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Tom Purcell: Defending the clowns at the Bureau of the Public Debt

By Tom Purcell
Syndicated columnist

Posted: 07/29/2009 12:01:00 AM PDT

THE CRITICISM was sorely misplaced. I speak of a recent job posting at the Bureau of the Public Debt, which is part of the Treasury Department.

As it went, the bureau sought to hire a professional clown of sorts to draw funny cartoons and teach its managers how to use humor to reduce stress and improve productivity in the workplace.

The posting ended up on the highly trafficked Drudge Report. A consensus quickly formed in the media. The bureau was roundly mocked for misusing taxpayer dough.

Then the politicians chimed in.

According to the Charleston Daily Mail, Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., said it was among the most foolish spending he'd encountered over the years. He said the bureau should know there's little that's funny about today's economic conditions.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va. — since the bureau is headquartered in his state he was asked to comment — said the government must be careful how it spends taxpayer dollars in tough economic times (and, somehow, considering how much the government is spending lately, did so with a straight face).

But, as usual, the media and politicians are missing the larger point.

The nearly 2,000 employees who work for the Bureau of Public Debt have been working especially hard of late.

When the government takes in less money in tax receipts than it spends — thus producing a deficit — the bureau must borrow to make up the difference.
After the Treasury Department determines how much borrowing is needed, the bureau issues and accounts for a variety of investment instruments, including treasury bills, notes and bonds.
The bureau sells the bulk of its instruments by hosting comprehensive auctions through which investment houses, representing clients across the globe, bid on government debt.

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