It's ok. I didn't get it until having someone explain how government labor costs work.

I re-read your post. My brain actually understood after much thinking. 

Nuttall

How so?

My point is that they reduce the cost of government workers. I'm sure we agree that it's better to pay them zero for those days, so paying them less is better than paying them more.

Undisciplined

econ

The Problem with Juneteenth

All paid holidays for federal and state workers is a scam of the highest level. They are means of extracting the labor of skilled workers. 