DOGE: Farthest thing from efficient

Under the guise of “cutting the budget” and “increasing efficiency,” the current administration announced the mass termination of “probationary” employees this past holiday weekend across our National Parks and National Forests. Many may have figured “Oh well, they’re on probation," or “Probably not performing,” or “Awww, they’re new hires right out of college. They’ll get another job.”

Not so fast. National Park and Forest employees go on probation for one to two years after being hired, yes, but also when they move to new positions, no matter how many years they have in public service (emphasis on “service”). Nothing to do with performance. You might be a career employee, have decades of service behind you … boom … “probationary.”

So how is it “efficient” for Musk/Trump to send 60% of our local Forest Service recreation and trails employees (not to mention those in other departments) text messages this past weekend indicating they’d been fired. Fired by text, on a holiday weekend, because they were “probationary.”

These are your neighbors, the people you meet in the grocery store and at the gas station. They have families to support, and they love their jobs. Love forests. Work weekends when most of us are visiting their workplaces. Clean our bathrooms. Maintain our trails. Paint our picnic tables. Tidy our campgrounds. Remove our trash. It’s their passion — and these are already minimal crews so they’re working more now than ever, serving the public (that’s us) by keeping our beautiful national treasures beautiful.

These cuts are the farthest thing from “efficient.” Calculated, thoroughly evaluated trimming of the fat — great. But Musk’s slash and burn technique is like cutting off an arm to lose weight. It’s hurting the country and destroying the lives of workers (right here in Coeur d’Alene) who have given their lives to serve us, the public.

CHRISTINE BAKER

Coeur d’Alene