- Joined
- Apr 18, 2020
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The Trump, and certain Pub’s, desire to roll our civil employees back to the spoils system where hiring was all “at the will of and service to” the current administration is horribly wrong. Those that support it horribly flawed in their thinking. This is why.
Please study your US history. The spoils system, with its loyalty requirement to those currently in charge, was the way of things in the beginning. It was HORRIBLY CORRUPTED.
We were so lucky that we got a break and the Civil Service merit system came to be. It’s one if the great things that makes this country better. It not only put a huge dent in governmental corruption it added a component of institutional memory to our system. Where as administrations changed the bureaucracy did not. It remained intact with experienced laborers who knew and understood the workings of the system and kept things moving forward, though slowly, even as the new guys who had no hands in experience got up to speed.
Further still, it left a layer of workers beholden to no political masters. They hadn’t sworn an oath to a political boss. They swore an oath to the Constitution and each other, our fellow citizens. It placed a layer of potential whistleblowers in the mix who, if a politician tries to corrupt the system they’ll protect it, the Constitution and our citizens from that act. (Which is precisely why some want it gone).
If they succeed in demolishing it, it likely is not coming back and the bad ol’ days of the spoils system will return. Don’t mess up something that’s good about our system. Merit based Civil Service, despite how frustrating it can be sometimes, is a good thing.
Please study your US history. The spoils system, with its loyalty requirement to those currently in charge, was the way of things in the beginning. It was HORRIBLY CORRUPTED.
We were so lucky that we got a break and the Civil Service merit system came to be. It’s one if the great things that makes this country better. It not only put a huge dent in governmental corruption it added a component of institutional memory to our system. Where as administrations changed the bureaucracy did not. It remained intact with experienced laborers who knew and understood the workings of the system and kept things moving forward, though slowly, even as the new guys who had no hands in experience got up to speed.
Further still, it left a layer of workers beholden to no political masters. They hadn’t sworn an oath to a political boss. They swore an oath to the Constitution and each other, our fellow citizens. It placed a layer of potential whistleblowers in the mix who, if a politician tries to corrupt the system they’ll protect it, the Constitution and our citizens from that act. (Which is precisely why some want it gone).
If they succeed in demolishing it, it likely is not coming back and the bad ol’ days of the spoils system will return. Don’t mess up something that’s good about our system. Merit based Civil Service, despite how frustrating it can be sometimes, is a good thing.