Is it any wonder we are in this mess with Reid and Obama running the show. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Wednesday indicated Congress needs to worry about government jobs more than private-sector jobs, and that this is why Senate Democrats are pushing a bill aimed at shoring up teachers and first-responders. "It's very clear that private-sector jobs have been doing just fine; it's the public-sector jobs where we've lost huge numbers, and that's what this legislation is all about," Reid said on the Senate floor. http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-acti...s-must-take-priority-over-private-sector-jobs
He's right, a lot of people are alarmed (no pun) at the drop off in service level they're getting from local government, the halving of police departments, the cutting of desk hours, etc. As for teachers, with all the layoffs, all I can say is here-we-go-again. In a decade will be screaming for more teachers and we'll have to pay them more.
But you are missing the bigger picture. The cuts in services and personnel are largely the result of legacy costs. They've essentially grandfathered in the golden parachutes for those already retired or near retirement and the municipalities can't afford to pay for current services as a result. Until you are willing to acknowledge that these legacy costs are breaking the system, I don't think your argument passes the smell test.
I do agree to some extent. No one imagined decades ago that America's ability to make sales would be so reduced.
Private sector job growth is NOT doing just fine as Reid suggests. Reid is an idiot. He took too many punches in his boxing career.
Actually quite a few people imagined it decades ago, but they were marginalized by the Keynesians as 'crazy' and 'fringe'.
The few people who did speak out on this matter were still dealing in the "abstract" or so the critics said some 10, 15, 20 years ago. The "growth at all costs" mentality that fuels this sort of spending and growth in the public sector can appear completely sustainable given the backdrop of a friendly credit market. Throw in a raging equity bull market and a bunch of projections for decades worth of continued gains and the looming pension doomsday can be called a "conspiracy theory". I remember quite well all the hooplah roughly 12 years ago when it appeared that this country was flush with a strong dollar, low commodity prices and an equity bubble. It's beyond the realm to ask most of the mouth breathers that hold elected office to have any foresight. It's not only politically inconvienent, but a possible career ender for any of these guys to turn their backs on ever greater amounts of spending.