Budget cuts

Few people doing more work. Our national parks are a good example.

Then there is

US cancer research might never recover from proposed Trump funding cuts​

The government agencies have been trimmed and trimmed and trimmed again. At this point, there is very few extra cash that can be removed without affecting these agencies being able to do their job well.

For example, the VA worked on improving the wait time for calling in for appointments. They managed to make a system that was highly efficient and didn't cost much and in the end saved money and time. That is going to be dismantled because they will not be able to maintain it under the new cuts.

You multiply that for every agency and we are going to see problems with the amount of cash Trump wants to cut.

Budget cuts can work both ways. Suppose an organization was told to cut 5% of their employees. IF they cut out the worst performers, the laggards, the toxic and those who really were uncommitted, the organization efficacy or abilities could really increase and productivity might expand. Cutting budgets too can lead to increased productively through innovation. When cut to the bone, good staff can find ways to work smarter. This type of cutting though is not guaranteed, and productivity more typically will decline with budget cuts.

So more often less resources will reduce the output of most organizations. Cutting staff may not always choose the worst employees. Cutting too much also will demoralize staff as well, require them to cut corners, and so usually the outcome is negative. My example is the IRS. "A 2023 study by Treasury and researchers at Harvard and the University of Sydney found that every dollar spent auditing taxpayers in the top 10% of income yielded over $12 in delinquent revenue..."
So cutting staff here, is reducing the outcome far more than the cuts.

I will say too that many think that government is bloated. Sure, in many areas it is. But there are some areas where resources are thin. It takes smart people to prioritize and sometimes those people are lacking. Unfortunately, no sirens in some Texas counties that flooded show this. Resources should have gone to safety but not everyone saw the risks. Still, there was a former county commissioner that had brought the issue up.

The idea that cuts will enhance or impede an organizations efficacy is not always known. Even more important too are what are policy alternatives that might make everyone better off? For instance is ICE the most cost effective way of handling illegals? Why not use bounty hunters, pay informants, charge illegals fees to remain in the USA for a certain period of time? The best improvements come from good ideas. Politicians and bureaucrats generally are not that innovative but of course one can pray and hope that good decisions can be made.