Increased traffic? Time away from family? Higher gas and food bills? Quality of life?

Never covered. Just reams of text about poor landlords.

> Tell that to the taxpayers who are footing the bill for empty floor space and the costs of maintenance, as the GAO emphasizes.

So close those offices. Why are you wasting my tax dollars?

> Tell it to the small businesses that are suffering, whose tax payments fund city services.

It's not my duty as a taxpayer to subsidize these small businesses.

Honestly, If anything I'd think small businesses would deserve more subsidization than large. Alas, one of these can afford full time lobbying staff, while the other cannot. Soooo... Yeah.

Startups have incredible precedent post-covid to not waste early capital on of all things... office space.

I used to be in the office camp, but you'd have to hold a gun to my head to waste 1/3 of my day sitting in traffic to sit in a desk to doodle on a computer somewhere else other than my home office.

That said, government employees in any form are stooges and the lowest of the bottom of the bucket. They're barely capable of doing their jobs in an office. (just renewed my passport)

And many of them are motivated and decent human beings interested in making a difference in as many lives as possible. You don't have to be so angry at them.

It always stuck me as odd that in the states we don't trust the government but we trust big business.

It's more than odd. It's nonsensical.

It's funny you say this because I don't think I know many people who trust either one.

> Tell that to the taxpayers who are footing the bill for empty floor space and the costs of maintenance, as the GAO emphasizes.

Hey, that's me! I'm going to pay a ridiculous amount in taxes regardless, and they'll only keep increasing. The least you can do is let government workers do their jobs from the comfort of their own homes.

"A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it." - Max Planck

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/remote-bullshit-office-situat... ("Remote work is ‘bull**t’ and the ‘office situation will change,’ says real estate billionaire Sam Zell: ‘People need to be together’")

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Zell

I am in the enviable position of being able to afford to take a huge pay cut and go work for the US Digital Service. I would actually love to-I think good government needs good tech, and I believe in the ability of USDS to make (however small) an impact on peoples' lives and interactions with the federal government. However, I am _not_ going to move to DC to do so.

It seems like USDS would be an ideal candidate to allow a bunch of remote employees, and yet they don't, because...reasons.

https://www.usds.gov/apply

> We’re currently hiring both remote employees and people who are local to Washington, DC. If you have additional questions about remote or in-person work, please reach out to the USDS Talent Team at [email protected].

(although not recently, have gone through an interview cycle with them when remote was not an option)

I rescind this comment based on the latest actions (and emails) of White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients.

https://www.axios.com/2023/08/04/biden-end-remote-work-feder...

Honestly I love DC but would be pretty pissed right now if I'd taken that position expecting to work remotely.

Maybe we need an actual WFH union, whose purpose will encompass everyone who wants to join and will push for an employee choice on whether they want to be remote.

I am extra pissy today about it, because our manager has suddenly also 'decided' its time to crack the whip.