1 00:00:00,720 --> 00:00:02,880 Speaker 1: Fo Night. Michael Brown joins me here, the former FEMA 2 00:00:02,920 --> 00:00:03,640 Speaker 1: director of talk. 3 00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:06,360 Speaker 2: Show host Michael Brown. Brownie, no, Brownie, You're doing a 4 00:00:06,360 --> 00:00:10,360 Speaker 2: heck of a job The Weekend with Michael Brown broadcasting 5 00:00:10,400 --> 00:00:11,600 Speaker 2: life from Denver, Colorado. 6 00:00:11,640 --> 00:00:13,560 Speaker 1: You've joined the Weekend with Michael Brown. I'm glad to 7 00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:16,080 Speaker 1: have you joining the program today. A couple of rules 8 00:00:16,079 --> 00:00:18,119 Speaker 1: of engagement. If you want to tell me anything or 9 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:21,080 Speaker 1: ask me anything, tm A or AMA. The text line 10 00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:24,160 Speaker 1: numbers three three one zero three three three one zero three, 11 00:00:24,239 --> 00:00:27,440 Speaker 1: keyword micro Michael, go follow me on X at Michael 12 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:30,920 Speaker 1: Brown USA. Let's get started. Along with what I just 13 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:36,440 Speaker 1: said in the last hour about disparity and about we 14 00:00:36,520 --> 00:00:40,199 Speaker 1: tend to focus on the wrong things. I want to 15 00:00:40,200 --> 00:00:42,760 Speaker 1: give a broad overview now. This this is part I 16 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:46,680 Speaker 1: did this earlier this week on the local program, so 17 00:00:47,159 --> 00:00:49,519 Speaker 1: it may sound a little familiar to you, although I'm 18 00:00:49,520 --> 00:00:52,360 Speaker 1: going to I've fine tuned my notes a little bit 19 00:00:52,640 --> 00:00:55,360 Speaker 1: and added some things and taking some things away. But 20 00:00:55,440 --> 00:00:58,160 Speaker 1: I want to talk about what the government shut down 21 00:00:59,120 --> 00:01:03,520 Speaker 1: taught us. I would say the first thing that we 22 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:07,360 Speaker 1: ought to learn is it cost us a lot of money. Now, 23 00:01:07,560 --> 00:01:10,559 Speaker 1: what do you mean money, Michael? The government shut down 24 00:01:10,680 --> 00:01:16,160 Speaker 1: and people weren't getting paid. It cost us in productivity. 25 00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:19,800 Speaker 1: The most easy, the easiest thing to notice would be 26 00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:26,319 Speaker 1: the cutback in airlines, the cut back in flights that 27 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:29,920 Speaker 1: has such a ripple effect through the economy that it's 28 00:01:29,959 --> 00:01:34,760 Speaker 1: it's freaking unbelievable to me that the Democrats would go 29 00:01:35,080 --> 00:01:38,880 Speaker 1: so long that it got to the point where with 30 00:01:39,880 --> 00:01:42,720 Speaker 1: and look, my wife at one time thought, when she 31 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:47,600 Speaker 1: was in high school, because her dad flew a private 32 00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:49,960 Speaker 1: plane and she learned to be a pilot while she 33 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:51,920 Speaker 1: was in high school, that she always thought she wanted 34 00:01:51,960 --> 00:01:55,840 Speaker 1: to be an air traffic controller. And since we lived 35 00:01:55,880 --> 00:01:57,640 Speaker 1: in Oklahoma, she thought, oh, I can I can go 36 00:01:57,760 --> 00:02:01,639 Speaker 1: to the air traffic to the FAA he's training center 37 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:05,160 Speaker 1: in Oklahoma City. And she studied it and really thought 38 00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:07,720 Speaker 1: about it, and then decided, Eh, I don't think I 39 00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:15,359 Speaker 1: want that job because the pressure is absolutely tremendous. I 40 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:19,359 Speaker 1: would I would equate. I'm not a pediatric neurologist and 41 00:02:19,639 --> 00:02:22,080 Speaker 1: don't even pretend to be one. But I have a 42 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:24,440 Speaker 1: friend I went to high school with who is a 43 00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:31,920 Speaker 1: pediatric neurologist. He's sent retired. He's since retired because well, 44 00:02:32,040 --> 00:02:34,840 Speaker 1: you operate those little baby brains for so long, and 45 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:39,120 Speaker 1: it's so intense that you wear out pretty quickly. I 46 00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:42,200 Speaker 1: compare the two to be the same, and both of 47 00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:44,720 Speaker 1: them wised up. They were I think tamor bit of 48 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:48,280 Speaker 1: wonderful air traffic controller. She's meticulous, she's got a little 49 00:02:48,280 --> 00:02:50,960 Speaker 1: bit of OCD in her two, so she's gonna be very, 50 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:55,640 Speaker 1: very careful. But when she looked at the intensity of it. Now, 51 00:02:55,720 --> 00:02:58,400 Speaker 1: maybe in a small airport, maybe not quite as bad, 52 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:01,920 Speaker 1: but it's only not quite as bad simply because you 53 00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:06,600 Speaker 1: might have fewer flights. But still, even that five flights 54 00:03:06,639 --> 00:03:10,000 Speaker 1: a day are incredibly important because there's you know how 55 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:12,919 Speaker 1: many sola five hundred souls or more on board those 56 00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:15,880 Speaker 1: five different airplanes, and you got to make sure that 57 00:03:16,480 --> 00:03:19,519 Speaker 1: they don't run into each other. Can you imagine if 58 00:03:20,280 --> 00:03:26,120 Speaker 1: Elon Musk actually invents the flying car, Yeah, get out 59 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:29,160 Speaker 1: of my way, don't cut off in front of me. 60 00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:31,560 Speaker 1: Instead of road rage, will have air rage. Oh, I 61 00:03:31,600 --> 00:03:34,600 Speaker 1: can't wait for that. That'll be fun, won't it. But 62 00:03:34,639 --> 00:03:37,880 Speaker 1: when you have to slow down the flow of air 63 00:03:37,920 --> 00:03:44,920 Speaker 1: traffic between airports, that means that maybe some really important 64 00:03:44,920 --> 00:03:49,280 Speaker 1: meetings or some deals got postponed, Some transactions didn't take place. 