Nolte: Far-Left Washington Post Sympathizes with Spoiled, Entitled Federal Bureaucrats

The far-left Washington Postinterviewed more than 30 current and former federal bureaucrats and inadvertently created a portrait of just how dysfunctional the federal bureaucracy is.

Put simply, our government has not been hiring the best. There are 2.4 million federal workers, and this article, without meaning to, makes a pretty clear case that the bureaucracy is a jobs program for misfits, spoiled babies, and the emotionally unbalanced.  Here’s the bottom line:

In interviews, more than 30 former and current federal workers told The Washington Post that the chaos and mass firings had left them feeling devalued, demoralized and scared for themselves and the country. Many described problems they’d never experienced before: insomnia, panic attacks, suicidal thoughts. Others with a history of mental struggles said they’d found themselves pushed into terrifying territory.

What?

I have only sympathy for people cursed with “suicidal thoughts.” That’s nothing to ridicule. Let’s hope they get the psychiatric help they obviously need. But people that emotionally unstable should not be part of the running of our government. What’s more, I will not be emotionally blackmailed into allowing such people to run the government with the absurd claim that the only thing stopping them from having suicidal thoughts is if we keep them in a federal job forever.

But will you look at the rest of these entitled babies and crybullies:  “feeling devalued, demoralized and scared for themselves and the country … insomnia, panic attacks[.]”

These precious little spoiled brats are who we overpay to run the government? That is flat-out insane. And according to the Post, we are 30 for 30. All of them, all 30 share this entitled attitude, this maddeningly immature mindset that makes is spiritually, emotionally, and psychologically impossible for them to deal with a usual-usual setback—meaning usual-usual for those of us who live in the real world.

Want to know what would make me think we’re firing the wrong people? A paragraph that read like this:

Each of the 30 expressed their gratitude at being given the opportunity to serve their country for years while enjoying a good salary and lucrative benefits most taxpayers in the private sector never get — all of it paid for by those same taxpayers. All 30 agreed that cuts in their respective departments were warranted and that an audit was long overdue. As far as the future, each of the 30 say they have managed their money wisely and saved enough to get by with unemployment checks. “This is a great country, “ one said as the others nodded in agreement. “And I have faith that with hard work and a positive attitude, I will land on my feet somewhere.”

I’ve lost so many jobs over the years I’ve lost count, and in most cases I deserved to lose those jobs. Good heavens, I spent 17 years working as a bill collector, and I’m grateful for all of those 17 grueling years. Why? Because I made a living. Because someone paid me to do a job, and when it was over, I owned a home. Nobody owes you a damn thing. Nobody—especially those of us from the same private sector who don’t get Juneteenth and President’s Day off, who don’t receive pensions after 20 or 30 years.

And then there’s this galling sense of irreplaceable self-importance. Here’s one example that ultimately turned tragic: “She was hired in 2012 by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation in Baltimore. Her job was wonky, even by government standards — testing tiny changes to Medicaid to yield better patient outcomes and save taxpayer money,” the Post tells us. “But [she] told her friends that those tiny adjustments, especially in maternal health, could save lives.”

I removed her name because this poor woman went on to kill herself. The Post is deliberately unclear about whether she had even lost her job. Either way, I don’t want to diminish a troubled woman committing suicide. But the Post, and again without making clear whether she’d been fired or not, wants us to blame federal job cuts, Elon Musk, and President Trump for her tragedy—as though we should, what, not cut jobs fearing mental breakdowns and suicides?

I’m not here to diagnose anyone, but if you are unable to deal with losing a job (or seeing your department face jobs cuts), your problems run much deeper than this terrible piece of journalism is willing to admit.

Losing a job is a fact of life—at least it is in the real world. Setbacks are a fact of life. Reversals, disappointments, failures, and betrayals are all part of the package. If anything, the federal bureaucracy should have a compassionate screening program to ensure that anyone who might commit suicide due to a layoff is not put in that position by getting hired in the first place. 

John Nolte’s first and last novel, Borrowed Time, is winning five-star raves from everyday readers. You can read an excerpt here and an in-depth review here. Also available in hardcover and on Kindle and Audiobook.