do we have too many people working for the govt?

[BlahBlahYouToo]

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, federal employees, including postal workers, number 2.8 million, but there are 19.5 million state and local government employees.

so a total of around 22 million people work for the govt.
the american workforce as a whole is about 150 million so about 15% of the working population works for the govt.

what say y'all?
can we be more efficient? can/should that number be reduced?

 

[Jhhnn]

Creating govt jobs covers up for the offshoring of other jobs and for the results of automation. GWB grew the federal payroll at a faster rate than at any time since the great society, borrowed the money to do that and a lot more, so, uhh, go figure...

I mean, it's not teh ebil soshulism if you have a job, right?

 

[Phokus]

so a total of around 22 million people work for the govt.
the american workforce as a whole is about 150 million so about 15% of the working population works for the govt.

what say y'all?
can we be more efficient? can/should that number be reduced?

The government work force should be reduced, but without the right trade regulations and internal policies, you will have a helluva lot more unemployed people competing for the few jobs that are available, shifting the supply curve and lowering wages for everyone. And before the idiots who come in and say that the savings from government expenditures will magically create jobs here, no, it won't: that extra capital will go to where the low hanging fruit is, and that's not in a highly developed country like the US.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

The government work force should be reduced, but without the right trade regulations and internal policies, you will have a helluva lot more unemployed people competing for the few jobs that are available, shifting the supply curve and lowering wages for everyone. And before the idiots who come in and say that the savings from government expenditures will magically create jobs here, no, it won't: that extra capital will go to where the low hanging fruit is, and that's not in a highly developed country like the US.

no, it's not going to create more jobs. speaking entirely out of my ass, we could probably eliminate a good amount of govt employees.
it's just a shitty feeling when you know your tax dollars are basically being direct deposited into someone else's bank account unnecessarily.

 

[OCGuy]

Start new manufacturing plants with no unions. Remove the federal/state minimum wages. Start arresting company owners who hire illegals, and deport the ones that are here. Give incentives to the companies that bring jobs back to the US.

Then we can start eliminating government programs and positions.

 

[soundforbjt]

I heard somewhere on the news IIRC, can't remember where, That per/1000 people there is less people working for the government now then there was in the 60's.

 

[MovingTarget]

If you mean military, yes. Civil service? Not so much. The government in many cases has to get in bed with corporations just to do its job nowadays. Meanwhile, the rest of us get substandard service while said corps laugh all the way to the bank.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

I heard somewhere on the news IIRC, can't remember where, That per/1000 people there is less people working for the government now then there was in the 60's.

without counting the millions of illegals in our country that consume social services right?

 

[wuliheron]

You should add to those figures how many people work for state and local governments as well. It's been estimated that roughly 40% of California, for example, work directly or indirectly for the government. Whether that's too many or not depends on your point of view, but its certainly nothing like a libertarian ideal.

However, I can definitely think of a few specific people the government could easily get by without....

 

[hellod9]

..

 

[OutHouse]

because government jobs pay a lot dude. go check out usajobs.com

 

[Zebo]

We have a hell of a lot more than that 2/3 of Americans are dependent on Gov't for their employ/eating in one from or another. Govt is also half of GDP or about 7 trillion between federal and states.

- 35 million just for private contractors
- 50 million on SS/SSDI etc
- 44 million on food stamps
etc etc etc

No to mention how many Walmarts are open to cash SS checks.

And yes it's unsustainable hence the crippling borrowing and debt at every level.

 

[Whoozyerdaddy]

The problem isn't that there are too many people working for the government. The problem is that the government is so big it requires that many people to operate it.


Reduce the size, scope and power of the Government.

 

[the DRIZZLE]

Gov't spending as a percent of GDP is the relevant number. The number of government employees doesn't tell you much because so much of the work is done by contractors.

 

[LegendKiller]

Gov't spending as a percent of GDP is the relevant number. The number of government employees doesn't tell you much because so much of the work is done by contractors.

And that number has been pretty consistent over the years.

 

[charrison]

Yes there are too many people working for govt. Govt as with other really large organizations are slow to adopt new technology. The fed is really large, so it is really slow.

Civil service employees still fill out their time cards into a spreadsheet that then is turned in and hand jammed by another employee.

Goto USAJOBS.gov, it is a nice portal for federal jobs posting, but to apply for a job, you get redirected to a different portal to apply for the job. There is much room or IT consolidation across all agencies in the govt.

Why cant I sign up to receive my annual SS report via email rather than snail mail?

Why did the govt waste billion on the last census via snail mail. Most of it could have been accomplished with a mailed post card and a website to collect the data.

There is plenty of waste n the govt that could be cut.

 

[chucky2]

The number of people working for the various governments is meaningless. The amount the collective governments in the US spend is the problem. And, it's a problem because that money comes from us, or, is borrowed and we're (now and later) on the hook for it.

 

[charrison]

The number of people working for the various governments is meaningless. The amount the collective governments in the US spend is the problem. And, it's a problem because that money comes from us, or, is borrowed and we're (now and later) on the hook for it.

Govt spending is largely transfer payments at this point.

 

[chucky2]

Sorry, what do you mean by that?

 

[Lithium381]

it woudln't be so bad if the government jobs paid an average salary and didnt' have so many perks and guaranteed pension of 3x what the salary was..... not to mention the unions make sure you CAN NOT FIRE THEM..... ZOMG WE WILL STRIKE IF YOU TREAT US LIKE MERE HUMAN EMPLOYEES

 

[Darwin333]

And that number has been pretty consistent over the years.

Correct, the .gov has been consistently spending more than it collects.

Question: What does the law of exponents tell us will eventually happen?

 

[Craig234]

See the red line.

http://www.data360.org/dsg.aspx?Data_Set_Group_Id=228

 

[Whoozyerdaddy]

See the red line.

http://www.data360.org/dsg.aspx?Data_Set_Group_Id=228

Actually the blue line is the relevant line to the OP's question. He asked if too many people worked for the government (not just the fed) and then cited the numbers as shown by the blue line in your graph.

And again I'll say that the number of government employees isn't the problem. It's the size and scope of government that requires so many people to run it that's the problem.

 

[wuliheron]

Here in the state of Virginia the legislators simply refused to pay retired state employees what they were owed. Instead, they offered to pay half of what they owed out of court and dragged the rest through court for the next twenty years.

What a great idea! Governments acting like the rest of corporate america and screwing people out of their life savings! By state law you can't even sue the state without their permission! In this case it wasn't necessary since so many died of old age before winning in court. Gotta keep up appearances and all that.