65 00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:53,760 Speaker 1: It means that not as many pilots earned as much money, 66 00:03:54,480 --> 00:03:57,680 Speaker 1: not as many people went on vacation or got delayed, 67 00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:01,000 Speaker 1: and they had to spend extra money on a hotel room, 68 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:02,200 Speaker 1: and they didn't get to spend the money they were 69 00:04:02,240 --> 00:04:04,680 Speaker 1: going to spend, you know, on on their vacation to 70 00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:08,320 Speaker 1: Aspen or wherever. I don't know, but it ripples through 71 00:04:08,320 --> 00:04:11,720 Speaker 1: the economy. And what we don't realize is when we 72 00:04:11,920 --> 00:04:16,440 Speaker 1: get the GDP numbers if we do, because the governments 73 00:04:16,440 --> 00:04:18,520 Speaker 1: has been shut down, so those numbers are going to 74 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:21,520 Speaker 1: be sketchy at best for the fourth quarter. But even 75 00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:25,160 Speaker 1: when we do get some numbers, I'll bet you that 76 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:28,640 Speaker 1: our GDP, which would have been somewhere maybe between three 77 00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:31,279 Speaker 1: and four percent, isn't going to be that high. So 78 00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:34,760 Speaker 1: there was a loss to our gross domestic product. There 79 00:04:34,839 --> 00:04:39,120 Speaker 1: was a loss to the economy, but it's beyond that too. 80 00:04:39,800 --> 00:04:45,960 Speaker 1: We also learned, oh wait a minute, the longest government 81 00:04:46,040 --> 00:04:49,800 Speaker 1: shut down in US history, and how many of us 82 00:04:49,839 --> 00:04:55,360 Speaker 1: really missed anything? What did you miss? Serious question if 83 00:04:55,360 --> 00:04:58,120 Speaker 1: there's and I'm not looking for smart ass answers, I'm 84 00:04:58,120 --> 00:05:01,640 Speaker 1: looking for serious answers, which good luck on that right 85 00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:08,800 Speaker 1: if you truly missed something for I'll give you an example. 86 00:05:09,320 --> 00:05:12,039 Speaker 1: You had just turned sixty five, sixty seven, whatever the 87 00:05:12,080 --> 00:05:16,200 Speaker 1: age is for to start taking Social Security, and you 88 00:05:16,279 --> 00:05:20,960 Speaker 1: couldn't get an appointment, or you couldn't get something done. 89 00:05:21,800 --> 00:05:25,400 Speaker 1: You had a permit, let's say, some federal permit that 90 00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:27,520 Speaker 1: you needed to get and you couldn't get that done. 91 00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:30,000 Speaker 1: I'd like to hear some examples three three, one zero 92 00:05:30,040 --> 00:05:34,200 Speaker 1: three keyword Mike or Michael. But there was also things 93 00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:38,920 Speaker 1: that maybe didn't get done in the government. But from 94 00:05:39,080 --> 00:05:43,839 Speaker 1: my perspective, again, your mileage may vary. I didn't miss anything. 95 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:49,760 Speaker 1: The planes did fly, albeit not as many. My mail 96 00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:53,240 Speaker 1: showed up, the same book mail that I tend to 97 00:05:53,279 --> 00:06:00,840 Speaker 1: just throw away that showed up. We seem to survived. Now. 98 00:06:00,880 --> 00:06:04,240 Speaker 1: I know that if you're a federal worker that you 99 00:06:04,279 --> 00:06:09,080 Speaker 1: were really upset and worried because well, your paycheck didn't 100 00:06:09,080 --> 00:06:12,719 Speaker 1: come through. You may have gotten a deposit notice, but 101 00:06:12,760 --> 00:06:19,120 Speaker 1: it was zero point zero zero. The bad the good 102 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:21,839 Speaker 1: news for you, The bad news for the rest of 103 00:06:21,920 --> 00:06:26,800 Speaker 1: us is you're not like the private sector, because if 104 00:06:26,839 --> 00:06:30,320 Speaker 1: we get riffed, oh there might be a little tiny severance, 105 00:06:30,400 --> 00:06:32,919 Speaker 1: or there might be a little tiny you know something, 106 00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:36,320 Speaker 1: but you just don't get paid until they call you back, 107 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:40,040 Speaker 1: so you got to go do something else. You as 108 00:06:40,080 --> 00:06:42,120 Speaker 1: a federal work on the other hand, are going to 109 00:06:42,160 --> 00:06:45,000 Speaker 1: get your back pay. Yes, you're going to get your 110 00:06:45,040 --> 00:06:48,400 Speaker 1: back pay. See, there's a huge difference between the public 111 00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:50,960 Speaker 1: sector and the private sector. But I what you think 112 00:06:50,960 --> 00:06:57,200 Speaker 1: about it in terms of this, what does it mean 113 00:06:58,279 --> 00:07:03,440 Speaker 1: when and these numbers are variable? What does it mean 114 00:07:03,480 --> 00:07:08,000 Speaker 1: when you have six hundred seventy thousand workers that get furloughed, 115 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:14,360 Speaker 1: but another seven hundred and thirty thousand operate the essential 116 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:18,360 Speaker 1: part of the government, and so we don't really miss anything. 117 00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:23,360 Speaker 1: What are we paying for? What are we paying for? 118 00:07:24,320 --> 00:07:27,760 Speaker 1: Six hundred seventy thousand almost three quarters of a million 119 00:07:27,800 --> 00:07:31,880 Speaker 1: workers get furloughed, and in so far as my life 120 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:35,360 Speaker 1: is concerned, I didn't miss a beat. So one of 121 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:38,680 Speaker 1: my Michael and I were talking to me to break 122 00:07:38,680 --> 00:07:40,680 Speaker 1: about how much I pay intact, well not how much, 123 00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:44,160 Speaker 1: but just the amount of taxes that I pay every 124 00:07:44,200 --> 00:07:47,880 Speaker 1: year is just obscene. And I'm sure compared to you 125 00:07:49,360 --> 00:07:51,240 Speaker 1: it may not be obscene at all, because maybe you 126 00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:53,680 Speaker 1: pay ten times what I do, or maybe you pay 127 00:07:53,720 --> 00:07:57,280 Speaker 1: half what I do, But what are we paying for? 128 00:07:57,880 --> 00:08:01,520 Speaker 1: Ask yourself? What are we paying for? And then I 129 00:08:01,600 --> 00:08:06,760 Speaker 1: kept hearing this term non essential. Wait a minute, no essential, 130 00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:12,520 Speaker 1: that's not a political label, that is an actual government classification. 