A federal hiring freeze is a good start, but the Washington bureaucracy–including the Pentagon–needs a ten to twenty percent authorization reduction, not just current bodies.
C. Northcote Parkinson noted in the 1950s: (1) “An official wants to multiply subordinates, not rivals” and (2) “Officials make work for each other.” The number employed in a bureaucracy rose by 5–7% per year “irrespective of any variation in the amount of work (if any) to be done”.
“No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on this earth!” Ronald Reagan
Also called a self-licking ice cream cone.
As a Matter of Fancy 