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Does anyone think that X does anything useful for society now — after Musk drove out most of the original staff?
A new memo offering “deferred resignation” to all federal employees seems to be taking its strategy from Musk’s chaotic Twitter takeover.
Inc.com — Jan 29, 2025
[...]
Even if it works to achieve some cost-cutting to support Musk’s goals, the idea of slashing federal staff attacks one key principle of civil service. As an article from the National Conference of State Legislatures, a nongovernmental organization for members and staff of U.S. state legislatures, put it in 2023, civil servants are “the Guardians of Process.” They are people with expertise who are supposed to ensure government mechanisms roll on despite who’s holding power at the time. Removing huge numbers of these knowledgeable staff all at once could result in chaos in government offices much like that seen at Twitter.
[...]
Senator Tim Kaine did not mince words as he urged federal employees to ignore the offer. “Don’t be fooled,” the Virginia Democrat, whose state has the one of the greatest concentrations of federal employees in the country, said Tuesday. “He’s tricked hundreds of people with that offer. If you accept that offer and resign, he’ll stiff you just like he stiffed the contractors. He doesn’t have any authority to do this.”
Shaun Southworth, a Washington lawyer who represents many federal employees, offered a more detailed rundown of the risks of accepting the administration’s Musk-sounding offer.
“You could be giving up federal job protections and retirement eligibility, potentially for nothing, if the program’s details fall through or get challenged,” he noted in his TikTok post. “You might lose your shot to fight back.”
[...]
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The main way to stop Authoritarians — is NOT to comply with their illegal demands.
Fight back. Stand your ground. Demand your rights.
RESIST!
Just say No! As in Hell No.
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More details on the “mass-firing” email, blasted out to ALL Federal Employees, can be found here (including the key sections of the actual email).
It is the exact opposite of a “targeted downsizing” — it’s the X-ification of Public Service.
… It is the demolition of “the Guardians of Process.”
The wholesale dismantling of Agencies — established by Congress.
Can’t wait to see what they “Fix” next … eh?
It will result in a huge brain-drain, and a critical loss of Institutional memory and expertise.
And Grover Norquist would finally get his dream:
My goal is to cut government in half in twenty-five years, to get it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub.
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