By FITSNews || Since no one has yet figured out how to put a calendar or address book into a personal electronic device, thank God for the helpful bureaucrats over at the federally-funded Midlands (S.C.) Workforce Development Board.
These government pencil pushers, whose slogan is “working for your future,” recently sent their supporters (most of whom are other government bureaucrats) a bunch of antiquated day planners, circa 1975.
How much did they spend on this nonsense? Obviously not much, but in the 27th month of the “Great Recession,” it’s hard to justify spending even a dime on this outdated self-promotional schwag.
Having said that, this dayminder is obviously a Godsend for our techno-challenged founding editor.
Where else was he going to keep track of all those important events he’s got planned for a year that is already one-sixth over?
And phone numbers!
Where was he planning on storing all of his important phone numbers?
By Wake-up Call March 3, 2010 at 4:38 pm
Where is the money going? Well, where do I start. Often times but not everytime, to provide training to people who have no intention of getting a job and actually going to work. Many of them are playing the system in order to continue to receive some sort of government handout. I’ve seen the WIA send people to training, without background checking them first, for jobs such as CNA, truck driver, etc. who were not eligible for those jobs AFTER all the money was spent on training, childcare, transportion, etc. because they had criminal records and could not pass a background check when it was run by the employer hoping to hire them. Only after complaining about this was it finally changed. I wish someone would check into this and see just how much money was wasted before making the change to background check people BEFORE they were approved for training and all the benefits that went along with it. Just another waste of our tax dollars. Just another government funded program doing nothing but wasting money and handing it out to (some) people who have no intention of ever going to work anyway. There of course, are some really good people who have had bad things happen to them and suddenly find themselves out of work and for them, they may have been in one job for a very long time and need training to get back in the workforce in a new line of work. For those people, I’m happy the program is there and they will return to work. I would love to see the stats on how many people who have gone through the program have actually went to work after all those dollars were spent on them. I’m sure it would be interesting !!!!!!!
By Genomic Repairman March 3, 2010 at 5:06 pm
Good Lord man I thought they stop sending those things out in the mid-80′s. But it is a snazzy logo.
By Earl Capps March 3, 2010 at 6:23 pm
Wake up, I’m a board member for the Trident WIB. You raise a good point about the backgrounds being an inhibitor to employment. Being an HR person, I’ve red-flagged prospective hires based upon background checks.
I’m going to call the ExDir of our board tomorrow and inquire if this sort of viability screening is being conducted to help determine eligibility for our training programs. I know we did this for one welding program where we partnered with the Charleston County Jail (it amazing how some people don’t want to learn skills until they’re locked up for thousands of dollars of back child support).
Thanks for the idea.
By Blii March 4, 2010 at 6:32 am
Throw every elected official out, and you will have change. Otherwise, get used to failure.
By beentook2 March 4, 2010 at 8:41 am
You have an agency that lists eleven (11) employees. It has a Board of thirty-six (36) directors. The State is broke and these cockroaches want to continue feeding.
What better way to tell the Legislature that they at the top of their game than with the gift of 50 year old calendars.
Next week they are going to send to each and every member of the Legislature a dairy cow so they bone up on their skills of sucking on a free tit.
By Earl Capps March 4, 2010 at 12:12 pm
Been, that’s not exactly an accurate picture you’re painting there.
Most WIA boards have plenty of “ghost” members. The board composition is required to include representatives appointed by county councils, as well as industry groups, social/public service agencies, labor unions, technical colleges and even Indian tribes.
As a Trident WIB member, I attend monthly committee meetings, which take up 2-3 hours a month during the daytime, four quarterly board meetings, which take up the same amount of time, as well as take time off from work to attend an annual two-day planning session. In addition, I regularly attend graduations for the vocational training programs and take time to visit our One-Stop centers periodically to chat with staff and keep up with issues.
Add up the time I put in annually and it’s the equivalent of 2-3 full time weeks a year. For which I, and the other board members, are paid nothing.
So if I’m working for free, please tell me how I am a “cockroach”?
I’m like hundreds, if not thousands, of South Carolinians who serve on various boards and commissions from local to state level, from libraries to zoning to education to industrial development. We’re not getting rich off this stuff, but our state is a better place for our service.
If you’ve got some time to spare and want to get involved in some issue, odds are there’s a board vacancy out there you can fill. Getting informed and involved sure beats just sitting back and bitching about problems from behind a computer using an psuedonym.
By Wake-up Call March 4, 2010 at 3:53 pm
Well stated Mr. Capps. The WIB boards are made up of mostly wonderful people truly trying to make a difference in their communities, counties and the lives of the citizens who live there…..AND ALL FOR FREE!!!!! The problem I see is that some of these programs that are supposed to help the unemployed are as I stated before, just going to people who already know how to play the system and get yet another free government handout. Whether it’s free tuition, babysitting, gas, clothing vouchers, etc. oh, yea, and a $50 Walmart gift card if they complete the training. Well, what about if they complete the training and still can’t get a job because they failed to tell WIA staff that they have a criminal record and can’t pass a background check. The mama’s come into the employment offices with babies on their hips, hair and nails professionally done, designer clothes and quite often driving expensive vehicles. Take a look in the employee parking lot and see what working people are driving. Check to see if they have time to visit the beauty shop, nail salon or the money to buy designer clothes. They don’t nor do they have the money. What I want to know is how do these unemployed people, needing training and all the other government handouts that go with it afford these things? Let me guess, we working peoples tax dollars-it surely isn’t because they worked for it! I do have to end by saying at least in my area, after much screaming, it was finally changed that anyone receiving training must be background checked FIRST-BEFORE all our dollars were spent to train them for an occupation they will never be able to work in.
Mr. Capps, I sincerely applaud you for giving of yourself and your time freely and unselfishly to better the citizens of your area.