How the Trump era is changing the federal bureaucracy
- Thread starter MAGA MAN
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cawacko
Well-known member
Maybe I was reading this too quickly and missed something here but this part confused me:
""By the end of September, the federal government had 1.94 million permanent workers, down nearly 16,000 overall since the beginning of the year, according to the most recent OPM data. In the first nine months of 2009, Obama’s first year in office, the government added 68,000 permanent employees, growing to 1.84 million.
The last time federal employment dropped during a president’s first year, President Bill Clinton was in the White House.
The relatively small net decrease under Trump so far masks what has been a substantial drop-off in staffing at certain agencies.""
The federal gov't dropping in size is great news but that's a pretty small percentage right there in terms of permanent employees. Is staffing at agencies different from permanent employees?
""By the end of September, the federal government had 1.94 million permanent workers, down nearly 16,000 overall since the beginning of the year, according to the most recent OPM data. In the first nine months of 2009, Obama’s first year in office, the government added 68,000 permanent employees, growing to 1.84 million.
The last time federal employment dropped during a president’s first year, President Bill Clinton was in the White House.
The relatively small net decrease under Trump so far masks what has been a substantial drop-off in staffing at certain agencies.""
The federal gov't dropping in size is great news but that's a pretty small percentage right there in terms of permanent employees. Is staffing at agencies different from permanent employees?
Tranquillus in Exile
New member
If he reduces the federal workforce by 16000 every nine months until the end of 2024, it will be down by about 8%.
FedCo workers retire after 20 years, so with a hiring freeze and only retirement as an attrition factor, the annual reduction would be 5%.
Trump put people to head agencies, whose real job is to destroy them from the inside. Trump and the Repubs are anti regulation. It costs profits to have to keep the air, land and water cleaner. They are creating a plutocracy with the wealthy able to do what they want. No rules, no regulation, no responsibility to the public. The wealthy and corporations have enormous power. The only power that can counter them, is the government regulators. They are destroying those agencies now. But we were dumb enough to believe the government is the problem, not the wealthy and not corporations. We are stupid to buy that. But lots of people on this board are that dumb.
The wealthy love you and want you to be rich and happy. You people actually believe that. Look at what they are doing.
The wealthy love you and want you to be rich and happy. You people actually believe that. Look at what they are doing.
You should have stopped here. Yes, we want these bloated agencies destroyed, broken down and forced to become efficient, effective and beholden to the taxpayer. But most important is your last sentence. I worked in the environmental field for decades and not once did I see a site get cleaned up without the money available from profits.
What some call an end to regulation others view as limiting consumer protectionism, it is an exaggeration, but the Martin Shkrelis of the world are happy
cawacko
Well-known member
Gotta love this mindset. Any rollback or reduction in regulations somehow means people want no regulations or rules at all. And you and Rana are calling others dumb?
Tranquillus in Exile
New member
I take it this policy hasn't been implemented yet, because the reduction so far this year is less than 1%.
Define bloated. Of course you don't know that, but that is a righty label. Did you see who polluted? Was it the government or the company? Why should tax payers fix corporate pollution. Corporate profits are at all time highs. They are committing environmental crimes for money.
To me bloated means that the agency spends more time pushing paper than making waves. Some of the most polluted sites are FedCo sites. They are also the ones where the least clean-up progress has been made.
Inertia.
The Sage of Main Street
Verified User
Restricting Is Hoarding
Something as silly and job-destroying as the Endangered (=Unfit) Species Act discredits all Environmentalists. Nature cannot be treated as if it were supernatural. The spoiled and pushy fanatics who have taken over the environment have the mindset of unevolved superstitious savages; that is, they have no minds at all.
You don't know what a mind set is. I defend agencies, because they defend me from the incredible power of the wealthy and corporations. Yeah, we don't need this stuff done. https://www.epa.gov/cleanups/basic-information-about-cleanups We all know corporations would do it far better on a voluntary basis, don't we?
The federal workforce was reduced by 350,000 under Bill Clinton and I heard no complaints the federal government was not performing all its functions.
If corporations and the wealthy control everything doesn't that mean they control the federal government for their own advantage?
So many regulations do not regulate anything but are merely paperwork. There are over 1,000 reports to Congress every year members of Congress decided they wanted which serve no purpose. I get letters with required separate pieces of paper saying the agency "complies with federal civil rights laws" and complies with the "reduction in paperwork act."
If corporations and the wealthy control everything doesn't that mean they control the federal government for their own advantage?
So many regulations do not regulate anything but are merely paperwork. There are over 1,000 reports to Congress every year members of Congress decided they wanted which serve no purpose. I get letters with required separate pieces of paper saying the agency "complies with federal civil rights laws" and complies with the "reduction in paperwork act."
They are responding to goofy ass right wing rules. Keep them busy with paperwork and they wont regulate. However there are legal ramifications involved in cleanups. When non compliance is found, the corporation does not just do it, but they sue to escape from doing it. They have to be forced to comply. Yeah, paperwork exists in and out of politics.
cawacko
Well-known member
Keep them busy with paperwork and they won't regulate? That's a contradictory statement. What do you think regulation is?
Those unnecessary reports come from both sides. If a member of Congress represents an area with a lot of (Armenians, Greeks, gays, name any group) they will require a report about the numbers of that group who are unemployed, federal employees above a certain level, getting federal educational grants, or numerous other matters. They may have to reprogram computers to access that data and the member of Congress has since left office and nobody cares or looks at the report.
Some regulations are counter-productive. I live around a lot of plants that may find if they install a certain inexpensive piece of equipment it will reduce pollution. However, that particular installation might get classified as "major" which means they have to update the entire plant at great cost. So the plant chooses not install the equipment.
Rather than protecting consumers against corporations many regulations protect corporations from competition. The classic case was when the meatpacking industry was criticized for its conditions and a move began to require certain standards. The largest companies jumped on the bandwagon for the toughest standards possible because they knew the smaller companies could not afford it.
I always thought the biggest irony is the federal mail which has a separate piece of paper included saying it is complying with the "reduction in paperwork act."
Speaking of regulation--if we choose not to enforce federal marijuana laws we need to repeal that law and not depend on the whims of the president or AG at that time; especially with different policies in states with legal marijuana and those where it is still illegal.
I know exactly what a mind set is because I worked in the industry, first as a regulator, then as a consultant obtaining permits, then as a contractor operating under those permits, then as a consultant cleaning up fuel spills. Regulators mostly just get in the way. My clients, the local legislators and the general public provided much more of an incentive to get the work done without problems.