Trump Revives Republican Plan to Reduce Federal Workforce - Essay Sample

Introduction

In his speech, Donald Trump revived the plan of the Republican Party of reducing the federal workforce. The part of the plan is to replace only a portion of the workers as they retire. The aim would be to use the money to cater for increased spending in the military, as well as to maintain the federal budget size (Verkuil, 2016). The Trump administration also aimed at raising money through elimination of waste, collection of unpaid taxes, and prevent improper payments of taxes. However, notwithstanding the political rhetoric on the dangers brought forth by bureaucracy, the goals of ensuring a decreased federal workforce, and preventing mismanagement by the government are contradictory.

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When the government size is reduced by not replacing the workers who retire, it would be challenging to accomplish cost-saving goals since the professionals who can bring the savings will not be available. An increase in the number of professionals improves the performance of the government and makes it easy to save money (Verkuil, 2016). An area that will realize a boost when more professionals are added is the Internal Revenue Service. These professionals can act as agents who collect taxes owed to the government and come up with the relevant audit reports. For long periods, the I.R.S has relied on the voluntary compliance of the taxpayers, which tends to be waning hence lowering the rate of audits.

Additionally, as Trump proposes to stop improper payments, an increase in the number of I.R.S agents will aid the process. There is also the case of individuals who hack into the accounts of taxpayers and divert their refunds thereby making life difficult for the staff members as they are unable to deal with the perpetrators. As such, employing more cybersecurity professionals will help in the identification of fraudulent acts and incorporate suitable techniques to curb such fraud (Verkuil, 2016).

Concisely, the U.S government holds onto the misconception that its bureaucracy is growing out of control, which in reality is not the case. Such cases arise because there has been a dramatic shrink in the civil service sector since the administration of President Kennedy (Verkuil, 2016). The federal agenda missions have also become complicated due to the new agencies that come into force, and the substantial increase in the gross domestic product. Since the federal positions are few, the agencies had no option but to add contractors as their staff. The contractors are more costly as compared to government counterparts.

Moreover, they work under thin federal scrutiny and minimal management. Both constitutional and management concerns arise when contractors are employed. The governing regulations deem their tasks as inherent functions of the government. In essence, such tasks do not require outsourcing, which may lead to inefficiencies. An example would be the case where contractors are used in the Air Force to work as drone pilots. They would only be allowed to line up targets but cannot press the mechanism for firing hence depicting it as a function of the government. Theoretically, a government employee should complete the required task without the involvement of another person (Verkuil, 2016).

The American bureaucracy is dreaded, and a range of stories surround it. As such, the idea to maintain or increase the bureaucracy is quixotic. Therefore, the government should incorporate reforms in the civil service sector to facilitate the hiring of qualified individuals who will run any complex government missions. An increase in the number of professionals will create a better government as it becomes easy to find funds needed for various activities.

Reference

Verkuil, P. R. (2016, October 03). The Case for Bureaucracy. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/03/opinion/the-case-for-bureaucracy.html