You (Heart) L.A. County, Don't You?

Your tax dollars at work...

From: Sanabria, Jon
Sent: Tuesday, August 23, 2005 3:58:55 PM
To: DRPStaff
Subject: FW: I Love LA County shirts for sale
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From: Hammond, Judy
Sent: Tuesday, August 23, 2005 4:03 PM
To: Hammond, Judy

Subject: I Love LA County shirts for sale

We have ordered I Love (heart) LA County polo shirts, and are hopeful that many of our employees will wear them Sept. 11 at the LA County Day at the Fair. They are great for other times as well, especially on casual day at the office -- but we hope to have a showing at the fair.

If you or anyone in your office is interested in ordering a shirt, please call my office at 213-974-XXXX and ask for Ricky. Shirts are sized small through 4x and are $26. (This is at cost; we make no money on these.) Many colors available. Attached is photo of a black and a white one.

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At first I thought "oh hell yeah, I'm going to buy one." But the $26 price tag is a bit steep (at least the County's not trying to make a profit, how considerate). I also came to the realization that I'd probably be too embarassed to actually wear the shirt anywhere, especially at work. The conspiracy theorist in me suspects that this shirt is an effort to exert a form of mind control over the County's 90,000 public servants. The reasoning might be that if I wear a shirt that says "I (Heart) L.A. County" and I look around and see all my fellow bureaucrats wearing a shirt that says "I (Heart) L.A. County," I'll actually believe we all love our jobs and our employer so intensely that I'll be compelled to work harder, resulting in increased productivity and more goodwill towards the public. Of course, I'm probably reading too much into the shirt offer.

I'm not sure why some of my fellow bueaucrats think it's so important for us to wear these shirts at "L.A. County Day at the Fair." Do we really want to be inundated with reminders of our jobs when we're on the ferris wheel, eating corn dogs, and judging the livestock? I think not. Alas, "corporate culture" is a strange beast...not only at the County, but at any organization, public or private.

Frankly, though, I do love L.A. County -- soon I may have the shirt to prove it.