Unfortunately, the disposition of society has become increasingly binary, creating a predominantly zero-sum dialogue. Pick an issue, then pick a side, and hold the line at all costs. That is the template for most discourse. Now federal employees have become as polarizing an issue as any.
As a recently laid-off federal employee in San Diego, it has been a tumultuous three months. Uncertainty, trepidation and self-doubt have weighed heavily. “DOGE” became the mother-of-all four letter words. Simply put, it’s been a trying time for federal employees, and some tact, respect and comion are in order.
That said, a federal employee is not the only hat I wear/wore, nor the most important. I’m a veteran, taxpayer, husband and father to a 10-month-old whose per-capita share of the national debt currently stands at $108,000. So efforts to decrease my son’s future balance-due are a conversation I am all for. But having that fruitful conversation is extraordinarily difficult, if not impossible, because of misguided all-or-nothing mindsets.
With federal employees, the mindsets are:
— Federal civil servants, while perhaps well-intentioned, are largely a semi-productive cohort who fancy themselves as beneficial employees, at best; at worst, they are collectively a massive source of waste, fraud and abuse in our government squandering tax dollars, disgracing hardworking Americans, and serving as a beacon of inefficiency and ineffectiveness. Regardless of best or worst case, a complete and systemic flush-out of the system is required. There is simply no other way to achieve the economic and bureaucratic cleansing that is necessary. The bad combatants are thoroughly destroyed, and the miniscule amount of government employees who perhaps did render some value to the taxpayer are collateral damage who should land on their feet in the private sector. That’s a small price to pay for the immense good that will come. Fiscal sanity and operational efficiency will be restored. The trajectory of our government and democracy will be propelled upward.
— Federal employees are tireless civil servants who forgo large bonuses, private sector liberties and rewarding self-images in lieu of steady, safe employment and inoculation from economic headwinds, especially negative ones. Compensation is palatable, and the benefits are reassuring. It is a natural haven for veterans, minorities, and people with disabilities to find meaningful employment, and this should not be disrupted. It is a place where people may not make a name for themselves but will have the peace of mind of knowing their W-2 will always be there. The federal payroll is but a fraction of the national debt, and the number of good actors in the federal civilian workforce outweigh the bad actors by 1,000 to 1, at least. The government operates with as much efficiency as the private sector when ing for the number of rules and regulations. Many government roles are unique and indispensable. The government is not a business; it provides services to the American people, not profits to shareholders. It is an entirely different animal; in fact, it is its own animal and should be treated as such.
Well, both of these mindsets are right, and both are wrong. Given my experience, I’m uniquely qualified to submit that analysis. Each of those perspectives absolutely contain portions of validity. But because the tone and temperament of each vantage point is so unyielding, coupled with misleading, exaggerative and/or incendiary rhetoric, no legitimacy will be recognized; no stipulation will be built upon; no progress will be made.
Let’s lower the temperature and apply some civility and logic; let’s stop clinging to one-off, outlier examples that distort the true picture; and most importantly, let’s acknowledge that we can (and should) achieve taxpayer savings without erroneously demonizing hardworking, successful civil servants.
The federal government is like America’s tree, the oak tree, which is fittingly patriotic. Oak trees are massive specimens that provide and protection for entire ecosystems. When the tree has dead, damaged or diseased limbs, they need to be removed strategically, promptly and precisely, to ensure the tree grows strong and healthy. If healthy limbs are unnecessarily removed or the tree is too haphazardly pruned, we risk losing the entire tree and all its benefits.
McCaffrey is a veteran and former civil servant with the General Services istration’s Public Buildings Service. He lives in Fallbrook.
