Government workers will be facing, especially over the long term, some of the worst consequences of the new Trump administration. For them, change means not only the end of a career, but also a feeling of helplessness as they watch years of hard work being dismantled right before their eyes. As they are forced to leave, and as the risk of the government unraveling grows ever greater, the voices of these workers will and can become crucial in combating the chaos that is bound to ensue in a second Trump presidency. These are the people who know all too well, and better than anyone else, just how much damage is really being done to the rule of law and the ability of the American government to meet the needs of the American people. It is they who most understand that you cannot treat the Federal bureaucracy like an entity whose sole goal is making money. Yes, reforms to the bureaucracy are needed, but not by corporate executives. Changes need to come from the people who are doing the day to day work of the government, who have the expertise to know best how to deal with waste, fraud, and abuse.
The realities of responsible cuts to government spending are extremely difficult. Rather than waste, fraud, and abuse; most programs are serving a purpose and doing so in a reasonably efficient manner. Cutting government spending will mean reevaluating priorities–a notoriously difficult process.
Simply shutting down entire departments with no regard for the functions those departments have, will not, in the long run, seek to balance the budget; it will only sow chaos. You can shut down a department, but you cannot shut down the need that those government departments and their employees help fulfill. Some other way of filling the void created by this absence will eventually emerge. The only thing “gained” by the wholesale abdication of the responsibility of a government to its citizens is a power vacuum. Trump can cut whatever he likes; but people will find a way to get the things they need from their government. Denying citizens access to critical functions of their government is a recipe for chaos and will accomplish nothing else.
Civil Servants are not perfect people and they are dealing with a system badly in need of reform. However, there is no other group of people who can better tell us how to streamline government: what is most critical, what we can afford to let go, and how we can inject fiscal discipline into an admittedly broken system. If Trump really wants to tackle inefficiency he should start by listening to federal workers, not declaring them to be the enemy. He is demonizing the very people who could most help him reach his stated aim.
“Efficiency” is a smoke screen. What Trump really wants is a government non-responsive to the needs of common American citizens. Hopefully, eventually, the people who voted for him will come to that realization.
Progressive Without Apology 