Ramaswamy's Idea to Cut the Size of the Federal Gov't Blasted
Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy’s idea for how to cut the size of the federal government is not getting a warm reception.
On Sunday, Ramaswamy suggested using federal employees’ Social Security numbers to decide who gets to keep their job.
“On Day 1, *instantly* fire 50% of federal bureaucrats. Here’s how: if your SSN ends in an odd number, you’re fired,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
He added, “That downsizes government by half. Absolutely *nothing* will break as a result. It doesn’t violate civil service rules because mass layoffs are exempt. SHUT IT DOWN.”
This avoids civil service protections: no bureaucrat can claim their firings were politically motivated.
Further firings can be executed with a chisel, but Step 1 needs to be an unrestrained chainsaw or else it just won’t happen.
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) November 12, 2023
He also suggested it would ensure “no bureaucrat can claim their firings were politically motivated.”
“Further firings can be executed with a chisel, but Step 1 needs to be an unrestrained chainsaw or else it just won’t happen,” Ramaswamy insisted.
However, his plan was not well received.
This man is a moron. https://t.co/MNArL0JAvd
— 𝐉𝐚𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐬𝐭 ☧ (@Jay__Cost) November 12, 2023
Vivek Ramaswamy isn’t this stupid. He just thinks voters are. https://t.co/Spp70KBxk0
— Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) November 13, 2023
I love the idea of halving the government, especially its spending, but like most @VivekGRamaswamy's proposals, this is glib and uninformed, good for pep rallies but not actual change or reform. https://t.co/ish37DRPoc https://t.co/Cb41zWxe5r pic.twitter.com/eLUfOCgibU
— Nick Gillespie (@nickgillespie) November 13, 2023
Vivek is that dude at every Vegas bachelor party who is 100 % confident he has an ingenious trick that will help everyone beat the casino if they just put him in charge of the group for one Saturday night. https://t.co/MYXi1QObO6
— Conor Friedersdorf (@conor64) November 13, 2023
Absolutely moronic stuff. https://t.co/ivDiwVpaGa
— Sohrab Ahmari (@SohrabAhmari) November 13, 2023
I’ll take “Legally impossible Thanos takes for $300” Alex https://t.co/6PiuCwnA47
— Emily Domenech (@ehdomenech) November 13, 2023
Yeah I’m pretty sure firing someone because of the last digit of their SSN would invite one hell of a lawsuit
But ok, very smart businessman https://t.co/seRnAhD200
— Jen Monroe (@thatjenmonroe) November 12, 2023
Ramaswamy’s post comes as polls show he has slipped into fourth place for the Republican presidential nomination for 2024.
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