having worked inside public institutions with leadership attempting to implement rapid austerity, these messages–while rage inducing–are functionally worthless. they are meant to unsettle workers and pressure them into believing the narrative. I see these moves as desperation plays, the hail Mary on 1st and 10 betraying their complete lack of a strategy. and the real value in them is being able to confirm the identity of compradors/careerists who are on board with the new bosses.

something I keep close to my heart in contexts like that is that leadership is NOT a role. it is an ability. in a situation like this, the people at the top don’t know shit about fuck. they certainly aren’t leaders. they are just clumsy animals banging on the walls trying to be disruptive of the public goods factory. the defense is the same defense against them in the private sector: don’t do what they want. don’t accept what they peddle. quietly undermine them at every turn. bosses aren’t institutions. workers are the institutions. workers have the real power, and they loathe us for it.

instead, focus on providing value to the stakeholders that deserve it, half-ass / ignore the leadership directives (not enough to get noticed, but ride that line lol), and keep delivering on your personal, idealized version of your institution’s mission right up until the day they have to send someone to stop you and remove you specifically. they rarely have that capacity. and unless you are head and shoulders above the average in obvious subterfuge, they can’t actually root you out like the naughty weed you are.

when their backs are turned, you are spartacus. when they look at you directly, you’re just a numbered cell in a hive so large they find it existentially threatening.

it’s all about trying to get us to voluntarily exit the public sector or become toxic/dysfunctional in our roles and degrade public services.

now, obviously there are limits to what you should put up with, but sometimes there’s a perverse joy in fucking with the bosses by doing a good job in a way they don’t want but can’t complain about.

What’s awesome /s is seeing so many people jump for joy at all the workers possibly about to lose their job. Bonus points when they can’t fathom that federal employees are working class.

I was shooting heroin and reading “The Fountainhead” in the front seat of my privately owned police cruiser when a call came in. I put a quarter in the radio to activate it. It was the chief.

“Bad news, detective. We got a situation.”

“What? Is the mayor trying to ban trans fats again?”

“Worse. Somebody just stole four hundred and forty-seven million dollars’ worth of bitcoins.”

The heroin needle practically fell out of my arm. “What kind of monster would do something like that? Bitcoins are the ultimate currency: virtual, anonymous, stateless. They represent true economic freedom, not subject to arbitrary manipulation by any government. Do we have any leads?”

“Not yet. But mark my words: we’re going to figure out who did this and we’re going to take them down … provided someone pays us a fair market rate to do so.”

“Easy, chief,” I said. “Any rate the market offers is, by definition, fair.”

He laughed. “That’s why you’re the best I got, Lisowski. Now you get out there and find those bitcoins.”

“Don’t worry,” I said. “I’m on it.”

I put a quarter in the siren. Ten minutes later, I was on the scene. It was a normal office building, strangled on all sides by public sidewalks. I hopped over them and went inside.

“Home Depot™ Presents the Police!®” I said, flashing my badge and my gun and a small picture of Ron Paul. “Nobody move unless you want to!” They didn’t.

“Now, which one of you punks is going to pay me to investigate this crime?” No one spoke up.

“Come on,” I said. “Don’t you all understand that the protection of private property is the foundation of all personal liberty?”

It didn’t seem like they did.

“Seriously, guys. Without a strong economic motivator, I’m just going to stand here and not solve this case. Cash is fine, but I prefer being paid in gold bullion or autographed Penn Jillette posters.”

Nothing. These people were stonewalling me. It almost seemed like they didn’t care that a fortune in computer money invented to buy drugs was missing.

I figured I could wait them out. I lit several cigarettes indoors. A pregnant lady coughed, and I told her that secondhand smoke is a myth. Just then, a man in glasses made a break for it.

“Subway™ Eat Fresh and Freeze, Scumbag!®” I yelled.

Too late. He was already out the front door. I went after him.

“Stop right there!” I yelled as I ran. He was faster than me because I always try to avoid stepping on public sidewalks. Our country needs a private-sidewalk voucher system, but, thanks to the incestuous interplay between our corrupt federal government and the public-sidewalk lobby, it will never happen.

I was losing him. “Listen, I’ll pay you to stop!” I yelled. “What would you consider an appropriate price point for stopping? I’ll offer you a thirteenth of an ounce of gold and a gently worn ‘Bob Barr ‘08’ extra-large long-sleeved men’s T-shirt!”

He turned. In his hand was a revolver that the Constitution said he had every right to own. He fired at me and missed. I pulled my own gun, put a quarter in it, and fired back. The bullet lodged in a U.S.P.S. mailbox less than a foot from his head. I shot the mailbox again, on purpose.

“All right, all right!” the man yelled, throwing down his weapon. “I give up, cop! I confess: I took the bitcoins.”

“Why’d you do it?” I asked, as I slapped a pair of Oikos™ Greek Yogurt Presents Handcuffs® on the guy.

“Because I was afraid.”

“Afraid?”

“Afraid of an economic future free from the pernicious meddling of central bankers,” he said. “I’m a central banker.”

I wanted to coldcock the guy. Years ago, a central banker killed my partner. Instead, I shook my head.

“Let this be a message to all your central-banker friends out on the street,” I said. “No matter how many bitcoins you steal, you’ll never take away the dream of an open society based on the principles of personal and economic freedom.”

He nodded, because he knew I was right. Then he swiped his credit card to pay me for arresting him.

god bless elon musk on his task of destroying the US

This is a prelude to the privatization of federal agencies. Note that the severance payout is until September, which is when the federal budget cycle ends. If the agencies are not staffed adequately in the following cycle, then their services will deteriorate and thus making the way for private takeover. Government contracts will have to be outsourced to private sector.

Honestly the bourgeoisie are simply using the Trump/Musk “downsizing of the government” as excuses to advance their goal of privatizing government agencies.

The US really is doing shock doctrine to itself.

The private sector can suck my dick. I’m not grinding my ass off for the sake of a bunch of upper management perverts and dimwit shareholders. Working at the Post Office kind of sucks, but at least I know there’s the pretense of being useful to the community first and foremost.

i hope someone shoots elon and that he doesnt die but becomes permanently physically injured and loses most of his brain function but retains just enough to realize how much his life sucks now

Yeah I loved that little fuck you they snuck in there. There’s also a pretty silly typo in the last part of the FAQ. They’re not using the best people.

I love that they talk about productivity… the easiest way that’s measured is via revenue and profit, and someone needs to break it to them that fed govt is mission based and is forbidden by law to make money. There’s no easy way to compare productivity in terms of selling things and productivity of achieving a broad mission, particularly when you factor in constant political meddling and budget restriction.

But of course, all of that’s irrelevant, since the goal here has nothing to do with efficiency or productivity, but just hollowing out the govt so that corruption can flow with greater ease.

I don’t think they can fire you guys so they are trying to scare you out. Dont blink

I haven’t been paying attention to the space; heard about the scam buyouts in passing.

I have a feeling some amount of Feds are about to get radicalized. Most will still hold on to their Lib hopes and dreams, but I’d imagine some might have a Coming to Lenin moment.

Send him PPB

screaming from the grave.

Wait til yer agency sends out an email saying we fully support the presidents EO on defending women from those stinky trans people. I think today’s the deadline on that one

ridiculous how much power the President has in the U.S. that unelected not even bureaucrats can do this.

i’m not even saying norms and institutions can’t be broken eventually but this shit should take at least a few years