Budgets Really Do Have Political Bases

I work in a psychiatric prison hospital.  When we opened, staff were encouraged to get the Hepatitis B vaccine.  So, I did. This was an expensive vaccine, and after a while, we did not received that encouragement. We were also told we had to get a TB test every year, and were encouraged to do that during our birthday month, an easy way to remember.  So, most years I did that.  Until it became non-mandatory.  And it was interesting how it became non-mandatory.

We had a very efficient and diligent communicable disease nurse who would set up in the lobby a few days a month to catch people and ask them if they were due for their TB test.  She was told to stop this, because it was costing the agency too much money.  Which sent the message that although we were told to get TB tests, there was an implicit expectation that people would not bother, at a cost saving to the agency.

Well TB has increased, and it is now politically correct for the agency to offer TB testing. To the point that it is now mandatory, and every employee is required to get a TB test during the month of February.  Even if you had a test as recently as November or December.  People who tested in January this year got a bye, but will be expected to get a test next February.

It will be interesting to me to see if next February TB testing is mandatory.  Hmmmm.  

Postcards

I send out the monthly announcements for the South Plains Branch of the National Association of Social Workers http://www.naswtx.org/.  We have email addresses for most of our members, and email addresses for many of the area social workers, who are not NASW members, but who are interested in attending our monthly CEU meetings, as well as our annual ethics workshop.

But, because I do not have email addresses for all of the members of the local branch of NASW , I use a standard size USPS postcard  https://www.usps.com/ to communicate with our branch members who are not on line. 

Most recently, I went to one of the area post offices to purchase post cards. One branch did not have post cards available.  The truth be known, this has been  more and more common when I attempt to buy postcards. 

I went to another branch, and they had postcards. But, because they could not scan the purchase price into the computer system, they were not sure they could sell postcards as they might be a discontinued product (never mind that the postcards I have previously purchased say that they are "forever" postcards.) Well, after some checking and rechecking, it became apparent that the postcards I wanted to purchase were a valid product. I had asked for 20 postcards, as I always ask for more than I need. I purchased 19 because that was all that was available.

This was too weird.  I asked about postcard stamps, and learned that they are readily available. I learned that the largest sized piece of mail that could be mailed with a postcard  stamp was 6" by 4 and 1/4" inches.

This makes no sense to me:  why would you sell a "forever" postage postcard, then discontinue it? Why would you sell a postage stamp that covers post card postage, but say that a USPS postcard product with a postcard stamp might be invalid?  Especially if it was marked  with a "forever" stamp.

Well. I work for the government. I understand the vagaries of the government. I understand that very often what makes sense to you or me does not make sense to the bureaucrats.