131 00:08:13,840 --> 00:08:19,880 Speaker 1: So every department, agent, the department and agency, their personnel office, 132 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:25,360 Speaker 1: their chief personnel officer has to decide who's essential, who's 133 00:08:25,360 --> 00:08:29,520 Speaker 1: non essential, what can we get rid of, who can 134 00:08:29,560 --> 00:08:31,840 Speaker 1: we send home without pay? And who do we have 135 00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:36,320 Speaker 1: to keep. Well, we obviously kept air traffic controllers, we 136 00:08:36,400 --> 00:08:39,600 Speaker 1: kept the border patrol, and we kept military personnel working. 137 00:08:40,120 --> 00:08:42,439 Speaker 1: Although my understanding is the military deal a lot of 138 00:08:42,480 --> 00:08:47,679 Speaker 1: these people kept working, but because they were essential, so 139 00:08:47,840 --> 00:08:52,080 Speaker 1: they kept working but without pay, albeit they knew they 140 00:08:52,120 --> 00:08:56,080 Speaker 1: would get paid eventually. So all the other government crap 141 00:08:56,120 --> 00:08:59,160 Speaker 1: that goes on, you know, all of the paper pushing, 142 00:08:59,240 --> 00:09:02,719 Speaker 1: all that went on back, continue to go on. No 143 00:09:02,920 --> 00:09:06,720 Speaker 1: it didn't. It did not. That's my point. It did 144 00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:09,240 Speaker 1: not go on, and we did not miss it, and 145 00:09:09,280 --> 00:09:15,880 Speaker 1: the Republic survived. Wow, that experiment may have shown us 146 00:09:15,920 --> 00:09:19,959 Speaker 1: things that perhaps the Democrats really didn't want us to know. 147 00:09:21,520 --> 00:09:23,640 Speaker 1: It's the weekend with Michael Brown. Text line three three 148 00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:27,160 Speaker 1: one zero three keyword micha Rol Michael what else did 149 00:09:27,160 --> 00:09:37,840 Speaker 1: we learn next? Welcome back to the Weekend with Michael Brown. 150 00:09:37,920 --> 00:09:40,160 Speaker 1: Lead to have you with me on your podcast app. 151 00:09:40,160 --> 00:09:43,520 Speaker 1: Be sure to subscribe to our podcast. The title is 152 00:09:43,960 --> 00:09:47,320 Speaker 1: The Situation with Michael Brown. Once you find the Situation 153 00:09:47,400 --> 00:09:49,680 Speaker 1: with Michael Brown, hit that subscribe button, leave a five 154 00:09:49,720 --> 00:09:52,679 Speaker 1: star review that helps us with the algorithm, and then 155 00:09:52,760 --> 00:09:54,800 Speaker 1: you can listen to us. You can listen to all 156 00:09:54,800 --> 00:09:57,520 Speaker 1: five days of the weekday program and the weekend program. 157 00:09:57,800 --> 00:10:01,040 Speaker 1: So think about this. Think about it this way. The 158 00:10:01,080 --> 00:10:07,280 Speaker 1: government operated for virtually a month with half the workforce IDOL. 159 00:10:08,960 --> 00:10:12,280 Speaker 1: The only conclusion you can draw from that is that 160 00:10:13,520 --> 00:10:17,280 Speaker 1: we can get by with your employees and more efficient 161 00:10:18,920 --> 00:10:24,160 Speaker 1: business mechanisms, more efficient ways of doing business. In fact, 162 00:10:24,280 --> 00:10:27,360 Speaker 1: it happens in the private sector all the time. How 163 00:10:27,360 --> 00:10:29,600 Speaker 1: many of you work for a company that has been 164 00:10:29,679 --> 00:10:32,839 Speaker 1: downsized and maybe a few people have been laid off, 165 00:10:33,040 --> 00:10:36,040 Speaker 1: and then someone's come to you and said, by the way, 166 00:10:37,280 --> 00:10:40,720 Speaker 1: lucky you you still have a job, and by the way, 167 00:10:41,040 --> 00:10:44,920 Speaker 1: you got these five extra jobs to do too. So, yes, 168 00:10:45,040 --> 00:10:49,360 Speaker 1: it happens all of the time, but not in the government. No, 169 00:10:49,640 --> 00:10:53,480 Speaker 1: it just grows. It is like a metastatic cancer, and 170 00:10:53,520 --> 00:10:57,319 Speaker 1: it just grows and grows and grows. And the bureaucrats 171 00:10:57,440 --> 00:11:00,760 Speaker 1: know that as they make their way up through the 172 00:11:00,800 --> 00:11:03,320 Speaker 1: GSA levels and they finally get to the Senior Executive 173 00:11:03,320 --> 00:11:07,680 Speaker 1: Service level, that now they're set for life. They're really 174 00:11:07,679 --> 00:11:11,480 Speaker 1: set for life. And one reason is they're called dinks, 175 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:17,960 Speaker 1: double income, no kids, and these dinks are dominant in 176 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:21,960 Speaker 1: Northern Virginia, Maryland and DC. And so you think about 177 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:25,160 Speaker 1: a couple that are in the Senior Executive Service, each 178 00:11:25,240 --> 00:11:28,520 Speaker 1: pulling down let's just say conservatively, I under seventy five 179 00:11:28,520 --> 00:11:31,840 Speaker 1: thousand dollars apiece, So double income no kids are pulling down, 180 00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:33,840 Speaker 1: you know, three hundred and fifty thousand dollars a year. 181 00:11:34,120 --> 00:11:36,680 Speaker 1: So of course everything's expensive in DC because of that. 182 00:11:36,920 --> 00:11:40,040 Speaker 1: But what if half of them could be gone and 183 00:11:40,080 --> 00:11:44,240 Speaker 1: we can still get stuff done. There were two stories 184 00:11:44,320 --> 00:11:49,160 Speaker 1: that I used last week, and I'll share them with 185 00:11:49,200 --> 00:11:55,920 Speaker 1: you too. One internal revenue service lawyer earning a six 186 00:11:55,960 --> 00:11:59,839 Speaker 1: figure salary, spent the furlough investing twelve thousand dollars in 187 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:04,160 Speaker 1: hot dog stand that he called shysters. I thought was 188 00:12:04,160 --> 00:12:08,160 Speaker 1: pretty clever, right. He sold about sixty hot dogs a day, 189 00:12:08,760 --> 00:12:12,240 Speaker 1: grossing I'm guessing I am still guessing on this, perhaps 190 00:12:12,280 --> 00:12:15,439 Speaker 1: six hundred dollars, and he admitted that he didn't turn 191 00:12:15,480 --> 00:12:20,880 Speaker 1: a profit. Wait a minute, but you were claiming that 192 00:12:20,920 --> 00:12:25,040 Speaker 1: you were on the edge of financial brink. Yet that's 193 00:12:25,080 --> 00:12:27,880 Speaker 1: what you did. You found twelve thousand dollars to invest 194 00:12:27,880 --> 00:12:30,679 Speaker 1: in a hot dog stand. You called it shysters, you 195 00:12:30,760 --> 00:12:34,280 Speaker 1: spent or you sold about sixty dogs a day, and 196 00:12:34,320 --> 00:12:36,840 Speaker 1: you may have grossed six hundred dollars and you didn't 197 00:12:36,880 --> 00:12:39,880 Speaker 1: turn a profit. That is not the behavior of somebody 198 00:12:39,920 --> 00:12:44,040 Speaker 1: on the financial brink. That was the first story. First 199 00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:49,160 Speaker 1: the second story, I found a federal IT specialist spent 