Getting Folks Into Government--And Keeping Them There

The New York Times' obituary of Robert Myers, the actuary responsible for setting the Social Security retirement age, is a fascinating illustration of one way people get into civil service. The Times notes:

In 1934, in the depths of the Great Depression, Mr. Myers was unexpectedly offered a six-week stint on the Committee on Economic Security, a Roosevelt administration panel that was drawing up blueprints for America's first comprehensive social insurance programs.

The six-week job turned out to be a career that spanned decades and placed Mr. Myers at the center of America's great debates about the government's role in the economy and how to create public safety nets affordably. Actuaries measure risks, and for much of his career Mr. Myers was concerned with the risk that the government might build an old-age program that promised more than it could deliver.

In other words, Myers went into government temporarily, found a project he was interested in, and stayed there to pursue it. I don't know whether converting contractors, or political appointees, or any other class of employees en masse is the answer to the government's recruiting and hiring challenges; in fact, I'm pretty sure it's not. But finding ways for folks to try out government service, and to realize the multiplicity of projects and opportunities to use their skills that exist in government agencies, might produce a good rate of return.