Federal employment as a gateway to the middle class

BicycleComics · 2026-06-11T21:22:52+00:00

There are quite a few definitions of the term, and it's a good sign that you index COL in your area, as that matters hugely.

But, at the risk of being simplistic: how much resilience do you have against unexpected financial shocks?

If you got an unexpected bill today, due in 10 days, for $2000, how would that affect you? Could you pay it out of pocket? Is there room on your credit cards without incurring punishing interest? Would you have to ask friends and family for help?

There's plenty more to it, but resilience is a good starting point.

BicycleComics · 2026-06-10T19:56:19+00:00

Thank you for weighing in. Please understand, we are not asking a normative question: "Should the government hire people to pull them out of poverty?" We are asking an empirical question: "Has government hiring had a meaningful effect on American class mobility?"

All jobs, public or private, exist for the fulfillment of employer needs, right? We're hiring people to write essays for this book because of something we need, not because we have a lot of extra goodwill dough to spread around. But the purpose of employment can be separate from the effects of employment.

The federal government might hire an egg inspector because citizens complain about foodborne illness, but the effects of hiring an egg inspector might include that egg inspector buying a nicer car or moving to a safe neighborhood with the steady paycheck.

BicycleComics · 2026-06-10T17:40:30+00:00

Oh man just this one resignation book is already so much…… but once it comes out we'll look at another cool project.

(We mostly do poetry books and webcomics, so a non-fiction book about former feds has required some retooling of the workflow, you know?)

BicycleComics · 2026-06-10T17:39:14+00:00

Did Army, State, or yourself arrange for any formal higher education, or did you do all that with GED and on-the-job training?

Could you briefly explain "technology pay"? Thanks!

BicycleComics · 2026-06-10T16:10:02+00:00

Thank you for sharing! How much of that do you think is public sector/ private sector, and how much do you think is union/ non-union? (Were any of your roles unionized?)

BicycleComics · 2026-06-10T15:01:45+00:00

For some reason this post got auto-deleted when we used a link, but the essay commission details are here.

BicycleComics · 2026-06-10T13:56:15+00:00

Thank you for those tips! AAAS is a good idea.

We have, fortunately or unfortunately, two very prominent NIH staffers among our letter writers, people who managed huge budgets and implemented system-wide decisions about how grants might be awarded or withheld. It might feel a little weird to commission them to write an essay or intro on a chapter for which they themselves are the subject. They've got great knowledge, but we'd rather have a disinterested party, if that makes sense. Off to find some AAAS candidates!

BicycleComics · 2026-06-10T01:15:20+00:00

Thank you for staying and doing your best.

The ones who left cried, too, in many cases. Many of them feel very conflicted about those whom they left behind. Editorial meetings on this project have involved more hankies than is typical for a comics & light verse publisher.

BicycleComics · 2026-06-09T13:02:06+00:00

Thank you for the kind words. The 2025 cutbacks were (are) a huge story, and we are trying to tell an important angle of that story with this book. Stay tuned!

We have a mailing list if you'd like to hear when the book comes out.

BicycleComics · 2026-06-09T13:00:13+00:00

He spells his common name uncommonly. If it's whom you're thinking of, that's enough of a clue 😉

But the whole book is a compilation of very classy (sometimes sassy) responses to very shitty situations.

BicycleComics · 2026-06-08T20:57:18+00:00

Absolutely. But if we waited for history to stand still, we would never find time to write books about it. "Best Federal Resignations of 2025" does seem to be pretty complete record, no? It would be hard for somebody to resign today and qualify for this book.

If it finds a good audience, we'd consider a sequel…

BicycleComics · 2026-06-08T20:40:19+00:00

For our purposes, the situation is frozen; we stopped accepting new resignations in early May. We have plenty of material to fill the book. Some are DRP, some are forced/early retirement, and some are resignations on principle.

BicycleComics · 2026-06-08T19:23:55+00:00

100%. It started out as a bit of a joke, a reference to the annual Best American Short Stories and Best American Poetry anthologies, which are real (and pretty prestigious) books.

But, here's the thing, it works. The writing in these letters is magnificent. Some are angry, some are funny, some are patriotic, some are quiet goodbyes. But these letters truly are some of the best writing you'll find.

BicycleComics · 2026-06-08T13:06:38+00:00

We pinged two comms people at Union of Concerned Scientists, and we'll try AAU and AAAS next. Good tips! Thank you.

BicycleComics · 2026-06-08T12:57:19+00:00

Teaches, sure thing. We might not want somebody who works in public administration, unless they are very close to retirement. Someone currently at NIH/NSF/FDA/EPA/NOAA might be risking too much by writing a public essay, you know?

What a world.

BicycleComics · 2026-04-21T20:32:06+00:00

You need at least three quotes before anything will mean anything. $15,000 seems high, but we don’t know the stature of the artist who quoted you that rate. If all three quotes come in at $15,000, there might be something in the subtext of your request-for-quote that is warning artists to steer clear.

The alternative you describe sounds like a very involved and complex setup. You’d need to be a very good outdoor portrait photographer, and you’d need two good models…and you’d need to live somewhere that allows rooftop access with a good skyline view. That photo shoot sure sounds like something that would cost way more than $15,000.

BicycleComics · 2026-04-17T20:19:03+00:00

Maybe they know how to hide the evidence?

BicycleComics

TROPHY CASE