200 00:12:49,240 --> 00:12:55,720 Speaker 1: her downtime self publishing cat fantasy novels. Cat fantasies netted 201 00:12:55,800 --> 00:12:58,880 Speaker 1: less than a hundred bucks. Now it's a cree any pursuit, 202 00:13:00,240 --> 00:13:06,400 Speaker 1: but it suggests that federal employment does what it insulates 203 00:13:06,440 --> 00:13:11,320 Speaker 1: them from the market reality. You think about a robust 204 00:13:11,320 --> 00:13:16,800 Speaker 1: economy where someone skilled in coding, where analysts are in 205 00:13:16,880 --> 00:13:21,160 Speaker 1: high demand, quite frankly, where workers trade workers are in 206 00:13:21,320 --> 00:13:26,640 Speaker 1: high demand, earning six figures or more. Hmm, you would 207 00:13:26,640 --> 00:13:30,000 Speaker 1: think that you could have rapid re entry into the 208 00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:36,080 Speaker 1: private sector. But those furloughed employees chose not to do that, 209 00:13:37,120 --> 00:13:40,080 Speaker 1: and I think they didn't do it because they a 210 00:13:40,679 --> 00:13:45,839 Speaker 1: probably had ample savings, or they knew they were going 211 00:13:45,880 --> 00:13:48,320 Speaker 1: to get reimbursed, so they were going to get they 212 00:13:48,320 --> 00:13:50,960 Speaker 1: were going to get caught up, so they went to 213 00:13:51,040 --> 00:13:54,880 Speaker 1: a credit union. Many credit unions offered zero percent interest loans. 214 00:13:55,320 --> 00:13:57,719 Speaker 1: They took a lean on their salary so they had 215 00:13:57,760 --> 00:13:59,959 Speaker 1: first claim on that back pay when it came in, 216 00:14:00,280 --> 00:14:02,800 Speaker 1: so they it was good marketing for a for a 217 00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:04,600 Speaker 1: credit union to do that. I know they did it 218 00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:12,520 Speaker 1: in Colorado, but here's what it really exposed. Their expertise 219 00:14:13,840 --> 00:14:18,439 Speaker 1: was not easily transferable. Now, it may be gonna get 220 00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:21,720 Speaker 1: me wrong. It may be that they've been through this before. 221 00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:24,920 Speaker 1: So you know, you've got twelve thousand dollars to spent 222 00:14:24,960 --> 00:14:27,360 Speaker 1: on the hot dog stand. You could have just lived 223 00:14:27,360 --> 00:14:29,440 Speaker 1: off the twelve thousand dollars because you knew were going 224 00:14:29,480 --> 00:14:32,960 Speaker 1: to get reimbursed, or you thought, oh, i'll just write 225 00:14:32,960 --> 00:14:38,320 Speaker 1: cat novels, fantasy cat novels. But you made it less 226 00:14:38,320 --> 00:14:42,320 Speaker 1: than a hundred bucks. Okay, So what skills did you 227 00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:47,560 Speaker 1: have that were transferable? It causes me to question the 228 00:14:47,680 --> 00:14:52,200 Speaker 1: transferability if you will of their particular job description, of 229 00:14:52,280 --> 00:14:58,760 Speaker 1: their particular skill set. So if they weren't transferable, and 230 00:14:58,800 --> 00:15:03,360 Speaker 1: they weren't able to go out in an economy where 231 00:15:03,400 --> 00:15:09,560 Speaker 1: there are indeed job openings, then their skills weren't transferable. 232 00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:17,680 Speaker 1: That points to structural inefficiencies. Either compensation so generous that 233 00:15:17,800 --> 00:15:20,840 Speaker 1: you have no initiative to go out and get one 234 00:15:20,840 --> 00:15:25,480 Speaker 1: of those jobs, or your skill specialization is so narrow 235 00:15:25,880 --> 00:15:32,400 Speaker 1: that outside the bureaucracy it's not transferable. The Government Accountability Office, 236 00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:36,560 Speaker 1: the GAO has for as long as I can remember, 237 00:15:36,600 --> 00:15:39,960 Speaker 1: even when I look, it's been twenty years since I 238 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:43,760 Speaker 1: was under Secretary of Home Land Security, and the GAO 239 00:15:43,920 --> 00:15:47,480 Speaker 1: would often give us a report and so with the 240 00:15:47,480 --> 00:15:52,200 Speaker 1: Inspector General, in which they would identify overlapping programs, or 241 00:15:52,240 --> 00:15:56,200 Speaker 1: they would question the efficacy of a particular office, or 242 00:15:56,200 --> 00:15:58,680 Speaker 1: they might question the efficiency of an office. You know, 243 00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:01,800 Speaker 1: you're you're not doing anything very efficiently. I always took 244 00:16:01,800 --> 00:16:05,480 Speaker 1: those reports very seriously because I always thought those reports 245 00:16:05,480 --> 00:16:08,600 Speaker 1: gave me the opportunity to say to the boss, the president, 246 00:16:08,800 --> 00:16:10,840 Speaker 1: or the director of OMB, Hey, you know what, I 247 00:16:10,840 --> 00:16:12,840 Speaker 1: could cut this and this and this, and I could 248 00:16:12,840 --> 00:16:17,360 Speaker 1: say the taxpayers twenty million dollars, and I would often 249 00:16:17,400 --> 00:16:20,200 Speaker 1: do that and they would be call, let's try to 250 00:16:20,240 --> 00:16:23,040 Speaker 1: do that, and then Congress, of course, would rebuff us. 251 00:16:23,640 --> 00:16:28,360 Speaker 1: But let me give you an overall example. The GAO 252 00:16:28,760 --> 00:16:33,840 Speaker 1: since twenty eleven, their recommendations have saved or recovered more 253 00:16:33,880 --> 00:16:37,840 Speaker 1: than seven hundred billion dollars. And there's even more billions 254 00:16:37,840 --> 00:16:42,360 Speaker 1: of dollars in potential deficiencies I'm sorry, potential efficiencies that 255 00:16:42,480 --> 00:16:45,720 Speaker 1: have yet to be implemented. We're talking more than a 256 00:16:45,800 --> 00:16:51,160 Speaker 1: trillion dollars. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates 257 00:16:51,160 --> 00:16:54,880 Speaker 1: they're reducing the civilian workforce by only ten percent could 258 00:16:54,880 --> 00:16:58,600 Speaker 1: save three hundred and fifty billion dollars over ten years, 259 00:17:00,760 --> 00:17:06,879 Speaker 1: thirty five billion dollars a year. Yes, so if the 260 00:17:06,920 --> 00:17:11,639 Speaker 1: workforce were trimmed by a quarter, nearly one trillion dollars 261 00:17:11,680 --> 00:17:15,640 Speaker 1: could be saved. Those are real numbers from the GAO 262 00:17:16,359 --> 00:17:20,000 Speaker 1: and from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. You 263 00:17:20,040 --> 00:17:25,160 Speaker 1: see the government shuts down. That's what I learned. Now, 264 00:17:25,200 --> 00:17:30,000 Speaker 1: the question becomes in a country where we the people 265 00:17:30,520 --> 00:17:34,040 Speaker 1: are in charge, and we elect these five hundred and 266 00:17:34,080 --> 00:17:37,560 Speaker 1: thirty five yahoo's plus a president to go represent us 267 00:17:37,560 --> 00:17:41,879 Speaker 1: inside the Beltway at the federal level, you ought to 268 00:17:41,880 --> 00:17:45,280 Speaker 1: take those figures and you ought to ask your congressman, 269 00:17:45,640 --> 00:17:51,600 Speaker 1: your senator, why aren't you doing this? Why aren't you 270 00:17:51,840 --> 00:17:57,280 Speaker 1: doing it? And then try to figure out why. Maybe 271 00:17:57,320 --> 00:17:59,280 Speaker 1: I'll tell you a little hint next. I'll be right 272 00:17:59,320 --> 00:18:09,760 Speaker 1: back tonight. Michael Brown joins me here, the former FEMA 273 00:18:09,800 --> 00:18:10,280 Speaker 1: director of. 274 00:18:10,200 --> 00:18:13,119 Speaker 2: Talk show host Michael Brown. Brownie, no, Brownie, You're doing 275 00:18:13,160 --> 00:18:15,800 Speaker 2: a heck of a job the Weekend with Michael Brown. 