I had a conversation with a friend who worked alongside some folks in the US Forest Service. Apparently the DOGE folks just fired the whole lot. Sounds good, does it not. But wait! These were the folks that negotiated the contracts with the forestry companies for wood for building etc. The result. Simple, no US lumber companies could have access to wood. Then also the US Government no longer received revenue from the lumber leases. The the tariff on Canada drove up lumber prices. Then the supply of lumber dropper dramatically. Then prices went up faster than eggs! Duh!
This is akin to a "surgeon" who has no idea of anatomy and physiology. A patient is referred with a hear problem. The solution: remove the heart! Problem solved. Also dead patient!
Perhaps the DOGEians need a minimal amount of "anatomy and physiology" training about how the world works.
And BTW, after two weeks the lumber companies screamed, the Government lost billions in timber leases, so the DOGEians rehired the Forest Service sales force! Not a way to do staff reductions!
Also note that in 2024 USFS generated $280 M in forest sales. The size of the USFS staff is about 200 people and costs about $20 M. Thus net profit to the Government was $260 M. Just a reminder that facts matter.
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