Hi csl,
You may be right but can you provide non-partisan sources for your data?
I have found a figure for employees, which is 2.8m, of whom 738k are in the military, 373k in veterans affairs and 192k in homeland security - so security and defence-related people account for nearly half of the total. I think you usually argue for increasing these outlays, so it would be disingenuous if you were criticising them.
Of the remaining half (1.4m), around 600k work for the post office. Otherwise, only Justice (with 117k) exceeds 100k personnel.
Are you concerned that in a country of 326m, less than 1/2% administer the non-security portion of the country, in matters which provide common goods rather than market-responsive activities? Have you got a particular animus towards the post office, which provides a large proportion of those jobs?
Let me put it another way. There are about as many non-defence related employees in the federal government as there are (non-federal) firefighters in the US. But the federal government has to manage the postal system, treasury, justice, labour, agriculture, health and human services, interior, commerce and transportation with its workforce.
You seem to be upset that some sorts of activities aren't susceptible to market forces. I know Trump thinks American justice and diplomacy ought to be purchasable, like a can of coke, but it is new coming from you.
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