276 00:18:16,680 --> 00:18:18,600 Speaker 1: Hey, welcome back to the Weekend with Michael Brown. Glad 277 00:18:18,640 --> 00:18:21,320 Speaker 1: to have you joining the program. If you like what 278 00:18:21,400 --> 00:18:23,879 Speaker 1: we do on Saturdays on the weekends, you might like 279 00:18:23,920 --> 00:18:26,000 Speaker 1: what we do during the weekday. If you'd like to 280 00:18:26,040 --> 00:18:28,800 Speaker 1: listen to the weekday program, that's pretty easy. You can 281 00:18:28,840 --> 00:18:33,240 Speaker 1: listen weekdays nine to noon mountain time nine to noon 282 00:18:33,280 --> 00:18:36,280 Speaker 1: Mountain time on your iHeart app. You can still search 283 00:18:36,320 --> 00:18:39,239 Speaker 1: for the Situation with Michael Brown. You can look up 284 00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:42,040 Speaker 1: at you can look the program up that way, or 285 00:18:42,080 --> 00:18:43,600 Speaker 1: you can look up for you can look up the 286 00:18:43,640 --> 00:18:46,960 Speaker 1: station and set this as a preset and the station 287 00:18:47,160 --> 00:18:52,080 Speaker 1: is KOA Koa. It's at eight fifty am or ninety 288 00:18:52,080 --> 00:18:55,760 Speaker 1: four one FM eight fifty am. Ninety four to one 289 00:18:55,880 --> 00:18:59,399 Speaker 1: FM nine to noon on KOA, And so you can 290 00:18:59,440 --> 00:19:02,040 Speaker 1: get days of that and you give them listen on 291 00:19:02,119 --> 00:19:05,199 Speaker 1: your app go do that. One of the issues that 292 00:19:05,240 --> 00:19:08,879 Speaker 1: comes about during the government shutdown. And I'm going to 293 00:19:08,880 --> 00:19:10,639 Speaker 1: give you two sets of numbers just so that you 294 00:19:10,680 --> 00:19:13,480 Speaker 1: should you can. You'll see that I'm trying to be 295 00:19:13,520 --> 00:19:18,000 Speaker 1: objective here. The general contention is that federal workers are 296 00:19:18,040 --> 00:19:23,119 Speaker 1: underpaid compared to private sector counterpoint, they're counterparts. Generally, that 297 00:19:23,240 --> 00:19:26,679 Speaker 1: is true. I mean generally that is that is that 298 00:19:26,800 --> 00:19:29,000 Speaker 1: is not true except in certain areas. I'm gonna explain 299 00:19:29,080 --> 00:19:31,359 Speaker 1: in just a minute. When you go to the Bureau 300 00:19:31,400 --> 00:19:35,040 Speaker 1: of Economic Analysis, the average now I'm just talking about 301 00:19:35,040 --> 00:19:38,879 Speaker 1: averages here. The average federal civilian worker earned about one 302 00:19:38,920 --> 00:19:42,400 Speaker 1: hundred and fifty seven thousand dollars in combined wages and 303 00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:47,360 Speaker 1: benefits for the year twenty twenty three. The private sector 304 00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:53,159 Speaker 1: average was around ninety four thousand dollars. So federal workers 305 00:19:53,160 --> 00:19:57,600 Speaker 1: are getting paid about a sixty seven percent premium. Now, 306 00:19:57,800 --> 00:20:00,000 Speaker 1: a lot of that, I want to be very specif 307 00:20:00,160 --> 00:20:03,439 Speaker 1: the care A lot of that delta between the average 308 00:20:03,480 --> 00:20:06,240 Speaker 1: one hundred and fifty seven thousand for a federal worker, 309 00:20:06,640 --> 00:20:09,000 Speaker 1: and the ninety four thousand dollars for a private sector 310 00:20:09,040 --> 00:20:15,040 Speaker 1: worker is driven by the federal benefits, which I was 311 00:20:15,080 --> 00:20:18,200 Speaker 1: a I had those benefits for a while. Gee, I 312 00:20:18,280 --> 00:20:21,639 Speaker 1: wish I still had them because they're amazing. Federal worker 313 00:20:21,680 --> 00:20:27,080 Speaker 1: benefits are amazing. You have a defined pension, paid leave, 314 00:20:27,840 --> 00:20:32,479 Speaker 1: health coverage that is simply far more generous than what 315 00:20:32,560 --> 00:20:36,200 Speaker 1: you and I get in the private sector. It's just incredible. 316 00:20:37,600 --> 00:20:41,000 Speaker 1: The Congression, the Congressional Budget Office, when you control for 317 00:20:41,119 --> 00:20:45,119 Speaker 1: education and job type, they still find that federal benefits 318 00:20:45,400 --> 00:20:50,520 Speaker 1: federal benefits, not wages. Right now, federal benefits outstrip the 319 00:20:50,600 --> 00:20:56,199 Speaker 1: benefits in the private sector by nearly fifty percent. The 320 00:20:56,240 --> 00:20:58,560 Speaker 1: other thing that I would add, based on my own 321 00:20:58,600 --> 00:21:03,600 Speaker 1: personal experience, is the near total job security that comes 322 00:21:04,280 --> 00:21:07,040 Speaker 1: not with someone like me who is a presidential appointee, 323 00:21:07,359 --> 00:21:09,320 Speaker 1: but for the person who comes up through the ranks 324 00:21:09,960 --> 00:21:12,439 Speaker 1: gets hired. You know, as a GS one makes their 325 00:21:12,480 --> 00:21:14,560 Speaker 1: way up to a GSA to GS ten what I 326 00:21:14,560 --> 00:21:16,800 Speaker 1: forget what the action of GS twelve or something just 327 00:21:16,840 --> 00:21:20,119 Speaker 1: fifteen I think, and then you enter into the Senior 328 00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:24,560 Speaker 1: Executive service. And once you get into the Senior Executive service, 329 00:21:25,359 --> 00:21:32,480 Speaker 1: the benefits are even greater. It all comes with near 330 00:21:32,680 --> 00:21:39,280 Speaker 1: job total job security. How what percent of federal employees 331 00:21:39,359 --> 00:21:45,679 Speaker 1: are fired in a given year? Less than a quarter 332 00:21:45,760 --> 00:21:48,639 Speaker 1: of one percent, less than a quarter of a percent, 333 00:21:49,520 --> 00:21:52,359 Speaker 1: now most of the agencies at the federal level, a 334 00:21:52,440 --> 00:21:56,080 Speaker 1: worker is statistically more likely to die of natural causes 335 00:21:56,880 --> 00:22:03,320 Speaker 1: than to be fired for poor performance. You think the 336 00:22:03,359 --> 00:22:08,320 Speaker 1: private sector could ever operate that way? Think about your 337 00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:13,879 Speaker 1: own particular situation, your own job. I think about just 338 00:22:14,040 --> 00:22:19,480 Speaker 1: my own company. iHeart, really