[MadManofBethesda]

Originally Posted by Daddys///M3

The federal government currently employees about 2.5 million people, including the USPS, the highest number ever.

Well, yes and no. Taken as a percentage of the population, the federal government now employees only about 1/2 as many employees as it did in the 1950s.

Here's a quote from the newspaper that released all of those statistics:

"Even as the total number of federal employees rises, the ratio of employees to Americans has declined steadily, from one employee for every 78 residents in 1953 to one employee for every 110 residents in 1988 to one employee for every 155 residents in 2008."

Moreover, your 2.5 million figure includes the military. Not to mention the fact that the USPS has only been a quasi-governmental agency for more than 30 years. Their employees are completely separate from the regular federal civilian workforce. For example, their pay and benefits are negotiated between management and labor, just like in the private sector, rather than being set by the federal government as salaries in other federal agencies are. You'll also note that the USPS website is a dot com rather than a dot gov, further indicating that it is not a "normal" federal agency.

Excluding the military and the postal service, the civilian workforce is about 1.2 to 1.3 million employees.

Largest-ever federal payroll to hit 2.15 million - Washington Times

[Daddys///M3]

Originally Posted by MadManofBethesda

Well, yes and no. Taken as a percentage of the population, the federal government now employees only about 1/2 as many employees as it did in the 1950s.

Here's a quote from the newspaper that released all of those statistics:

"Even as the total number of federal employees rises, the ratio of employees to Americans has declined steadily, from one employee for every 78 residents in 1953 to one employee for every 110 residents in 1988 to one employee for every 155 residents in 2008."

Moreover, your 2.5 million figure includes the military. Not to mention the fact that the USPS has only been a quasi-governmental agency for more than 30 years. Their employees are completely separate from the regular federal civilian workforce. For example, their pay and benefits are negotiated between management and labor, just like in the private sector, rather than being set by the federal government as salaries in other federal agencies are. You'll also note that the USPS website is a dot com rather than a dot gov, further indicating that it is not a "normal" federal agency.

Excluding the military and the postal service, the civilian workforce is about 1.2 to 1.3 million employees.

Largest-ever federal payroll to hit 2.15 million - Washington Times

Point taken. However, the federal government is now the largest employer in the country and is continuing to expand. While state and local governments are laying off (because they cannot deficit spend), the feds are currently hiring for all types of positions.

That said, I don't recall what my point was regarding the part of my post you quoted but I do think that we can agree that the federal budget and the budget deficit have gone through the roof over the last few years. Note that I did not include entitlement programs spending, which for all intents and purposes might as well be counted as federal jobs. Also note that down the line the legacy costs of this multitude of jobs will be absolutely astronomical in a few years.

[Matt Angry]

Originally Posted by kimba01

Yep, you didn't miss much!! But good to see you back!!!!

Thanks Kimba. Glad to be back....

[airics]

can we change your name from Matt Angry to Matt Im back and Im happy???

[pommysmommy]

I just have to say that I really miss LVD and hope he comes back to post here.

[Trash Can]

I saw this on one of the other forums and thought it would be good for everyone to see.

Click 'play' - it will make you cringe!

multimediafinal (http://cohort11.americanobserver.net/latoyaegwuekwe/multimediafinal.html - broken link)

Obviously, jobs are very scarce here, but they are few and far between just about everywhere. One more reason to make sure you have a job before you relocate no matter you're headed.

[jjameson922]

Very impressive. Thanks for sending. I had never seen that before.

[Matt Angry]

Originally Posted by airics

can we change your name from Matt Angry to Matt Im back and Im happy???

I've always been Happy!!!

[PinkString]

Did anyone save LVD's message before it disappeared? I wanted to mail it to someone that was checking up on him.

[aqualung8705]

Please check your e-mail asap, Pink. I'm out of my minutes, but I'll try him again after 9pm.