You need to work past 70! (But we don't want you)

[Amethyst]

This is disingenuous and unworthy of your intellect, Mr. Dawg. Even if you only look at Federal government employees (not counting hundreds of thousands of government contractors, because it is almost impossible to actually count those), you are looking at a very significant effect on the economy. Civilian and military employees draw salaries, pay taxes, and consume services.

Also, those taxes you and I pay to fund the Federal budget have all sorts of effects, from negative (limiting how much of your income you can spend on yourself) to positive (ensuring that people who cannot work, can still buy food and live in housing that is owned by somebody who needs the rent). I suppose you could term the building of ships, aircraft, and other means of warfare a "positive" effect, too - as your state's representatives probably do

So either I don't quite understand your statement, or you are having us on

You believe that the increase in government hiring/employment is due to inadequacies of a privately driven economy? Now that I am done rolling on the floor laughing-the government employment situation has very little if anything to do with "the marketplace". The government doesn't produce anything.

 

[John Galt III]

They hire them from overseas by claiming that no USA citizens exist that have the skills. That's what the H1-B visas are for.

+1. Megacorp seems to be able to get as many H1B workers as they want. My "after Megacorp" career was long haul trucking. Even there, where you had to be a U.S. citizen to get a Commercial Driver's License, they had lots of H1B workers imported to drive trucks.

 

[Chuckanut]

They hire them from overseas by claiming that no USA citizens exist that have the skills. That's what the H1-B visas are for.

Translation: We don't want to pay the market rate, so we will bring over people who have to work for less or be kicked out of the country.