LETTER: Those empty federal office buildings
Debra J. Saunders’ Sunday column on remote work was very telling regarding the excessive bloat in our federal bureaucracy. Our feckless president set the example for the other redundant agencies by being MIA 40 percent of the time, vacationing or who knows what during his tenure. So the contagion of the “work from home” attitude contributed to the “trickle down” effect, (Ms. Saunders’ words), causing Washington, D.C., government offices to be mostly empty.
The pandemic has long since ended but the workforce is acting as if it’s still lurking out there, ready to pounce on the vulnerable. Everyone knows that’s not the case but the thinking, I guess, is: What’s good for the commander-in-chief is good for them. Maybe they hope they will stay out of sight and hope the cushy stay-at-home jobs fly under the radar.
But there’s a new sheriff coming to town in January who will demand accountability and visibility. The party will be over as Donald Trump and his Department of Government Efficiency will mandate that those employees physically show up to work. And the dirty little secret will be exposed that they were never needed in the first place.