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Your contribution fuels the stories that shape Decorah—make a difference today. There are so many items to address with the current administration—subverting due process, yo-yo tariffs with resulting stock market plunges, trying to eradicate PBS, using the government to go after perceived enemies, trying to cut cancer research, etc. But in this letter, I want to focus on treatment of Federal employees and plans to make our Federal workforce a political minefield. I am a retired Federal employee—and happy to be retired in today's world. As everyone has seen during the Trump administration, DOGE has been cutting the Federal workforce. Some cuts have been through retirement options but the bulk of the cuts have been for probationary employees. From what I can find out, in 2023, 42% of the Federal workforce was over 50 and 29% over 55. This was compared to 33% of the general US labor workforce being over 50. Only 7.4% of the Federal workforce was under 30 compared to nearly 20% of the general workforce. About 1/3 of the Federal workforce is (or was) veterans. All those probationary people that were let go were the future for the Federal government. There was never a plan for who or where to cut—just a slash and burn approach. Everyone, but especially those at the local level, will feel the effects of these cuts. Meanwhile, Trump has spent an estimated $26M of government funds on golf during his second term, spent $10-$20M going to the Super Bowl, is planning a parade for his birthday that will cost anywhere from $25-$45 M, and the taxpayers will now get to spend up to $1B on revamping the "free" Qatari jet. But we can't keep our parks and agencies fully staffed—too much money. The Trump administration is also trying to shove through a plan that would remove the civil service system, which has been in place over 140 years, and replace it with "Schedule Policy/Career". Trump tried to get this through during his first term but called it Schedule F then. After the Civil War, the government created the civil service as unqualified people were getting jobs via political favors. The Civil Service act removed the majority of the government employees from the political agendas. In fact, as per the Hatch Act, government employees were restricted from using their job or titles for any political agendas. This new plan would wipe that out. Any employee, instead of being removed for specific acts (such as poor performance), could then be fired at will—no reason given and no appeals allowed. Instead, the government would be allowed to fire people based on political allegiance rather than merit. Is that what you, the public, want in a government employee? A political hack who cares more about his/her politics than the job they are supposed to do? If you do not agree with this new plan, please contact your representatives. Vicky Hinsenbrock Decorah, Iowa We want to hear from you! Submit your letter to the editor and join the community discussion.

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Letter to the Editor - Treatment of Federal Employees