Before you do anything else watch this video that your tax dollars helped pay for...
WCF or Workforce Central Florida gets $24 million annually from federal taxpayers and accomplishes virtually nothing based on their own statistics.
Federal and state job training is overfunded, disorganized, and practically useless. There are over 100 federal job-training programs, all pet projects, none of them coordinated.
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The jobs agency plans to distribute the superhero capes to residents taking part in the agency's "Cape-A-Bility Challenge" by trying to vanquish "Dr. Evil Unemployment."
Residents of central Florida can win a cape by becoming a Workforce Central Florida fan on Facebook, taking a Facebook quiz, having a photo taken with a foam cutout of Dr. Evil Unemployment, tweeting a job posting, or using LinkedIn to recommend someone using the word "super."
The agency also spent about $2,300 on 12 five-feet-tall foam board cutouts of Dr. Evil Unemployment.
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In addition to the $14,200 for capes, Workforce will spend about $24,700 on media buys, $15,000 for billboards and $5,000 on social media.
Just $2,000 will go for prizes and only two prize packages — one for an employer, one for a job seeker — will be awarded.
Michelle Burman, an out-of-work customer service rep, was incredulous.
"OK, $73,000 for the 'Cape-A-Bility Challenge' and $14,000 for capes?" she said. "And this will be helping who?" Burman wondered if the capes would "have some sort of magical powers to obtain a job faster" and predicted few would rush to join the ranks of the "Super Unemployed."
Stuart James, a laid-off construction manager, was more direct.
"That," he said, "is absolutely absurd."
Workforce is a federally funded labor development agency that last year received almost $24 million in public money. It is a private, nonprofit organization governed by more than 40 Central Florida business leaders.
Between July 1, 2009, and June 30, 2010, the agency says it served more than 210,000 job seekers and helped place more than 58,500 into jobs.
Sullivan defended the campaign, saying it will spread the agency's message. The capes, she said, are a direct tie-in to the larger effort.
"Some people will wear them, and others will ask 'How do I get one?'" she said.
She said Workforce was "in no way" trying to minimize the difficulties of unemployment. The agency is trying to "create the face of unemployment and allow people to have a little fun with it,'' she said.
"Everyone," Sullivan said, "is a superhero in the fight against unemployment."