CRONYISM

CRONYISM

Look up this word in a dictionary and you’ll probably find a meaning similar to this one; special treatment and preference given to friends or colleagues, especially the giving of political posts to people because of friendship rather than their ability.

This word comes to light today because of the disgustingly poor response from FEMA during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The meaning of cronyism can be summed up in what I constantly heard as I was trying to get a promotion while working in the Post Office – it’s not what you know, but who you know. I can truly say that the Post Office was infested with cronyism. If you wanted to rid the Post Office of cronyism, it would take at least twenty Orkin men working night and day for at least a month and then they would have to return every week for a year to make sure they didn’t pop up again.

I don’t need to give you names, you know who they are. Even though they try to hide under their phony smiles and slick clothes, you will see them float to the top whenever they’re pressed into performing their job. Just like women who can’t seem to go to the bathroom on their own, you will find the cronies always walking in groups. Next time you’re in the hallway just watch and you will see what I mean, you’ll see them in groups of three or more.

The Washington Post recently reported that five of the eight top FEMA officials were simply Bush loyalists and political operatives who "came to their posts with virtually no experience in handling disasters." Just like the Post Office, FEMA has many competent and dedicated workers doing the job in spite of the incompetence at the top.

Look at the example we have in Mr. Brown who was put in charge of FEMA. I don’t think he was solely responsible for the poor response in providing help for the hurricane victims, but he is being used as the sacrificial lamb. When his boss, Mr. Bush visited the Gulf Coast, he stood with him and, before the cameras, cheerfully said, "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job." Does this scenario sound familiar? How many times have you seen your boss give an accolade or award to the biggest stiff in your office? I’ve seen this in Business Meetings where the Area Vice President has come and presented an award to one of the cronies. Do you think that was a morale booster?

When I first came to work in the Post Office I was told that as soon as I completed my ninety-day probationary period, I was golden – I more or less had a job for life. I was told, “they’ll never be able to fire you, unless you get caught stealing.” Profound words then, profound words now. With all the political pressure coming down on the President, he finally unleashed his secret weapon, Dick Cheney, his hatchet man. Mr. Cheney came back with a progress report that was critical of Mr. Brown's management. What did they do? We find the Homeland Security Secretary, Mr. Chertoff, in a press conference saying, Mr. Brown, had "done everything he possibly could to coordinate the federal response to this unprecedented challenge," and would retain his job as director of the agency. Wow! The guy at the Post Office back in 1968 was right, you won’t get fired unless you get caught stealing.
Isn’t this what happens in the PO? Problem -The manager of Malden is incompetent and screws up. Solution - upper management moves them to another office. They won’t fire you unless you get caught stealing.

If I’m Mr. Brown and a crony, I’m not embarrassed one bit. In fact, I’m relieved. You did me a favor. I couldn’t do the job, so you took me away from all the pressure and gave me a nice cushy position where I don’t have to do much of anything. If you don’t think he’s relieved listen to what he had to say, "I'm going to go home and walk my dog and hug my wife, and maybe get a good Mexican meal and a stiff margarita and a full night's sleep. And then I'm going to go right back to FEMA and continue to do all I can to help these victims." How could President Bush not like this guy? He fits the Right Wing criteria to a T = he’s a family man who loves his wife and dog, likes a good meal with a stiff drink and still has thoughts of helping the downtrodden.
That reminds me of a Senior Manager who was running a critical operation on the third shift. His performance was abysmal. They provided him with all kinds of manpower and assistance and he still couldn’t get the job done. Nothing fazed him. H e just sat in his office reading novels. The man should have been fired. I could never figure out who this person knew, because when they took him out of his job they put him in charge of overseeing and coordinating the startup of a new facility. This person finally transferred out of state to a more lucrative job. Good luck to the people that got him.
If you think the story of cronyism ends with Mr. Brown, you haven’t seen anything yet. I ask you this question, Who do you think is going to get some of the bigger contracting jobs in rebuilding the Gulf Coast area?
Remember, it’s not what you know, but who you know!