Our colleagues at Open The Books did a deep dive into the deep state with their outstanding new report: Mapping the Swamp: A Study of the Administrative State, FY 2020. This eye-popping report shows just how big and bloated — not to mention costly — the federal government has become. We turned some of the data Open the Books uncovered into this Deep State Quiz, but we encourage Right by the Bay readers to go through the entire report – especially with Pres. Biden’s Build Back Better spending program now estimated to be at $2 trillion dollars.
- What is the largest executive agency?
a. Department of Agriculture
b. Department of Defense
c. Department of Veterans Affairs
d. Department of Health and Human Services
Answer: (c) According to Open the Books, Veterans Affairs, with 421,542 employees, is the largest executive agency.
- Who is the most highly compensated federal employee?
a. President Joe Biden
b. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi
c. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer
d. Anthony Fauci
Answer: (d) Dr. Anthony Fauci was the most highly compensated federal employee across all agencies earning $434,312.
- How much paid time off does the average federal employee get at the executive agencies? (Executive agencies do not include the U.S. Post Office and the Department of Defense.)
a. 44 days
b. 30 days
c. 20 days
d. 15 days
Answer: (a) 44-days of paid-time off (PTO) on average for bureaucrats employed in the executive agencies – 11 holidays, 13 sick days, and 20 vacation days. The estimated taxpayer subsidy of this benefit is $22 billion annually.
- Which presidential administration had the largest White House payroll in history?
a. Biden Administration
b. Trump Administration
c. Obama Administration
d. George W. Bush Administration
Answer: (a) The Biden White House is the most expensive in history with over 560 employees and $50 million annual payroll expense. For comparison, President Trump employed 377 staffers with an inflation adjusted $40 million payroll in his first year (2017).
- Below lists the average employee compensation (including benefits) of certain federal departments — which one is false?
a. Department of Housing and Urban Development: $154,303
b. Environmental Protection Agency: $159,062
c. Department of Veterans Affairs: $114,529
d. Department of Education: $161,935
e. All are true.
Answer: (e) According to Open the Books, 26,853 federal employees out-earned all 50 governors, every governor including the highest paid governor in American history, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY), who received $225,000.
- How many lawyers does the federal government employ?
a. 38,614
b. 40,909
c. 29,467
d. 33,556
Answer: (a) According to Open the Books, of the 38,614 attorneys in the federal government, 33,042 made $100,000 or more and 2,035 made $200,000 or more.
- What does the top interior designer for the federal government make?
a. $155,300
b. $125,900
c. $170,800
d. $140,600
Answer: c. There are 312 interior designers in the federal department. The highest paid is at the State Department making $170,800.
- How many PR people work at the federal government?
a. 2,879
b. 3,847
c. 1,095
d. 2,452
Answer (b) Public affairs people are in 68 departments and agencies. Almost two-thirds of these employees, 61 percent, or 2,364, made six-figure salaries.
- How many of the U.S. Post Office 678,537 employees received bonuses in 2020?
a. 64,300
b. Only the senior staff qualify for bonuses.
c. 24,689
d. No one knows, the number was redacted.
Answer: (d) The total compensation for Postal workers is $36.9 billion in 2020. According to Open the Books, in 2020, the Post Office posted a $9.2 billion loss even though total revenues increased by $2 billion (to $73 billion).
- The federal government grew ___% over the last five years.
a. 1%
b. 7%
c. 4%
d. 7%
Answer: (d) 1.4 million employees worked in the executive agencies (non DOD and USPS) — a modern-day high increase (2020) of 3.7-percent over the five-year period.
