patrick.net

We must vote for Democrats & Republicans to save the country.

Sorta looks the same.....what gives?

Call it a RECOVERY FORWARD!!!

1980: US has a population of 226 Million
2010: US has a population of 308 Million

1980: US had about 3 Million Federal Workers
2010: US has about 2.5 Million Federal Workers.

So while the US population increased ~35%, the number of Federal Employees fell about 15%.

That's not socialist make-work, that's an absolute and relative cut, any way you slice it.

For more of a surprise, in the Golden Era, there were 2.5 Million Federal Employees out of a US population of 186 Million in 1962. So we had the same number of Federal Employees in 1962 as today, despite almost half the population.

That ain't socialist make-work.

thunderlips11 says

For more of a surprise, in the Golden Era, there were 2.5 Million Federal Employees out of a US population of 186 Million in 1962. So we had the same number of Federal Employees in 1962 as today, despite almost half the population.

Ya but what about the total government workers?

How much of the services are contracted out to the cronies at astronomical prices and no bid contracts?

How about Fed workers averaging twice the pay of their private sector counterparts?

indigenous says

How much of the services are contracted out to the cronies at astronomical prices and no bid contracts?

There you go.

indigenous says

How about Fed workers averaging twice the pay of their private sector counterparts?

Great! They spend almost all of it back in the economy.

Fire a million federal workers and watch what happens to your favorite Consumer Discretionary and Staples ETFs.

Replace them with Private Contractors? They'll take their cost plus and sock it away in Fed Gov Bonds, allowing more gov spending at lower interest, and spend very little back into the economy. The workers will make a lot less than the federal employees they replaced, and thus less back into the economy.

thunderlips11 says

Great! They spend almost all of it back in the economy.

Ok but there is no price discovery.

thunderlips11 says

Replace them with Private Contractors? They'll take their cost plus and sock it away in Fed Gov Bonds, allowing more gov spending at lower interest, and spend very little back into the economy. The workers will make a lot less than the federal employees they replaced, and thus less back into the economy

Again it is about price discovery. The economy does not grow when money is diverted to 6 figure cops, grade school teachers, & 200k professors, 6 figure federal employees because they do not produce a product/service that someone is willing to spend an exorbitant fee on. That money is then not available to be spent on something that someone is willing to pay for as it has been coerced from the taxpayer.

If you look back at history it is all about creating a better mouse trap for less money. When you don't do that the economy stagnates and people as in Russia say what is the point in trying to do something better as there is no incentive.

indigenous says

Again it is about price discovery. The economy does not grow when money is diverted to 6 figure cops, grade school teachers, & 200k professors, 6 figure federal employees because they do not produce a product/service that someone is willing to spend an exorbitant fee on. That money is then not available to be spent on something that someone is willing to pay for as it has been coerced from the taxpayer.

There is no exorbitant fee because the cost is widely dispersed. Private Organizations are poor at collecting customs fees, inspecting food and drink, collecting population data, watching the local and state police for constitutional violations, etc. etc. etc.

No private organization has the power of law (Census, Inspections) to do this job or the incentives

Al, forget the E Coli and certify my Frozen Dinners - it's not at defintiely fatal levels. It'll die in the microwave anyway! That, or your rival Charlie will get our inspection contract. I can't afford to lose the million bucks I spent on peas and Tofu meat and minimum wage labor, just to toss all these Acme Hungry Dude Dinners! I'm not letting a pipsqueak like you take my Montreal Hookers and Catamarans on account of some E Coli. .

Good Luck, Al. If you had a gun and more importantly, handcuffs and law, you wouldn't be in your perdicament. Heard your wife just had expensive surgery for her back...

Call it Crazy says

I thought this thread was about the direction of the country?

It is, but the direction hasn't been to more federal employees and larger federal departments by manpower.

Maybe more government spending - but there are less federal jobs, both absolutely and relatively.

thunderlips11 says

There is no exorbitant fee because the cost is widely dispersed.

Au contraire, in this neck of the woods a seat belt ticket is about $200, texting while driving is $500, a DUI is about 5 to 7 thousand. Building permits keep going up and up along with costs to make all sorts of improvements.

Not to mention that it is anything but evenly dispersed, the rich pay almost all of the increased fees while the poor pay none.

thunderlips11 says

No private organization has the power of law (Census, Inspections) to do this job or the incentives (Al, forget the E Coli and certify my Frozen Dinners - it's not at defintiely fatal levels.

I don't think anyone is saying that those services are unnecessary. The reality is that they absolutely could be done by private agencies, as many are and probably do a better job than some TSA type burnout who gets paid the same whether he does a bad job or a good job. AND the big plus is they have to do the service competitively.

The real problem is that what you propose does not require competition. The less seen it is the more it is this way.

More and more people of all ages are striking up conversations about Patrick's 'Debt is Slavery' car-sticker, agreeing with its basic premise, some admitting to being former debt-o-holics, high-fiving on being debt-free and generally waking up and smelling the foul stench of the Fed counterfeiting, Keynesian deficit-spending nightmare that's crushing the middle-class. Don't know if a momentum will come out of this, but it's a start and I'll take it. Oh, and Audit the Fed passed and is back.

mell says

Audit the Fed passed and is back.

Thank you congressman Paul, hopefully it will have legs this time.