Growth that's killing us

Cries of alarm at the proliferation of government aren't emanating exclusively from the castles of right-wing zealots.

Some pretty balanced observers are telling us we'd best be paying attention.

One of them, Wall Street Journal senior economics writer Stephen Moore, recently penned a superb piece entitled, "We've Become a Nation of Takers, Not Makers." If that didn't grab you, the sub-headline will: "More Americans work for the government than in manufacturing, farming, fishing, forestry, mining and utilities combined."

Moore's opinion piece notes that 22.5 million Americans work for government. Compare that to 11.5 million who work in the manufacturing industry and the point is made. Compare it to 1960s statistics - when 15 million Americans worked in manufacturing and 8.7 million worked in government - and the point is magnified.

"We have moved decisively from a nation of makers to a nation of takers," Moore writes. "Nearly half of the $2.2 trillion cost of state and local governments is the $1 trillion-a-year tab for pay and benefits of state and local employees. Is it any wonder that so many states and cities cannot pay their bills?"

Moore sounds an alarm in noting that surveys show increasing numbers of college graduates want to work for government. Why? "Because in recent years only government agencies have been hiring, and because the offer of near lifetime security is highly valued in these times of economic turbulence. . . . Sadly, we could end up with a generation of Americans who want to work at the Department of Motor Vehicles."

Moore says one of the greatest growth areas in government is - you scholars guessed it - schools. From 1970 to 2005, he says, school spending per pupil doubled. However, standardized achievement test scores remained flat. Moore cites a University of Washington study that shows during roughly the same time frame, public-school employment doubled per student.

Moore spreads the responsibility for government growth to unions, saying studies have shown how states and cities could save 20 percent to 40 percent off the cost of many services (public transportation, garbage collection, administration, fire fighting, prison operations) by competitive contracting to private providers, but unions fight such reforms at every turn.

"Public employees maintain they are underpaid relative to equally qualified private-sector workers, yet they are deathly afraid of competitive bidding for government services," he writes.

We leave you today with Moore's closing paragraph and urge you to consider the truth in his assessment.

"President Obama says we have to retool our economy to 'win the future,'" he writes. "The only way to do that is to grow the economy that makes things, not the sector that takes things."