The latest official employment report finds once again that the federal government and state-local hiring spree is still in full gear. Over the past year, health care and government hiring has outpaced every private sector industry. It isn’t just the IRS bringing on thousands of new workers. The bloat is everywhere.
So even though there are a lot more government workers, good luck finding them or getting them on the phone.
This is because so few of them are actually physically on the job.
What’s happening in the federal government (“Club Fed”) these days borders on the absurd – or should I say the obscene. A recent Federal News Network survey of federal workers finds only 6% are working full time in the office. Thirty percent are full-time remote. Washington office buildings have become city block-long zombies. Especially on Fridays.
While exact comparisons between public and private employees are tricky and inexact, best estimates are that in 2023 roughly 30% of private workers were working from home or remotely either some or all the time. In the private sector, the percentage of employees working from home has actually declined from about 50% during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This means that, according to FNN, federal employees are THREE TIMES more likely to be working remotely either some or all the time.
Full-Time Remote:
- Federal Government: 30%
- Private Workers: 12%
Full-Time or Hybrid Remote:
- Federal Government: 94%
- Private Workers: 30%
I’m all for employees working remotely a few days a week. I do it myself, and it’s likely to become more common in the information and digital age.
But one has to wonder how many of these workers are really necessary. And how many of these remote government workers, who can almost never get fired for bad performance, are putting in an honest day’s work? My suspicion is very few.
The irony is that three years ago the federal government issued an order for federal employees to return to work post-COVID-19. Many thousands have blatantly ignored the order.
Remember, government workers have some of the cushiest and least stressful jobs on the planet. And they get paid roughly 30% to 40% more than comparably skilled private workers – when taking into account exorbitant benefits.
Here is my solution: Uncle Sam is losing almost $2 trillion a year. STOP HIRING NEW PEOPLE. Every federal agency, including the biggest bureaucracy in the world, the Pentagon, should impose a hiring freeze – except for extraordinary circumstances – until the budget is balanced. Then impose, across the board, a 30% reduction in force.
Finally, if the government needs more revenues, start by selling federal buildings that are less than half-occupied. Many buildings are less than 20% occupied.
Former President Donald Trump’s most popular rallying cry in 2016 was to “drain the swamp.” But today the swamp is deeper than ever, and the deep state swamp creatures are even more numerous after four years of Biden-Harris. If Trump wins, he and Republicans should get draining.
Stephen Moore is a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation and a senior economic advisor to Donald Trump. His latest book is: “Govzilla: How the Relentless Growth of Government Is Devouring Our Economy.”
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Another way to create more jobs, so ole Joe can boast he has done that the best of any president. He is very liberal with our tax money. And the dems have the nerve to say the reps are stonewalling all the bills ole Joe proposes. Yes especially when he creates fake results by throwing money at it. Money we don’t have which necessitates to print more money. And America sinks further and further into bankruptcy. The dems like that. Their plan is complete. And ole Joe brags about this accomplishment which is the bankruptcy of America. Joe you gotta go.
The one person who tried and still wants to drain the swamp is Trump, and that’s why dems, msm, rinos and many republican politicians are trying their best to attack him 24/7/365 to prevent him from getting elected. They like the way it all works in their favor and filling their pockets as citizen taxpayers suffer. We need to elect Trump to put an end to the waste and get our country back on track. With all the damage done it won’t be easy. IMO
Wisdom from the past… “Things in our country run in spite of government, not by aid of it.” WILL ROGERS
Overwhelming majorities in the house and senate along with Trump in the White House would be the only chance would be the only chance of draining the swamp. That would be the minimum necessary to remove deep state swamp rats, RINO’s, corrupt entrenched bureaucrats and return our government to “the people”.
