ACSD, another acronym for failure.

One of the worst aspects of dealing with government is the total failure of any sort of management, accountability, performance, efficiency, and the combined inability to prove ANYTHING because the system is designed to DEFLECT responsibility.

LIFE long government employees are some of the worst people on Earth, not just ineffective and officious, but self-aggrandizing, power hungry, pious, malicious, and mule-stubborn. That's not even mentioning the techno-fear, and aversion to both change and accountability. The last thing any of these white-collar managers want is a system that actually tracks their performance because then people would find out how bad they are at their jobs.

Government employees who stay in for life are bad for two obvious reasons: First, the pay is terrible. A masters degree will barely earn survivable wages in the US Government, just over 50K a year. If you have kids and a mortgage, that wage would put you below the poverty line. Any master's degree-holding employee can get close to six figures in almost any line of work outside the government. Second, government employees are legendary for their self-righteousness, and this is because the actual job requirements include little tid-bits like 'Community Service' - a euphemism for Church membership, 'Project Management' - a euphemism for nepotism and cronyism, and finally we come to the worst of the worst, the acronyms. People with experience in lots of systems that have acronyms look good on a resume, regardless of how flawed, nonexistent, or broken those systems are. Oh, you've used BSD? That's great! Is that a payroll system? ... Yeah, sure.

There are three non-obvious reasons why government employees in the good old USA suck dirt: First, good people leave as rapidly as possible. Why would anyone who LIKES to be productive willingly remain buried in an invisible system that is designed not to work? It's hell! I hate it. I can't wait for my rapidly-approaching end date, and I'm considering just QUITTING before it gets here and forfeiting my unemployment! Why? IT SUCKS. I hate never being able to do anything effectively because every avenue that leads to production is blocked. All I can do is circulate paperwork and try to feel like I'm not a hypocrite for working here.

Second, the system promotes not merely MEDIOCRITY, but actually promotes people who are dangerously incompetent. How does that work? TWO WORDS: SARAH PALIN. How did such a monumental idiot make Governor? Easy, she works in a system that promotes idiots. The dumber you are, the higher you go. Excessive and inappropriate religion, patriotism, and posturing will get you further in the government than a PhD.

Finally, the worst problem of US government, and it's not the idiots, it's not the bankers - and they're slimy idiots, and it's not the military - the brass leadership of which is absolutely neanderthal. No, the worst aspect of the US government is CONGRESS. It's congress which approves of all this stupidity, and in fact writes laws requiring most of it.

The dumbest people on the face of the Earth are also the most powerful: Senators. People who believe in flat Earth, made in six days, also are responsible for anything and everything that happens in America.

Is it any wonder that I want to leave?