Chart of the Day

I found this chart (click to enlarge) really quite interesting for a number of reasons. It shows the per capita Federal employment for various Presidential administrations:

Wow. First I was surprised to see that under GW, the level of employees has stayed quite low. Given the propensity by dub to spend money like a drunken sailor, I expected more bloat. I guess this goes to show that the money has been going to private businesses, not to government. Which brings me to my next conclusion: is it really any wonder that the Federal government is performing so poorly? You name the area of responsibility and the Federal government's quality of service has materially declined. As they say, you get what you pay for and Republicans have been seeking the goal of an impotent Federal government for some time. If Americans are unhappy with the Feds, one area they need to look at is their own willingness to pay taxes.

Finally, is Clinton partially responsible for the government we have? Certainly during his administration (and a GOP dominated Congress) there was a committment to reduce the size of government. Looks to me like they were quite successful. Perhaps they were depending on good management to make it possible to do more with less. So much for that plan.