Was Cronyism worse than this?
It seems so logical. By making the Civil Service non-political, it takes away the inherent problems of re-staffing the government after every change in Presidents, and provides for continuity. Simple. If only.
What were the benefits of Federal Service that would entice someone to earn less money? Well, defined pensions, even more important now, as more and more companies are eliminating them, they are so 1900s. Job Security? Absolutely. Congress has been working on a special exemption for the VA, as they are responsible for the deaths of 100s of thousands of our Veterans due to their apathy, and ability to manipulate the system. So, when they say it takes an act of Congress to fire a federal employee, they are not far off the mark. Of course the benefits package, including sick leave, annual leave, holiday pay, Sunday differential, night differential, health insurance, and on and on. Not to mention a 40 hour week. What is the down side? It used to be that pay was lower than the private sector. That is still true for some positions, but not for all, or even many.
Is the Civil Service non-political? Well, it depends. By and large, I would say that the individual employees want to do their jobs, but, if you are in a public sector union, and your union is spending heavily on politicians, what happens is that the union is represented on both sides of the table. The true employers, the American people, are not at the table at all. We saw in Air Traffic what upper management does when feeling that the administration has their back. It isn't pretty.
When someone campaigns on "draining the swamp", and constantly derides the intelligence community, all sides sense danger (they should) and rally together to destroy any outside influence that has somehow gotten in, like President Trump. I am not kidding when I say that they need to ferret out the leaks, get them tried in a court, and line them up in front of a wall, and shoot them. These "non-political" civil servants vote nearly as one for Democrats. They will pretend to do the work that the Department Secretary wants done, but they will drag their feet, or they will just not do it, or they will do what they want, knowing that they can't get fired.
Maybe that is why Secretary Tillerson (State Department) has built a wall of close confidants, and has shut out the vast majority of the career service. Secretary DeVos in Education has done the same, as has the EPA Administrator. Hopefully they will be successful.
Wouldn't it just be easier, and make government far more efficient, if there would be an annual review of federal employees, and any that do not "excel" are fired? I think I read that every year Home Depot cuts out the bottom 10% of their employees every year. That is a great suggestion, at least for those that push paper, rather than those that have technical expertise gained over years of training. Right now there is no incentive for someone to buckle down and do their jobs. A firing spree based on performance, without regard to seniority may be the answer.
The Senate is intentionally slowing down the confirmation process. Regardless of party in power in the White House, or the Senate, a President should get their nominees. These Department heads are surrounded by those desiring to destroy the President, and need the cavalry to show up.
The idea that Civil Service is unbiased, at least in DC is bogus. It is wrong, it is trying to destroy the current administration. Could bringing in your own be any worse?
What were the benefits of Federal Service that would entice someone to earn less money? Well, defined pensions, even more important now, as more and more companies are eliminating them, they are so 1900s. Job Security? Absolutely. Congress has been working on a special exemption for the VA, as they are responsible for the deaths of 100s of thousands of our Veterans due to their apathy, and ability to manipulate the system. So, when they say it takes an act of Congress to fire a federal employee, they are not far off the mark. Of course the benefits package, including sick leave, annual leave, holiday pay, Sunday differential, night differential, health insurance, and on and on. Not to mention a 40 hour week. What is the down side? It used to be that pay was lower than the private sector. That is still true for some positions, but not for all, or even many.
Is the Civil Service non-political? Well, it depends. By and large, I would say that the individual employees want to do their jobs, but, if you are in a public sector union, and your union is spending heavily on politicians, what happens is that the union is represented on both sides of the table. The true employers, the American people, are not at the table at all. We saw in Air Traffic what upper management does when feeling that the administration has their back. It isn't pretty.
When someone campaigns on "draining the swamp", and constantly derides the intelligence community, all sides sense danger (they should) and rally together to destroy any outside influence that has somehow gotten in, like President Trump. I am not kidding when I say that they need to ferret out the leaks, get them tried in a court, and line them up in front of a wall, and shoot them. These "non-political" civil servants vote nearly as one for Democrats. They will pretend to do the work that the Department Secretary wants done, but they will drag their feet, or they will just not do it, or they will do what they want, knowing that they can't get fired.
Maybe that is why Secretary Tillerson (State Department) has built a wall of close confidants, and has shut out the vast majority of the career service. Secretary DeVos in Education has done the same, as has the EPA Administrator. Hopefully they will be successful.
Wouldn't it just be easier, and make government far more efficient, if there would be an annual review of federal employees, and any that do not "excel" are fired? I think I read that every year Home Depot cuts out the bottom 10% of their employees every year. That is a great suggestion, at least for those that push paper, rather than those that have technical expertise gained over years of training. Right now there is no incentive for someone to buckle down and do their jobs. A firing spree based on performance, without regard to seniority may be the answer.
The Senate is intentionally slowing down the confirmation process. Regardless of party in power in the White House, or the Senate, a President should get their nominees. These Department heads are surrounded by those desiring to destroy the President, and need the cavalry to show up.
The idea that Civil Service is unbiased, at least in DC is bogus. It is wrong, it is trying to destroy the current administration. Could bringing in your own be any worse?
Comments
Post a Comment