zero point two five percent 339 00:22:19,520 --> 00:22:23,800 Speaker 1: of federal employees are fired in a given year. Sometimes 340 00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:27,119 Speaker 1: it's like twenty five percent. In iHeart, I'm exaggerating, but 341 00:22:27,160 --> 00:22:31,800 Speaker 1: it's a big number. Sometimes you're more likely to die 342 00:22:31,880 --> 00:22:35,639 Speaker 1: from natural causes if you're a federal worker, than you 343 00:22:35,680 --> 00:22:40,480 Speaker 1: are to be dismissed for poor performance. You apply it. 344 00:22:40,840 --> 00:22:43,159 Speaker 1: If you're a small business owner, apply that kind of 345 00:22:43,240 --> 00:22:48,440 Speaker 1: rationale to your business. How long would you last? That 346 00:22:48,600 --> 00:22:53,679 Speaker 1: is almost total insulation from reality. And when you're insulated 347 00:22:53,720 --> 00:22:57,679 Speaker 1: from reality, do you not think that me sitting here 348 00:22:57,760 --> 00:23:01,440 Speaker 1: right now, this very moment, that I know I'm being 349 00:23:01,520 --> 00:23:11,159 Speaker 1: judged by my employer, and that's based on listener interactions, ratings, sponsorships, 350 00:23:11,680 --> 00:23:14,719 Speaker 1: and quite frankly, just how I do my program? Am 351 00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:17,960 Speaker 1: I entertaining? Am I interesting? Do I cause people to think? 352 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:20,080 Speaker 1: Do I cause people to come back and listen for more? 353 00:23:20,320 --> 00:23:22,879 Speaker 1: Do they subscribe to my podcast? Do they stream? Do 354 00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:25,719 Speaker 1: they do all all of these metrics by which I'm 355 00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:32,359 Speaker 1: judged every single day. Federal workers not so much, unless, 356 00:23:32,359 --> 00:23:36,080 Speaker 1: of course, you're you know, you're working for the TSA, 357 00:23:36,520 --> 00:23:39,680 Speaker 1: or you're working for CBP, or you're an air traffic controller. 358 00:23:40,880 --> 00:23:43,679 Speaker 1: Oh gee, I missed that plane. Yeah, well, I guess what. 359 00:23:43,880 --> 00:23:46,880 Speaker 1: You're out of here. We can't have you missing planes. 360 00:23:47,680 --> 00:23:51,360 Speaker 1: But there's another problem with that, and that is that 361 00:23:52,040 --> 00:23:54,960 Speaker 1: a federal worker becomes that they live in a bubble. 362 00:23:55,480 --> 00:23:58,919 Speaker 1: They're insulated from reality. And if you live in a 363 00:23:58,960 --> 00:24:01,320 Speaker 1: bubble and your insulation from the reality of what it's 364 00:24:01,359 --> 00:24:04,439 Speaker 1: like to work in the private sector, that causes you 365 00:24:04,600 --> 00:24:07,960 Speaker 1: to be in ert, just happy in doing what it 366 00:24:08,040 --> 00:24:10,760 Speaker 1: requires to get by day by day. Now, I know 367 00:24:10,880 --> 00:24:14,760 Speaker 1: that's a generalization, that's probably an overly broad indictment, but 368 00:24:15,040 --> 00:24:19,119 Speaker 1: the fact remains that that's what it does. Breed. The 369 00:24:19,200 --> 00:24:23,400 Speaker 1: quit rate is rough. The quit rate for federal workers 370 00:24:23,640 --> 00:24:25,960 Speaker 1: is about one fourth what it is in the private sector. 371 00:24:27,080 --> 00:24:32,159 Speaker 1: And so once you get inside. I remember when I 372 00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:36,040 Speaker 1: first went to work for President Bush, I had a 373 00:24:36,080 --> 00:24:39,560 Speaker 1: small staff that I could put together of my own. Now, 374 00:24:39,600 --> 00:24:42,640 Speaker 1: most of them were political appointings, but I had four 375 00:24:42,720 --> 00:24:47,440 Speaker 1: or five openings for people on my staff that were 376 00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:51,359 Speaker 1: going to be career civil servants. So we went through 377 00:24:51,400 --> 00:24:54,440 Speaker 1: the process, and there was a person in particular who 378 00:24:54,440 --> 00:24:56,720 Speaker 1: had worked for me in the past, and I really 379 00:24:56,800 --> 00:24:58,639 Speaker 1: wanted her to come and work for me again because 380 00:24:58,680 --> 00:25:02,280 Speaker 1: she was very good at scheduling, very good at putting 381 00:25:02,280 --> 00:25:08,240 Speaker 1: schedules together. She never worked in the government before she 382 00:25:08,359 --> 00:25:12,560 Speaker 1: retired from the federal government last year. Why wouldn't she 383 00:25:13,760 --> 00:25:18,360 Speaker 1: because lifetime benefits, low dismissal risk. She was very good 384 00:25:18,359 --> 00:25:20,520 Speaker 1: at what she did. She probably outperformed all of her 385 00:25:20,520 --> 00:25:23,159 Speaker 1: peers once she got into the system, and so she 386 00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:28,439 Speaker 1: stayed forever. You know, and I know that this is 387 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:34,160 Speaker 1: an imbalance that is just wrong. I'm not saying that, 388 00:25:34,280 --> 00:25:37,760 Speaker 1: you know, these federal workers are unskilled or lazy, but 389 00:25:37,800 --> 00:25:42,920 Speaker 1: they are detached from the real world. They're detached from 390 00:25:43,680 --> 00:25:46,520 Speaker 1: the market forces that cause you and I in the 391 00:25:46,560 --> 00:25:51,320 Speaker 1: private sector to perform at peak as often as we can. 392 00:25:52,760 --> 00:25:55,000 Speaker 1: And in government, boy, this is the one that bugs 393 00:25:55,040 --> 00:26:01,159 Speaker 1: me the most. Inefficiency is usually rewarded with larger budgets, 394 00:26:01,600 --> 00:26:05,680 Speaker 1: more personnel, and that means even more layers of management. 395 00:26:06,600 --> 00:26:10,080 Speaker 1: You get more and more layers of management. As people 396 00:26:10,119 --> 00:26:13,360 Speaker 1: progress into management roles, you have to backfill what they 397 00:26:13,400 --> 00:26:16,720 Speaker 1: were doing because of me. They were pushing one folder 398 00:26:16,760 --> 00:26:19,520 Speaker 1: of paper. Now they're a manager, and now you've got 399 00:26:19,560 --> 00:26:22,360 Speaker 1: to fill somebody else to push that paper while they 400 00:26:22,400 --> 00:26:28,080 Speaker 1: manage that person pushing that paper. It's insanity. It's utter insanity. 401 00:26:28,800 --> 00:26:34,360 Speaker 1: Each layer brings costs, and those costs get compounded year 402 00:26:34,400 --> 00:26:40,119 Speaker 1: after year after year. So the workers that I would 403 00:26:40,160 --> 00:26:45,639 Speaker 1: say are most vital to national functioning generally get paid less. 404 00:26:46,160 --> 00:26:49,600 Speaker 1: They're treated worse than those whose tasks can be suspended indefinitely. 