Public employees pay taxes. Yes, they are also paid out of taxes, but they are paid for work - which they give. Or should.
I spent 25 years in the military. I deployed far more times than I could count. I trained. I buried coworkers who died while training. And I was paid. For my service.
You cannot say public employees are a drain on the GDP without accounting for the work done in exchange for their salaries.
I strongly support reforms to make it vastly easier to FIRE public employees who do NOT work. I encountered my share of GS-13s during my military career who seemed to pride themselves on how little they did since they knew they could not be fired. THAT is evil and I’d love to see firing a public employee become simple.
But many public employees DO work. Not just the military. That some do not is evil, but do not pretend that no public employee works! My first job was manual labor for the US Forest Service and I worked by tail off! Minimum wage and I would collapse from exhaustion when I crawled home. That was 40+ years ago and I’m sure the USFS has changed. But there is still work being done.
I don’t expect everyone will understand this fact.
Nancy Pelosi can disagree with facts, but facts are facts, and stubborn things.
Our gov’t has been deficit spending since Alexander Hamilton arranged for us to borrow (how much? class? Buehler?) from the Dutch to jump start a system he planned to lead to centralized banking (Aaron Burr shot him ten years too late, IMHO).
Gov’t, as evidenced by the method’s established by our founders is broke. It creates NO wealth, no value, no GDP.
Everything gov’t holds/owns is from taxes - duties, tariffs - which should in a sane and non corrupted world, go to pay for exactly what’s outlined in our constitution: national security, military and the post office - “general welfare” notwithstanding.
Gov’t doesn’t “invest.” It takes from creators and gives to buy votes and to pay salaries of gov’t employees who ARE a net drain on the GDP.
NO gov’t employee can pay tax if they are paid BY taxes. That W4 they get is a lie.
There is no more fundamental a fact than this.
Not sorry if you don’t get it.
I too was a public education and media victim.