Every civil servant needs to look around and ask himself a number of questions:
Unfortunately the answer to these questions is likely not what folks want to hear. Federal salaries are a drop in the bucket of the cost of government. What has mushroomed beyond comprehension are all the unneeded services that are contracted out to insiders who have sweetheart deals to take in money and provide little in return, except the grease that turns the wheels of corruption in the swamp. It's alwasy been there but the Bush/Cheney team showed how the professional crooks do it.
Many, and I mean, MANY federal workers spend a majority of their time either gabbing on the phone or talking for hours on end in the office and maybe put in 2 hours of useful work during the day. I saw it all the time.
I was ostracized because when I came into work at 0730 hours, I started right into the job. I was always busy, and I worked until the bell rang at 1630 hours, and many times I would work from home without compensation, and they considered me "anti-social." I was working for crying out loud!
So yes, I believe many departments can be downsized, considerably. But also remember that there are federal workers who earn their paycheck because they step up and do the work that no one else does and never get any recognition for it.
1. Is my day filled with constitutionally allowed and useful work that provide value to the taxpayer?
Yes, I work for the Defense Department, do work directly related to deterring attack from current and potential enemies
2. Can I do my job with fewer subordinates?
No, I lead a team of three and we’re constantly busy, if we were smaller there would be no slack to cover employee life events, and you’d burn out people in six months or less.
3. How much of my time is spent providing direct and useful service to the taxpaying public?
80%, I spend ~20% of my time either on administrative duties or waiting on feedback, leader approval, or information I require to proceed.
4. How much of my time is spent dealing with support service contractors whose job is to justify more support service contractors by taking up more time from their federal “supervisors?”
In my case none, I have two contract employees I oversee, they do the data gathering and document prep, generally value added (both are retired Marine field grade officers)
5. should my whole department be eliminated?
No, I work for the Defense Department, a core constitutional function.
6. should my whole agency be eliminated?
No, my specific command conducts overwatch of hostile groups who vow to destroy the U.S. and institute a global caliphate. We also monitor Chinese, Russian and Iranian efforts to undermine U.S. interests.
7. Have I vocally advocated for substantial improvements in delivery of value to the taxpayer?
Not applicable, we’ve seen significant reductions in capabilities, and have to rely heavily on intermittent availability of resources to mitigate lost/reduced capabilities.
8. Am I reviled for this? [no? you’re not trying hard enough]
Per above, this doesn’t apply
Your questions, while a good start, view all agencies identically. From my perspective of 30 plus years of military and civil service. The problems are not spread evenly across the entire government and have different natures to them.
DoD’s problems are bad policies from the current administration and a procurement process, mandated by law, that creates perverse incentives and inefficiencies as by product of repeated “fixes” over time.
To look at an another example. The FBI, on the other hand, has an institutional arrogance that stems from J. Edgar Hoover’s legacy. He, more than anyone else, made it a powerful tool to stymie political enemies. Now that he is gone other political actors fight over how to use that tool. The bureau has a core structural problem, and it needs to be caged, broken apart and reassembled into useful (and separate) interstate crime fighting, counter-intelligence, and anti-corruption agencies.
Have a look at the fleet of vehicles in any federal response, the best of everything. You never see less than an 3/4 ton four wheel drive pickup. I am a federal employee brat fromt he 60s. Back then you had to move heaven and earth to get a stripped 1/2 ton four wheel drive pickup in the motor pool.
The feds can't change a light bulb any more without a truck load of tools and safety gear and a contractor to advise them.
4,000,000 employee dependents is just the tip of the iceberg. That number is well supported by an army of contractors.
The thing these federal dependents need to ask is: * AM I USEFUL? * AM I ESSENTIAL TO THE FUNCTION OF THE NATION? * DO I ADD VALUE? * DID I EARN MY KEEP TODAY OR ANY OTHER DAY? * WOULD ANYTHING REALLY BAD HAPPEN IF I DON'T SHOW UP FOR WORK? Probably not.
We can make a good start by eliminating the DoE, the DHS, and the TSA.