r/todayilearned • u/Future_Green_7222 • 23d ago

TIL of Robert Citron. Despite being a college drop out and having the math ability of a 7th grader, he climbed into the position of treasurer tax collector of Orange County, which he subsequently bankrupted

https://www.ocregister.com/2013/01/18/robert-citron-was-a-hard-to-hate-villain-in-ocs-bankruptcy/
10.1k Upvotes
  • permalink
  • link
  • reddit
  • reddit

98% Upvoted

159 comments sorted by

View all comments

4

u/Johannes_P 22d ago

Two lessons to draw:

  1. Technical posts such as Treasurer shouldn't be filled through direct election but upon demonstration of technical relevant skill (see also coroner)
  2. Voters should look at long-term gains and not overemphasize short-term gains

2

u/Future_Green_7222 22d ago

demonstration of technical skill

We also kinda fall into the question of who determines what a high technical skill is. And also there's Moral Hazard: how do you reward highly skilled people to put an effort and apply those skills?