Submitted for your Delectation or Rue

 

President Donald Trump justified his administration's mass firings of federal workers by claiming, without evidence, that many of them simply were collecting a paycheck and doing nothing, NBC4 Washington reported on Wednesday. https://t.co/mgU8CC9FgA

— Raw Story (@RawStory) March 13, 2025

So sayeth the Constant Golfer. But what of ElonWorld? 

Glad you asked: he's made sure he has a gaming system in his big boy DOGE government office. 

These are supposed to be people we take seriously. I don't even know how they take themselves seriously. 

(I've started writing science fiction (again!) over at one of my other places. Because sometimes fiction is easier to take seriously than whatever this is.  You don't have to read it. It's like my poetry, just another thing I turn to when I've got a lot of thoughts and practical outlets feel very awkward.) 

Anyway--with respects to civil service and the idea that some employees aren't even working or aren't even real--I am a manager IRL and oversee employees, albeit at a low level. I can tell when my people are logged into their systems, that they are taking calls or responding to cases, whether they are submitting written reports, and are responding to emails, and so forth. I am required to submit monthly reports and semi-annual performance reviews of my people--I know what training modules they have taken, I know what their paid time off situation is, I monitor their late minutes and breaks. We have communication about what they need to know or clarifications they need for their job performance. I am aware of paid leave requests and any required documentation that has to be approved by HR for them to not go on No pay status. I know what written communications they send and notes they make in the course of their duties.

Basically, I would be seriously surprised if the experience of other civil service line managers was different. For me, managing my employees is part of my job, in addition to any other duties I may have on my job. And Trump and Musk are both "managers" supposedly in their own businesses and are not aware of the actual day to day work of, um. management? 

I know what duties my upper management entails, and their responsiveness to mine and other employees' concerns. I do not know what kind of management they (Musk and Trump) perform in the private sector, but for them to maintain the idea that we in government service can just entertain some "no call no show" dead weight is laughable. Of course, no manager wants a virtual vampire negatively affecting their own unit's performance. Bad employees are just extra work for the people who do perform!  Our government offices have a budget, and we need to be efficient. At our best, our people are well-qualified, regularly trained and tested, and rigorously reviewed on their meritorious service to their department. My team can't operate with people who are not good team players. They make more work for the rest of us! We don't want "dead weight." We want motivated people who look forward to the challenges of their day. 

My best management practices involve knowing all the things about my employees and working with them to help them do their best, just like I try to do mine. I have to be honest about their performance and mine to accomplish that. 

What are Musk and Trump doing? Are they accountable and honest? Or do they hide from accountability and transparency? I know what I see.