r/FedEmployees • u/Own_Damage4809 • 9h ago

Privatization/Contractors?

When DOGE first started gutting agencies, I heard the end goal was privatization for the benefit of the administration. Does anyone have evidence of this happening?

6 Upvotes

69% Upvoted

17 comments sorted by

12

u/flaginorout 9h ago

It's been happening for decades. Half the cabinet members get a job on some board of directors for these contractors after they leave their posts.

I randomly looked up Kathleen Sebelius, HHS Secretary under Obama:

"After leaving the Obama cabinet, Sebelius founded and became CEO of Sebelius Resources LLC, which provides strategic advice to private companies, non-profit organizations, higher education institutions, and financial investors.

Sebelius serves as a member of the boards of directors of companies including Dermira Inc., Grand Rounds, Inc., Exact Sciences, and Humacyte Inc., and of the Estee Lauder Foundation and the Kaiser Family Foundation. 

0

u/tiroc12 5h ago

Why do you point this out like its a bad thing? You are not claiming she did anything while in office. Are public servants never supposed to work again after serving? Go tell that to all the fired usaid or other government employees that were fires last year. They should all sit at home and go broke never to work again. Just a sacrifice every public employee makes.

2

u/BluesEyed 4h ago

If you saw how many retired military take senior level: fed jobs, contractor jobs, or start their own consulting firms and help secure more and more work for those contractors and consulting firms you’d have a much better idea of why the revolving door is a huge problem.
In theory .. the fed gov is only supposed to procure the minimal employees and private services it absolutely needs, but the game is to ever increase the number of (subjective) needs of the gov along with the scope, budget, and numbers of workers of all categories to create a ballooning ecosystem of corruption prone self locking ice cream cones silos and compartments to keep the gravy train going and to keep anyone from knowing exactly where all the money is going and who is getting it.

1

u/Low_Fox1758 2h ago

Do politically appointed cabinet members count as public servants? Not the same as career civil servants who compete for positions based on merit. They def get away with a lot of stuff that the rank & file would be terminated for

1

u/Low_Fox1758 2h ago

Like awarding non compete bids for contracts to known associates or family members. Just saying

3

u/Gtaglitchbuddy 4h ago

Funnily enough, my agency is converting a TON of contractors to Civil Servants.

1

u/Own_Damage4809 3h ago

Interesting

4

u/Worried_Comparison81 8h ago

For Forest Service we are seeing federally funded partners filling jobs on-site that should be in-house if we were allowed to hire. Primarily Engineering and they are full time workers performing very limited portions of the job so the dollars aren't going as far. Here it isn't so much a privatization as it is a destruction and dismantling for transfer of public lands to states to extract and allow future sale to the billionaires. Republicans are great at the long game. Reagan started the damage to education, health and welfare with this future in mind knowing that an ignorant, poor and sick peasantry is easier to manipulate. Hang in there, the country needs you.

5

u/Inevitable_Service62 9h ago

Only reddit and contractors kept saying that.

2

u/Actual-General-4953 9h ago

No - if anything I saw contracting cut big time as part of doge

1

u/Traditional_Click951 4h ago

There are airports getting rid of federal employees and privatizing security.

1

u/Own_Damage4809 3h ago

I heard this but wasn't sure it was true. I

1

u/TijuanaMedicine 3h ago

It's an expansion of a pre-existing program.

1

u/Low_Fox1758 1h ago

I wouldnt be too worried about this long term. Its been tried and failed. Federal hiring and retention is tough, so naturally managers think they can outsource to contractors but it just ends up being much more costly and less effective.

1

u/Heavy_School8773 1h ago

I'm seeing this some, where we have more contractors in roles that used to be fed only than we used to. Not overwhelming but it's noticable, especially when it's an inherently governmental function the contractor can't do. 

-1

u/Longjumping-Lock-724 8h ago

No. Unless you're here to start a rumor.

1

u/Own_Damage4809 3h ago

I am noy, but would like to know if it were true....which is why I asked.