[Joe Hadenuf]

At all levels of government, the rate of compensation has gone up much more rapidly than it has in the private sector and, most importantly, faster than the personal income of the people who pay for this

Remember when government workers and politicians were considered public, civil servants?

Now it's the job of choice due to the big money and generous benefits, all on the backs of the little peon, taxpayers.

Government is only growing larger.

They just built a new city hall not too far from me. It's the fanciest, most opulent building in the entire area.

The parking lot is full of near new cars, they have beautiful landscaped, secured, and guarded parking.

There are lavish fountains, landscaping, safe, secure bullet proof windows for their employees, guards, closed circuit cameras to watch for angry tax payers, and to top it off, they built one of the most expensive restaurants in the area right across the street, so the government employees don't have to travel far to those yummy, tax payer paid lunches.

[searchandrecovery]

It's a form of welfare to be a government employee - low job expectations, little chance to be fired, just raise taxes if more money is needed, retire at 45. ESPECIALLY state "workers".

[Voltage]

When Estonia was under communist rule, the government officials lived in a secluded forested area away from the capitol of Tallinn. They lived like kings, and each day were brought to their offices in limos, to return to their retreat each evening.

On August 24, 1991, they didn't show up, rather they headed for the USSR border. They apparently didn't want to stay around for the celebration of the end of communist rule.

It couldn't happen here of course....

[John Jorsett]

(I instructed the Admin Moderator to remove the other thread).

What was wrong with it?

[tyen]

Vote with your feet. My business partner and I have agreed that long-term (by 2010), we are re-domiciling our company offshore as a foreign company simply because we expect this trend to eventually make it more profitable to do business outside of the nation than inside it. The toll on the overall economy extracted by this cancerous growth of government cannot be overstated.

An interim measure I'm looking at is moving to New Hampshire to join the Free State Project, then moving offshore when we can. Realistically, I think that project will only temporarily halt the phenomena in very localized region, though I would really like to be proven wrong because I love this nation. We have concluded that this voter-fed insanity will not stop until it is forced to stop through external circumstances. I'm concerned it will take a calamitous economic disaster to shock this nation's citizens back into demanding prudent governance by themselves rather than of themselves.

My business partner's and my general idea is to do what we can to starve out this growth, while working from within to do what we can (up to a point --- after that point, we are physically getting out of Dodge) to reverse it. No use fighting something if you let it sap your own strength against you at the same time, we figure.

[RGSpincich]

Government employees are only part of the problem. Private consulting firms, often comprised of former "civil servants", are a huge draw down on the budget of any public project. Consultants to assess consultants in many cases.

[WhiteGuy]

Since the old thread was removed,

I'll make my point again.

I guess this is where all the new jobs have come from (as the current administration claims)

[Not A Snowbird]

they built one of the most expensive restaurants in the area right across the street, so the government employees don't have to travel far to those yummy, tax payer paid lunches.

Nobody's buying my lunch. Am I working for the wrong agency? (/irriation off)

[Stew Padasso]

Elitist Trash Bump

[GSWarrior]

It's not called "feeding at the public trough" for no reason.

[templar]

New job creation has to come from somewhere. Nothing else seems to be growing (or have a future).

[Stew Padasso]

I hope I live long enough to see the elitist power structure in government shunned and stripped of their taxpayer funded wealth.

Not only do they not deserve this kind of money and worship, but for the most part their bureaucratic functions and roles are probably a joke and not even needed.

[The Westerner]

Have you had enough?

[Ronzo]

You know, as much as we like to criticize FDR, at least when he spent the people's money, it was to buy things like tanks, bombers, rifles, and those things that go "boom" and make for wonderful explosions.

Sure, there was growth in government too, but there was NO WAY that the private sector (in the 30's & 40's) was going to get it's rear in gear until Uncle Sam started buying war materials like a drunken sailor...

In California, they are spending money on making a better life for beaurcrats and their ilk. Sounds just like the old Soviet Union. Well, worst than the old Soviet Union --at least the USSR spent some of the government money on tanks, planes, ships... you know, those things that employ "the worker;" that make use of "labor." (The "little" people...)

Too bad the USSR didn't know about outsourcing, they could have gotten all those tanks and planes made in China for a lot less money, and the old commie's would still be around today! (Oh wait, they are still around...nevermind...)

[Cultural Jihad]

... and to top it off, they built one of the most expensive restaurants in the area right across the street, so the government employees don't have to travel far to those yummy, tax payer paid lunches.

"There's one of them!"

[AEMILIUS PAULUS]

Go into any government office and see who is working there. Go on just go look! You have eyes to see, go see!

[VOA]

PUBLIC PAYROLL SOARS (wealth transfer gone from citizens to people in Govt)

With all the jobs and manufacturing leaving the USA, surely we can downsize the EPA,
state environmental boards and some other regulatory bodies.

Ooops...there I go, having a eye-open dream!

[bvw]

Another reason for "opting out" of the tax system.

[Starboard]

The taxpayer funded gentry in the Washington DC area lives high on the hog. Government salaries for most professionals (term used loosely) fall in the GS 13-15 range:

13
$72,108 -- $93,742

14
$85,210 -- $110,775

15
$100,231 -- $130,305

Complete salary tables are available on www.opm.gov in case you're curious about federal pay scales in other areas of the country. Benefits for federal employees are second to none and job security is almost absolute.

[eeriegeno]

Remember when government workers and politicians were considered public, civil servants? Now it's the job of choice due to the big money and generous benefits, all on the backs of the little peon, taxpayers. Government is only growing larger. They just built a new city hall not too far from me. It's the fanciest, most opulent building in the entire area. The parking lot is full of near new cars, they have beautiful landscaped, secured, and guarded parking. There are lavish fountains, landscaping, safe, secure bullet proof windows for their employees, guards, closed circuit cameras to watch for angry tax payers, and to top it off, they built one of the most expensive restaurants in the area right across the street, so the government employees don't have to travel far to those yummy, tax payer paid lunches.

Check out your governmental schools and their parking lots. Same thing...............

[Hank Rearden]

Every ass-dragging government parasite I ever met was absolutely convinced the Republic couldn't continue without him cashing his paychecks.

Start firing people until only police, courts and the military are left.

I'm sick to death of Big Stupid Government.