How many Johnny? (Johnny Carson)

The 380,000 !

Just how many unnecessary employees does the federal government employ?

James Freeman

Jan. 8, 2019 5:50 p.m. ET

The U.S. Department of Commerce, which employs a workforce that is largely unnecessary. PHOTO: BILL CLARK/ZUMA PRESS

This column doesn’t wish to seem hard-hearted but feels obliged to ask the various parties negotiating an end to the partial government shutdown why the affected agencies have been employing nearly twice as many workers as they deem necessary to fulfill their missions. Whether President Donald Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer decide to call structures at the border walls or fences, they ought to at least explain how they are managing the public payroll inside the United States.

Various media reports have noted that the temporary closure of 25% of the government has forced roughly 420,000 federal workers deemed essential to continue working while some 380,000 who are not deemed essential stay home. If it were a business, this non-essential portion of just a quarter of our government would be among the largest private employers in the country. Does this mean that non-essentials approach 1.5 million across the entire government? As American businesses scour their communities for talent during an historic worker shortage, taxpayers seem to be paying to maintain the world’s largest reserve force of bureaucrats.

An incurious press corps seems largely uninterested in the appropriate size of the federal workforce. Numerous recent reports have covered the shutdown story largely as a tale of a villainous President inflicting uncertainty on civil servants who wonder when they will be able to pay their mortgages.

“As thousands of furloughed federal employees worry about when their next paycheck will arrive, their bills are piling up,”  writes Renata Birkenbuel in a recent Newsweek story.

“Government Shutdown Leaves Workers Reeling,”  reads a  New York Times headline from January 3.

Government Executive magazine  reported the next day on legislative efforts to ensure that federal shutdowns never again threaten federal paychecks:

Maryland’s Senate delegation on Thursday reintroduced a bill to ensure that federal workers furloughed during the partial government shutdown, and any potential future shutdowns, will be promptly given back pay once federal agencies reopen.

Paid furloughs are nice. Depending on the individual employee, getting tagged non-essential can be either insulting and discouraging or a cause to celebrate an unexpected stay-cation. Still, there’s no upside for people who have to wait for paychecks. Such delays can create problems with creditors—though perhaps not as many as one would think. “Servicers treating government shutdown like a natural disaster,” reads the headline on  a Friday report  from American Banker. The trade publication notes:

As the government shutdown enters its third week, mortgage servicers are activating the response plans they normally use during hurricanes and wildfires to assist federal workers who may have trouble paying their mortgages.

...During the shutdown in 2013, the FHA,  Fannie Mae andFreddie Mac all called for temporary postponement on mortgage payments for furloughed workers. Lenders are offering paycheck loan assistance programs this time around.

Credit unions like Navy Federal and PenFed, are providing 0% APR loans for impacted members who have established direct deposit accounts with them.

...Mortgage servicers offer forbearance to bridge the gap.

This column doesn’t wish for anyone to miss an earned pay check. But the people who support the federal payroll deserve an explanation for why their political leaders seem to be buying almost twice as much bureaucracy as even official Washington deems necessary.