More than 30 years experience with government contracting and financial analysis taught me a lesson. The US Government is bloated with unnecessary costs, particularly in the area of its employment excesses! It has become even more bloated by the outrageous additions in government employees made by the Obama administration.
This government excess is compounded because of the effects it has on every entity from whom our government buys things. It amazes me when politicians try to convince us that 2%-10% reductions in the rate of government growth will hurt our nation. It is a FACT that if our government was willing to keep its competent employees, fire its incompetent employees and those who are on the payroll because of their ethnicity/politics/nepotism, the fixed cost of government personnel could EASILY be reduced by 30% or more! If the govenment were to further reduce its personnel costs by ridding us of the ridiculous and unnecessary regulations on businesses, another 8%-10% reduction in costs would result. This last step could also reduce the costs of the products procurred by our government by 30%!
Our government is an incompetent employer, and is inefficient in it's "business" practices! If competence could be forced on our government, there'd be entire agencies that could be eliminated with little or no noticeable impact, as well as 30% or greater reductions in personnel within the Military-Procurement agencies, Social-Security Administration, Medicare employees, Congressional staffs, Executive Cabinet hierarchy and staffs, etc. etc. etc.
Unfortunately, once government has been allowed to grow as large as ours has, those in power become unwilling to give up even a small part of their little empires!