Uncommon Commentary #370: I'd Rather the Government Shut Up than Down

The prospect of the quasi-shutdown in the USA required the heads of government departments to decide which of their personnel are "essential" and which "non-essential"; those in the latter category have been furloughed.  This raises a question: If these employees are not essential, why were they ever working for Uncle Sam?  Are we expected to believe that these non-essentials perform their duties only to make the government work as "well" as it does?