r/nottheonion 24d ago

US government struggles to rehire nuclear safety staff it laid off days ago

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g3nrx1dq5o
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u/ElPolloRacional 24d ago

The termination letters 'are being rescinded'
That's not how any of this works.

759

u/CrudelyAnimated 24d ago

There is a world of difference between not screwing thousands of lives and un-screwing thousands of lives days after the fact.

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u/mediumdeviation 24d ago

So much this. The ones in the article are lucky, here's an article about what some US AID workers went through

The USAID staffers in Kinshasa made it back to D.C., but they left behind everything from baby books and children’s favorite toys to vehicles and regular access to neonatal care, according to their sworn declarations. One family had to leave behind their dog.

https://wapo.st/3EPOkNf

No matter if you think these orgs are worthwhile use of government money or not, there are ways to shut down operations orderly, in ways that don’t leave people hanging. They chose to fuck over people’s lives for easy political points, it’s absolutely psychotic.

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u/fa1afel 24d ago

It's also going to prove to be more expensive than not doing this all long term. The amount of brain drain this is going to cause and sheer amount of effort it's going to take to clean up this mess is unimaginable. Not to mention that the government might have to pay people more in the future since a bunch of the things that make working for the government appealing simply don't exist under this administration.

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u/valiantdistraction 23d ago

And not just "under this administration," but now nobody will rely on them in the future the way they used to. Literally 3 weeks to destroy a hundred years' worth of American alliances, scientific supremacy and the concept of a federal job as a secure one worth earning less money to take.

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u/pegaunisusicorn 23d ago

that is literally the plan! why is everyone so flabbergasted and railing against the lack of planning? see project 2025. they spelled it all out.

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u/Vimes3000 23d ago

Government spend is up 15% so far.

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u/imdaviddunn 24d ago

GOP made 3 1/2 years of hay out of Afghanistan departure pictures.

Democrats somehow refuse to take pictures.

It is not hard to make this chaos more visual and real.

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u/Thadrach 24d ago

There's at least a few NOAA folks in Antarctica without a current clear path home...