Today’s job numbers are getting batted around in the usual pundit-and-spin cycle. But beneath the headline — the loss of 90,000 jobs in the overall employment market — is a hidden fact.<\/p>\n
Over the last year, private sector jobs have been growing, slowly but steadily. It’s the government — Federal, state and local — that has been shrinking.<\/p>\n
In this latest employment survey, the private sector actually hired more than 60,000 workers. That’s still an anemic recovery.<\/p>\n
But the real pain right now comes in the public sector, where agencies at all levels have been shedding tens of thousands of employees over the last year. <\/p>\n
Governor David Paterson is proposing to cut thousands more jobs here in New York state before Christmas.<\/p>\n
This reality, of course, is 180 degrees the opposite of the misconception that most Americans hold. <\/p>\n
So let me say it again: Big government has been shrinking steadily over the last two years. <\/p>\n
A lot of economists think this trend — cutting public-sector jobs in the midst of a deep recession — is incredibly dangerous. <\/p>\n
Obviously, job cuts are needed over time to bring budgets into balance. <\/p>\n
But by laying off so many workers now, when the private sector is still struggling and incapable of offering alternative jobs, we could tip the entire economy back into the red.<\/p>\n
What do you think? Is this the time to slash government jobs or are we risking a double-dip recession?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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