The House version of legislation to expand the Medicare program would waive civil service hiring, job classification and pay scales for employees administering a proposed prescription drug benefit.
One of the things I've never been able to get clear in my mind is how far the wingers really want to turn back the clock. Sometimes I think it's back to the 1920s, before dangerous innovations like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, student loan programs.... Sometimes I think its back to the 1820s, before public education.
With this bill, it seems its back to the 1870s, before civil service protection. Then, we had this crazy notion that you could qualify for a government job by passing an exam, and after you got the job, there were really clear rules about what you could do, and what you got paid. Not like a business, sure, but the judgment was made that a civil service system was the best choice of alternatives because it prevented the delivery of government services from being corrupted by nepotism, cronyism, favoritism, and outright bribery.
Can anyone doubt that if this passes, and civil service protection is waived, the new agency will be immediately populated by Self-Identified Christians, wingers, Thugs Unka Karl wants to do a favor, coatholders from this or that House Republican's home state, tired old lobbyists, obscure Bush relatives, and privatizing insurance company moles? Not just political appointees in the top slots, mind you—that we expect—but the entire agency from top to bottom.
See here for the big picture.