In My Nightmare, Civil Service Scientists and Others Walk Out En Masse
It’s hard enough to keep up with the daily chaos created by our Co-Presidents and their Muscovite wrecking balls. In just the past few days, we’ve seen the Trump administration:
Defy two federal court orders directing them to resume distribution of grants and loans to thousands of state and local governments, nonprofits, and research institutions
Seek access to sensitive taxpayer records, including troves of private information
Ask the Supreme Court for yet more power – for a President who is now calling himself king
Fire the Kennedy Center president and made himself chairman of this national center for the arts
Unsettle our European allies with a stream of lies and Putin talking points
Raise the specter of a constitutional crisis by saying anything he does can’t be illegal
Scramble to rehire hundreds of National Nuclear Security Administration workers. (Oops )
Fire 1,000 National Park Service employees -- on Valentine's Day no less!
Continued the nomination and confirmation of unqualified and dangerous agency leaders.
Suggest buying Greenland and take of the Panama Canal (OK, an older bits of news but I couldn’t resist).
But now, the craziness of the Trump/Musk administrations has invaded my dreams. My nightmare earlier this week was that the remaining civil service scientists and workers quit en masse. And, no lie -- the next morning, I read this about the resignation of at least 7 Justice Department officials.
But What If…..
What would happen if federal civil servants actually said enough is enough and did quit in droves? [NOTE: I AM NOT RECOMMENDING THIS; IT WOULD BE CATASTROPHIC FOR ALL OF US.] Well, the government would face a severe crisis, leading to major disruptions in essential services and administrative functions. It would not be pretty – and even die-hard supporters of the Co-Presidents would be affected. For example, mass quitting would likely:
Disrupt government services, like processing Social Security & Medicare payments and benefits
Leave millions without any healthcare by disrupting Medicaid payments to states
Shutter schools and even pre-schools that depend on federal funding
Halt disaster preparedness and assistance in many states struggling to recover
Disrupt mail service
Disrupt air travel, with shortages in air traffic controllers and TSA workers
Diminish law enforcement & national security
Result in economic fallout, destabilizing the stock market
And if scientists walked out? Be still, my heart! That would significantly impact:
The ability of the CDC and the FDA to respond to health crises, process drug approvals, approve medical devices, or manage disease outbreaks
EPA and FEMA’s ability to respond to emergencies and provide disaster assistance, e.g., for chemical accidents and oils spills
OSHA’s ability to understand and regulate workplace and health safety hazards and investigate industrial accidents and fatalities
The provision of veterans’ health services
Preparations for the next pandemic
Weather forecasting
The regulation of air, food, and water quality
Cripple research in all areas of science, as virtually all researchers rely on federal funding, partnerships, facilities and/or data
And this is not a comprehensive list. Add your concerns in the comments.
All of this would have serious long-term consequences, including loss of institutional knowledge and expertise and loss of public confidence in government
Bottom Line
The (non) Department of Government Efficiency seems to have a one-size-fits-all approach to enhancing government efficiency – i.e., chop, chop, chop … people, programs, and unshared priorities (like equity). I’m all for efficiency, but be careful what you wish for, Mr. Co-Presidents. If you fire too many or make life so unbearable that many civil servants quit in disgust, then the instability, public health challenges, economic struggles, national security risks, and disillusionment that is happening now under your “leadership” will turn into a series of enormous societal failures.
At some point, Trump enthusiasts and our less than courageous elected representatives will see the writing on the wall and hold the Administration accountable for the damage done. And my dreams will return to their normal, wonderful, and peaceful status.
That’s it for today - Thank you so much for reading SciLight!
If you enjoyed today’s post, please like it or share it with others. You can also support the work we do to shine a light on the politicization of science by becoming a paid subscriber!
If you want to share today’s post as a web page with your network, click this button:
If you have suggestions, questions, comments, or want to drop us a line - send it all to scilightsubstack@gmail.com