In case you missed the news [2] earlier this year, government workers...(aka: taxpyayer's employees) now comprise the majority of union membership in America.
And then there's the fact that, despite the recession and cutbacks in the private sector, government employment...(aka: the majority of union members) is the only sector of the economy that has grown lately [3]. Of course, given that most of the "stimulus" was an excuse to bailout unionized bureaucrats working for state governments that are going broke, this comes as no surprse.
I think another fact that needs to be pointed out about the stimulus that I haven't seen elsewhere is that, by bailing out these state governments and keeping them from making the necessary cuts to balance their books, the federal government prevented the states from doing what the private sector does in such circumstances in every business cycle: get more efficient.
In other words, they identfy waste, mismanagement, rudundancies and anything else they can live without after taking a hard look at things. They get leaner...but usually maintain or even increase productivity. Meaning they do more with less. And when the business cycle improves, they're even more productive and competitive.
But not government. Or unions. They have a vested interest in growing and consuming more of available resources. Which is why they go so well together.
As the stimulus "wears off", those ineficiencies in state governments (and bloated government worker union salaries) will still be there. And the states will be crying for bailouts again.
As Reagan once said, "If you want more of something, you subsidize it. If you want less of something, you tax it."
Right now, taxpayers are subsidizing the growth of government union members [4] in the public sector. And we're likely to get more of them.
Here's a great video from CATO's Center for Freedom and Prosperity which takes a look at the growing number of government workers, their growing salaries and benefits (especially when compared to average Americans) and how they in turn support the politicians that vote to continually expand the pool of government workers. Pass it on.
