GOP Readies Cuts to Federal Workforce Under Trump

rollcall.com ^ | Dec 6, 2016 | Jonathan Miller

[867V309]

While details remain sketchy, it would likely mean big changes to the generous retirement benefits given federal workers, mainly by looking to shift new employees from a defined benefit into a market-based 401(k).

He is also interested in making it easier to fire workers who perform badly and wants to reduce the federal civilian workforce, which currently numbers 2.1 million employees, not including U.S. Postal Service employees.

[arrogantsob]

Having Minimum wage workers investigate contracts is hysterical. Are you a comedy writer?

If Trump has no better than your ideas he may as well forget it.

[dragnet2]

Don’t be a dunce. Try reading the comment. I am talking about criminal investigators, such as from the FBI. Not administrative bureaucrats who should be making minimum wage.

Are you suggesting those seeking government contracts should not be examined and investigated more thoroughly?.

[arrogantsob]

While I am not sure that an administrative bureaucrat is a real position, I am sure that your vastly oversimplified idea of what the government does is absurd. As is your answer to DC concentration.

If you believe you do not get good service now just try and staff the positions with minimum wage workers. Surely even you should know that you get what you pay for.

Rather than spouting off a bunch of insane ideas you would be more convincing if you knew what you were speaking of. I have little hope of seeing that.

[arrogantsob]

While I am not sure that an administrative bureaucrat is a real position, I am sure that your vastly oversimplified idea of what the government does is absurd. As is your answer to DC concentration.

If you believe you do not get good service now just try and staff the positions with minimum wage workers. Surely even you should know that you get what you pay for.

Rather than spouting off a bunch of insane ideas you would be more convincing if you knew what you were speaking of. I have little hope of seeing that.

[arrogantsob]

While I am not sure that an administrative bureaucrat is a real position, I am sure that your vastly oversimplified idea of what the government does is absurd. As is your answer to DC concentration.

If you believe you do not get good service now just try and staff the positions with minimum wage workers. Surely even you should know that you get what you pay for.

Rather than spouting off a bunch of insane ideas you would be more convincing if you knew what you were speaking of. I have little hope of seeing that.

[SkyPilot]

Thanks to both of you for that info. I have several friends who work for the DoD and intel agencies.

I am retired military.

Here is what concerns me with this rhetoric of "let's screw these people!"

- The article says "details are sketchy." OK, then what do they mean exactly? I know that Reagan had already basically gotten rid of civil servant defined plan retirements decades ago (those in it at the time were grandfathered). Do they want to eliminate 401K (TSP) matching? Really? That is going to "make America Great Again?" Most companies do matching.

- When people attack all Feds, it is a pretty broad brush. Navy shipyard workers and DoD nurses at Walter Reed who care for our combat wounded are lumped into the same stew as useless Dept of Education eaters and EPA extremists. I am all for cutting agencies and useless bureaucrats, but I want to see it done with some cranium capacity expended. Trump should be smart enough for this.

- Trump, on the campaign trail, lauded the Secret Service, the FBI agents (who defied the traitor Comey), the Dept of Defense, and others. He is also winning the hearts of the middle class American workers (of which many civil servants are). He is fighting for their jobs. This could change the dynamics of American politics for decades. Is he now going to screw middle class workers in government who do good things? They will work for him soon. DoD teachers, electricians, Border Patrol agents.....we are going to "stick it to them!" Again, why? Why not stick it Mexico, China, Illegal Invaders, drug dealers, Iran, domestic terrorists, selfish entitled takers, criminals, and the like?

- Hasn't Obama already "stuck it to" Fed civilians pretty good? I know he froze their pay for years, scaled back benefits, and laid them off several times. If Trump comes in and turns that around some, he could deal the Democrats a death card. Why blow this historic opportunity?

- Is this rhetoric of "cut these bastards" coming from Trump, or Congress? If from Congress (as the article says), then my reaction is: "OK - you bastards go first." I want to see their retirements cut, and then they can go after VA hospital staff, the Border Patrol, the DoD engineers, and the rest. I don't trust Congress. Paul Ryan took unilateral action to generate "cuts" in 2013. He cut the pensions of our military, including Veterans who were 100% disabled from combat injuries! Again, I don't trust these guys.

