tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7464708.post8718929231511829191..comments2024-03-22T06:05:36.544-04:00Comments on Kids Prefer Cheese: Has Government Grown?Mungowitzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02340064320347875601noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7464708.post-19533030361997809272011-08-01T11:39:41.649-04:002011-08-01T11:39:41.649-04:00Porkulus? You mean the stimulus package that was c...Porkulus? You mean the stimulus package that was c.50% tax cuts (you on the right love tax cuts). Scientific research, repaving of roads (Durham has benefited from that) etc. Hardly a massive negative to our economy.<br /><br />So Federal employment has not increased, regulation is no worse (nobody provided any stats to prove that). What ruins peoples credibility is when they say "America will end within four years of x or y". Crap. America is strong and will continue. As a % of GDp we are talking about 22% rather than the average of 18-19% and that is inflated by the recession. So 2-3% - wow the world will end! (not)Mikenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7464708.post-36918367740818260712011-07-31T16:14:05.265-04:002011-07-31T16:14:05.265-04:00Yeah, % of GDP is an interesting statistic, but it...Yeah, % of GDP is an interesting statistic, but it only confuses the question of whether government grew. If my credit card debt increases over time, I don't say I'm in less debt because GDP grew faster than my credit card debt.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7464708.post-20014711175819783592011-07-31T10:28:59.804-04:002011-07-31T10:28:59.804-04:00Hi to Dave Hansen; I came here to say that. It...Hi to Dave Hansen; I came here to say that. It's much more than just the Black Water types; I'm preparing to count health insurance employees as the individual mandate comes into force. Also count rent seekers of every type, who work to protect their government guaranteed domains. That, of course, includes copyright whores and patent leeches. How <b>would</b> we figure the "size" of his government?<br /><br />It's tough to give any credence to GDP figures, since GDP counts harmful spending (ie $40B DEA budget) equally with wasteful and beneficial spending. I would love to see the numbers for the Genghis Khan administration. He managed to kill 40 million people, while spending a pittance by U.S. Gov standards. How <b>would</b> we figure the "size" of his government?Tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08574355302581451838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7464708.post-30806895440379922382011-07-31T10:06:14.900-04:002011-07-31T10:06:14.900-04:00If porkulus was temporary, why didn't governme...If porkulus was temporary, why didn't government spending fall after it was all spent?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7464708.post-65795995095793775722011-07-30T22:32:37.183-04:002011-07-30T22:32:37.183-04:00Anon@901P,
Check out gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/fy11/h...Anon@901P,<br />Check out gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/fy11/hist.html for all the spending since 1962. You'll want to aggregate the data by a combination of the categories.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7464708.post-24982616412639588712011-07-30T21:16:36.141-04:002011-07-30T21:16:36.141-04:00Don't forget the growth of government contract...Don't forget the growth of government contractors. There was a recent paper on it, but I can't find it at the moment. I recall that they argued that the growth of gov't employees was flat under Bush but the growth of contractors exploded. I'm not sure how that works out in the current administration. And what about all of the "non-profits" who only exist because of gov't grants?Dave Hansennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7464708.post-1168439143527157082011-07-30T21:01:41.871-04:002011-07-30T21:01:41.871-04:00Do you have itemized numbers for Federal spending ...Do you have itemized numbers for Federal spending between 2005 and 2011? It would be interesting to see where government expansion has occurred during that time period.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7464708.post-21091216897229777962011-07-30T19:08:34.274-04:002011-07-30T19:08:34.274-04:00Let me ask what happens when the porkalus train co...Let me ask what happens when the porkalus train comes to town? Can any business of any political stripe resist the allure of fed contracts? The agents of the hiring process do not want to hear about the wastefulness of the program.<br /><br />Just as when Alfred Marshall was asked whether supply or demand was more important, he said "Which blade cuts the cloth, the upper or the lower?" I propose that the same is true for whether the campaign contributions or the government largesse is most important. Whether the largesse is in the form of direct employment of contracts with private firms.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7464708.post-37431635496518725182011-07-30T16:18:05.105-04:002011-07-30T16:18:05.105-04:00The government stopped hiring new workers and inst...The government stopped hiring new workers and instead gave the workers it has significant raises plus solid gold retirements and benefits. <br /><br />I suspect the democrats which came to power in 2008 owed a debt to the federal employee unions and made good on it.LoneSnarkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07445290394774025015noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7464708.post-52322286365730367952011-07-30T15:28:29.393-04:002011-07-30T15:28:29.393-04:00How about real per capita spending. It takes off u...How about real per capita spending. It takes off under Bush and then skyrockets under Obama.<br /><br />http://bit.ly/mpQJWaMarkhttp://www.liberalorder.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7464708.post-6985878035992272002011-07-30T15:15:32.206-04:002011-07-30T15:15:32.206-04:00At least as measured by the Economic Freedom of th...At least as measured by the Economic Freedom of the World index, the U.S. government has grown a lot since 2000. Spending is up. Property Rights worse. Regulation is up. Trade is more taxed/regulated. <br /><br />The most recent data are only 2008. You can only guess what the new numbers will say!<br /><br />http://www.freetheworld.com/2010/reports/world/EFW2010-ch1-ch2.pdfdoclawsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13134209853620151481noreply@blogger.com