So what should we make of the ongoing saga to cut federal jobs in this new administration? And what about when those cuts are made to critical programs in the U.S. Department of Agriculture?
We can all express the common wisdom with reining in runaway government spending. After all, the government works for all of us, not the other way around. And when the economy forces the private sector to cinch belts, cut excess and be more efficient, the government should do the same.
But then comes a frequent complaint: The government at all levels is riddled with waste, fraud and abuse.
Um, maybe? Look, is there waste, heck yes. Is there abuse? Usually that’s what protects the waste. But is there fraud? I don’t know. Fraud is criminal and that would warrant prosecution. So let’s see the clear-cut evidence.
The fact is, proving waste, fraud and abuse is easier said than done. “It’s a very broad idea,” said Matt Weidinger of the conservative American Enterprise Institute, not exactly a government sugar daddy. “But this phrase ‘waste, fraud and abuse’ obviously means different things to different people.”
Take some of the probationary job cuts at the USDA that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency slashed back in February. A group of 17 workers were cut from the U.S. Animal Research Center (MARC) in Clay Center, Nebraska. That facility has been critical to making beef safer over the past 30 years. Others were fired at the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Manhattan, Kansas, while working on zoonotic diseases and animal health.
And another group of federal employees was cut at the National Centers for Animal Health in Ames, Iowa – a facility deeply immersed in livestock research, foreign disease diagnostics and U.S. vaccine regulations. Some of the specialists let go were working on highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) as it threatens poultry and dairy herds and had to be hired back.
I’m not saying every government job is critical, but many are. Then there’s the whole economic impact of job investments and performance to consider.
Kevin Good, a veteran analyst for CattleFax, offered this insight at CattleCon in San Antonio in February.
“Federal government spending represents 23 percent of GDP,” he said. “And if you roll in all state spending, from a government standpoint, it goes to 36 percent. So, as we want to take a little bit longer view, if there is some pullback and there's less dollars into the economy from the government standpoint, do we risk a slowdown as we think about going through 2025 and ’26? I think we have to be prepared for that as we think about our (beef) demand equation … We do need to be prepared that it is a shifting wind.
“As long as unemployment stays where it is, we feel comfortable. But if there's less dollars in the system, obviously there should be a little bit of nervousness.”
The government should be constantly vigilant to ensure spending levels meet adequate demand and efficiency. But let’s use the blade like a surgeon, not a lumberjack.
