What's with this furlough talk? Lay them off. Downsize. What don't the unions and politicians understand?
“What’s with this furlough talk? Lay them off. Downsize. What don’t the unions and politicians understand?”
First of all....government and its employees are NOT a business - it is specious logic to attempt to use “business” practices for government. IF they exist, at least in “theory”, they do so because they have a function to accomplish (whether one agrees with it or not). Government employees are NOT in existence to create “profit” like a business.
Secondly, except for anarchists, most reasonable persons understand that some form of government (and thus employees) are required. It is really a matter of opinion as to what is necessary and what is not. I personnally don’t think DoD should be touched, at least not to the extent it is currently targeted, but that is my opinion. Those here and elsewhere that want to eliminate all federal employees are just being assinine and not worth listening to anymore.
Thirdly, the hiring and firing of federal employees is governed by LAW that cannot be conveinently ignored. There are processes that must be followed. IF they outright “eliminate” a person, then they are bound to follow Reduction in Force (RIF) procedures. It is a long drawn out process to do a RIF. By furloughing because of a funding shortfall, you avoid the RIF.
The wisest COA is to get agreement (like this will ever happen) as to what is necessary and what is not in government. Over time start cutting those areas and use attrition to downsize. When persons “leave” a position, don’t let it be refilled (have personnel “cross level”) until the appropriate number of employees are reached.
I see the same “class warfare” against government employees that we conservatives say liberals use against others. During “hard” times, a federal employee with a decent wage and secure job is HATED by those without. However, in “good” times the federal employee’s wages are not, in most cases, as good as their private sector counterparts (if that comparison is even valid). However, in “good” times nobody really complains about the federal worker.
Do we have a bloated government to include too many employees? Yes, this is self evident. It really is time to stop further growth and start reducing numbers. The key is to do so wisely and not vindictively. Sadly, massive cuts of government employees would quite literally turn some parts of the country into ghost towns. So, it has to be done wisely and carefully. It does HAVE to be done.