I live in the DC area and work for a company that does a great deal of work with the Federal Government. We are a small, diversified company that offers software, system integration and staffing. The staffing part of our business is changing. Quite simply, there is less and less of it, and we have heard on numerous occasions that this is being directed from above. In many Federal Departments the Federal Government is going back to hiring staff to perform work instead of hiring contractors. This affects our company, but it's the right way to go. Contractors cost more than government workers. In addition, Contract/Consulting staff tends to create more work for themselves. This is one of the reasons the Federal Budget increased with the Reagan Revolution. This is a practice that needs to end.
I realize that what I have to say here is anecdotal, but I am sure the studies will be coming out a couple years from now that show the decline in contract staff and the increase in Federal Government employees. This is a good thing--this is reversing a process that Reagan started with all his crap about government being the problem. It is easy to pick on the supposed "lazy government worker" but frankly my experience has shown me that large corporations tend to behave similarly or worse than government. There is just as much laziness, and in fact there is more graft as corporations who suck on the government tit are constantly trying to find ways to expand what they take whether the Government (read the People) need it or not.
Part of my daily routine is to read my Government Contracting reports from FedBizOps. I have a series of search terms that identify the kind of work our company does and then matches them to contracts coming out. On the civilian side of the government, the contracts for staffing with contract staff are declining. Our company is losing business in this area. In addition, contracts that we have staffed are not being renewed. They don't go out for re-bid either--the government is hiring their own workers. Our business will adjust, we will find ways to provide valuable services, and I can't help being happy about this because I know its the right way for the country to go. I just hope that the savings start to show, and in the 2nd term the Obama admin can go after contract staff in the Department of Defense space. That's where the real waste is. Contract staff with Top Secret security clearances make way more money than they should, and this game is controlled by the Lockheed Martins and the Northrup Grummans of the world. You might have heard of NG's much publicized move to DC--See Here. Hopefully, they will find this move unproductive and DoD contracting declines.
Part of the reason the Government spends and wastes obscene amounts of money is because many government functions have been privatized. I have lived in DC since 1990, and even with the recent real estate correction, our market has gone steadily up. This means that if you want to make an honest living, it has become much harder. Contractors, lobbyists and others make affordable housing in DC a difficult proposition. Hopefully, the direction Reagan sent the Federal Government in is finally being reversed.