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Can We Throw Off the Yoke of Government?
American Thinker ^ | 4 Sep, 2026 | Allan J. Feifer

Posted on 09/04/2026 5:22:38 AM PDT by MtnClimber

Government—and those who feed off it—slowly but inevitably become our masters.

In June 1788, when New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the Constitution, America was born. In 1789, its entire payroll reportedly fit on a single ledger page, consisting mainly of customs officers, marshals, postmasters, and clerks. By 1800, the federal civilian workforce had grown to 125 people. By 1901, it had reached 231,000, including the Post Office. Today, the federal civilian workforce numbers approximately 2.7 million. Add another 1.7 to 2 million contractual employees, and the number is around 4.5 million—and this doesn’t count anyone in uniform. Next, count those in state and local government: another 20 million Americans! For perspective, there are only about 100–103 million full-time private-sector workers and 25 million people employed directly or indirectly by government; in round numbers, that translates into one out of every five Americans working for government. That imbalance is economically indefensible.

The size of the government workforce is only the first part of the story. Working for the government is often considerably more lucrative than working in the private sector. Federal employees receive significantly more total compensation than comparable private-sector workers, particularly those without a college degree. The average federal salary is an astounding $112,000. Add benefits, and total compensation rises to $150,000–$175,000. Federal employees work 210–225 days a year, compared with 235–245 days in the private sector. They receive heavily subsidized health insurance, a defined-benefit pension, and job security that is nearly impossible to match. State and local employees generally enjoy a similar advantage. Private-sector workers remain exposed to layoffs, changing market conditions, rising health care costs, and the possibility that their employer simply decides their position is no longer necessary. Government employment operates under a different set of rules, a consequence of a lack

(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Health/Medicine; Society
KEYWORDS: leftism
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1 posted on 09/04/2026 5:22:38 AM PDT by MtnClimber
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To: MtnClimber

What would happen if a dog had a tick that big?


2 posted on 09/04/2026 5:22:53 AM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: MtnClimber

no its too late for that now. Government allowed and i suspect contributed to the demise of society knowing full well the only solution to save society would be that same government.

Hitting reset would require at least half the population to be vacated.


3 posted on 09/04/2026 5:31:27 AM PDT by sit-rep (I may be Dumb, but I'm not Stupid!)
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To: MtnClimber

One thing that might be done is to move federal employment to cheaper places to live, think Peoria, IL, Flint, MI, Scranton, PA, Erie, PA, Youngstown, OH, etc.

In DC, high federal salaries drive local housing prices higher, high local housing prices drive federal salaries higher....


4 posted on 09/04/2026 5:38:47 AM PDT by Brian Griffin
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To: MtnClimber

Articles like this assume that Americans want to throw off the yoke of government. Wrong. Americans have gotten way too comfortable with it. Americans are under the delusion that the government will take care of them if the yoke is big enough. And besides. The burden of bearing the yoke will fall on the “rich”, not them.


5 posted on 09/04/2026 5:39:29 AM PDT by Opinionated Blowhard (When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.)
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To: MtnClimber

It will require a new revolution.


6 posted on 09/04/2026 5:40:18 AM PDT by clee1 (We use 43 muscles to frown, 17 to smile, and 2 to pull a trigger. I'm lazy and don't wish to smile.)
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To: MtnClimber

“The size of the government workforce is only the first part of the story. Working for the government is often considerably more lucrative than working in the private sector. Federal employees receive significantly more total compensation than comparable private-sector workers, particularly those without a college degree.”

More than 50% of the federal workforce has a college degree.
Approximately 40% of the civilian workforce has a college degree.
IOW, this statement from the article only proves that having a college degree is considerably more lucrative than not. It does not prove that being a federal worker is more lucrative than not.
The same is true for other claims about health benefits, etc.


7 posted on 09/04/2026 5:46:57 AM PDT by DugwayDuke (Most pick the expert who says the things they agree with.)
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To: MtnClimber

The yoke of government is a trivial American problem compared to the tyranny of the City States.