Trump has a unique opportunity. I think going after middle class civil servants who we want to do good for this nation is the wrong approach. There are SO MANY other things that can be cut. Why screw our own people? Is is just for blood sport for the masses? Almost 45% of DoD civilians are military, uniformed veterans themselves. We need to burn these people?

I hope he cuts the EPA, Dept of Education, and all the rest of the scumbags. But this broad brush approach is the wrong way to go.

-

[Roger Kaputnik]

Oh no! The dreaded “newbie” insult. Geez, why don’t you grow a pair of balls and stop acting like a child? You might as well have called me a poopie face. What a maroon. If anybody needs a coloring book and a safe slace it would be YOU!

[DoodleDawg]

GOP Readies Cuts to Federal Workforce Under Trump

The talk is there and the desire may be there but I will believe it when I see it.

[dragnet2]

Oh, you’re pretending you don’t know what a typical government bureaucrat is? Government is too complicated and complex for us tax paying peons to understand? Really?

I strongly suspect you’re on the government welfare/payroll in one form or another.

[dragnet2]

I am sure that your vastly oversimplified idea of what the government does is absurd.

I have a bit of an idea. One of the few things they're supposed to do is to secure and protect our borders. Is this correct? Or is this question too simplified for ya?

[arrogantsob]

I am retired after 31 yrs at the Department of Labor and the EPA. But that never stopped me from voting conservative and supporting conservatives. Nor does it determine my responses to issues.

Was there a lot of laziness, confusion, and malfeasance among the work force? Yes. Was that a general situation? No. Most of the workers (particularly EPA) were TOO conscientious and concerned about every comma and period.

The main problem is some of the insane laws which are to be implemented, not the workers. Even the ladies who typed the letters and documents had to be very sharp since dealing with any law involves very careful scrutiny even a Sewer Use law. Read the Clean Water Act and get back to me about the ability of anyone off the street to understand and apply it. That is the law I worked under for three decades - actually only a small Section of it.

I could have made more money in the private sector but preferred to take the lesser risky route. Fed employees are generally better educated than in the private sector and with more time in the job are paid appropriately.

They can be fired and their numbers have not been growing at the federal level. Hopefully, Trump’s election will run a lot of the deadwood out and efficiency will improve.

When I worked and received a phone call from some poor confused person who had been shifted from one person to another because the appropriate person to deal with him had not been located, I would make sure that the proper person got in contact with him and a connection was made. My view of my job was to protect the public from the zealots’ fanaticism. And I tried to help every person who called or wrote

[XEHRpa]

. Isn’t all of the govt under fers? Which is not a defined benefit plan.

While FERS has the 401K-like Thrift Saving Plan, it also has a defined benefit pension portion of 1% of your gross salary for every year worked, if I recall. Not as generous as the old CSRS plan, but still defined benefit.

[XEHRpa]

Employees who started before 1984 can still be CSRS plan, instead of the newer FERS.

[arrogantsob]

Of course, this has nothing to do with your complaint of lazy and incompetent workers. The Union representing the guys patrolling the border supported Trump because he would let them do their jobs, which they wanted to do.

The leadership of this agency stopped the efficient application of the laws not the man on the front line. Leadership is critical and I believe we are about to see some.

[semimojo]

If history is a guide this will just shift jobs to contractors.

Outsourcing, in other words.

All the people and cost, just less accountability.

[dragnet2]

You're retired Department of Labor and EPA? So I was right! No offense, but you were a dead giveaway.☺

Fed employees are generally better educated than in the private sector and with more time in the job are paid appropriately.

I'm curious, if you folks in government are so highly educated with those big pay checks, why is the country 20 trillion in debt, with lawless violent open borders, Middle America in decline for 2 decades? What about your trade deals that benefit other countries and our enemies, while our economy/trade declines?

[867V309]

If history is a guide this will just shift jobs to contractors.

Outsourcing, in other words.

All the people and cost, just less accountability.

I've never actually met anyone who considered government employees accountable.

[semimojo]

I've never actually met anyone who considered government employees accountable.

It's all relative...

[867V309]

It's all relative...

Most people consider private enterprise more accountable than government. That's not "relative."

[ROCKLOBSTER]

They’re “employees”, not “workers”

They're not “employees”...they're PARASITES!

Very, very, well subsidized parasites.