A perfect example of running government "like a business"

 

 I have a friend...

A friend who knows why the recent 2018 Arizona Primary election found 62 sites not ready to accept voters.

At least as he sees it...

The title kind of says it all.  

Somebody thought it was a good idea to treat a public trust, a sacred act and a cornerstone of democracy like some general contractor picking up day laborers in a Home Depot parking lot.

Treat this as an editorial even if it is grounded in truth.

I know, a rarity especially with all that "Fake News" out there...

The core problem, as reported by the media, revolves around a lack of necessary manpower to effectively get all of Maricopa County's election technology ready in time for Tuesday's primary vote.  

The county blames the contractor who in this case happens to be Insight who Tuesday upon being blamed for botching the setup of the voter ID "sitebooks" in a number of locations, pointed a finger squarely back in the direction of the county.  Insight remained firm in their stance that the "County wasn't ready" after claiming the county equipment wasn't functioning properly and contrary to the county's claims, Insight had provided "more technicians than required"

What you don't know and my friend does is that Insight, the primary contractor, subcontracted with another staffing firm to supplement it's own staff to do the work.

Not that it really mattered... 

I was told that training of subcontractors mirrored Insight's "regular" employee training consisting of watching a 15 minute video and a multi-page instruction sheet that was to be printed out.   In addition technicians were required to view another video on the use of Insight's  SmartPhone APP which was clearly identified as being in BETA.   In other words, not in final WORKING form.  This "APP" was to be the "preferred" means of communicating and managing assigned jobs.

At no point in this process was any other training provided to the subcontractors meaning technicians unfamiliar with both the equipment and Maricopa County election procedure were expected to somehow "magically" set up a site without ever having touched the equipment they were responsible for.  The backup plan, that same printed instructional document and vague references to a support hierarchy which as we now know was insufficient.

In addition my friend related that throughout the preceding week and weekend numerous procedural and  schedule changes were made some right up to an hour before the first work was to be performed creating an atmosphere of chaos with little to no resolution in sight.

The Chaos was further reinforced by a frequent lack of communication between Insight, the County and the secondary contractor.   Ultimately it lead to conflicting directives where my friend would receive multiple communications from multiple sources and no clear path as to which was to be followed.

The key takeaway here isn't who is to blame.  It really isn't folks.

The blame falls squarely on treating an election like just another IT contract.  Governments are NOT businesses.  I've said this before.  

Governments aren't organized to make a profit for shareholders.  That's what corporations are for and their loyalty is to profit not the public good.  

By the Way, I'm way ahead of you.  Don't fool yourself, you're NOT a shareholder any more than the employee of a corporation wields the boardroom power of  a Warren Buffet.

If you still contend that government should be treated like a business then you must also accept that in doing so you may as well tear up the Bill of Rights and surrender such inconsequential tenets of democracy like:

Freedom of Speech - Businesses don't have to allow you to speak your views.  Free speech stops at the street.

Equal rights - Sure you can try to sue if you're wronged but there's a reason most people don't.  It's an expensive, lengthy process in a David Vs. Goliath battle that few rarely win largely done on your dime.  That can be tough if you're out of a job.

A fair days work for a fair day's pay - OK, far too many are trapped making less than a "living wage" but at least we get paid in something we can spend where we choose.  In the 19th century, corporations would frequently engage in the "Company Store" model issuing payment in their own currency useless anywhere but a company owned business.

Perhaps we're too far removed from those days of corporate indentured servitude to recognize the flaw in the logic.

But we're not talking about politics here.  I could care less who you voted for but I do care when something like an election is treated as just another business deal.

What you get is corporate greed, minimal effort and abdication of responsibility with no recourse.

Public/Private partnerships are a great idea but only if the Public part is firmly in control of someone whose interests are to the people and not to a corporate bottom line. 

Especially if it has to do with something like an election.

Dismiss this and you reject the fundamental principles of what this country was founded upon.