It didn't generate much attention at the time, but Mitt Romney delivered a speech in Ohio recently in which he condemned the Recovery Act. Among other things, the Republican said it did too much to protect public-sector jobs, "which is probably the sector that should have been shrinking."
This isn't just some throwaway line. Romney believes the U.S. economy would be stronger if there were fewer government jobs, not more. In other words, as far as the GOP's would-be president is concerned, fewer teachers, fewer firefighters, and fewer police officers would mean more economic growth. Public-sector layoffs = lower unemployment.
Remember, this guy considers economics to be his strong suit.
For those inclined to take a more sensible look at recent events, the reality paints a very different picture. The truth is, the public sector has been the part of the economy that has been shrinking. Paul Krugman posted this chart last week:
Paul Krugman, New York Times
Krugman explained, "That spike early on is Census hiring; once that was past, the Obama years shaped up as an era of huge cuts in public employment compared with previous experience. If public employment had grown the way it did under Bush, we'd have 1.3 million more government workers, and probably an unemployment rate of 7 percent or less."
If you take all the job losses that have happened under President Obama, and all the job gains over the same period, the economy is still in the hole -- but nearly 100% of the losses are from the loss of government jobs.
This may seem counterintuitive, and the right simply chooses not to even consider the facts on the merits, but the principal difference between our fragile recovery and a more robust recovery is the domestic austerity measures that have been in place -- and served as a counter-stimulus for three years.
Since the beginning of his term, state and local governments have shed 611,000 employees — including 196,000 educators — according to government statistics. Unlike the recovery in private-sector employment that Obama and his reelection campaign often cite — with businesses adding 4 million jobs since hiring hit its low point in 2010 — the jobs crisis at the state and local level has continued throughout his term. [...]
"The job losses at state and local governments is the most serious weight on the job market," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, who has advised both parties.
The developments that hurt the most are the same developments Republicans think are the best. The difference is, in 2013, they want to ensure an austerity-only approach, intensifying the policies that have held us back so far.
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Obama's spike in hiring was for the census, correct?
The spike above 16, yes.
Fire fighters, police, teachers,first responders - who cares? We can do without them and with a crumbling infrastructure. What really matters is to keep the super rich, special interests, lobbies and MIC happy.
Welcome to the scenario of a Romney rule.
Facts! Republicans don't need no stinking facts!
Republicans are true believers in Freedom of $peech and Freedom of $peech means that you can lie, prevaricate, dissemble, mislead, and distort as often and as loudly as you can afford.
GOP = Grover Owned Politicians - starve government enough so that it can go down the bathtub drain!
Vote them all out in November!
I work for government and i really do get sick-n-effin tired of people trashing all government workers like they are some sort of leaches on society .
All your municipal workers who maintain your parks , keep your streets clean (and up north plowed), garbage , water , sewer , public transit etc all those foolish amenities provide services that that make your life possible .
And guess what . They also spend money that helps keep the economy robust .
They are REAL JOBS.
One more thing , while I'm on a rant
I get tired of people crying about "government benefits " being so generous .
A better question you who work for a company would be "Why are my benefits so bad and why does this company treat me like sh*t?)
There is a reason they are trying to weaken unions. Less for you , More for them.
Thanks for listening
Here-here!! Well said!
And the irony is that the "public servants" on the right holding office are against public service....unless it may cost their own job..or should I say power?
I had to break out a regular computer (sidebar: hello Maddow team...iPhone support, PLEASE! I do almost all my work on a smartphone and am rarely even near a computer! /rant) just to say A-@!$%#ING-MEN. If the GOP destroys government workers and unions, then all the rest of us get to live with the race-to-the-bottom GOP wet dreams.
That affects every single American.
GOP divisive politics isn't just people voting against their own interests, it's getting regular Americans to hate other regular Americans. Don't resent the rich and the "job creators" because they really have your best interests at heart, resent those other workers, the ones who are just like you, because they were able to negotiate pay and benefits. Just wait until there is no one at all left in the worker's corner, and then we are all all alone with @!$%#ty pay, no benefits, no healthcare, being fired for being sick. Christ, don't these people remember those days?
Right on with your rant. Carry on.
Ditto!!!!!! Very well said!
Absolutely. The whining is even more pointless when you stop to consider: who exactly hires these private companies with big juicy contracts?* Government bureaus staffed by government workers and funded by the government. The "job-creators" are getting their own money back (what little they pay) along with the taxes of those they exploit for labor.
I did some time working for the federal government. The benefits were pretty great. I think everyone should have flextime and compressed workweeks and childcare and enough sick and vacation time that they can have a life outside of work. Private companies in Europe do it, so it's not like it's impossible. But it won't happen here unless the structure of our entire economy radically changes.
*that I think the government should be doing more in-house, especially re: the military is a bit beside the point.
@sick-n-effin-tired
The reason why Republicans use government employees as whipping boys is because they are the easy targets. Everyone has dealt with a government employee and many times, the experience was not very pleasant. Not because of the employee, but waiting time and rules that the employee must follow are what angers people. The public will continue to fall for this unless government employees work to educate people.
