Supporters of the spoils system claimed it made government more efficient because like-minded individuals cooperated. opponents claimed it made government less efficient because officials did little work. the followers of the loyal party did not cooperate. no officials were worthy of office. many experienced officials left office after each election.

Ultimately it is less efficient because these people were given the position based on their support or loyalty to the candidate without assessing if they are qualified or capable to handle the job.  Though there are some cases where these people were able to do good work, a proper way is still to select employees through screening because that will truly determine if they are qualified or not.