

Americans Rate Government (1st), Self-Employment (2nd) as Top Job Choices - cwan
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/business/jobs_employment/august_2009/americans_rate_government_self_employment_as_top_job_choices

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byrneseyeview
Americans rate nymphamic prostitution, vows of celibacy, as most attractive
sexual lifestyles.

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nazgulnarsil
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).

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yan
What's the extent of 'as far as I can tell?'

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bwd2
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?

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californiaguy
> registering a car at the Connecticut DMV vs. registering in Pennsylvania
> where the process is privatized.

Protip: Privated AAA does everything the DMV does.

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biohacker42
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.

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joubert
You're literally saying that having a government is a net loss. Are you
serious?

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lionhearted
> You're literally saying that having a government is a net loss. Are you
> serious?

But that's not what he said. He said:

1\. ...an ever growing government sector does not lead to long term prosperity

2\. ...[despite a couple useful things like infrastructure and science]
overall [our current government] is a definite net loss.

OP wasn't advocating anarchy. He thinks USG is not doing a good job with their
resources, which isn't a particularly radical point of view.

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joubert
"..., because government almost never creates value". Note, not the US
Government, but literally, a government.

I didn't quite make the claim that he advocates anarchy, but I am questioning
his attitude of trying to have and to eat his cupcake.

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biohacker42
The cake is a... never mind.

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.

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raintrees
If you can't beat a corrupt system, join it and game it.

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gehant
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.

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nopassrecover
The grass is always greener.