It's simple, its the politics of envy--the private sector has cut way back on health care and pension benefits so the GOP tries to turn those workers against the only workers left with them, the public employees. Brilliant strategy and its working
their deliberate economic treason against this country.
So Romney thinks that having even more extreme loss of public jobs would benefit the economy? Or -- more likely -- he has bought into the lie that the government payrolls have exploded during Obama's presidency, and wants to cut that false boom.
Also: Is the census spike the one at 3 months or 16 months? If it is at 3 months, what is the cause of the spike at 16 months? Or is it part of the stimulus kicking in? Or something seasonal?
Coiled Snake becomes a corkscrew as the party of "don't tread on me" becomes the party of a grim twisted fairy tale.Hard statistics yield to probabilities and statistics manipulated to statistically result in a desired probability thus leaving statisticians scratching their calculators and figuring how to turn quantitative data into quantum theoretical bull that others will buy.
Huh???
Once again krugman bends the facts, according to the us census.gov/gov
year ending 2008 2.7 million federal employees.
Year ending 2010 3 million federal employees..
Year ending 1999 2.7 million employees.
You do realize that public employees are not just federal employees. They are local government, fire, police, teachers. Just sayin'.
Local police, teachers, firemen, are all paid for with local tax dollars. Not federal tax money.
Ever heard of property tax? Sales tax? the fee's from license plates, drivers license fee's, etc...
And those number are just federal workers not state or local.
Ah yes and local politicians never go to washington with their hat in their hands crying for matching funds or Homeland Security money.
Home land security is a Federal deal.. That is the 1st responsibility of the US government, protecting the people from foreign invaders.
Conspiracy theory: Are the Republicans purposefully slashing government jobs so that they can ultimately say that the Obama economy and policies are not working? Are they that cynical? (this was a rhetorical question).
In many situations the mission is to so disable the performance of the government service that they can then argue ...see it should be privatized .
Convicted felon Governor Rick Scott is doing exactly that in Florida with the schools . He cut 1.5 billion from the schools budget and was forced by the outcry to return 1 billion and then had the temerity to say ...see I 'm helping the schools with 1 billion dollars and they are still doing bad . Then he says Charter schools could do it better .
Things that cause us to lose our sanity
WARNING: Snark Attack!
In the good old days we didn't have "public servants", unionized, or not.
Then that serial adulterer and proto-communist Ben Franklin "invented" the fire department (in Philadelphia). Not satisfied with that bit of mischief, he went on to create the FEDERAL post Office.
And America ain't been the same since!
Government is not for profit yet many want to run it like a business, privatizing everything and using government to instead control our private conduct. We should respect that many believe all money should go through the hands of big business and the rich whom decide it's distribution with the illusion of employment. That is why we must show even greater respect to the fact that business owes it's existence to profit and will cut employment when Americans need employment most in order to make that profit. That profit is their own fiduciary responsiblitiy to owners/shareholders regardless of any real or illusory commitment whatsoever made to employ Americans as the reason we should let them have their way us.
America: 2014
No Middle Class = no money to buy things. Public Sector jobs are almost non-existent, if not for the voter ID checkers at the polls on minimum wage. The private Sector spirals down into nothingness.
1% still have their money, but now, they hang onto it more and don't create anymore jobs (because no one is buying anything) They buy stuff, but it's not enough to support anymore job growth.
No Middle Class = no tax revenue to support things government needs to support (yes Government does need to financially support running a country, dammit) the 1% aren't paying any taxes, thanks to Mr. Ryan, and President Romney.
1% continue to hang onto their money, no revenue = no lucrative gov't contracts.
No revenue in, nobody buying anything = no money to businesses and investors. It becomes harder for them to pay the bills.
Eventually, trickle up poverty will hit the rich.
Their investments will dry up.
They will begin to lose money (no money in = no money out) and start freaking out.
Then the 1% becomes the 99%, if a revolution hasn't begun by then.
I would venture to guess that those with Romney class wealth ( 200 million or more) will manage to do OK as they have the option to take the money and run .
People have two prime example of repubs. agenda 1) EUROPE: UK, Spain, etc. where they are using the same methods as the repubs. party which are heading or are already in a double dip recession. 2) Every pub. run state slash & burn budget, where they gutting every public sector job and are suffering deficit or even higher deficits before they took office in 2010...
As the Recovery Act start taking hold if you look at Steve graph: the first half of 2010 before the repubs. start enacted their crazy bills employment was on the rise, then repubs. state & federal cuts went into affect and things started slowing. Now they hoping to slow employment so much that UE start creeping back up....
Then go on lamestream media, and say, "we told you so." And people be so disgusted that they would just shake their heads like 'Faux news audience' in agreement without questioning and reasoning the who, how, why theory..
Obama/Biden 2012 all the way...
Cutting jobs ... leads to fewer jobs. Only the GOP, the "mainstream" media, the T party, and a majority of Americans disagree.