Ron Mitchell Henderson

October 10, 2026 - 9:00 pm

The Review-Journal’s Thursday editorial supported the Trump administration getting rid of 300,000 government workers. What was the result? Those 300,000 jobs — with an estimated annual total labor cost between $130,000 and $150,000 per year per worker — equals $45 billion in reduced labor costs. But not all of that money was actually saved, as many of those who took early retirement or were laid off were still paid to stay home. In addition, many had to be hired to fill those jobs when they were found to be critical.

What effect did those reductions have on government services? Seniors needing answers about their Social Security and Medicare benefits spent hours waiting on the phone to speak to someone, and in-person meetings were nearly impossible to get. Veterans had to wait much longer to get an appointment with a health-care provider at the VA. IRS collections from tax cheats went down by 35 percent.

Even though labor costs may have been reduced, we still had the highest deficit since the pandemic — more than $2 trillion in debt was added to our national debt in 2025. So the net result of 300,000 people losing their jobs was higher cost and worse service. I can’t see where the attack by President Donald Trump and DOGE on government workers produced any benefit for the American people.