Trump eyes 20% cut in Federal workers

[Hfcomms]

Making good on a promise to slash government, President-elect Trump has asked his incoming team to pursue spending and staffing cuts.

Insiders said that the spending reductions in some departments could go as high as 10 percent and staff cuts to 20 percent, numbers that would rock Washington if he follows through.

At least two so-called "landing teams" in Cabinet agencies have relayed the call for cuts as part of their marching orders to shrink the flab in government.

The cuts would target discretionary spending, not mandated programs such as Medicare or Social Security, the sources said.

The spending reductions are expected to be used to help pay for Trump's plan to boost the Pentagon's budget, tax cuts and some pet projects, potentially including the anti-immigration wall on the nation's southern border.

The teams also are looking at staffing cuts over four years through attrition, a hiring freeze and reorganization.

The plan is winning cheers in conservative, anti-tax and anti-spending corners in Washington that have long sought massive cuts in the bureaucracy.

Presidents rarely cut spending, choosing freezes instead. In the meantime, federal spending has reached historic levels. Trump has picked a budget hawk, Rep. Mick Mulvaney, to head the Office of Management and Budget, a clear sign that spending cuts are a top priority.

Still, Trump is likely to face a wall of opposition from Democrats and federal unions who consider much of the federal workforce on their side.

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/b...s-20-slash-of-federal-workers/article/2612037

 

[Dozdoats]

They should ID the 20% that keep things going, and cut the rest.

 

[Lurker]

Depends where the cuts are.....

VA? Hell no.

EPA, ED, NEA, BAFTE, BLM, blah, blah, blah, yada, yada, yada.....

Please, 20% day one, 20% day two 10% day three. Have a sandwich. 30% day four. 10% day five. Done.

 

[Housecarl]

They should ID the 20% that keep things going, and cut the rest.

Considering those are the ones who know how it all works, imagine what that 20% could do in the private sector...

 

[OldArcher]

They should ID the 20% that keep things going, and cut the rest.

YES!!! Concur, 100%!

GBY&Y's

Maranatha

OldARcher

 

[vestige]

VA? Hell no.

VA has fat like every agency.

 

[Bardou]

Trump eyes 20% cut in Federal workers

That's not enough but it's a start! My dream is to see welfare cut, programs put into place to make these people get up off their ass and work. No more soda, potato chips, skittles, etc. No more rewarding women who have children just to collect more. There was a time when they were penalized for doing this kind of crap. STOP IT!

 

[Hfcomms]

VA has fat like every agency.

Yep! Trump wants to take care of the veterans but that doesn't necessarily mean throwing more money at it. Cut out the waste, fraud, abuse, bureaucracy, red tape and the turf fiefdoms and you would go a long way towards fixing the program and add that to allowing the vets to go to the doctors/hospitals of their choice and give the VA some competition.

 

[Melodi]

Carter tried this and Trump may have a better chance at it - but he will need to do it carefully or it will wind up like it did under Carter - not saving a lot of money because higher paid civil service employees who are laid off can "bump" those under them and they keep their same rates of pay.

My boss told me of one small office (again required by law to be there) where there were so many layoffs that the former manager was now the only employee answering the phones but still getting his original salary which was more than most of those laid off put together and his day consisted of mostly answering the phone.

These people get to keep their pay under the regulations; they may never get another raise or promotion until they find a federal job but there they sit - a GS 14 or 15; doing a GS 6 level job..while the others go onto the unemployment rolls (especially in rural areas where jobs are scarce).

I'm not saying don't do it, I'm saying Trump should make careful to see that the actual goal is reached; that includes not simply cutting 20 percent of all agencies he doesn't like, but then rehiring twice as many people in agencies that he does like (or wants). That also happens a lot, again the press coverage is all about the job cuts and seldom about the new hires (which are often transfers from those laid off).

 

[NC Susan]

Obama doubled the Federal Work force

If Trump cuts Federal workers 50%, it would be the level that was in place when Bush was President

 

[NC Susan]

VA has fat like every agency.

VA was top notch high tech and innovation
Then it politicized and became the la-la land of affirmative action promotions and lost sight of its true mission

Same thing happened to US Post Office

 

[vestige]

VA was top notch high tech and innovation
Then it politicized and became the la-la land of affirmative action promotions and lost sight of its true mission

v: I do believe you see the problem.^^^

Same thing happened to US Post Office

Amen.

It also volunteered to be inspected by JCAHO which it did not have to do (because it was a Federal agency) and that alone has cost it billions of dollars.

 

[Publius]

Yep trim off the exess fat or cut out some pork.

 

[OldArcher]

Yep trim off the exess fat or cut out some pork.

BOTH!!!

Both are needed, to make something that is efficient and cost effective...

