The case for draining the swamp is stronger than ever

The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author.

The latest official employment report finds once again that the federal government and state-local hiring supply is still going strong. Over the past year, healthcare and government hiring has outpaced all private sector industries. It's not just the IRS that is attracting thousands of new workers. Swelling is everywhere.

So although there are many more government workers, good luck finding them or calling them on the phone.

This is because very few of them are actually at work.

What's going on in the federal government (“Club Fed”) these days borders on the absurd, or should I say the obscene. A recent Federal News Network survey of federal workers finds that only 6 percent work full-time in the office. Thirty percent are full-time remote. Washington office buildings have become city block zombies. Especially on Fridays.

While exact comparisons between public and private employees are complicated and imprecise, best estimates are that by 2023, approximately 30% of private workers worked from home or remotely, some or all of the time. In the private sector, the percentage of employees working from home has decreased by approximately 50% during the COVID-19 pandemic.

That means federal employees are three times more likely to work remotely some or all of the time, according to FNN.

Full time remote

— Federal government: 30%

— Private workers: 12%

Full-time or hybrid command

— Federal government: 94%

— Individual workers: 30%

I'm all for employees who work remotely a few days a week. I do it myself, and it's likely to be more common in the information and digital age.

But one must ask how many of these workers are really needed. And how many of these remote government workers, who can almost never be fired for poor performance, are putting in an honest day's work? My suspicion is very little.

The irony is that three years ago the federal government issued an order for federal employees to go back to work after COVID-19. Many thousands of people have blatantly ignored the order.

Remember that government workers have some of the most comfortable and least stressful jobs on the planet. And they are paid roughly 30% to 40% more than comparably qualified private workers, when exorbitant benefits are factored in.

Here's my solution: Uncle Sam loses almost $2 trillion a year. STOP HIRING NEW PEOPLE. All federal agencies, including the world's largest bureaucracy, the Pentagon, should impose a hiring freeze, except in extraordinary circumstances, until the budget is balanced. Then impose, in a generalized way, a reduction of 30% of the validity.

Finally, if the government needs more revenue, start by selling federal buildings that are less than half occupied. Many buildings are less than 20% occupied.

Former President Donald Trump's most popular rallying cry in 2016 was “drain the swamp.” But today the swamp is deeper than ever, and the creatures of the deep state swamp are even more numerous after four years of Biden-Harris. If Trump wins, he and the Republicans should burn out.

Stephen Moore is a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation and a senior economic adviser to Donald Trump. His latest book is: “Govzilla: How the Relentless Growth of Government Is Eating Our Economy.”

Stephen Moore is a journalist, author, and economics columnist who served as a senior economics writer on the Wall Street Journal's editorial page and as a member of the Journal's editorial board.

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