Many Nevada Democrats seem aghast at the notion that a government job is anything less than a lifetime sinecure and property right. Witness their hand-wringing this week over layoffs at the federal level.
On Wednesday, Democratic leaders in the Assembly called on Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo to expedite the hiring of US government workers in Nevada who have lost their jobs during the Trump administration’s downsizing of the federal workforce. By filling open state positions with these former federal civil servants, "we can reduce our unemployment rate, ensure that essential public services remain strong and, most importantly, ensure that Nevadans can provide for their families,” Speaker Steve Yeager and two of his lieutenants wrote in a letter to the governor.
Never mind that Yeager et al. have no idea how many federal workers here have lost their jobs.
There is nothing wrong with the suggestion, as long as candidates are qualified for the openings in question. It may be true, as the letter asserts, that "Nevadans could greatly benefit from the experience and expertise of these fired federal employees.” It’s also unfortunate when employees are let go through no fault of their own. This can indeed be traumatizing, financially and otherwise, for individuals and families. Compassion is in order.
But the selective concern is revealing. Job cuts are nothing unusual in the private sector, where the great majority of workers toil without gold-plated taxpayer-supported pension plans and other benefits. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 24,000 Nevadans lost their jobs last September. By comparison, Nevada is home to about 20,000 federal employees. How many lost their jobs in recent months? The bureau also estimates that, from 2001 to 2019, there were an average of 242,000 "layoffs and discharges” in Nevada each year.
Yet there’s barely a peep of consternation from Democratic lawmakers about layoffs of Nevada’s private-sector workers, which occur routinely in every sector of the economy. The disparity highlights how Democrats have become the party of government, for the government, and it underscores how uncommon it is for federal workers — accustomed to ironclad job security — to be subjected to the same marketplace churn that their private-sector counterparts navigate each day.
State Senate Minority Leader Robin Titus, a Wellington Republican, got it right when she called the Democratic letter to Gov. Lombardo "political drama with hyperbolic numbers.” Legislative Democrats should focus less on political stunts and more on ensuring that Nevada maintains a vibrant business climate that encourages entrepreneurship and job creation while providing opportunity for Nevadans — from both the public and private sector — in need of employment.