if the gulf between government benefits and private benefits continues to widen I expect to see many more people vying for government positions. at what other job can you expect to retire with 90% pay? add to that all the stereotypes about the do-nothing government employees (which are all true to an even greater extent than is generally imagined as far as i can tell).
I can't answer for the author of the parent, but for my part I combine my own personal experiences dealing directly with employees of government agencies with the stories I hear from a friend of mine who works for a consulting firm and often deals with government employees, including a very long assignment working for FEMA as part of the Hurricane Katrina cleanup. A particularly interesting data point for me was the experience of registering a car at the Connecticut DMV vs. registering in Pennsylvania where the process is privatized.
Has anyone ever seen any scientific evidence comparing productivity of private sector vs. public sector employees?
studying the history of the civil service's relationship to elected politicians as well as hunting down first hand accounts from people who have worked in the system for years.
also the fact that Yes, Minister is regarded as the most accurate show about politics ever made. My above mentioned study seems to confirm that it is indeed scarily accurate.
Obviously. Most people are not entrepreneurs and have no desire to be. It sure would be a freaky world if everyone, or even a clear majority were.
Most people don't live for their jobs, the job is just a paycheck. The federal government provides some of the most secure, highest paying with most benefits jobs in this economy.
Sadly for the US, an ever growing government sector does not lead to long term prosperity, because government almost never creates value. Exceptions like funding for basic science and some infrastructure exist, but overall it's a definite net loss.
we have little empirical data to support either position. I strongly believe that the historical record, at the very least, shows that there isn't anything the government does besides invade enemy territory that people can't accomplish on their own.
Small and efficient governments which create law and order are good for growth. They themselves do not create the growth, but they create the necessary conditions for growth.
Government spending on the other hand, with few exceptions, does not create new value and doesn't even create the conditions for new value. It can create additional demand. If the source of the spending is debt, it can be stimulating in the short term, but it rarely is, see Japan's attempts to stimulate through government spending.
Big or huge governments almost certainly are a significant net drain on productivity.
During economic instability, the public sector is always the safest place to be. Plus government opportunities tend to grow during recessions while businesses shrink to weather the storm.
