'It's sort of scary': Officials flag surprising revelations from deep State Department cuts

[Hollie]

At some point, the waste resulting from bloated government Bureauocracy has to face a reconing.

There are too many unelected bureaucrats in government.

'It's sort of scary': Officials flag surprising revelations from deep State Department cuts

Senior officials eliminate 3,000 positions in the biggest State Department reorganization since the Cold War, citing waste while critics warn of damage to U.S. diplomacy.

www.foxnews.com

Officials defend 3,000 job cuts after discovering 'mindboggling' inefficiencies, including dozens of HR offices and 50-layer approval processes.

 

[LeftofLeft]

Getting laid off sucks. The people saying the sky is falling and that the US is now more vulnerable because of bloated bureaucracy cuts are full of shit. Did these people ever factor vulnerability due to inefficiency?

 

[postman]

Getting laid off sucks. The people saying the sky is falling and that the US is now more vulnerable because of bloated bureaucracy cuts are full of shit. Did these people ever factor vulnerability due to inefficiency?

I guess you haven't called FEMA or Social Security lately.
Between AI and staffing cuts, if you have a problem, it would be faster to just mail them a letter.

 

[Lisa558]

I worked for the government for ONE year in my 20s. The fraud and abuse was so awful even then - almost 50 years ago - that I willingly took a pay cut to get out.

We had so many people nothing to do that one girl was assigned to write 1 to 1000 in a notebook, for no reason. She was bored and kept asking, so her boss got annoyed and “punished” her for wanting to be useful. That was the last time she asked for work to do.

This was the official schedule: 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Here was a tyoical day:

• As long as you got in before 9 am, you were “on time.”
• 9:00 - 9:30, get coffee and hang around the coffee room
• 9:30 - 11:30, get in a couple of hours of useless work
• 11:30, people start discussing where to go to lunch
• noon, drive to lunch and park, order, eat, drive back, park again and walk back to the office takes 2 hours
• 2 pm - 4 pm, maybe some other work that accomplishes nothing
• 4 pm, no work hapoened at this point, as people were “winding down” for the day
• 4:58 pm. Leave office

And THAT was 50 years ago! Must be much worse today.

 

[Lisa558]

I guess you haven't called FEMA or Social Security lately.
Between AI and staffing cuts, if you have a problem, it would be faster to just mail them a letter.

It was always inefficient. More warm bodies never helped when they were goofing off all day anyway.

 

[postman]

And THAT was 50 years ago! Must be much worse today.

Since it was 50 years ago. How about telling us what office it was, that was so overstaffed, and under worked?

 

[Lisa558]

Since it was 50 years ago. How about telling us what office it was, that was so overstaffed, and under worked?

I don’t want to get into specifics, but it was for the NIH.

What difference does it make where it was? It was typical of government throughout. Overstaffing galore!

 

[postman]

I don’t want to get into specifics, but it was for the NIH.

NIH is made up of 27 Institutes and Centers, each with a specific research agenda, often focusing on particular diseases or body systems.

Which office was so underworked?

 

[Lisa558]

NIH is made up of 27 Institutes and Centers, each with a specific research agenda, often focusing on particular diseases or body systems.

Which office was so underworked?

I’m not giving you any more specifics. You act surprised that a government office was underworked? They ALL were.

Most boring, useless job I ever had in my life. But it did pay better than private industry, so I took it. But after a year, I was willing to take a pay cut in order to do something useful with my education and talents.

 

[jbrownson0831]

I’m not giving you any more specifics. You act surprised that a government office was underworked? They ALL were.

Most boring, useless job I ever had in my life. But it did pay better than private industry, so I took it. But after a year, I was willing to take a pay cut in order to do something useful with my education and talents.

You are trying to explain things to a brick wall......

 

[postman]

I’m not giving you any more specifics. You act surprised that a government office was underworked? They ALL were.

You realize annecdotal evidence without specifics is meaningless.
I could tell you about the time I visited a firehouse and found 90% of them had nothing to do for the whole day I was there.
And the 10% doing something were doing busy work.

But I'm not going to go around and claim that's typical of the whole system.

 

[Darkwind]

NIH is made up of 27 Institutes and Centers, each with a specific research agenda, often focusing on particular diseases or body systems.

Which office was so underworked?

All of them.

 

[DGS49]

My experience in 5 years as a DoD employee (1975-80) was much like Lisa's above.

Few question whether Federal employment rolls are loaded with fat. The real question is whether the cuts are being made intelligently, or "with a meat ax," so to speak, lopping off the good with the bad. The worst possible plan would be to do it by seniority, which is how it was done at DoD when we had a couple of minor cuts while I was there.

 

[22lcidw]

You realize annecdotal evidence without specifics is meaningless.
I could tell you about the time I visited a firehouse and found 90% of them had nothing to do for the whole day I was there.
And the 10% doing something were doing busy work.

But I'm not going to go around and claim that's typical of the whole system.

Policing and Fire service are different than many other government positions. And in those fields, there are absolute bums employed also. In law enforcement there are men employed who can destroy people and do. Having a badge does not make you good. And if not good, it makes those who are put into the same camp. There are firemen who would not even attempt to go into a building engulfed in flames. They will make great incomes though studying and passing test moving up in rank.

