FLASHBACK: Chris Edwards and Tad DeHaven: U.S. Government Should Increase Firing Rate. “The dearth of federal firing is consistent with the general lack of incentives for good performance in the bureaucracy. Official surveys find that most federal workers do not believe that the best-qualified people are the ones receiving promotions. . . . The low federal firing rate reflects both agency cultures that are undemanding and the difficulty of terminating bad workers. The low federal firing rate reflects both agency cultures that are undemanding and the difficulty of terminating bad workers.”

That was in 2002. Since then, it’s only gotten worse.