Slaves Of The State?

This should make your blood run cold.

From this article in the Wall Street Journal (hat tip to Weasel Zippers):

...More Americans work for the government than work in construction, farming, fishing, forestry, manufacturing, mining and utilities combined. We have moved decisively from a nation of makers to a nation of takers. Nearly half of the $2.2 trillion cost of state and local governments is the $1 trillion-a-year tab for pay and benefits of state and local employees. Is it any wonder that so many states and cities cannot pay their bills?

Every state in America today except for two—Indiana and Wisconsin—has more government workers on the payroll than people manufacturing industrial goods....

Also from the article:

This is an almost exact reversal of the situation in 1960, when there were 15 million workers in manufacturing and 8.7 million collecting a paycheck from the government.

Read the entire essay at the above link.

Let's not kid ourselves. With the government as the major employer, people will be even more inclined to vote their own entitlements and even less inclined to voice opposition to policies that bring about those entitlements.

I know for a fact that when I worked for the county school system I was less inclined to be politically active, specifically, politically active as a conservative. And, honestly, I didn't want to risk losing my job.

Exactly how can the United States remain a major world power if the government is the primary employer and the employer of choice?

I tell you this: I'm glad that I'm as old as I am and will not be around to see what America will become in another generation.