March 9 2025
One of the biggest opportunities of my career was to be the so -called government worker.
I have served for four years in the city government for Sioux Falls. If you ever have the chance to do the same, be part of the government at any level – local, state or federal, whether serving as an employee, an elected official or on a volunteer board, I encourage you to do so.
You will gain a perspective for the government that will make you a better citizen.
You will learn, as I did, that one government entity is essentially like any other organization. She has her star performers and her subformers. There are layers of bureaucracy and layers of control and balance, and fraud is minimizing one without compromising the other. There are programs and practices that probably transcend their useful lives and others who deserve more investment.
The difference, of course, is responsibility. In the private sector, we are responsible for our owners, our shareholders, stakeholders or a combination of them.
In government, you are responsible for the public. You are managing public money to provide public services. There must be a high bar for performance. It should focus on efficiency, innovation and all other best operating practices that run any successful organization.
I have seen from a distance in recent weeks as an unprecedented attempt within the federal government to restructure its operations has been unveiled, led by the Government Efficiency Department, or Doge.
I tried to determine how many federal workers have been fired in recent weeks, which soon have been impossible to consider the information available and the ever -developing approach of this effort to simplify operations.
The US today Reports that the White House did not respond to its repeated requests “to an accurate number of employees fired. Fires are expected to relocate next month to include workers not in a test period, ”she reported.
We know that a purchase offer went approximately 2.3 million federal workers. She arrived through an email with the now famous “one fork on the street” title.
And here is the beginning of the problem.
An email.
I think there is a perception between some – and I will say in most cases that it is a misunderstanding – that we have a large number of government employees earning a payment in exchange for minimal labor production.
I just don’t think this is the case, especially as I have seen people I know and worked with it become part of these last staff reductions.
On the contrary, I think we are probably allowing years – even decades – of institutional knowledge and unique ability to get out of the door, with a disturbing dehumanizing flexion along the path that deserves reaction.
An email is not how you say to someone who has given him years of public service, and in some cases likely to do it instead of commanding a higher salary in the private sector, which at best their work is no longer needed and at worst represents waste or even fraud.
It was surprising to me that last week on our sister’s website, Pigeon605, we had the opportunity to tell an extraordinary history of the work that Sioux Falls Fire Rescue made last year to save Lake McCook in the middle of destructive floods.
You can read the full story here, but ultimately these “government employees” were nothing less than heroic. And the same type of work occurs in large and small ways every day, from the law enforcement agent that works an influential case on the VA worker who cares for a veteran for people who serve as sources for small businesses and support accessible housing.
They are all government workers. They work for you and me. I know how I would like my employees to be managed, holding responsibilities and treated when their services are considered no longer needed. And it’s not like what I have seen reported. I am hopeful that there may be more that occur behind the scenes, as there are often in government, but from the outside it has set a tone that makes me wonder why any high talent would consider a career in the federal service.
And don’t be children, the public sector faces the same workforce that the private sector challenges – sometimes more sharp. Do not look farther than the city of Sioux Falls’ large -scale public awareness campaign for its many job openings.
Or, in fact, you probably look a little further, for the state of Minnesota, who recently issued messages aim to relocate federal workers to encourage them to take into account opportunities within the state government.
State linked to its career site with information about:
- Work search and application preparation, including workshops inside and online, resume network ratings and opportunities.
- Resources for veterans.
- Instructions to apply for unemployment insurance benefits.
“The state of Minnesota is a great place to work with, with work in a variety of areas focused on providing essential services and working to improve the well -being and quality of life for all minototans,” said Erin Campbell, Commissioner of Management and Budget in a statement. “We welcome applications from federal workers who understand the power of public service to improve life.”
I hope that our state, county and municipal governments also use this opportunity to connect with the talent that I know will be available or already, and I encourage private employers to do the same.
I have no doubt that there is much opportunity to create a more efficient federal government, as there would be such great organization. As a taxpayer, I expect that commitment to continuous improvement no matter who is in office. I also fully know the much more significant changes that will be needed to address the federal deficit and national debt – this is the “real fork on the road”.
But in the meantime, try to remember that people influenced today by what is mostly felt as a political statement are only those – people. If you’ve ever spent a break from work or saw a colleague influenced by one, it’s no different, and their value is no less. And if you are someone who has been influenced recently, I will say what I hope others at a late point have already told you: Thank you for your service.