It’s true that government creates jobs. Of course, they do it only with money generated from the private sector.
We have generally paid our government to protect us and support the
rule of law in our nation. That means national defense, law
enforcement, the judicial system — things of that nature.
State and local governments are paid to keep the infrastructure in
place, while the federal government maintains interstate transportation.
State and local universities and school districts are paid to educate
our kids.
Studies show that, historically, about 7.3 percent of our total
workforce is in government work, growing with the population. They note
that it has dropped down to 7 percent since 2009. If I’ve done the math
right, that means government has lost 4 percent of its workforce during
the recession. I assume that means “government unemployment” stands at 4
percent.
Private-sector unemployment is more like 15 percent. Any pundits
moaning about government austerity or draconian personnel cuts should
get a new talking point.
Although we value those government jobs — they are essential — we
must be cautious about government growth. Entrepreneurs and business
people in general define success by creating useful products, which
bring in profits. The bigger the utility to society, the bigger the
profit, the better.
So success in the private sector is measured by profits and
revenues — the essential fact is that if you figure out how to help
people, then profits and revenues will follow. And of course, the more
profits, the more tax revenue flows to the government to support those
“government jobs.”
No comments:
Post a Comment