GBY&Y's

Maranatha

OldARcher

 

[Lurker]

Fat, pork, mmmmm..... it's almost lunch time and I only have a salad today.

 

[jed turtle]

Trump eyes 20% cut in Federal workers

That's not enough but it's a start! My dream is to see welfare cut, programs put into place to make these people get up off their ass and work. No more soda, potato chips, skittles, etc. No more rewarding women who have children just to collect more. There was a time when they were penalized for doing this kind of crap. STOP IT!

Time to scrap the entire welfare program entirely, and re-institute the old "town poor farms".

 

[Buick Electra]

Only 20%. I'm disappointed.

 

[Doomer Doug]

Well, Trump is going to face some hard facts when he tries to "cut" the Federal Government. For one thing, the actual amount of disposable, discretionary spending isn't as much as you would think.

Assuming he leaves both Social Security and Medicare alone, can't cut the interest payments, and doesn't want to cut defense spending, he is in a bind.

The total Federal Budget was around 4.5 TRILLION dollars last year I think. Of that, Social Security is about $600 Billion, Defense, which he wants to increase, was about $600 Billion. Medicare was hundreds of billions more, and debt payment was around $500 Billion? So, he can't touch roughly 2 TRILLION of the 4.5 Trillion. In addition, actual IRS tax revenues don't cover the entire 4.5 TRILLION. I'm not sure how much the actual revenues are, but Trump has around $500 Billion to $1 Trillion he can actually play with.

I'm not saying the Federal Government can't be cut, because it can. I am saying that a lot of what the Fed does, once you get away from the core programs, like Social Security and Defense, is around $1 TRillion. The other thing is if goes to an actual budget where you only spend the actual tax revenue, that will "cut" the spending by hundreds of billions of dollars right there.

It is a good thing Trump plans to do. I am just saying the amount of potential spending cuts will come out of the smaller share of non core programs.

I would suggest massive spending cuts in Foreign Aid, the State Department, abolishing the Education, Energy and some others. However, the total amount of money there in these programs as a total amount, and as a total percentage of Federal spending isn't nearly as big.

Some one third of the total Federal budget is in three programs: Social Security, Mediare and Defense.

We shall see what happens. I would be completely satisfied if "all" Trump did was only spend the actual tax revenues that come in, eliminate the deficit.

We owe $20 TRILLION in Federal debt, plus we are going into further debt at a rate of $500 Billion per year. So, you have a two phased problem. The first is to zero out increasing the debt and then begin to pay off the total $20 Trillion.

Yep, the USA is functionally BANKRUPT. Trump needs to deal with that fact, by stopping the increase in Federal debt.

 

[Melodi]

Thanks Doug, I knew this; but I figured folks would accept it better from some else and I didn't have time to look up the actual figures which I appreciate very much that you did.

That is the real problem is that the programs like social security (where previously administrations chose to rob the money put in by the taxpayers) that really can't realistically be cut (and Trump doesn't want to) and defense (which probably can be cut but boy is he going have a time getting that one through congress) and the VA (which if anything needs more resources at least to catch up and reform) there isn't all that much left.

There looks like there is; dozens of agencies and the like but in reality they don't take nearly as big a share of the pie; the ones that tend to be better funded (aka employees that actually work are not bringing in their own pens) are also difficult to cut back on; especially for Republicans - Justice, Border Patrol, The IRS etc....now if he redoes the tax code to make it simpler, he can probably cut the IRS by quite a bit a couple of years into his term, but it take awhile for the dust to settle and things in process to be changed.

 

[BornFree]

Start with the ones that Obama is sneaking into federal positions on his way out the door.

 

[Lurker]

Well, Trump is going to face some hard facts when he tries to "cut" the Federal Government. For one thing, the actual amount of disposable, discretionary spending isn't as much as you would think.

Assuming he leaves both Social Security and Medicare alone, can't cut the interest payments, and doesn't want to cut defense spending, he is in a bind.

The total Federal Budget was around 4.5 TRILLION dollars last year I think. Of that, Social Security is about $600 Billion, Defense, which he wants to increase, was about $600 Billion. Medicare was hundreds of billions more, and debt payment was around $500 Billion? So, he can't touch roughly 2 TRILLION of the 4.5 Trillion. In addition, actual IRS tax revenues don't cover the entire 4.5 TRILLION. I'm not sure how much the actual revenues are, but Trump has around $500 Billion to $1 Trillion he can actually play with.

I'm not saying the Federal Government can't be cut, because it can. I am saying that a lot of what the Fed does, once you get away from the core programs, like Social Security and Defense, is around $1 TRillion. The other thing is if goes to an actual budget where you only spend the actual tax revenue, that will "cut" the spending by hundreds of billions of dollars right there.

