Catch22 situation In theory, in keeping with the Pareto Principle, you could lose up to 80% without too much impact. In practice, every time it's been tried, most of the losses are from the best 20%. One can only boggle at what is left after multiple iterations of this process over 20-30 years.
Unseen effect Employing lots to do practically nothing on excellent pay = artificial economic stimulus Where would the retail sector be without an army of public servants spending their 2 hour lunches engaging in self medicating 'retail therapy'..........