Morning Commentary
The headlines of bored federal workers spending up to eight hours per day watching porn at work points to the problem of a bloated government with little or no accountability.
Porn-surfing feds blame boredom, lack of work for misbehavior
Washington Times
July 31, 2014
The Washington Times reported a number of government agencies that were abusing taxpayer’s funds through this behavior. According to Pete Seep, EVP of the National Taxpayers Union, “This is apparently something that's a pervasive problem throughout several federal agencies."
According to a Gallup survey, 71% of workers feel disengaged from their jobs, which could have a negative impact on businesses. Although, it is unlikely that one could get away with spending up to eight straight hours of porn-surfing, there's no doubt that worker productivity would take a massive hit. Yet, it is with the unemployed and the underemployed where boredom has dramatically impacted lives.
He later admitted that his book neglected the idle poor and the unoccupied youth. In addition to those categories, he included the long-term unemployed or the unemployable, for which boredom is not a minor nuisance. For those who suffer from chronic boredom, Scitovsky explained:
A malady as terrible as starvation, and one that can have fatal consequences. In the absence of skills for relieving boredom in a harmless way, it is easy to revert to the excitement of violence and vandalism.
Scitovsky later stressed the civilizing role of education to making life more pleasant and enjoyable.
Recently, a Gallup poll showed high school students were ‘bored and tired’ while in school, rather than being happy or challenged. I am not sure of the make-up of the Gallup Poll, but I'd bet that if the poll were taken in poorer neighborhoods ‘bored and tired’ would rate much higher, along with pressure, confusion, anger, and fear than in wealthy neighborhoods. How else can one explain this new phenomenon called ‘Fire Challenge?’ It is usually done in a bathtub or near a swimming pool, teenagers and young adults douse themselves with a flammable liquid, most often fingernail polish remover, and set themselves on fire.
I understand there is a sense of bravado associated with social media that did not exist in the past, but there were times when waves of madness swept the nation: the depression of the 70s saw the popularity of Russian roulette featured in the 1978 movie, 'Deer Hunter.' A robust economy is the substitute for hope and hopelessness. It provides real opportunities and the kind of distractions that yield better lives.
Yesterday's Session
The way the market closed was not pretty as the Dow held on for dear life in an attempt to finish the session in the plus column. I will take it as a moral victory. We are in a stretch now that requires more patience and a check on emotions.
Today’s Session
Today will be a better day than any other for economic data to sway the market. The releases of the small business optimism index, same store sales fluctuations, employment data, plus the Fed speaking, can send the market in any direction. The major indices are showing signs of opening lower, so hopefully some of the economic data released will be strong enough to help the indices remain in positive territory. Below are a handful of the companies that reported this morning:
Comments |
Charles, Re: Federal Workers What does the Employee handbook state about computer usage. Are there any consequences to their surfing porn sites when they are working? Do you need a Freedom of Information Act to get the employee handbook? My question is if there is no consequence to the action, they are stealing money from the government by not working. Private businesses could not stay in business this way. I'm just stating the obvious about the clueless government. Joe_in_Indiana on 8/12/2014 10:17:18 AM |
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