For America to be America, the City States must be politically destroyed along with those who rule them


8 posted on 09/04/2026 5:47:26 AM PDT by bert ( (KE. NP. +12) Quid Quid Nominatur Fabricatur)
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To: MtnClimber

The federal government is its present size because people want the federal government to do everything. Thus we have a nanny state. Ending that requires a change in the nation’s mindset about the size of government, etc.


9 posted on 09/04/2026 5:48:23 AM PDT by Dr. Franklin ("A republic, if you can keep it." )
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To: sit-rep

“ Hitting reset would require at least half the population to be vacated”

You say that like it’s a bad thing.


10 posted on 09/04/2026 5:57:25 AM PDT by bk1000 (Banned from Breitbart)
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To: sit-rep

“half the population to be vacated “
Well they’ve tried gain-of-function bioweapons, corrupt vaccines and are now turning loose violent criminals in society. It’s not from lack of trying.


11 posted on 09/04/2026 6:00:28 AM PDT by BipolarBob (Directive 10 -289 will be forthcoming.)
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To: MtnClimber
that translates into one out of every five Americans working for government. That imbalance is economically indefensible.

Money quote. We are paying for a bloated leftist entitled administrative class that violently demands complete submission… when they’re not on government paid vacation or government paid health leave.
12 posted on 09/04/2026 6:03:19 AM PDT by Jan_Sobieski (Sanctification;)
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To: MtnClimber

The founders knew power would eventually centralize into the District of Criminals. That is why they included a Convention Of States option in Article V. After 250 years it still sits unused , both sides terrified that the other would get the Lion’s share of power if it ever happened. At the very least it could be used to balance the budget. America now pays over an astronomical trillion dollars in interest every year on the debt it has acquired.


13 posted on 09/04/2026 6:03:37 AM PDT by Nateman (Democrats did not strive for fraud friendly voting merely to continue honest elections.)
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To: Nateman

I think the Constitution has two important mistakes: it lets the government print money, and borrow money.


14 posted on 09/04/2026 6:05:05 AM PDT by TTFX
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To: TTFX

I think some of the Founders wanted a centralized big government, that’s why they gave the Federal Government the ability to print money.


15 posted on 09/04/2026 6:09:16 AM PDT by TTFX
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To: MtnClimber
If Americans want a freer and more prosperous future, they will have to confront a difficult reality: reducing government means changing the incentives of millions who now depend upon it.

The problem with executing this plan is that some who claim to be on Our Side have joined the Team Commie.

Put bluntly, if conservatives want to save the country they are going to have to rebuild and in a sense re-found it, and that means getting used to the idea of wielding power, not despising it. Why? Because accommodation or compromise with the left is impossible…

The left will only stop when conservatives stop them, which means conservatives will have to discard outdated and irrelevant notions about “small government.” The government will have to become, in the hands of conservatives, an instrument of renewal in American life — and in some cases, a blunt instrument indeed.

To those who worry that power corrupts, and that once the right seizes power it too will be corrupted, they certainly have a point. If conservatives manage to save the country and rebuild our institutions, will they ever relinquish power and go the way of Cincinnatus? It is a fair question, and we should attend to it with care after we have won the war.

16 posted on 09/04/2026 6:09:24 AM PDT by DoodleBob (Gravity's waiting period is about 9.8 m/s²)
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To: TTFX

You can’t print Gold and that use to be the foundation.


17 posted on 09/04/2026 6:12:05 AM PDT by Nateman (Democrats did not strive for fraud friendly voting merely to continue honest elections.)
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To: Brian Griffin
Brian Griffin @4: "One thing that might be done is to move federal employment to cheaper places to live, think Peoria, IL, Flint, MI, Scranton, PA, Erie, PA, Youngstown, OH, etc."

That action is described by the medical term, "metastasize".

18 posted on 09/04/2026 6:27:03 AM PDT by Carl Vehse (Make Austin Texas Again!)
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To: MtnClimber

Not without blood being spilled


19 posted on 09/04/2026 6:41:18 AM PDT by The Louiswu (USA FIRST...USA FOREVER)
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To: bk1000

lol...

Believe it or not, I do use a filter from time to time! I dont wanna get swatted!


20 posted on 09/04/2026 6:52:57 AM PDT by sit-rep (I may be Dumb, but I'm not Stupid!)
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