 

[Independent thinker]

You realize annecdotal evidence without specifics is meaningless.
I could tell you about the time I visited a firehouse and found 90% of them had nothing to do for the whole day I was there.
And the 10% doing something were doing busy work.

But I'm not going to go around and claim that's typical of the whole system.

LOL. Everyone but you knows how bloated government jobs are. I actually have to applaud Lisa for getting out. Most people want government jobs because they are fairly well paying with government benefits, tons of days off, you don't have to do much work at all, and your job is secure because no matter how much of a **** off you are, they won't or can't fire you.

 

[Lisa558]

LOL. Everyone but you knows how bloated government jobs are. I actually have to applaud Lisa for getting out. Most people want government jobs because they are fairly well paying with government benefits, tons of days off, you don't have to do much work at all, and your job is secure because no matter how much of a **** off you are, they won't or can't fire you.

Thank you.

I was only in my early 20s, recently out of college, and I knew I had a good 40 years or so ahead of me (career-wise) and just couldn’t see myself wasting my work life in that environment. And not only was it a waste, I was actively DISCOURAGED from excelling because it made others look bad. It was a horrible work mindset.

Now I admit if I had been in my mid-50s and found myself in the same situation, I would have just stuck it out for a few years before retirement - good money, excellent benefits, and just take it easy.

But at 23? No way.

 

[Independent thinker]

Thank you.

I was only in my early 20s, recently out of college, and I knew I had a good 40 years or so ahead of me (career-wise) and just couldn’t see myself wasting my work life in that environment. And not only was it a waste, I was actively DISCOURAGED from excelling because it made others look bad. It was a horrible work mindset.

Now I admit if I had been in my mid-50s and found myself in the same situation, I would have just stuck it out for a few years before retirement - good money, excellent benefits, and just take it easy.

But at 23? No way.

Reminds me of a story I read many, many years ago. This guy was very, very high up in the postal service. When he retired he told his life's story about how he didn't do much work, and got promoted and promoted and promoted to the point where he was making like 250K per year. After retiring he said his position was totally worthless because he delegated all of his work to others where he never had to do anything, got like three months of vacation per year and those other 9 months of the year he never did a damned thing for years and years. He wanted people to know so that that position could be eliminated but admitted that he didn't want to say anything until AFTER he retired.

Yeah, the idiot brick wall you were posting with would point out that that is a story of just one person but it is common knowledge that government jobs are just as we have said, for the most part.

 

[Lisa558]

Reminds me of a story I read many, many years ago. This guy was very, very high up in the postal service. When he retired he told his life's story about how he didn't do much work, and got promoted and promoted and promoted to the point where he was making like 250K per year. After retiring he said his position was totally worthless because he delegated all of his work to others where he never had to do anything, got like three months of vacation per year and those other 9 months of the year he never did a damned thing for years and years. He wanted people to know so that that position could be eliminated but admitted that he didn't want to say anything until AFTER he retired.

Yeah, the idiot brick wall you were posting with would point out that that is a story of just one person but it is common knowledge that government jobs are just as we have said, for the most part.

Yes, it’s all over the government. Many of the leftists continue to deny it.

After I retired, someone I know who was a GS-14, step 10 (that’s around $180,000), was “working” from home 5 days a week - running errands, going on bike rides, going out with friends for long lunches, hanging out at the pool for hours, etc., etc.

Here’s the kicker: she asked me if I would like to “help her out” with her workload by signing on as a contractor because she didn’t have time to get everything done!

I also know a retired government worker who is collecting a hefty pension AND contracting back. He put his wife on as a contractor, too, as “administrative support.” Together, they are getting $500,000 a year from the government. (I know this because they bragged to me about it.)

The government employees have been running a scam for decades. The DOGE cuts are a drop in the bucket, but it’s a start.

 

[jbrownson0831]

Yes, it’s all over the government. Many of the leftists continue to deny it.

After I retired, someone I know who was a GS-14, step 10 (that’s around $180,000), was “working” from home 5 days a week - running errands, going on bike rides, going out with friends for long lunches, hanging out at the pool for hours, etc., etc.

Here’s the kicker: she asked me if I would like to “help her out” with her workload by signing on as a contractor because she didn’t have time to get everything done!

I also know a retired government worker who is collecting a hefty pension AND contracting back. He put his wife on as a contractor, too, as “administrative support.” Together, they are getting $500,000 a year from the government. (I know this because they bragged to me about it.)

The government employees have been running a scam for decades. The DOGE cuts are a drop in the bucket, but it’s a start.

...and the Dimtards whine and whine about it.....

 

[Independent thinker]

Yes, it’s all over the government. Many of the leftists continue to deny it.

After I retired, someone I know who was a GS-14, step 10 (that’s around $180,000), was “working” from home 5 days a week - running errands, going on bike rides, going out with friends for long lunches, hanging out at the pool for hours, etc., etc.

Here’s the kicker: she asked me if I would like to “help her out” with her workload by signing on as a contractor because she didn’t have time to get everything done!

I also know a retired government worker who is collecting a hefty pension AND contracting back. He put his wife on as a contractor, too, as “administrative support.” Together, they are getting $500,000 a year from the government. (I know this because they bragged to me about it.)

The government employees have been running a scam for decades. The DOGE cuts are a drop in the bucket, but it’s a start.

And to think that Democrats passed policies that government contractors had to make a "living wage". What a bogus bunch of crap that was.