Possible for Trump to move federal agencies to "flyover country"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I don't profess expertise, but it's not an unprecedented move. My agency was open 15 years ago in the boonies. (I wish the boonies stayed that way, but alas, the never-ending stream of transplants transferred these back waters beyond recognition.) The agency next door was moved about 5 years ago or so. This saves money and helps local economies. What's a measly position in DC provides solid middle-class living elsewhere. It is really a win-win.

About talent... Come on. What kind of special talent do you need to do HR? The same goes for most pencil-pushers. Actually, when the agency was moved, the majority of folks didn't move from DC. (Understandable, because it's not always possible to uproot like that.) Most came from Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, you name it.

Some of us have much more specialized skills and education than HR.

Former Fed (who has been posting about Ann Arbor), and I agree that it's weird that most people assume Feds are all pencil or paper pushers with generic skill sets like HR. Though I will say that HR for Feds is different than HR for private employers. I think it's part-and-parcel of people not thinking critically about the functions the Federal government provides before spouting off about Federal employees. No, the skillset needed to manage nuclear clean up and toxic waste is not easy to just find wherever.

The thing is you don't need to find skill wherever. You attract skill by offering competitive pay and benefits. Which the federal government does already. As the U.S. economy weakens, jobs in government and enforcement will become more coveted, as they are in most poorer countries. Therefore, attracting talent will not be a problem.

Having said that, the majority of the workforce still get by on transferable skills and can be found anywhere in the country. As I mentioned, the concept of moving HR, accountants, and all sorts of supporting tasks to the field is not new and has been done with great success. I have no issue with keeping very specialized offices confined to certain areas for whatever reason, but they are and will always be in the minority.

Not exactly. Government does not offer competetive wages in many areas such as IT. One can be a highly qualified technical SME able to make more outside government but not get above GS-14 without sacrificing the technical position for a managerial one to get to a 15.

[Anonymous]

Those who can make more money in the private sector generally do so. If the government doesn't pay, it doesn't need the expertise that much. When it really needs something, it pays through the nose.

[Anonymous]

Lotta test bureaucrats in here worried about their home value. Don't worry, your dollar stretches further in Columbus Ohio and Kalamazoo Michigan and Buffalo New York.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lotta test bureaucrats in here worried about their home value. Don't worry, your dollar stretches further in Columbus Ohio and Kalamazoo Michigan and Buffalo New York.

Lotta people in here wanting to prove over and over how ignorant they are. Federal salaries are adjusted to the cost of living by location.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Those who can make more money in the private sector generally do so. If the government doesn't pay, it doesn't need the expertise that much. When it really needs something, it pays through the nose.

Not everyone is in it for the money. In fact, most aren't. Believe it or not, some people actually believe in serving their country. Some people actually believe in the agency mission. I know of many people in government like that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Those who can make more money in the private sector generally do so. If the government doesn't pay, it doesn't need the expertise that much. When it really needs something, it pays through the nose.

Not everyone is in it for the money. In fact, most aren't. Believe it or not, some people actually believe in serving their country. Some people actually believe in the agency mission. I know of many people in government like that.

+1. I am one of them. I worked on Wall Street prior to the 2008 crisis. I saw firsthand some of the shenanigans in the financial services industry. Decided to switch sides. I am certainly NOT doing it for the money

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Draining the swamp = decentralizing the cartel, spreading the Beltway riches.

Drain the swamp by installing your kids - who run your business - as gatekeepers to policymakers, and appointing extremely wealthy Exxon, Goldman Sachs, Rothschild alumni to Cabinet positions. And don't forget to hide your business ties.

Trump isn't draining the swamp. He's filling it with alligators. I'm not even the most disgusted with him, I'm most disgusted with so many of our countrymen who don't pay attention to his betrayal and hypocrisy or, worse, gloss over it because he's "their guy."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:With 7 of the 12 richest counties in the US surrounding DC, Trump should work on decentralizing this vulgar concentration of bureaucrat wealth by moving federal agencies to the middle of the country. Example: Dept. of Education to Betsy Devos's hometown of Grand Rapids, Mich. That alone would lock up Michigan as a red state in 2020.

The agencies can slash bloat and wages in the process (lower cost of living in flyover country), it would be a boom for non-coastal economies, and policies would likely better reflect real America versus insulated coastal elite outlook.

