>>Spurred by the large budget deficits of recent years, policymakers have trimmed the growth in federal wages. In particular, they imposed a partial freeze on federal wages from 2011 to 2013, which saved billions of dollars. To find further savings, policymakers should turn their attention to the generous benefit packages received by federal workers. They should also reduce the overall size of the federal workforce by terminating low-value programs.<<
I was in Government. “Freezes” are a minor pain in the butt but easily sidestepped with the right forms and boilerplate.
As for terminating low-value programs, we can only hope. The only programs left would be the military and maybe the part of the FDA that monitors food and drug quality.
I’m 63-retired. I’ll work there part time for the minimum wage to supplement my SSI. It shouldn’t be a career.
Reduce number of government employees and contract employees and reduce salary and benefits of the ones left and then use the money to fix infrastructure.
This is a win-win.
Rescind Kennedy’s EO regarding federal workers unionizing and then start cutting.
Before Federal employment became an alternative to welfare, it took some brains to get a gov’t job. At least in the intelligence sector where I worked. Today, not so much.
Privatize the TSA. That’s a 100k employyes gone right there.
First, fire half of the federal workforce.
Second, abolish federal pensions for new hires. Give them 401K accounts like the rest of us. Let them know that their own retirements are dependent upon a healthy US private sector.
Ockham’s razor or Gordion’s knot: no, not “cut them loose”.
Amortize-out their useless agencies over the next few years.
Privatize and contract-out for anything we actually need.
Drain Foggy Bottom.
Patriots, please keep in mind that the states have never expressly constitutionally authorized probably most of the agencies that federal employees work for.
But that’s why patriots “hired” Trump. When patriots help Trump drain the federal swamp, he needs to put a stop to unconstitutional federal taxes being used to fund unconstitutional federal agencies.
“Congress is not empowered to tax for those purposes which are within the exclusive province of the States.” —Justice John Marshall, Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824.
”From the accepted doctrine that the United States is a government of delegated powers, it follows that those not expressly granted, or reasonably to be implied from such as are conferred, are reserved to the states, or to the people. To forestall any suggestion to the contrary, the Tenth Amendment was adopted. The same proposition, otherwise stated, is that powers not granted are prohibited [emphasis added].” —United States v. Butler, 1936.
After unconstitutonal federal taxes are stopped then the states will probably find a tsunami of new revenues that they won’t know what to do with. And Trump can work with the states to use a part of those revenues to create jobs for former federal workers.
Thanks for this info. Should be published on at least page 2 of every American newspaper and featured on TV. The Federal Employee Unions should be called upon to justify what we see here before any further increases and/or judicious cutting.
These fat Govt. agencies should be moved to the depressed coal-mining reigons of Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
California has 280 billion unfunded due state worker pensions on its own.
One of Trump’s moon shot projects should be bringing federal government IT to current private sector standards. Many of these federal positions could be eliminated with the proper application of modern information systems. When he met in Trump Tower with Larry Page, and the other titans of Silicon Valley, I hope he asked them to bring information security and modern organizational methods and systems to the Federal Government. It would be hugely beneficial to our economy and could enhance national security greatly.
The really sad thing is that the federal employees themselves are being told (by the federal government, of course) that THEY ARE UNDERPAID. I read some months ago that the “panel” (made up of government employees and union representatives, of course) charged with “studying” this issue and making recommendations concluded that federal employees are underpaid by 34%.
You truly cannot make this stuff up.
Force the Feds to give all lands they currently hold in the west back to the states, & then terminate every agency that exists to ‘manage’ these lands. Get rid of Energy, Education & Commerce, too. Then apply the savings to the debt, or maybe increase pay for our military, the lowest rungs of which are really underpaid!
Like we need 2 thirds of them. Fire them. Let the workers keep the money they earn.
I thought 20% were going to quit if Trump won.
Federal acquisition rules are the most inefficient creations ever designed. I would guess that about 1/2 of the job of a DoD acquisition professional’s job is figuring out how to navigate the damn maze they make them go through. Acquisition reform is badly needed! If I were to guess, I would so items cost 75-80% higher than they need to due to the silly acquisition rules.
There are a lot of hard working Federal DoD employees who actually want to get a good job for our soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen. Unfortunately, you have about 10-20% that don’t do work. Some are “protected” races, “fluid gender” and yes, even some are vets. (I know a vet who claims PTSD to get out of work — this person never saw combat or was even deployed to a hostile AoR!)
If you have a good employee, that employee is now “punished by performance” and forced to keep doing the jobs that the slackers won’t do. A lot could be accomplished by reforming the rules to make it easier to get rid of the dead wood.
If the first line supervisors could just could fire the 15% worst ones, that would send a positive message to the rest of the workforce and even increase morale among the highest performers.
Reference bump