Administrative Malaise and Frances Online, Life in the People's Republic of Oregon

The administrative state is worse than the bureaucratic state, or is it just the head of the snake?

I gave you a link to a report by the Heritage Institute so there is your morning's reading.

I am setting in my easy chair and it is a beautiful day outside. I need to be volunteering on my Brother's Farm. I am attempting to collect Unemployment from the State of Oregon.

Yes there is a reason I qualified for Unemployment. Yes, there is a rumor that 17 other people will be "separated," from LU in the next year. Yes, LU is going broke. They are unable to recruit enough students to make up for "rising costs." 

Yes, basically all the roofs on campus need to be replaced. Yes they have been "saving money," by deferring maintenance. 

After wasting eight years of my life driving a lawnmower in circles at the institution, I do have opinions. 

LU has been top heavy with administration who don't really understand why students choose a small college. The solutions to the budget crisis have resulted in anyone really qualified and innovative either learning to shut up and wait for retirement/or child's graduation, or find another job. 

But, there is a lot of administrating going on. There are people gathering statistics and there are people misreading them and there are people writing reports and there are people having meetings. Lots of meetings.

And here is where I had to laugh in humorless sympathy with my caseworker.

The State of Oregon decided to revamp their unemployment insurance claims system. They started a new website and it has the clever acronym, "Frances." 

Frances started the first of March and pretty much disconnected anyone who had signed up ahead of time.

After a number of emails I found out that somehow they had an incorrect birthdate for me. It was hinted that this was probably not my fault.

Of course, I have not reported jobs since March 1 because I couldn't sign in or call in because the most basic of problems, my date of birth did not match my social security number.

In a proper third world bureaucracy there would be an office and a lot of forms and a rubber stamp and most importantly, someone I could bribe. In the PRO (People's Republic of Oregon) the only currency you have is politeness and a nice sense of humor. 

Things I discovered at the other Administrative State run Institution, be really nice to the people who actually do the work. They are tired of being yelled at.

I promised my person that I would not talk about how we figured out my problem so I will not discuss the idiotic administrative rules that prevent a humble public servant from doing their job. But, we shared a moment of understanding...