Stop hiring new people and let go of every 3rd currently on the payroll I did not say working If only truly working had to stay there would be half gone What a lovely thought
Not only more government jobs, but also more Joebama voters who fear for their jobs if DJT retakes the presidency and cuts the fat off the budget. Our tax dollars are paying for this sham
When I worked as an administrative asst. during Johnson’s “War on Poverty”, near the end of the budget year we were instructed to spend any budgeted money left on any thing so it wouldn’t be lost the next year. Then find anything to increase the proposed budget next year by an acceptable percentage. This is standard procedure in a govt. agency.
This seems to be so the current President can claim jobs. We see everyday that this is not true, and most of us do not know these employees hired by the government. We just know that every item that is a necessity, never mind luxury, has at least doubled in price. I cannot calculate the cost of my utilities, but I do know what it cost to fill my gas tank; it went from around 2.00 per gallon, now its 3.89. This government spending on things that mean nothing to the average citizen, needs to be stopped, and we need to tap into our natural gas and energy that we have in such a plentiful supply.
see why they are so afraid of trump
Anyone who has the misfortune to work with the government learned some years before COVID just how socialist it had become. MANY government salaries passed private secror salaries 15 years ago!!
Even though a company pays for employee health coverage along with the employee, the government DICTATES WHAT health benefits you can provide. If a company wants to do business with the government you cannot have better health coverage than they do! Never mind you are paying for it, not the socialist government. Doing business with the government involves allowable and unallowable costs. You are not allowed to pass every cost to sell products to them like in privare sector. The government is always given best & lowest price. The government also frowns on non government employees making more than their little comrades.
In 2016 I voted for Trump mainly because I hated Hillary! Trump really surprised me by performing better than I expected. I firmly believe that Trump got defeated by a “cheating” Democratic Party! And the ONLY THING PROGRESSIVE ABOUT TODAY’S DEMOCRATIC PARTY IS THAT THEY ARE PROGRESSIVELY COMMUNIST! TRUMP SHOULD WIN BUT I AGAIN EXPECT YHE DEMOCRATIC PARTY TO “CHEAT” AGAIN BECAUSE THEY REALLY FEAR TRUMP!
It’s very simple to determine who’s necessary: everytime they have a “government shutdown”, they temporarily layoff “nonessential workers”. Get rid of them PERMANENTLY!
Not only stop hiring BUT we actually need to dismantle a number of agencies and departments such as Education and ATF, etc. These functions belong to the states.
This article makes a great point and these facts should be hammered home by the GOP, not only to expose the size of government but also how draining the swamp would benefit everyday Americans. Further, government hiring should be removed from the total jobs numbers reported by the BLS and reported separately when job numbers are announced. It may be tricky to draw a direct comparison between government and private employees, as Mr. Moore states, but when the government sector is hiring AND paying more than the private sector, then the resulting costs should be captured and reported, as well as the net effect on citizens who don’t work in the public sector.
Drain the swamp? We need to drain the United States of America and arrest every democrat in our nation!
There is so much government waste,corruption and downright lying.Government employees add nothing to productivity,yet that so called occupation is bloated and the unions are the biggest corrupt entity that pushes this and they are controlled by the sewer,it used to be known as the swamp,but now it’s gotten much,much worse with the arrogant democRATS ruining AMERICA.
Executive Order #1 on Day #1 of Trump presidency. ALL government employees return full-time to work or get fired. So, 3 years ago they were supposed to return, have not and why wasn’t this enforced?
The private company that I work for every year remove the bottom 10% of the employees. They felt those employees were not participating at 100%. Maybe the government should do this
Can’t argue with anything said here. The problem is that what needs to be done to make any impact requires overcoming insurmountable “roadblocks”, such as a news media that will choose what stories will be reported and what stories will be buried, or a teaching establishment that will continue to churn out highly biased, liberal brain-dead zombies. I have little reason to believe this is possible especially with an incredibly weak Republican Party that currently exists.
Time to look at what our government has done for us lies for a feeble president and nothing being done in Washington time to fire a lot of people we need better in Washington all the Dems want is abortion nothing said about all the illegals they have let into this country time to say enough is enough from all parties up in Washington.
