|
My son works for the federal government.
Well, not really, He actually works for a company that has a government contract. He has an office in a government building and works next to government employees, and does the same thing government employees do except that he makes less money, has fewer benefits, though he costs the taxpayers roughly the same as a regular government employee (if he got the same benefits). Still it's a job, and he lives at home so it allows him to pay off his debts.
Last month he was told that the company's contract had been rebid and his company lost the contract. Evidently another company bid less than his company. My son's last day at work is Friday. Normally in these cases, the new company picks up most of the old employees, but the old employees won't know who will be picked up and who won't until - you guessed it - Friday! Of course those who are kept on will lose the vacation and sick leave they've accrued, and some will be offered less pay than they are getting now - for how else can the new company under bid the old company?
So here we have a couple of hundred employees who have no job security - not now, not ever. They can never accrue any significant vacation or sick leave, and chances are they will never make more than they make now, because those who earn more than starting wages are a detriment to the company when it comes time to rebid the contract in another year or so.
I'm a manager for the federal government and I have been told the only new employee positions we can get are contractors, in fact in the coming years I'm told a significant number of existing jobs will be switched to contractors.
I now have a contract employee. We pay the contractor a huge amount for each employee they provide, yet the employee gets only slightly more than half that amount, the rest goes to the company (most of which is profit). In the offices around me we probably have over 50 contractors now, so multiply this cost by 50 and you see how much it's costing our little corner of the government.
What are the benefits to the government for switching to contractors? The advantages given by the politicians are mostly bogus. The one BIG advantage is this: contractors can be terminated in a heartbeat. The only reason they have to give is: "It's for the good of the government." No notice, no severence pay, no job.
I believe the neo-cons have been planning this for some time now. They are getting everything in place so they can slash the size of the government drastically, probably near the end of Bush's second term (it would never occur to them he might lose). They will justify it by pointing to the huge deficit they have been building the past three years and tell the American people, "It's either do this or cut Social Security, it's your choice." This will be hailed by the libertarians and the small minded voters who are convinced the only function of the government is to feast on taxpayers money. But who will be left to test the meat, enforce safe water standards, forecast the weather, monitor the Nation’s health, enforce pollution standards, monitor companies for compliance with SEC regulations, oversee banks, prevent pests (plants and insects) from entering the country, insure mines are safe, audit corporation's tax returns, etc., etc.? The corporations will be freer than ever before to do whatever they please and the American worker and the American people will get screwed.
We have got to put an end to this administration in 2004!
|