Elon Muschus fired my wife

Kansa’s reflector

Two weeks ago my wife was released from her job at the federal government. We played a board game and had a beer when her phone rang. A colleague asked whether she “received the e -mail”.

After leaving her work in the office, she had no way to know. We bundled the car and ran through the city. After a few minutes inside she appeared from her office and gave me a thumbs down when she went on the car.

“Fired,” she said, clicking on her seat belt.

Unknown for us, tens of thousands of federal employees of the federal government – those who had received the same e -mail within their first one to two duty.

The message itself was empty, just a word document with five short paragraphs. The fourth read:

“The agency notes that they have not proven that their further employment in the agency is in the public interest.”

If the suddenness of dismissal and its financial effects were not sufficient, the unfounded assertion of poor performance increased an insult to the injury.

My wife was an archaeologist who worked as part of the national wing for resource and nature protection services from the US Agriculture Ministry from Hays. It was a dream job and one that she had worked and studied for years to reach her. It dealt with tribal groups of the American indigenous people, local communities and farmers to ensure the preservation of cultural resources on levels.

I suspect that many people think that the federal government has no business activities with archaeologists, but their work is of crucial importance. They document and protect irreplaceable cultural heritage – not only indigenous stories, but also the life of the settlers and pioneers who have shaped the landscape that we live on today. They ensure that historical sites and artifacts, from old campsites to centuries -old homesteads, are not lost through development or neglect.

But it wasn’t just archaeologists that were fired. Biologists, soil scientists, specialists in water protection, workers in public health and the forest service employee were all swept away in the same mass termination. A commentator for a subreddit that was dedicated to the recently released employees expressed his frustration about the priorities of the new administration:

“I know I will bounce back and land another job. I am grateful that I am young and have support and I will be okay. What I cannot overcome is that the richest man in the world led my shot. I earn $ 50ka year and work to protect the drinking water. The richest man in the world decided that this was too great for the American taxpayer. “

The compensation for the entire federal employee made up only 4.3% of the federal budget in 2024. If the entire federal employee were eliminated today, it would hardly use our public debt to be $ 36 trillion. In addition to plans for further tax cuts from the Trump administration. Some analysts suggest that these cuts of public debt could lend up to 4.8 trillion dollars in the next decade.

In view of the relatively low effects that these work cuts on the US expenditure will have, it is frustrating and annoying, cheering celebrations for the elimination of jobs that protect and preserve history, national parks, drinking water, soil health, forests as well as environmental and public security.

The fact that Elon Musk and Doge have decided to examine state expenditure here instead of starting with the Ministry of Defense and with programs such as the F-35 fighter aircraft-a decade behind the schedule and $ 183 billion over the budget.

There is a naive conviction that the private sector will take responsibility for these services. It is doubtful. There are many federal authorities to preserve and protect history, health and nature. The private sector lacks sufficient incentive to supply these areas, or, worse, have incentives to ignore them.

The (former) agency of my wife, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, was founded in 1935 in response to the Dust Bowl as a reaction of soil protection. The main goal was to help farmers and landowners to implement practices that prevent soil erosion, improve land productivity and promote sustainable agriculture. Over the years, the agency expanded its focus on water protection, wildlife habitats and recently to maintain cultural resources through archeology.

Small farms and ranches in the entire state of Kansas seem to have difficulties to adapt to new changes in federal financing, while large corporate companies are willing to absorb them. I wonder which private companies would like to alleviate the effects of soil erosion, nutrient outflow and water pollution if the NRCS employees and the financing of the NRCS concerns and the financing intended? Which start-up company will take care of water birds and other wild animals?

My wife and three close friends are among those who have been fired without notice and without severance pay. My wife and I will be fine. We have a strong support network, and although we may have to sell our house, we will find a way. Other friends of ours are single or have children and are much more dependent on this one job for their financial security. You will feel the effects of this shock in the coming years.

When close friends tighten their belts, prepare themselves to move back into their families or sell their houses, Elon Musk performed at the CPAC conference in Washington with a chrome-plated chainsaw, a solemn talisman of the end of the federal employee.

The callus of the struggles of dismissed civil servants and history, nature, the wildlife and the people for whom they protect should be an affront to every reasonable American.

Sam Foglesong is a scientist from African Studies and a writer who lives in Hays. In his opinion section, Kansa’s reflector is working to strengthen the voices of people affected by public guidelines or are excluded from the public debate. You can find information, including submitting your own comment. Here.