Dep. Of Government Efficiency (DOGE)

[avromie7]

FWIW I know multiple federal employees who hold other jobs, and I don't know that many federal employees...

They hold 2 full-time jobs?

[aishel]

I'm in Maryland, which is home to the Social Security Administration, as well as the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. That and the fact that we're so close to DC, there are tons of federal employees in this area, and yes, many of them do hold side jobs. Definitely not all of them, but I know many that might have a store in their home to sell clothing in the evenings, lawyers who offer other services for the community, people who sell real estate, etc. It definitely exists, though it doesn't mean they're not productive in their own job though.

[zh cohen]

yes, many of them do hold side jobs. Definitely not all of them, but I know many that might have a store in their home to sell clothing in the evenings, lawyers who offer other services for the community, people who sell real estate, etc. It definitely exists, though it doesn't mean they're not productive in their own job though.

He isn't talking about people who have a side job. He is claiming that there are people who are are working a full-time job during the hours that they are supposed to be working for their government job.

[shapsam]

He isn't talking about people who have a side job. He is claiming that there are people who are are working a full-time job during the hours that they are supposed to be working for their government job.

That's not what he said, he wrote "many hold other jobs"

Either way, why do you assume most of these side jobs are not at least partially during the time they're supposed to be working for the gov job?

[skyguy918]

That's not what he said, he wrote "many hold other jobs"

Either way, why do you assume most of these side jobs are not at least partially during the time they're supposed to be working for the gov job?

How about if the guy in the tweet making the claim provides proof. Absent that, we can assume whatever we want to.

[gubevo18]

How about if the guy in the tweet making the claim provides proof. Absent that, we can assume whatever we want to.

to clarify. Yes at least two of the ppl I know have side jobs that would otherwise be close to a full time job for anyone else

[skyguy918]

to clarify. Yes at least two of the ppl I know have side jobs that would otherwise be close to a full time job for anyone else

Does anything about their employment agreement prevent that? Are they not doing the govt jobs they were hired to do properly?

Even if the answer for your particular friend group is yes to either, that doesn't speak to the wider (ie in the millions) population of federal employees. That's what we call an anecdote. If anything it would speak to the friends you keep.

[yuneeq]

Does anything about their employment agreement prevent that? Are they not doing the govt jobs they were hired to do properly?

Even if the answer for your particular friend group is yes to either, that doesn't speak to the wider (ie in the millions) population of federal employees. That's what we call an anecdote. If anything it would speak to the friends you keep.

Do you have any proof of even a single government agency that is run efficiently, if only from a labor perspective? Hell, I’ll even accept anecdotal evidence.

[etech0]

Do you have any proof of even a single government agency that is run efficiently, if only from a labor perspective? Hell, I’ll even accept anecdotal evidence.

How about the reverse?

[mevinyavin]

I wrote a sharply worded letter against this WaPo op-ed:

WaPo just contacted me saying they were considering publishing it. They added a few sources to the point I was making (and also a typo), then asked if I was okay with it. We'll see...

[Eliyohu]

FWIW I know multiple federal employees who hold other jobs, and I don't know that many federal employees...

They hold 2 full-time jobs?

There's running jokes in Baltimore about the Kollelim in different Govt agencies.

(A very high percentage of the frum community there have government jobs)

[skyguy918]

Do you have any proof of even a single government agency that is run efficiently, if only from a labor perspective? Hell, I’ll even accept anecdotal evidence.

Straw man if there ever was one. I haven't made any claims that I should have to bring evidence for. I simply pointed out that the tweeter provided no source to the statistics quoted, was community noted seemingly with evidence contradicting the tweet's statistics, and that there's an additional leap between the WFH and wasteful labor costs that needs its own evidence as well.

None of that means I think federal labor costs are optimized. None of that means I'm against actually optimizing via layoffs or cutting salaries. But WFH is not a magic indicator for that. You have to actually look at each position and see if it's needed, is the employee actually filling the need, is the salary too high, etc.

[avromie7]

WaPo just contacted me saying they were considering publishing it. They added a few sources to the point I was making (and also a typo), then asked if I was okay with it. We'll see...

Can you post it here?

[mevinyavin]

Can you post it here?

Only after it prints (it is against the terms otherwise). They just now said it will run Tuesday - long enough for everyone to have completely forgotten about it...

[shapsam]

https://twitter.com/BehizyTweets/status/1859364239229821022

[EliJelly]

https://twitter.com/BehizyTweets/status/1859364239229821022

I hope Elon will do more talking than Vivek.

[Parker]

I hope Elon will do more talking than Vivek.

Highly doubt it, as Elon is not so great with words while Vivek is. Regardless whether you like what he says or not.

[EliJelly]

Highly doubt it, as Elon is not so great with words while Vivek is. Regardless whether you like what he says or not.

I should say I wish.

as Elon is not so great with words while Vivek is.

אעפ״כ

[yuneeq]

How about the reverse?

Straw man if there ever was one. I haven't made any claims that I should have to bring evidence for. I simply pointed out that the tweeter provided no source to the statistics quoted, was community noted seemingly with evidence contradicting the tweet's statistics, and that there's an additional leap between the WFH and wasteful labor costs that needs its own evidence as well.

None of that means I think federal labor costs are optimized. None of that means I'm against actually optimizing via layoffs or cutting salaries. But WFH is not a magic indicator for that. You have to actually look at each position and see if it's needed, is the employee actually filling the need, is the salary too high, etc.

I get you, but you were insinuating that it’s hard to believe that his friends are not unique based on the anecdotal evidence. But the fact is proven in every single audit that there is monumental waste in govt, and there’s studies showing massive inefficiency in WFH in the private sector. Combining a WFH with a govt job leads to obvious conclusions that there are great savings to be had just from a labor perspective.

And while not every WFH is a waste, by removing WFH they they can greatly increase churn rate for cheap which will overwhelmingly be positive even if some good employees are gone.

[mevinyavin]

And the news is full of hating on this idea (what else is new).
I wrote a sharply worded letter against this WaPo op-ed:



Guy misportrays Musk's goals and then makes fun of them. Musk is saying that all areas of government can spend less and achieve the same results, but this guy completely misunderstands...

Wapo letters yesterday. But they added the quotation marks without my permission.