The statement was "cruelty is the point."

But cruelty to these employees is just the side benefit, the cherry on top. It's not the main objective driving these decisions.

Why would you assume either? Do you have access to brain scanning technology that would let you know what goes on in the minds of these men? If they think that the federal government is all waste, why wouldn't being cruel to them be more important than this idea about efficiency that idiots are absolutely eating up.