By now, you’ve heard the news about a proposal in Congress to slash Federal government jobs. In fact, we asked a question about the election impact a few weeks ago and we kept hearing the “f” word: furloughs. At face value, cutting back on government jobs appears to be a quick, easy fix in the name of fiscal responsibility.
But Joe Davidson asks some really tough questions in this Washington Post article that should make the committee think a bit longer and harder before pushing forward their proposals:
Debt-reduction proposals add fuel to criticism of government workforce
Davidson’s questions:
One thing…proposals to cut the federal workforce do is ignore what those cuts would mean for public service.
Does anyone really want to lengthen the time it takes veterans to have their claims processed, or for the elderly or disabled to navigate the Social Security system? Are we willing to have fewer safety reviews of our nation’s mines and factories? Should a wink and a nod pass for our food inspections and drug approvals?
Federal employees are willing to sacrifice for the good of the nation. But what services are federal critics – or Simpson and Bowles – willing to sacrifice?
So what do you think?
Would you give up your job to sacrifice “for the good of the nation”?
Which jobs should never be sacrificed?
There’s an article published by USAToday at following link which shows part of the strategy to cut government spending by 2020:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2010-11-10-obama-panel-spending-cuts_N.htm
Thought some might be interested in its content.
There’s also the real danger of the majority of the job cuts being inflicted on agencies that are traditionally understaffed and/or constantly used as political footballs (e.g., the EPA and Consumer Product Safety Commission). Somehow I don’t see too many DoD agencies losing positions.