Posted on 05/28/2019 10:47:10 AM PDT by John Semmens
The Trump Administration’s plan to move two sections of the Department of Agriculture out of DC met with strenuous objections from the American Federation of Government Employees. Union spokesman Peter Winch complained that “they’ve already reduced full-time employees from the peak of 300 under the Obama Administration to 209. Forcing these lucky survivors to move to offices closer to the agricultural communities they serve adds insult to injury.”
“In this day of rapid electronic communication there’s no need for government employees to be located near the people they’re regulating,” Winch said. “Directives can be sent from Washington to any spot on the planet in seconds. Second, we question whether it is wise to convey a message implying that regulators should be on site before they issue orders. This implies a greater importance for listening than is warranted. The Department makes the rules. It is the obligation of farmers to comply. The traditional placement of employees in DC where they have more access to congress and can enjoy the morale boost that comes with being perceived as part of the governing class is a valuable psychological benefit that should not be denied to our members.”
Secretary Sonny Perdue called the union’s position “the exact opposite of what it should be. They posture as ‘public servants’ and laud their status as superior to people working in the for-profit sector of the economy. Well, in the for-profit sector meeting the customers’ needs is crucial to the survival and success of a business. By sending employees of the Economic Research Service (ERS) and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to live and work closer to those the Department serves we will be moving a little bit closer to the private sector model that has, frankly, enriched the lives of billions of people around the world.”
if you missed any of this week's other semi-news/semi-satire posts you can find them at...
https://azconservative.org/2019/05/25/dems-rail-against-barr-investigation/
The USDA should be in Kansas. Many of these employees have never been on a farm, but at least they would be closer to farms. Since 60% of the Agriculture budget goes to food stamps, the ties to those who produce the food are practically none existent.
“Directives can be sent from Washington to any spot on the planet in seconds. Second, we question whether it is wise to convey a message implying that regulators should be on site before they issue orders. This implies a greater importance for listening than is warranted. The Department makes the rules. It is the obligation of farmers to comply.”
Now how can one adequately deal with drivel like this when one is admonished to “knock off the profanity”?
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