I’ve been hearing that many federal government employees are worried that they may lose their jobs. This is because of the aggressive work of President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

DOGE has started to look into budgets, staffing levels, and organizational failures in various parts of the government. Much to the surprise of no one, they have discovered there is a good deal of waste, corruption, and (believe it or not) lack of worker enthusiasm.

We taxpayers are paying more than we should and getting less than we deserve. Surprise: this has been going on for a long time. Perhaps that is why government employees are so shocked that there might be layoffs, downsizing, or early retirements — realities people in private industry have faced their entire working lives.

It seems the employees of the federal government believe they should have their jobs for life, get regular raises and promotions, work from home, and enjoy a month of paid vacation a year. So in light of an administration that believes government should be efficient and effective — and taxpayers should get honest work from the people they pay to serve them — federal workers are worried. Maybe they deserve to be worried.

Don’t get me wrong. Losing a job is a terrible experience. I’ve been through a couple major corporate reorganizations and downsizings that cost thousands of people their jobs. I’ve been the guy losing his job and the guy telling friends they were “redundant.” It is unpleasant being on either side of the conversation.
But life goes on, people adjust, and do the heroic tasks of caring for their families. There are sleepless nights and ample worry.

But people who run businesses, own homes (or hope to), and pay taxes also worry.

They worry about government regulations that make it difficult to stay in business.

They worry about how much higher their property taxes will go — and whether they can keep their homes (or ever afford one).

They worry that massive government spending and debt will mean they will lose more of their hard-earning income to taxes imposed by a wasteful and corrupt bureaucracy.

DOGE may seen cruel and heartless to federal workers fearing for their jobs. But to people scrimping to pay for health care and groceries, DOGE looks like the hope for a brighter future. If DOGE really saves a billion here and a billion there, those are billions that don’t have to come out of the paychecks of working Americans.