DC does reflect America. America - taken as a whole - is divided, and large populations are selfish, petty, uninformed, and nihilistic. Look no further than Congress, which houses the people sent to DC from the states. News flash: The public is no prize.

I have much greater respect for executive agency staff who actually become experts in their field and try to do the right thing for the country - despite constantly getting dumped on by people with no clue what they're talking about. They are real heroes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this would be great. It made sense to have all government here but with Webex, phone, internet it's just not needed. I for one wouldn't mind moving to an area with lower cost of living.

Please. I moved home to flyover country to get AWAY from you people.

I'd love to see how you'd handle midwestern winters. Hopefully that would persuade you to run back to the city that shuts down over 1 inch of snow.

Oh no, PP, now you REALLY told us. LMAO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this would be great. It made sense to have all government here but with Webex, phone, internet it's just not needed. I for one wouldn't mind moving to an area with lower cost of living.

Please. I moved home to flyover country to get AWAY from you people.

I'd love to see how you'd handle midwestern winters. Hopefully that would persuade you to run back to the city that shuts down over 1 inch of snow.

Haha I grew up in the great lakes and handle snow just fine. Oops! You assumed wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A better question would be why the people in Michigan, etc. feel they are "entitled" to Federal jobs. The D.C. area has an educated workforce. Federal careers aren't a welfare program. Any attempt to redistribute our Fed agencies should be called out as a redistribution of wealth.

The federal "swamp" built this. This place was a dump 25 years ago. Now it's just vulgar compared to the rest of the country. 7 of the richest dozen counties! No wonder all the agencies are out of touch and useless.

It is not to the federal government that make these the richest counties, it is all of the lobbyists. And Trump has appointed a whole bunch of billionaires does not exactly lower the average income of this region, if they move here. Please use your critical thinking skills before you type.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Those who can make more money in the private sector generally do so. If the government doesn't pay, it doesn't need the expertise that much. When it really needs something, it pays through the nose.

Not everyone is in it for the money. In fact, most aren't. Believe it or not, some people actually believe in serving their country. Some people actually believe in the agency mission. I know of many people in government like that.

+1. I am one of them. I worked on Wall Street prior to the 2008 crisis. I saw firsthand some of the shenanigans in the financial services industry. Decided to switch sides. I am certainly NOT doing it for the money

Same. Govt attorney. Harvard Law grad, summa, federal appellate clerkship. I definitely could've made more money if I didn't care about the ethical implications.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Exxon Mobil moved nearly its entire workforce to Houston. Life goes on

Hey silly - not sure if you went to business school - but that is where the OIL is.

It makes sense to keep government agencies in DC because that is where the GOVERNMENT is lead from. DC. Three of the branches of government are based here. $5 if you can guess all three and $1 for each reason why it might make sense for government agency headquarters to be in the same town as the three branches of government...

Is going to business school a prerequisite for being Secretary of State?

No but to understand that you work where the resources and need are based.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A better question would be why the people in Michigan, etc. feel they are "entitled" to Federal jobs. The D.C. area has an educated workforce. Federal careers aren't a welfare program. Any attempt to redistribute our Fed agencies should be called out as a redistribution of wealth.

The federal "swamp" built this. This place was a dump 25 years ago. Now it's just vulgar compared to the rest of the country. 7 of the richest dozen counties! No wonder all the agencies are out of touch and useless.

It is not to the federal government that make these the richest counties, it is all of the lobbyists. And Trump has appointed a whole bunch of billionaires does not exactly lower the average income of this region, if they move here. Please use your critical thinking skills before you type.

Trumps cabinet is going to mess with our averages. I doubt any of them will live here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A better question would be why the people in Michigan, etc. feel they are "entitled" to Federal jobs. The D.C. area has an educated workforce. Federal careers aren't a welfare program. Any attempt to redistribute our Fed agencies should be called out as a redistribution of wealth.

The federal "swamp" built this. This place was a dump 25 years ago. Now it's just vulgar compared to the rest of the country. 7 of the richest dozen counties! No wonder all the agencies are out of touch and useless.

It is not to the federal government that make these the richest counties, it is all of the lobbyists. And Trump has appointed a whole bunch of billionaires does not exactly lower the average income of this region, if they move here. Please use your critical thinking skills before you type.

+1. Most of the Feds I know live in modest 1940s capes/ramblers or commute from pretty far out. I suspect the posters complaining how federal employees are rolling in dough don't even live here.