The number of civil servants is about the same today as it was in 1980. The population of the U.S. has increased ~49% since 1980. If anything, there should be more Feds to serve the needs of the increased population. Dismantling government only makes America weak—especially the Intel Community.
The IRS in particular has been vilified by Republicans at least since the 1980s. But defunding the IRS has made it ever easier for the wealthy to escape paying taxes. www.brookings.edu/articles/hou...
The civil service has been *severely* understaffed for a long time - the only reason they've been as effective as they have been is that the IT revolution started paying serious dividends at almost exactly the same time as the staffing level stagnation kicked in.