405 00:26:50,040 --> 00:26:54,520 Speaker 1: So we now have a system that rewards administrative growth 406 00:26:55,600 --> 00:27:00,959 Speaker 1: while straining to do their essential core mission. And in 407 00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:04,040 Speaker 1: the real world, and I think in the government world, 408 00:27:04,200 --> 00:27:09,280 Speaker 1: that's not sustainable. So we're not trying to be cruel 409 00:27:09,520 --> 00:27:12,840 Speaker 1: toward public servants. What we're trying to do is bring 410 00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:17,560 Speaker 1: clarity to what the real world is in terms of 411 00:27:17,560 --> 00:27:21,720 Speaker 1: federal employment, and we need to write size the federal government, 412 00:27:22,400 --> 00:27:27,960 Speaker 1: aligning the resources with necessity distinguishing between what must be 413 00:27:28,119 --> 00:27:32,600 Speaker 1: done and what could be better handled by the private sector, 414 00:27:33,040 --> 00:27:36,760 Speaker 1: by the markets, by a community, or even by automation. 415 00:27:38,440 --> 00:27:43,159 Speaker 1: And this shutdown revealed that that dividing line is a 416 00:27:43,440 --> 00:27:47,800 Speaker 1: lot bigger than I think most people realize. Because if 417 00:27:47,840 --> 00:27:53,760 Speaker 1: half the workforcemn disappear for weeks and there's no impending disaster, well, 418 00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:57,760 Speaker 1: if that's half, then maybe twenty five percent could disappear 419 00:27:57,880 --> 00:28:04,600 Speaker 1: permanently and actually prove the functioning of the government. Put 420 00:28:04,600 --> 00:28:07,840 Speaker 1: that in your pipe, Smoke that for a while, and 421 00:28:07,880 --> 00:28:12,200 Speaker 1: then savings, the savings we get from it could either 422 00:28:12,440 --> 00:28:18,399 Speaker 1: reduce taxes or be redirected toward debt reduction, redirected toward 423 00:28:18,520 --> 00:28:20,479 Speaker 1: you know, something that we actually do need to do 424 00:28:20,520 --> 00:28:24,960 Speaker 1: that we're not doing, but nonetheless it would be more efficient, 425 00:28:25,760 --> 00:28:28,160 Speaker 1: and then we could all sing Hallelujah. I'll be right back. 426 00:28:38,160 --> 00:28:40,600 Speaker 1: Welcome back to the weekend with Michael Brown. Now that 427 00:28:40,600 --> 00:28:44,360 Speaker 1: I've told you the general overall numbers, let me play 428 00:28:44,400 --> 00:28:49,720 Speaker 1: with your mind for a moment. Federal workers are underpaid 429 00:28:49,800 --> 00:28:56,040 Speaker 1: compared to private sector counterparts. True or false? Well, it depends. 430 00:28:57,680 --> 00:28:59,200 Speaker 1: None of the numbers that I gave you in the 431 00:28:59,280 --> 00:29:04,200 Speaker 1: last hour and the last segment are incorrect. But now 432 00:29:04,280 --> 00:29:06,520 Speaker 1: I want to fine tune them a little bit, just 433 00:29:06,560 --> 00:29:08,360 Speaker 1: because I know somebody out there will do it if 434 00:29:08,400 --> 00:29:16,200 Speaker 1: I don't do. When you judge total compensation, it's mostly 435 00:29:16,280 --> 00:29:20,480 Speaker 1: faults based on total compensation, and it's mixed if you 436 00:29:20,560 --> 00:29:24,680 Speaker 1: judge on wages alone, and then it is yes if 437 00:29:24,680 --> 00:29:29,120 Speaker 1: you base it on total compensation plus benefits to mean 438 00:29:29,240 --> 00:29:36,200 Speaker 1: truly total compensation. What the CBO finds in twenty twenty two, 439 00:29:36,400 --> 00:29:39,480 Speaker 1: total compensation for federal workers with a high school diploma 440 00:29:39,600 --> 00:29:44,840 Speaker 1: or less exceeded private sector peers, while federal workers with 441 00:29:44,960 --> 00:29:49,440 Speaker 1: masters or professional degrees earn less than private sector counterparts. 442 00:29:49,960 --> 00:29:54,760 Speaker 1: That illustrates that there is a crossover by education level. Now, 443 00:29:54,800 --> 00:29:59,400 Speaker 1: the aggregate gap in total compensation shrank markedly between twenty 444 00:29:59,480 --> 00:30:02,880 Speaker 1: fifteen and two twenty twenty two, because the CBO estimates 445 00:30:02,960 --> 00:30:06,800 Speaker 1: during that period the previous seventeen percent federal advantage fell 446 00:30:06,880 --> 00:30:11,720 Speaker 1: to only five percent in twenty twenty two because of 447 00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:17,680 Speaker 1: faster private sector wage growth and smaller federal raises, so 448 00:30:17,960 --> 00:30:22,520 Speaker 1: slower federal salary salary not benefits, but just salary. Slower 449 00:30:22,600 --> 00:30:27,120 Speaker 1: federal salary growth also suppressed growth and benefit costs, So 450 00:30:27,560 --> 00:30:30,400 Speaker 1: your pension was slightly less, your paid leave was slightly 451 00:30:30,480 --> 00:30:34,280 Speaker 1: less because those costs are tied to salaries, and that 452 00:30:34,320 --> 00:30:37,640 Speaker 1: contributed to a narrowing gap between the private sector and 453 00:30:37,680 --> 00:30:42,640 Speaker 1: the public sector. But when you count in the total 454 00:30:42,680 --> 00:30:47,280 Speaker 1: amount of benefits, the total value of the benefits remn 455 00:30:47,280 --> 00:30:51,160 Speaker 1: I mentioned that healthcare program and the thrust savings plan, 456 00:30:52,520 --> 00:30:56,840 Speaker 1: the time off plan, and then the union benefits. I think. 457 00:30:57,680 --> 00:31:00,680 Speaker 1: I think I had like eighteen different bargaining units that 458 00:31:00,760 --> 00:31:02,720 Speaker 1: I had to deal with when I was the undersecretary, 459 00:31:02,800 --> 00:31:09,000 Speaker 1: Eighteen different unions within my kind of vertical of the 460 00:31:09,040 --> 00:31:13,760 Speaker 1: Department of Homeland Security, and so they each had their 461 00:31:13,800 --> 00:31:19,160 Speaker 1: own set of benefits. That's how convoluted this personnel system 462 00:31:19,280 --> 00:31:25,480 Speaker 1: is within the federal government. So wages versus total compensation. 463 00:31:25,880 --> 00:31:30,960 Speaker 1: The Congressional Budget Office's Human capital approach shows that federal 464 00:31:30,960 --> 00:31:36,960 Speaker 1: wages are relatively lower for highly educated workers and just 465 00:31:37,080 --> 00:31:42,120 Speaker 1: slightly higher for less educated workers. More generous federal benefits 466 00:31:42,600 --> 00:31:46,640 Speaker 1: offset wag shortfalls at some education levels, but not for 467 00:31:46,680 --> 00:31:50,480 Speaker 1: those with advanced degrees. But overall, when you take the 468 00:31:50,560 --> 00:31:55,520 Speaker 1: total compensation package as a whole, they still outperform the 469 00:31:55,560 --> 00:32:02,760 Speaker 1: private sector. It shows that there is. There are efficiencies 470 00:32:02,800 --> 00:32:07,360 Speaker 1: to be gained, but there is a human capital cost 471 00:32:07,560 --> 00:32:12,000 Speaker 1: to it. And I think that is the biggest barrier 472 00:32:13,520 --> 00:32:19,160 Speaker 1: to ever reforming the civil service system because now who's 473 00:32:19,200 --> 00:32:24,239 Speaker 1: going to ultimately make that decision Congress. Congress would have 474 00:32:24,280 --> 00:32:28,480 Speaker 1: to reform the civil service system. And if Congress again, 475 00:32:28,720 --> 00:32:33,000 Speaker 1: remember when we talked about teachers and how teachers at 476 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:38,520 Speaker 1: the local level, the teacher unions in particular, will start 477 00:32:38,800 --> 00:32:43,800 Speaker 1: advancing candidates to run for state legislatures. And when they do, 478 00:32:44,080 --> 00:32:47,320 Speaker 1: they really I mean nationwide. They pour the money in 479 00:32:47,800 --> 00:32:51,040 Speaker 1: because they want that former teacher or that teacher union 480 00:32:51,080 --> 00:32:55,320 Speaker 1: official to be elected to the state legislature. Because when 481 00:32:55,360 --> 00:32:58,160 Speaker 1: you get enough of them in, that means the teacher 482 00:32:58,280 --> 00:33:02,440 Speaker 1: unions are negotiating with themselves. It's even worse at the 483 00:33:02,440 --> 00:33:08,800 Speaker 1: federal level because now you have particularly along ideological lines. 