It is a good thing Trump plans to do. I am just saying the amount of potential spending cuts will come out of the smaller share of non core programs.

I would suggest massive spending cuts in Foreign Aid, the State Department, abolishing the Education, Energy and some others. However, the total amount of money there in these programs as a total amount, and as a total percentage of Federal spending isn't nearly as big.

Some one third of the total Federal budget is in three programs: Social Security, Mediare and Defense.

We shall see what happens. I would be completely satisfied if "all" Trump did was only spend the actual tax revenues that come in, eliminate the deficit.

We owe $20 TRILLION in Federal debt, plus we are going into further debt at a rate of $500 Billion per year. So, you have a two phased problem. The first is to zero out increasing the debt and then begin to pay off the total $20 Trillion.

Yep, the USA is functionally BANKRUPT. Trump needs to deal with that fact, by stopping the increase in Federal debt.

Hey, what's 20(((M)))(X) among friends?

The kicker is going to be as the Fed raises rates and the interest payment goes up.

 

[Melodi]

Start with the ones that Obama is sneaking into federal positions on his way out the door.

I agree with that one!

 

[Doomer Doug]

I went into more detail in an essay I just posted on my wordpress blog. If Trump is serious, he will have to essentially eliminate all other federal spending, other than Social Security, Medicare, interest payments on the debt, and defense. The politics will be BRUTAL to put it mildly.

 

[Richard]

When I worked in a public sector organisation I reckoned that 40% did the work and the others were passengers, that was years ago.

 

[Sebastian]

Working with EPA and DOE, as I do I'd say 20% was just a start. More like 50% followed by claw backs.

 

[Doomer Doug]

I think the only real hope Trump has of actually cutting the Federal budget is to increase economic growth, generate new tax revenues and then use them to pay down the debt and zero the deficit. If he tries to increase spending, without increase in the tax revenue he will end up like Reagan did, with massive budget deficits. Trump will have to beat both Republicans and Democrats about the head with a baseball bat to make sure they don't spend any increased tax revenue, but use it to pay down the debt. Left to themselves politicians, both Republican and Democrat will use any tax increases to fund more government expansion and spending.

 

[Richard]

I think the main objective is to make the public sector truly productive, yes we need the public sector to do useful work for the public good but we don't need 50% passengers which is what we have at present.

 

[Richard]

I think the only real hope Trump has of actually cutting the Federal budget is to increase economic growth, generate new tax revenues and then use them to pay down the debt and zero the deficit. If he tries to increase spending, without increase in the tax revenue he will end up like Reagan did, with massive budget deficits. Trump will have to beat both Republicans and Democrats about the head with a baseball bat to make sure they don't spend any increased tax revenue, but use it to pay down the debt. Left to themselves politicians, both Republican and Democrat will use any tax increases to fund more government expansion and spending.

The answer is to increase Govt expenditure at the same rate of increased economic growth, but you also need to increase productivity in the public sector by increasing performance, cutting waste and increasing effectiveness of effort, these are factors driven in the private sector by competition but that does not exist in the public sector.

 

[Terrwyn]

I think SS should be cut. Way too many people that didn't pay into the system getting it.
When DH and I applied 10 years ago the office was jammed and we were the only seniors in the
place.

 

[Troke]

"...a GS 14 or 15; doing a GS 6 level job...."

You sure about that? I was involved in a "reduction-in-force" in the military to stand down from Korea. What happened there is that the GS 14's salary dropped to the top of the GS-6 if that was the post he 'bumped' into. So he was acting at the GS-6 level and got paid as such.

Where the real problem is is the 'area of competition'. Ours was just the military posts in the vicinity. Take some outfit like the Soil Cons Service that has a post in every county seat, it seems and is a State level organization. Say you whack 20% of their personnel. And they all start bumping within the State. The cost of moves would bury any savings. I think Carter found that out.

With modern computer tech, you might be able to ameliorate a little but based on my limited experience, the RIF runs automatically. There is not much flexibility in it.

 

[Vegas321]

How about cut till 20% is left? That sounds right.

It's a start.

 

[Troke]

How about cut till 20% is left? That sounds right.

It's a start.

You want to be careful. Every rural country seat has a whole bunch of well-salaried gov workers. Cut that payroll out of those small towns and you will hear about it.

 

[Sleeping Cobra]

Guess Trump is keeping "big government". Shut down these branches of Government.

 

[Michiana MaJo]

Seems like one area no one is mentioning, is cutting back (or better, yet, cutting out) the money spent on the illegal immigrants, including the Muslims that Obama has been flying in. They'd be leaving, in a hurry. I heard the astronomical figure just California spends on the illegals! This is for feeding, housing, educating and medical care. It's enormous.

 

[bev]

I hope he does some real cuts, not just in the amount of annual increase, like has happened before.