qualified (but qualified enough) person will get the job. And, that's just fine.

Comparative advantage is the reason there is a place in the market for the person who is the subject of this thread. He is actually a better fit than more qualified persons for some jobs. In a decent economy, those jobs are out there.

My wife works for Whirlpool. The Whirlpool plant in Evansville, Indiana routinely outsources some assembly work - not out of the kindness of their corporate heart - but because it serves the interest of Whirlpool. There are some local companies that specialize in the sort of assembly work that is outsourced by Whirlpool. At least one of those companies finds it profitable to hire mentally or physically challenged persons to do assembly work. Everybody wins.

[Levi the Tile Guy]

when I say best qualified that doesn't only include skill set. Initative, dependability, and attitude fall into that. Very rarely have I ever hired somebody with experience in setting tile. I don't want to waste my time and money re-training somebody to do it the correct way. They always start out strictly running cuts for me. Then they move up to grouting/prepping and all other aspects even layout, polishing stone, and floating a few pans before I ever let them put one piece of tile on a small straight lay entryway. But I do want somebody with common sence, that knows how to read a tape, that is going to show up on time, and not so hung over that they cringe when the saw is turned on. That is the most qualified person to me.

[sandbagger]

what Levi said. I do all of the hiring/recruiting for my department. I've lost track of how many "senior" people we've had problems with. They'll swear up and down they can adapt to your methods and processes and then try to tell you why their way is better than yours after they're in the door. Very frustrating; not to mention expensive. :bang:

[olzo55]

this applies to my17 year old child as well. we will get guardianship of her before her 18 birthday as she will be unable to make important decsions on her own.

She will be allowed up to $2400/year, i think without losing SSI benefits. She will be allowed up to $600/month for living expenses. Adding all that together $9,600/year.

There aren't any alot of comparative advantages to hiring mentally challenged people(depending on severity, of course). It's only through additonal grants/funding to the firms that they become employable. Disable people have the highest rate of unemployment in the U.S. If there were vast comparative advantages to hiring then they would be in more jobs.

What Whirlpool does is have a corporate culture that exceeds just monetary gain. They are providing a social culture of doing good to the mentally challenged. This program could be dropped in a heartbeat as being less profitable. They continue it because they want to do something good for someone less fortunate

[gueuzeman]

Lots of good input here, I really have nothing to add except that I have a saying, "Take joy from all of the small, beautiful things in life because most of the big things suck."

olzo- we got gaurdianship of my 10 year old last year, there didn't sem to be any point in putting it off. Still a glimmer of hope for gueuzegirl, but I'mnot an optomist, I'm a pragmatist.


gueuze

[Hamilton]

Reality is a tough one. I'm a bleeding heart too. Its a shame, ....the state of
this ball we call home. Do I have a fix? No. If I did I would be a politician not
a tile man.

[Tilehelperdan]

Thanks for chiming in on this, all.
Ya know, Hamilton, the reality is that a political solution would only get mucked up with politics, and as such couldn't possibly work. I fear the only thing that will improve this situation is a national change of heart. Don't see much of a push for that. But I hold out hope.

And Gueze, I donated some money for autism research today. Not enough, but I figure every little bit helps.

[oogabooga]

Rules and regulation are a common scapegoat for lazy/tired/useless people to do nothing. I was a long time government employee and sadly lazy/tied/useless described a fair number that I worked with... and I was a cop!!

Even if they were truly unable to help this person at the very least they could have been treated with courtesy and respect.

Rob.