A government study found that directors at VA medical centers make some 33 percent to 70 percent less than administrators at other public and private hospitals. The IRS often finds it difficult to entice talented college graduates to government service and away from the lure of the big five accounting firms. Amid the white-hot economy of the 1990s, it was a common problem for many agencies. But with stock markets falling and layoffs reported almost daily by the private sector, the security of government work suddenly looks more attractive. The IRS and other agencies are reporting an uptick in their recruiting successes.
Nobody wants to see the economy go down.
But tight budgets are only part of the problem. College graduates want not only money, but job satisfaction. When surveys ask college graduates to picture themselves in federal job, they conjure up images of a dead-end bureaucracy. Nye also blames the rhetoric of political leaders. He has urged Bush to take the lead in remedying the bad image government has gained.