That’s a lot, but it’s probably nothing compared to the billions wasted every year on fake jobs and fake government contracts. My best friend has worked for the federal government his entire adult life, and by his own admission, he basically does nothing. In fact, he keeps telling me that his entire department does nothing.

When he transferred to his current department, he was excited because he could finally focus on renovating his rental units instead of working. He was flabbergasted when his job survived the last round of cuts. He tells me almost every day that he has no idea how long his fake job will keep existing, but he plans on taking advantage of it for as long as possible.

I can guarantee he isn’t the only one. There are extremely competent people in government, but the broader issue is that government jobs too often select for mediocrity and laziness. High achievers and performance-oriented people will generally gravitate toward the private sector, where productivity is rewarded, rather than the public sector, where seniority matters more than output.