OPINION:
Having been a federal employee, I am well aware of how things “work” in the federal bureaucracy (“Trump is right: Fire bad federal employees and reward good ones,” Web, March 2). During my tenure, “reductions in force” were not infrequent. But there were two unwritten rules: Always make your position seem more demanding and important than it really is to ensure grade creep, and never submit a budget that was the same or less than the one submitted the year before.
Over the years, the hiring process changed to the point that job descriptions were written specifically for an individual that office wanted hired; forget competition. Year after year, we have heard how the federal government needs to hire “the best and brightest.” Yet year after year we also hear about federal employees using government credit cards for personal charges, using work hours to shop on Amazon, watch pornography or even feign working undercover for the CIA so they don’t have to show up for their “real” jobs.
There are many dedicated federal employees who are highly skilled, but the bloat has overtaken everything worthwhile. There is no good reason why federal employees should be exempt from being fired like those in private industry, or why they should hold a position until they are more than 80 years old. Over the years, government agencies have been hiring more and more outside contractors to do the job their own employees were supposedly hired to do.
Audits should be conducted every year in every federal agency so those who slack off can be eliminated and an efficient organizational chart can be created and abided by. Maybe then we can focus on getting some of our rusty bridges repaired before they collapse and on doing a million other things that are in the best interest of the taxpayer.
VICTORIA CARNEY
McLean, Virginia
Please read our comment policy before commenting.