Our Government Consists Mostly of Political Hacks

I just retired and my wife who is younger is still working. At one point, her job and those of her co-workers had hours reduced to almost nothing because of the pandemic. In fact, they were reduced so far that she became eligible for Unemployment payments. She applied online. To this day, a month and a half later, there has been no response whatever. When she calls one Unemployment number to ask status, she is told to call the other number. When she calls the other number, she gets a recording that tells her that due to the high call volume, no one can speak to her. The only information she has is an unchanging online status of "pending." It's a good thing we didn't really need the money to live.

Now, I know that no one expected the Spanish Inquisition (pandemic), but these office holders and government agency managers seem to me to be like squirrels who were supposed to be storing away nuts for the winter but were out partying. Did it never occur to any of these people in our government that they should prepare for the possibility of a problem some time in the future? Weren't these state governors supposed to be storing away respirators, masks, etc. all along just for the pandemic that everyone knew would occur someday?

As far as I can see, everyone has been caught flat-footed by the pandemic and performed pathetically.