LETTER: Some federal workers actually save us money

Your Dec. 26 editorial on shrinking the federal workforce was well taken. But there’s still room for the addition of key positions.

For sure, the Department of Education is not needed at the federal level. The same for a number of smaller agencies. But when I was with the Treasury Department, there were two areas where we added staff: employees who did audits and investigations of people or organizations generating large amounts of income, and employees who audited certain expenditures — Medicare and social welfare — for fraud. Statistics showed that every dollar spent on salaries for these people generated $6 of additional income.

There is some larceny in most people’s hearts, so audits and reviews are needed to keep them honest.