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Government
Trump eyes 10% spending cuts, 20% slash of federal workers
2017-01-18
[WASHINGTONEXAMINER] 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.
Northern Virginia would become a ghost town. And you might even be able to find a seat on a Metra train...
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.
Posted by:Fred

#12  ...heh. The military are already 'on contract'. Pass over and RIFT are SOP.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2017-01-18 21:49  

#11  No permanent employees at all. Everyone on contracts. With the possible exception of spy agencies, and the military of course.
Posted by: phil_b   2017-01-18 21:43  

#10  You can't do it all the first day or even the first year, the unemployment costs would drive the budget right over the edge!

But you can not replace those who retire or choose to depart to 'protest' the new sheriff in town. Tell people their budgets will be slashed by xx% in the next three years and let nature take its' course.

You'll need a plan to transition from massive waste to minimal waste. Hire some out-of-work progressives (cheap!) then fire them when they don't perform!
Posted by: Bobby   2017-01-18 16:40  

#9  Declare the federal gov't a 'Right to Work' organization. Declare the AFGE (federal employees union) unconstitutional and disband it immediately.

Do it properly through Congress. Pen and phone edicts are only good as long as the president who ordered them is in office.
Posted by: trailing wife   2017-01-18 15:16  

#8  As we say, a good start.
Posted by: Iblis   2017-01-18 12:57  

#7  The Donks have no problems with such cuts in DoD*, why not the others?

*given that national defense is specifically called for in the Constitution while many agencies and departments are not.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2017-01-18 08:14  

#6  "Declarethe AFGE (federal employees union) unconstitutional and disband it immediately.

Well, this started on Rantburg, let's go about the red marker more!

You guys made this!

If you do not know how to cut the US Government #budget, give US a red pen #economy
Posted by: newc   2017-01-18 06:14  

#5  Get rid of NMFS and HUD, too.

20% cuts in the public "work" force will get us back to about early to mid Bill Clinton era levels, relative to the populations size at large. It
is a nice start but we need much more.

The goal should be to get the percentage of employed that are public sector down to pre-Great Society levels, around 5-6%. In order for that to happen we need to cut 60-70% of public employees.
Posted by: no mo uro   2017-01-18 05:14  

#4  Get rid of Education, Energy and Environment departments.
Posted by: gorb   2017-01-18 03:07  

#3  Initiate an immediate Federal hiring freeze. Boomer and near-boomers are now retiring in record numbers. A 20% slash of federal workers employees should be accomplished quite easily. Some additional tips follow:

Pass a law to make 'burrowing' illegal, and make it 6 months retroactive.

Eliminate an entire federal agency by merging it's responsibilities with another.

Declare the federal gov't a 'Right to Work' organization. Declare the AFGE (federal employees union) unconstitutional and disband it immediately.
Posted by: Besoeker   2017-01-18 01:41  

#2  Just mow down the top 3 management levels at all the various agencies - Trump appointees exempt.
Posted by: CrazyFool   2017-01-18 01:18  

#1  I'd like the Center for Disease Control (CDC) specifically targetted. I'd like every single participant in "mission creep", like pretending that "disease control" includes bullshit political items like guns and the consumption of salt in the diet, to be put on notice that they're now required to demonstrate what REAL "disease control" contributions they've made to the agency. If they have none, boot them. And start high on the organization chart, and only move downward to the point where anyone is making executive decisions.
Posted by: Crusader   2017-01-18 00:44  

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