No, federal spending and employment are not “out of control”
Among the leading fantasies of the moment are that federal employment and spending are “out of control,” so drastic action is needed to put things back in order. These are lies. Some people who utter these lies probably know better and some don’t, but they’re still lies. First, let’s look at federal expenditures and revenues as a percent of GDP. (These come from table 3.2 in the national income accounts, by the way.) People who want to deceive will often cite raw dollar amounts to amplify the gee-whiz factor, but the only… Read More
Federal employment is already frozen
This morning, chief bloviator Donald Trump issued an executive order freezing federal hiring. Such a move probably appeals to those who think that the growth of government is “out of control.” That might be true in some senses—surveillance and the warfare state certainly qualify, but Trump only wants accelerate their growth. But one thing that doesn’t qualify is the subject of the order: federal employment. Graphed below are federal employment in thousands and as a percentage of total employment, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly survey of employers. The absolute number of federal employees at the end of… Read More
LBO News from Doug Henwood 