I agree 100% with the issues raised with government jobs. What you get is a bunch of Big Digs, huge black holes sucking up money. This is because they are controlled politically by those whose number one interest is power, and power doesnt come from efficiency it comes from redistribution.
I disagree that the past 8 years were the model for a private higher standard of living. Take the fruit stand scenario, it shows how the fruit is sold cheaper by greater efficiency and competition. But our major industry driving the private sector economy was housing. But housing prices rose not fell, so did energy, and food, it all went up , until last year when it all collapsed from the weight of what was driving it, ever increasing debt, inflation, higher interest rates. Now the economy is in huge trouble due to massive private and public debt. Most of the subprime loans were owners cashing out their houses, home equity loans on equity that doesnt exist, really never existed. Now some investor or bank owns the loan worth more than the property and the government and fed are trying to manufacture money to reverse those losses.
The ‘money in our pocket” was gov deficit spending and spending the equity of houses that never existed, ie debt! I am afraid something else has to be fixed, this was a disaster.
Yes, I agree it was all a house of cards. I was pointing out the absolute refusal of libs to acknowledge what was good in our lives. I once heard an NPR announcer say on the noon news: “The stock market hit a record 15000 points today, despite the stuggling economy”. People took and took and took and all they wanted was more.