Who Feeds Leviathan? -- Children!

Mike Smitka

...Leviathan is the creation of 10-year-olds...

What of Leviathan? Let's rely upon data, here the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Situation Table B-1. [note]

First, where are all those bureaucrats I hear about in the local coffee shop? Their level peaked in 1991, a consequence of the policies of the Reagan era. Yet in the following decade our population, our national income and the complexity of our economy increased. We're trying to provide basic government services on the cheap. Now Social Security checks no longer require an army of paper pushers to get them out each month. But checking for food stamp, tax and medicare fraud -- that requires more, and more skilled workers, not fewer. Don't moan to me about welfare cheats in the same breath you complain about the size of government!

So who created Leviathan? – children did! The only significant source of government employment is education. As our population rose, so did the number of teachers.  Despite continued population, increases, however, their numbers were down by 250,000 going into the summer; given budget pressures, it's anyone's guess how many additional cuts will become visible as school starts. But those I hear railing against Big Government in the local coffee shop are retired or approaching retirement; they have no stake in what happens 10 years from now, when today's kids hit the job market. In contrast, tax cuts are immediate...

Note: BLS data don't include those on active military duty, an artifact of the days when military service was involuntary.