Trump was trying to drain the swamp and he opened up our eyes as to how crooked the dumos really are – many of us really had no idea! the left should not be in control of this country – they have shown exactly what their agenda is – they have put this beautiful country in the toilet – Trump please – make sure the left doesn’t lie and cheat like they did in 2020. TRUMP 2024
Good luck draining the swamp. Just as I predicted a few months back, the dnc, or should I say Biden is going to veto a bill presented by the rnc to stop the illegals from voting in our election.
THIS IS SO DISGUSTING to DO to Taxpayers!!! who have to work hard just to have enough to pay for groceries and electricity! and gasoline! and Taxes! when THESE creeps probably make at least 50% MORE in salary THAN WE DO! and probably much MORE. One thing about Dems is that they PAY THEIR BASE for supporting them! Wouldn’t you like to know what the % of Republicans are in the Deep State Bureaucracy??? I’d say it’s probably around 10% or less! That should be on the census. Those facts should be required to be given to the U.S. House of Reps and Senate!!! (don’t worry honey, it’s just another Dem Stronghold you don’t need to know about…)
This government largess has long been in my mind, one of many important government (at all levels) Achillis’ heels. Whether it’s my own experience working for other for-profit firms or my own(labor intensive) with all the significant vital issues and concerns I can think of and did in managing/running a private business, responsibility seems to be the focal point I arrive at. At a minimum we grasp that federal/government employees essential are not subject to oversight and direction in their duties; seemingly they determine what, when and to what extent they’ll perform, regardless of how well or what the outcome is. Now this attitude has crept into private industry. This, as it is said, is not good and does not prompt accountability.
Bankrupt and chaotic — this is the Biden legacy.
I watched something on cbs and georgio c loonie was on the news supporting”HIDEN BIDEN”,there was a time when I did like cloonie,until I found out that he supported what the puppeteers have done TO AMERICA.This should be classed as treason.All of you leftists take about thirty steps back and see what has happened to AMERICA since the leftists became the slime in charge.We AMERICANS are in very deep”bull exhaust”,as in doo/doo,as in,well you know what.
God Has Promised numerous times to clean house: government, media, economy, education, arts & entertainment, religion & family. God Said thru 1 “prophet” that He’s “Firing” “like” 90% of ALL OF WASH D.C.! = at minimum 90% of Fed. House & Senate. Don’t need to worry about money to hire versus hiring freeze when they/we already need to replace approx. 477 seats! Again, we need to wait & see & hear what God Is Doing. Patient . . . yeah, I need prayer on that 1 too. Have a BLESSED day!
Political blather. Same pile of cat crap I’ve had to listen to since the end of the LBJ reign. “Stop hiring new people”, is a slogan for the impossible. The federal government with the mind set its had for decades is a stage four malignancy that has gone too long without actual treatment.
We have become junkies for products countries with functional industries make. I still recall some high up muckety muck in Saint Reagans administration touting the fact that the nation was striving to build a service based economy. It accomplished that feat and here we are, unable to compete and left having to attempt to steal from or destroy those nations that haven’t been as laughably stupid as our nation has. The theft and other tyrannical actions worked for a while but now isn’t working as the curtain has been pulled back displaying the USA as the bumbling paper tiger it has always been. Go up against a foe not wearing sandals and we quickly get our asses kicked. Go up against a foe whose people do wear sandals and eventually we leave, tail between our legs with soldiers suffering mental trauma over their being forced to slaughter innocent civilians by the tens and even hundreds of thousands. It is little wonder we allowed the demonic Zionists in charge in Israel to dictate our actions. Actions eerily similar to those perpetrated by the Austrian born wannabe painter that once held power in Germany.
But keep up the sloganeering that includes “stop hiring new people”. It does nothing more than give political scribblers something to do.