alt Hacker NewsYou’re on the right track, I think. But, I wouldn’t say it’s about the pay to attract competent workers. I think it has more to do with the incentive structures once you’re in. Incentives and performance management are fundamental problem in civil service. The incentives to set high standards and hold individuals accountable simply do not exist.
The one and only exception is the military, because lives are literally on the line in a way that is not at all abstract.
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cyanydeez • yesterday at 9:50 PM
We just started replacing our PLCs. They absolutely were setup with default passwords, but weren't put on the public internet.
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Usually when people say this they are dog whistling privatization. Which is the exact opposite thing people need in infrastructure, ask anyone who has to deal with PG&E.
Paying skilled people highly does actually incentivize people to do better work, especially if they are actually embedded into the community they are essentially working for. If being a civil servant was as "glorious" as being a techie is SF there would be a very different attitude around the work.