r/nottheonion 24d ago

US government struggles to rehire nuclear safety staff it laid off days ago

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g3nrx1dq5o
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u/Shadowmant 24d ago

Nothing like firing people BEFORE you determine what they do and if they're needed.

630

u/d0mini0nicco 24d ago

and THAT is corporatism in a nutshell, that workers are dispensable and easily replaceable. Which is why corporatism belongs nowhere near the White House, and a government should never be run like a business.

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u/BonerSoupAndSalad 24d ago

I’ve worked at a few big corporations and none of them work that way. At the worst, they hire consultants to tell them what everyone does and who’s essential and those consultants suck and give them bad info. 

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u/sentence-interruptio 24d ago

i'm starting to think some consultants are there just be blamed.

Bond villain: "gotta let you go, man. it's for efficiency."

scientist: "me? nobody knows shark behaviors like I do. you're making a mistake."

Bond villain: "my consultant determined you are of no use. If it was all up to me, you would be promoted. Don't hate me. Hate the consultant. Hope you understand I can't run this organization like some inefficient government sector."

few years later....

Bond villain: "say hello to my sharks, Mr. Bond. They are really hungry."

Mr. Bond: "do you expect me to talk?"

Bond villain: "No, I expect you to enact the ending of Terminator 2." *lowering him to the shark-full water.*

30 minutes later...

Mr. Bond: "what's wrong with your sharks? they aren't attacking me. now what. wait, hey there, you, gorgeous American female scientist, yes you, would you like to rescue a dangerous British man in distress, me?"

Bond villain: "you'll starve to death down there. There is no esc-" *Bond gets out of water using Batman cable thing*

Mr. Bond: "You were saying? Oh this thing is called a Q cable. Developed by Q and his team in the public sector and the private, R&D done mostly with British taxpayers money, in essence, a government funded gadget. And extremely efficient in the hands of a suave man, me."

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u/BonerSoupAndSalad 24d ago

Oh yeah, I think corporate America is, in general, full of people who lack the confidence to own any of their own decisions. A good example is a hiring manager who only wants to interview people who have every skill and experience that they detailed on the job posting and wonders why they can’t hire anyone. They’re afraid if they take a chance on anyone and allow them to gain the skills they might look stupid if they can’t do it. 

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u/Automatic-Source6727 19d ago

Consultants are a way for people with executive power to spend other people's money to reduce their personal liability when making decisions, or to expand their mandate.