From Gallup:
Seventy-two percent of Americans say big government is a greater threat to the U.S. in the future than is big business or big labor, a record high in the nearly 50-year history of this question. The prior high for big government was 65% in 1999 and 2000. Big government has always topped big business and big labor, including in the initial asking in 1965, but just 35% named it at that time.
This makes it very likely that the November '14 elections will be a referendum not only on Obamacare but also on the role of government in general. The forces of more limited government are likely to win the day, and that, in my opinion, would be a huge positive for the economic outlook.
Personally, I am more terrified of big government Democrats and military-industrial Republicans than I am of al-Qaeda.
ReplyDeleteI'll go even further than Mr. McKibbbin, and say it doesn't matter which party is in power. According to fedspending.org, Lockheed Martin, the jet fighter maker, had the following contracts for 2011--
ReplyDeleteEDUCATION, Department of $1,865,281,084
ENERGY, Department of $25,064,881,346
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY $1,855,186,862
HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, Department of $1,678,933,307
Bureau of Engraving and Printing $300,939,682
Dept. of Labor $38,424,354
Federal Election Commission $12,465,436
National Endowment for the Arts $2,730,377
The list goes on...and on...and on. I have no doubt that LMT has its army of lobbyists making sure that any piece of legislation affecting any of these agencies keeps the gravy train of gubmint money flowing, and that they use however much $$ is needed to get the "right" politicians re-elected.
And what about other firms? Guess what, this list also goes on...and on....... Do ya think they are any less interested in riding the gravy train? Or that it's just a happy coincidence (for them) that the corporate-owned "lamestream media" goes nowhere near any of this (let alone ANY politicians)? All I ever hear over the airwaves is that "it's all the Dem's fault" and "it's all the Repub's fault". The term "divide and conquer" comes to mind.
Smaller federal government?
ReplyDeleteOkay, here is a list of federal employees by agency:
Federal Employment By Agency
Defense 772,601
VA 304,665
Homeland Security 183,455
Justice 117,916
Treasury 110,099
USDA 106,867
Interior 70,231
H&HS 69,839
Transportation 57,972
Commerce 56,856
State 39,016
Labor 17,592
HUD 9585
Education 4452
@Benjamin, does your defense employees number include active, reserve, and guard military forces? Just curious...
ReplyDeleteHat Tip to Scott Grannis this Morning at MarketWatch by Ben Eisen:
ReplyDeletehttp://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2013/12/18/so-what-does-a-shrinking-swap-spread-mean-anyway/
I present Corollary #1 from the Dispensation Economics Manifest: Jesus Christ, operating in dispensation, that is economic action for the fulfillment and completion of every age, PIVOTED, the world from the paradigm and age of liberalism into that of authoritarianism, on October 23, 2013, by opening the First Seal of The Scroll of End Time Events, thus enabling the Rider on The White Horse, who has a bow without any arrows, to empower the bond vigilantes to commence calling the Interest Rate on the Ten Year Note, ^TNX, higher from 2.48%, destroying fiat money, and to begin destroying fiat wealth, VT, as well as Nation Investment, EFA, and Global Financial Institutions, IXG.
ReplyDeleteUnder liberalism bankers, corporations, government, entrepreneurs, and investors of nation state democracies were the legislators of economic value and the legislators of economic life that shape one’s means and one’s ends.
In contrast, under authoritarianism, currency traders, bond vigilantes and nannycrats working in public private partnerships and in regional governance, are the legislators of economic value and are the legislators that shape one’s means and one’s ends.
Obamacare is at the leading edge of authoritarianism replacing liberalism. Obamacare is literally destroying America’s system of health care. And Obamacare is causing strong disinvestment out of Medical Devices, IHI, and Health Care Providers, IHF.
Welcome to totalitarian collectivism; it’s the complement of regional governance; this being foretold by John The Revelator in Revelation 13:1-4. The Beast regime is rising to rule the world. Soon out of the Club Med crisis of sovereign insolvency and banking insolvency, it will establish policies of diktat of regional governance in every one of the world’s ten regions, and schemes of totalitarian collectivism in every one of mankind’s seven institutions.
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ReplyDeleteBoth 2014 and 16 must break totally for the Conservative movement, as Beltway RINOS will do little when in power other than to maintain the status quo..
ReplyDeleteMy new bumper sticker reads -
MAMA OBOMBA - 2016
@ WMcKibben-
ReplyDeleteWell, those numbers do not include 3.7 million vets now getting monthly disability checks from Uncle Sam, paid for by income tax payers.
So, you are right, the actual number of people with a direct stake in federal outlays is much bigger than the employment stats I posted....
It reminds me of that crazy old Phil Gramm line during the Clinton health care debate: "No government run health care, but keep your hands off my mamma's Medicare."
ReplyDeleteNo really. A US Senator actually said that.