In Praise of Competence

Before Chavez, Venezuela leased its oilfields to American companies that drilled, pumped, and transported oil. The companies generated profits and shared them with the Venezuelan government. Then, Chavez and the socialists came in. They kicked the American companies out, seized all their equipment, and began drilling, pumping, and transporting the oil themselves so that they could keep more of the profits. Over time, the equipment declined due to inadequate maintenance, and as the decline continued, the amount of oil drilled, pumped, and transported also declined. The socialists blamed others and vowed to fix the problems, but the decline continued. The post-Maduro government, at gunpoint, is now putting American companies back in charge.

The defining story, so far, of the American 21st Century is the migration of wealth and talent away from California and New York into Florida and Texas. The historic concentration of money and talent in New York City is unsurpassed. New York City has been the real “city that could” for generations. California’s natural gifts, and the talent those gifts attracted, made California our most populated, our richest, and our most visited state. Florida is hot, muggy, and flat. Much of Florida is uninhabitable swampland. Hurricanes happen in Florida. Vast areas of Texas are attractive only to Texans. The most beautiful parts of Texas would be considered below average in many states.

This post is not intended to praise or condemn any ideology. This post was written to praise competence. Meritocracy is not an ideology. Meritocracy is a process. Competence is the product of meritocracy, and success is the product of competence. Competent people focus on the job at hand, and they do it as well as they can. Once they master the task at hand, competent people seek innovative ways to do the job better.

Elon Musk is a genius, but his companies excel because of their culture of competence. If you are competent, you stay and thrive. If you are not, you are quickly escorted out of the building. Competent people are competitive, but they do not resent others' success. Competent people are never content. The designers and engineers at Apple make the very best iPhone they can. Then they immediately begin work on producing a better one. Yes, they enjoy financial success, but that is a secondary motivation.

Competent people are irritated by distractions. Politics are a distraction. Ideologies are distractions. The competent are most irritated by incompetence. The incompetence of others is the bane of their lives. The competent are attracted to Apple, Tesla and SpaceX primarily to spend their days surrounded by competent people. Venezuela Socialists, like all socialists, are not competent, but Chevron Oil is. The current political leaders of California and New York irritate the competent. The political leaders of Florida and Texas welcome them.

Competence has always been America’s engine for greatness. It has always been America’s advantage. Sadly, the percentage of competent Americans is in decline. The primary reason is the tremendous regression in the quality of American teachers and professors.

Coal miners, factory workers, and truckers can unionize without decreasing competence. Tragically, teachers and other public employees cannot. Coal-miner unions seek higher wages, better benefits, and better, safer working conditions. Teacher unions seek, and receive, protection from being fired for poor performance.

The teachers convinced the school boards that it wasn’t their fault that Sally could not read and Sam could not do fractions. And, they, of course, had a point. Maybe Sally, Sam, and their parents were more at fault. Teachers have serious obstacles in the way of achieving the results they are paid to achieve. Competent people overcome obstacles every day. That is what makes them competent.

If no one gets fired when positive results are chronically not achieved, the organization, collectively, gives up. Obstacles are never overcome. Competent teachers who find themselves surrounded by incompetents leave. The entire faculty becomes incompetent. Competent students surrounded by incompetent classmates and taught by incompetent teachers quit trying and ride the wave to incompetence.

G-Pub