[AndyJackson]

This is from the Original Competitive Enterprise Institute Report Bureaucratic Dark Energy Grows Government Illegally

Bureaucratic Dark Energy is a paper released today from the Competitive Enterprise Institute revealing a growing concern over the federal government’s use of thousands of government contractors to grow the bureaucracy illegally.

“In trying to reduce bureaucracy, the president and Congress focus on things like hiring freezes at agencies, but agencies simply turn to contractors instead, growing the bureaucracy with neither approval nor oversight from Congress,” said Robert Hanrahan, author of Bureaucratic Dark Energy. “Without specific authorization from Congress, hiring contractors for their specific skills to fill ongoing federal jobs is a felony. But many agencies do it nonetheless, as these laws are nearly never enforced. The bureaucracy grows ever larger thanks to this bureaucratic ‘dark energy’—an invisible force that allows government to expand at the discretion of the bureaucracy alone.”

Bureaucratic Dark Energy suggests two solutions for the lack of accountability that has led federal agencies to misinterpret the “personal services” language in the Anti-Deficiency Act (ADA), a series of laws prohibiting agencies from hiring contractors except as appropriated and authorized by Congress. First, Congress must insist on enforcement of the Anti-Deficiency Act and punish civil servants who outsource their own jobs. Secondly, Congress should establish a private civil cause of action for ADA violations. There may be hundreds of cases at dozens of agencies amounting to billions of dollars in misappropriation. A small fraction of these sums awarded to successful plaintiffs should be a powerful incentive for agencies to rein in their spending on contractors.

[SaveFerris]

Meanwhile we have millions and millions of Americans who are waaaaay down on any hiring list.

[DoughtyOne]

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[eyeamok]

Thank God we are a Nation of Men and not one of laws, so we don’t need to worry about stuff like this.

[DugwayDuke]

If this practice was illegal, the federal unions would be in court today.

[arthurus]

At least contract employees can be fired if the will is there to do it. They are not civil service.

[dragnet2]

Private sector is doing this as well, replacing employees who once had salaries, benefits etc, with contract labor...That way employers skate around all the costly workers compensation expense$ and associated headaches. They’re throwing it all on the employees, making it their burden. Even delivery people nowadays in many cases they’re now required to use their own vehicles to make deliveries..Which basically wears them out within a year or so.

[Mariner]

two edged sword
Contractors are more efficient than government employees and you often get more units of actual work per dollar.
Sometimes they are thee only ones who actually do anything.