484 00:33:09,160 --> 00:33:13,840 Speaker 1: You take that fault line between conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats, 485 00:33:14,680 --> 00:33:18,880 Speaker 1: you take that fault line. Even some conservative Republicans will 486 00:33:18,920 --> 00:33:21,360 Speaker 1: be loathed to try to reduce the size of the 487 00:33:21,400 --> 00:33:25,960 Speaker 1: federal bureaucracy because they don't know, I'm there'll be accused 488 00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:29,520 Speaker 1: of everything. You don't care about, the kids, you don't 489 00:33:29,520 --> 00:33:31,920 Speaker 1: care about children. You don't care if people are put 490 00:33:31,920 --> 00:33:35,160 Speaker 1: out on the street. No, I want them to care 491 00:33:35,200 --> 00:33:38,400 Speaker 1: more about me as a taxpayer than they do about 492 00:33:38,440 --> 00:33:41,680 Speaker 1: the bureaucrats that are doing the jobs for them. And 493 00:33:41,760 --> 00:33:44,080 Speaker 1: one place I would start if I were going to 494 00:33:44,120 --> 00:33:48,080 Speaker 1: reform the federal civil service system would be the amount 495 00:33:48,120 --> 00:33:52,840 Speaker 1: of staffers in the legislative branch alone, hundreds of thousands 496 00:33:52,840 --> 00:33:57,760 Speaker 1: that work for them. I mean, you're huge numbers. You 497 00:33:57,800 --> 00:34:01,479 Speaker 1: don't what the one of the several creation bills that 498 00:34:01,520 --> 00:34:05,240 Speaker 1: they passed to get the government reopened was to cover 499 00:34:05,280 --> 00:34:09,080 Speaker 1: the cost of the legislative branch. Yes, they take care 500 00:34:09,080 --> 00:34:12,680 Speaker 1: of themselves. They don't want to lose staffers. Those staffers 501 00:34:12,680 --> 00:34:15,800 Speaker 1: make their jobs easier. In fact, those staffers do virtually 502 00:34:15,840 --> 00:34:20,440 Speaker 1: everything for them. They write their speeches, they analyze the legislation. 503 00:34:20,719 --> 00:34:23,240 Speaker 1: They virtually tell them how to vote yes or no. 504 00:34:23,239 --> 00:34:25,759 Speaker 1: Now they'll give them options, but ultimately they do get 505 00:34:25,800 --> 00:34:28,520 Speaker 1: the side. But the staff will persuade them one way 506 00:34:28,600 --> 00:34:31,359 Speaker 1: or another. They get all the political advice they need. 507 00:34:32,080 --> 00:34:35,320 Speaker 1: They get all of the benefits that you can possibly imagine. 508 00:34:35,440 --> 00:34:37,160 Speaker 1: You think they make one hundred and eighty four thousand 509 00:34:37,200 --> 00:34:40,960 Speaker 1: dollars add in the benefits, and then add in being 510 00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:45,239 Speaker 1: able to spend some campaign money on things that indirectly 511 00:34:45,280 --> 00:34:48,680 Speaker 1: benefit them, and they're getting paid a boatload of money, 512 00:34:49,440 --> 00:34:54,759 Speaker 1: so they're very reluctant to upset the apple cart. And 513 00:34:54,800 --> 00:34:58,040 Speaker 1: when all of those people inside the Beltway that work 514 00:34:58,080 --> 00:35:01,440 Speaker 1: for the federal government start screaming about, oh I had 515 00:35:01,480 --> 00:35:03,480 Speaker 1: to go open a hot dog stand, Oh I had 516 00:35:03,520 --> 00:35:05,600 Speaker 1: to write a novel to try to survive, and I 517 00:35:05,640 --> 00:35:10,160 Speaker 1: couldn't do it. The blowback from the special interest, the 518 00:35:10,200 --> 00:35:13,239 Speaker 1: blowback from all of those bargaining units, all of those 519 00:35:13,360 --> 00:35:18,560 Speaker 1: unions will come down hard on that congressman's district or 520 00:35:18,560 --> 00:35:22,960 Speaker 1: that senator's state, and they'll put political pressure on them 521 00:35:23,520 --> 00:35:29,600 Speaker 1: to keep the status quo. You want my proof, think 522 00:35:29,680 --> 00:35:35,399 Speaker 1: about now. I think e Long Musk made a few 523 00:35:35,440 --> 00:35:40,240 Speaker 1: mistakes and how he approached trying to reduce federal spending 524 00:35:40,640 --> 00:35:46,600 Speaker 1: and improve federal efficiencies. He over promised and under delivered, 525 00:35:47,840 --> 00:35:51,560 Speaker 1: and running a chainsaw around waving in the air probably 526 00:35:51,560 --> 00:35:55,280 Speaker 1: didn't send the right signal. And that caused that political 527 00:35:55,320 --> 00:35:59,440 Speaker 1: machine inside the belt Way to rise up and demonize 528 00:35:59,520 --> 00:36:02,680 Speaker 1: him and demonize everything that Doze was trying to do. 529 00:36:03,760 --> 00:36:07,080 Speaker 1: It even caused some of the president's cabinet members to say, oh, 530 00:36:07,160 --> 00:36:09,560 Speaker 1: back off, Wait a minute, you're cutting way too much. 531 00:36:09,719 --> 00:36:11,680 Speaker 1: Let's do this with a scalpel. Let's not do it 532 00:36:11,719 --> 00:36:15,759 Speaker 1: with an axe. So at some point, at some point, 533 00:36:15,800 --> 00:36:18,359 Speaker 1: there has to be enough political pressure put by you 534 00:36:18,440 --> 00:36:22,440 Speaker 1: and me as taxpayers, on these members of Congress that say, 535 00:36:22,440 --> 00:36:24,879 Speaker 1: we're tired of paying for all of this, we're tired 536 00:36:24,920 --> 00:36:29,640 Speaker 1: of the inefficiencies. And if we don't change it, if 537 00:36:29,680 --> 00:36:34,279 Speaker 1: we don't actually put enough pressure on members of the 538 00:36:34,320 --> 00:36:39,200 Speaker 1: House in the Senate to make the federal government more efficient, leaner, meaner, 539 00:36:39,640 --> 00:36:44,080 Speaker 1: and get the proof is the past month, then the 540 00:36:44,120 --> 00:36:46,880 Speaker 1: debt will continue to implode on us to where we 541 00:36:46,960 --> 00:36:50,680 Speaker 1: just won't survive. It's that simple. It is that simple. 542 00:36:50,840 --> 00:36:53,080 Speaker 1: It's the weekend with Michael Brown. Text lines open three 543 00:36:53,120 --> 00:36:55,839 Speaker 1: to three, one zero three, keyword Micha or Michael. I'll 544 00:36:55,840 --> 00:36:56,480 Speaker 1: be right back.