With legislative Democrats and illegal public sector union ColoradoWINS throwing a temper tantrum over proposed state agency budget cuts, some facts might be in order. The proposed 2% cut across departments, they say, would result in the laying off of 400-500 government employees. Republicans call BS, saying attrition of existing state workers will cover the 2% cut.
Now for some facts about government employees that have seemed to escape mention in major news stories since the Denver Business Journal reported them on Tuesday.
From the DBJ:
Only two states and the nation's capital have seen government jobs grow faster than Colorado since the start of the Great Recession.
That's according to a analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Latest from The Business Journals Follow this company data Tuesday by G. Scott Thomas, who covers demographic trends in his "On Numbers" blog for The Business Journals.
Thomas compared the number of local, state and federal public-sector jobs in each state and the District of Columbia in January 2008 — one month after the Great Recession officially began — and in January of this year.
Colorado gained 11,800 government jobs in that four-year span, ending up with 391,300 in January 2012, Thomas figures.
Only Maryland, Virginia and D.C. exceeded Colorado's gain in terms of total public-sector jobs gained. Maryland added 26,400 government jobs, while Virginia gained 25,100 and D.C. added 11,900. [Peak emphasis]
With government agencies whining they won't be able to do their jobs if they lose any more staff, facts like this make their complaints ring hollow. With the fourth largest growth in government payroll in the country, how can government workers cry they don't have enough staff?
Yet no mainstream media report on the budget debate has mentioned this salient fact.
The stories have all reported the Hickenlooper administration's claim of job losses, which are only estimates provided by an administration opposed to the 2% cut, but have failed to mention the cold, hard fact about massively grown government payrolls.
How in the world massive, top-in-the-nation, additions to government payroll are not relevant to stories about potential subtractions from government payroll is beyond us.
You think that job growth is a sign that they have all the jobs they need? Because it’s usually a sign that they don’t. That’s why they’re hiring.
I’ll be here to offer more remedial lessons in the economy for those of you who don’t get it.
The problem is government always finds a “need” for more employees. Private sector/real world employees have been able to get by on far less. Government employees, who live off of private sector employees’ taxes, need to understand we’re living in a new world. The golden days are over.
So it isn’t me who “doesn’t get it.” ALL comparisons between government and business are illogical.
Colorado has long had one of the smallest governments relative to the population, and state employees haven’t had raises in years. But, since they’re all EEEEVILLL and out to make your life hell, or whatever it is you believe, that’s just jim dandy with you.
I prefer a government that can function. Colorado’s is so lean that it’s resembling a famine victim. You want less taxes? Focus on the federal government, and be sure to look long and hard at defense, not just the social programs you resent so much.