Government Bureaucrat David Bookstaver Loses $172,000 Job After Admitting He Does Nothing

There’s work, and then there’s government work. Government work is where nobody quits and you can’t get fired.

There used to be a trade off for working in the public sector, whereas you’d earn less money than in the private sector, but you would enjoy job security. That’s no longer the case, with federal bureaucrats making 78% more in total compensation (wages plus benefits) than people in the private sector. State and local employees average 25% more. With a deal like that, it’s no wonder few government employees quit – and given the lack of a profit incentives that keeps the private sector moving, there isn’t much of a reason to fire anyone.

According to the Foundation for Economic Education, “The rate of firing and layoffs for public employees is 71% lower than in the private economy (except for once in the summer of 2010, when states had such massive revenue shortfalls they literally did not have the money to pay them).”

And as you’d assume, this is all despite the fact that government employees are less productive than private sector employees and work less hours.

So how the heck do we trim the fat? For one – let them speak for themselves….

A spokesman for the New York courts system who made $172,000 last year was abruptly fired Thursday after he accidentally called a reporter and was heard telling others that “I barely show up to work.”

David Bookstaver, the longtime communications director for the Office of Court Administration, appeared to be sidelined last year when then-Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore was tapped as New York’s chief judge and she brought along her spokesman, Lucian Chalfan.

The New York Post reported Wednesday that the paper was questioning Bookstaver about his job responsibilities and he later “butt-dialed” a reporter and “unwittingly left a four-minute voicemail while chatting with at least two other people.”

“I spoke to (the reporter) on the record for a while. I said, ‘I’m in a much less visible position; that doesn’t mean I’m not doing anything,’ ” Bookstaver said, according to the Post. “But, frankly, look, the bottom line: The story’s true. I’m not doing anything. I barely show up to work and I’ve been caught.”

The comments from Bookstaver, who was set to retire in October, led to his termination Thursday, the court system said in a statement.

“New Yorkers look to their court system for excellence and accountability, and we will always act to apply those standards to all of our employees all across New York state,” the statement said. “While there are occasional abuses of office, we take those abuses extremely seriously and whenever we learn about them we will always act to hold the offenders accountable.”

H/T USA Today

How many years do you think he would’ve stayed employed had it not been for his accidental admission? Long enough to collect a pension, probably.

There are tens of thousands of government employees like this – it’s a shame they won’t make the same mistake and be canned.

Share this if story if you think wasteful government employees should be fired.

By Matt

Matt is the co-founder of Unbiased America and a freelance writer specializing in economics and politics. He’s been published... More about Matt

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