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WHERE’S WALDO? NEW REPORT SHOWS DC STILL A GHOST TOWN AFTER COVID
OpentheBooks-Substack ^ | 12/17/24 | Adam Andrzejewski

Posted on 12/17/2024 6:32:32 PM PST by CFW

Last year, we worked together with Senator Joni Ernst’s office to quantify the federal bureaucracy. We asked questions like: How many are there? What are they earning compared to the private sector? Where are they located? How do they perform? And how much vacation do they enjoy on taxpayers’ dime?

Many of the answers were pretty damning.

[snip]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average real wage for a private worker (FY21) was $54,339 – but at 109 of 125 federal agencies in DC, the average salary was over $100K.

When questioned by Congress in 2023 about how many employees had returned to the office after Covid, Office of Personnel Management Director Kiran Ahuja had no idea.

And under the Biden administration, the government was becoming more and more secretive about who these workers were, what they were doing, and from where:

In the…2022 payroll, 350,861 worker names are redacted. Under the Obama Administration, in FY 2016, that figure was 2,300. Stunning.

The administration has also redacted 281,656 worker locations.

Our auditors estimate some $36 billion worth of taxpayer-funded salary, benefits and bonuses are hidden from Americans. Even worse, they are headed to mystery people in mystery locations.

A new report this month from Senator Ernst, aptly titled “Out of Office,” dives even deeper. Those vacation days are just philosophical at this point, as the Covid lockdown has given way to an endless era of work-from-home and telework policies. They’re “phoning it in” – literally!

Among federal buildings in DC, just TWELVE PERCENT of office space is occupied.

Prior to Covid lockdowns, only three percent of employees were teleworking every day. But now, almost 1 in 3 workers areremote every day.

And, astonishingly, only six percent of employees report to work in-person, daily!

(Excerpt) Read more at openthebooks.substack.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Government; Politics
KEYWORDS: employees; fedagencies; hahasubstack; secrecy; wfh
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This will tick you off. We have federal employees whose name, salary, and location are redacted from payroll reporting. And they don't have to show up at work!
1 posted on 12/17/2024 6:32:32 PM PST by CFW
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To: CFW

The self appointed DOGE hag Ernst is on the case. She took time off from bashing Hegseth?


2 posted on 12/17/2024 6:35:09 PM PST by HYPOCRACY (Democracy is dead. Long live the Republic!)
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To: CFW

That’s right. I think the estimate is only 6% of the federal workforce in the DC area goes in to work.

DJT will get their sorry azzes back.

Also, the Fed Gov pays out $ billions in rent for empty buildings.


3 posted on 12/17/2024 6:35:51 PM PST by laplata (They want each crisis to take the greatest toll possible.)
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To: CFW

Vacation is over in a month. Any department not back at work can be argued to be unimportant.


4 posted on 12/17/2024 6:46:23 PM PST by Jonty30 (Genghis Khan did not have the most descendants. His father had more. )
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To: CFW

Um no. This is BS. Interstate 95, 495, 395, 66, Baltimore Parkway all tell a different story.


5 posted on 12/17/2024 6:49:36 PM PST by Rural_Michigan
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To: CFW

Criminal.


6 posted on 12/17/2024 6:49:54 PM PST by daniel1212 (Turn 2 the Lord Jesus who saves damned+destitute sinners on His acct, believe, b baptized+follow HIM)
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To: Rural_Michigan

I remember that mess. 295 to/from Laurel.


7 posted on 12/17/2024 6:54:51 PM PST by PLMerite ("They say that we were Cold Warriors. Yes, and a bloody good show, too. 😁 " - Robert Conquest )
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To: CFW

Hey at least crime in wdc is down, right!?!


8 posted on 12/17/2024 6:57:12 PM PST by Harpotoo (Being a socialist is a lot easier than having to WORK like the rest of US:-))
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To: Harpotoo

You do have a point. If the criminals aren’t in their office then naturally crime rates will go down.

How is this for more wasteful hiring/spending:

“Feds Look To Hire Up To 1,200 New DEI Bureaucrats Before Trump Takes Office”

https://www.dailywire.com/news/feds-look-to-hire-up-to-1200-new-dei-bureaucrats-before-trump-takes-office?

“The federal government is currently in the process of hiring as many as 1,200 employees to work on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) — employees who would be embedded into the permanent federal workforce headed into the Trump administration, according to a Daily Wire analysis of federal job opportunities.”


9 posted on 12/17/2024 7:05:24 PM PST by CFW
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To: CFW
"Ghost" town? Deservedly so. If only the mayor wasn't so racist and didn't use taxpayer money to paint the roadways with racist screeds from Communist organizations.



10 posted on 12/17/2024 7:14:40 PM PST by T.B. Yoits
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To: CFW

Elon and Vivek have a target rich environment!


11 posted on 12/17/2024 7:22:26 PM PST by Taxman (MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! SUPPORT THE FAIRTAX!)
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To: CFW

tony soprano would be proud


12 posted on 12/17/2024 7:53:55 PM PST by joshua c
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To: T.B. Yoits

Brother. Sickening.


13 posted on 12/17/2024 8:28:15 PM PST by Beowulf9 (c)
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To: CFW

Have we heard from our friend Penguin6 lately? Is all the scaffolding and barriers still surrounding the Capitol?


14 posted on 12/17/2024 8:36:44 PM PST by thecodont
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To: Rural_Michigan

“Um no. This is BS. Interstate 95, 495, 395, 66, Baltimore Parkway all tell a different story.”

maybe they’re all goofing off when they’re supposed to be home working.


15 posted on 12/17/2024 8:38:31 PM PST by rxh4n1 ( )
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To: daniel1212

💯.


16 posted on 12/17/2024 8:51:30 PM PST by No name given ( Anonymous is who you’ll know me as)
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To: laplata
That’s right. I think the estimate is only 6% of the federal workforce in the DC area goes in to work.

DJT will get their sorry azzes back.

Also, the Fed Gov pays out $ billions in rent for empty buildings.

Seriously. What's the plan? Agencies will refuse to cooperate. They will file lawsuits. They will try to run the clock out on Trump.

So if I'm Trump. I will embarass them. I will transfer the employees to a new Department. And they'll all have to pick up their paychecks in person at the Treasury Department in D.C. every two weeks.

If they're living in Mexico City, they'll have to fly back and forth to collect their paychecks.

17 posted on 12/17/2024 8:59:48 PM PST by MinorityRepublican
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To: MinorityRepublican

Good thinking. Trump knows how to get such things done.

You’re right about their reactions, too.


18 posted on 12/17/2024 9:29:14 PM PST by laplata (They want each crisis to take the greatest toll possible.)
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To: laplata
Good thinking. Trump knows how to get such things done.

You’re right about their reactions, too.

Hopefully, with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy leading DOGE, they'll have a plan on dealing with federal workers. Elon Musk may develop a system to monitor them on their screens while they're working remotely. Then Trump will be able to fire them.

The point is that they will have to think out of the box. There are a couple of things they can do.

19 posted on 12/17/2024 9:40:03 PM PST by MinorityRepublican
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To: MinorityRepublican

More good thinking on your part.

I think Trump has a lot up his sleeve and we’re going to be surprised and happy.


20 posted on 12/17/2024 9:46:52 PM PST by laplata (They want each crisis to take the greatest toll possible.)
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