A 10% nibble, guys? You can’t be serious? It took what, maybe a decade to double the fed workforce? Maybe two decades. We could easily lop off 50% and not miss a beat. With that many fewer people interfering with our markets and daily lives, everything would improve immensely.
You sack 10% and they’ll be back on the payroll as consultants the following Monday. You sack 50% and that’s much harder to make happen.
Please don't misread me, I fully agree with what you just wrote. I'd eliminate entire departments if given the chance, and private sector productivity would soar (I'm talking about you, EPA). But I don't think the public at large would ever get behind something like that. However I think if a serious campaign was mounted to eliminate 10% up front and another 10% via attrition that people would generally agree with the proposal.