A Crisis of Competence?

Do you think we are moving toward a competency crisis in this country? I told this story in a comment on an article a few months back:

“Seven years ago, I bought a 2005 Outback. Despite the pink slip being clearly written by the dealer, the title came back with ‘Culter’ as my last name. I went to AAA for advice and they filled out a correction form for me. The title was revised to read ‘Renneth Culter’. I couldn’t believe it. Sent another correction form with very explicit instructions to correct both names included. It came back ‘Kenneth Culter’ again. I ended up having to drive to DMV headquarters an hour away to resolve the issue in person.”

That experience with a faceless bureaucracy concerned me—was it the canary in the coal mine? If I can’t trust Department of Motor Vehicles employees to fix a simple typo, what else could go wrong in future encounters with government entities? Currently, there’s something like a two-month delay to redeem U.S. savings bonds by mail. What will the wait be in a few years when my bonds mature? And will the bonds even make it to their destination? Recently, in my neighborhood, a lot of mail is being mis-delivered…something that rarely happened even a few years ago. The post office is having a hard time finding anyone to cover certain routes. I’m told drug testing is out the window.

I read news stories about “quiet quitting” and how slacking off is the new workplace norm. While I am a proponent of work-life balance, I’m concerned about the aggregate effect of work being increasingly less valued in our culture.

This isn’t meant to be a shot at younger generations. I’ve worked with many engineers in their 20s who are diligent and competent. My son, a software engineer, has worked harder than I did at his age. My daughter, a proofreader and pre-flight specialist for a printing company, does her job with excellence and a pleasant demeanor.

I think it’s important for people to take pride in their work, whatever it is. The corollary is that all people demonstrating a good work ethic deserve respect, regardless of the status society assigns to their job.

Structural problems and management challenges contribute to declining competence trends. The healthcare complex comes to mind. Although we have high-tech equipment to aid in addressing various conditions, complaining about staff shortages seems to be de rigueur for both hospital patients and employees. With not enough workers to go around, preventable mistakes and errors of omission are increasingly made—despite our technology. Those workers who are trying their best under difficult conditions can be susceptible to burnout.

It’s not that everything is falling apart. My wife recently went on Medicare. I was pleasantly surprised at how smoothly the enrollment process went. Of course, everything was done online and she didn’t have to speak even one time to a live person.

Not being particularly handy, I have lots of respect for craftsmen who are masters at what they do. I have a fantastic auto mechanic. In the past few years, we’ve had windows replaced, our heater furnace changed out, and a new roof installed. In each case, I was thoroughly satisfied with the job done and grateful that the workers took pride in doing an excellent job. I hope that my experience is typical but fear it may be less common than in the past.

Without getting partisan, I think some of my unease is due to the incompetency on display by many of our most prominent politicians. The bar is set so low. Neil Postman wrote a highly acclaimed book in 1985 entitled Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. Postman has turned out to be a reliable prophet—unfortunately for us. I wish I felt that our political class could make progress on fiscal issues like debt reduction and shoring up Social Security. I think that a collective lack of political competency will lead to a crisis and adoption of less than adequate solutions for these problems.