Secretary of Defense Robert Gates recently stated that the defense budget was to be cut by $78 billion. This would include reducing the Army and Marine Corps by 41,700 troops.
There are approximately 1.43 million total service personnel in all branches of the military. It is interesting to note there are also approximately 1.43 million civilian federal employees. This has grown by about 141,000 since Obama has taken office; the only area of real job growth in the past two years.
The average four-year enlisted man makes about $24,000. The average federal civilian worker makes approximately $74,000, costing the taxpayers about three times as much as those dodging bullets in less than ideal conditions away from home.
Our military personnel are charged with keeping our country free and pay the price in blood to ensure we remain so. The federal civilian employee is charged with writing and enforcing regulations that restrict and burden our freedoms and tie us up in bureaucratic red tape. The IRS alone employs over 100,000 people and the Democrats want to employ another 16,000 to enforce the 2,600-page Obamacare health insurance mandate.
I say let’s play tit for tat and lay off one civilian federal employee for every personnel reduction in the military. We will then be making some real progress in reducing the deficit while shrinking the way-too-large federal government.
Robert Johnston
Camano Island
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