In the history of mankind, many republics have risen, have flourished for a less or greater time, and then have fallen because their citizens lost the power of governing themselves and thereby of governing their state. TR

Wh3

Obama Government Equal to Population in 1776

President Obama Monday invoked Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence to justify his expansive view of government, but Jefferson might be surprised to learn that the number of federal employees today is nearly equal to the entire population of the nation in 1776.

According to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the current civilian federal workforce, excluding postal service employees, was 2.15 million in 2011. The Census Bureau estimates that in 1776, the entire population of the United States was just a bit higher, at about 2.5 million. The number suggests that every adult man and woman living at the time – at least – would have been needed to staff today’s federal government.

The comparison is ironic because Obama invoked Jefferson’s famous line from the Declaration about “unalienable rights” such as “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” to launch an inaugural address that invoked the Founders as justification for Obama’s own statist agenda.

The Founders, who crafted a Constitution that is at bottom a document designed to limit the powers of federal government, would never have recognized the welfare state and redistributionist policies Obama supports. Jefferson in particular is viewed as a leading figure among them backing the cause of states rights and a limited federal role.

Obama suggested in his remarks that the federal government is instead the protector of such rights, a warped view of the Founders’ intentions.

In his first term as president, George Washington had only five Cabinet members and about 1,000 federal workers in his employ.

Under Obama, the civilian workforce has grown by nearly 200,000 from the level of 1.96 million in 2008.

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160 thoughts on “Obama Government Equal to Population in 1776”

    1. “10 Times Worse Than Watergate; Biggest Media Blackout In History” –
      50 Year Law Enforcement Veteran, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, 3/7/12.

    1. The number is actuall LESS than the last couple administrations, GW and Clinton especially when Homeland Security (200,000+ employees) is not counted as that was implemented during GW’s days and not barely complete with the addage of new job vacancies until afte Obama entered. You won’t get those types of details from this author though, he won’t bother to even give you a reference.

          1. funny, if you look at the BLS report, it states on the last page that the numbers include both state and local government jobs, as well as federal jobs. State and local jobs took a huge hammering in 2012.

            Keith wrote about the bloated federal government work force.

          2. Otis – And? And? Government is government – the bloat is everywhere buddy. Go do some research on how much State Government is funded by the Feds.

            I know what Keith said. I know the numbers. This is old news and was hot news before the election where the same basic argument of feds versus total government was all the rage.

            I was trying to get the dialog moved to the larger picture of – “so what”. As you may have read below. Apples and oranges, I am sure our President personally sits in on all federal hires and passes all the regulations that create the bloat… Just like Reagan sat in on the same HR Committees…lol..

      1. Chris, You have Fuzzy Math.
        Clinton and Bush were 20-25 % of GDP .
        Obama is soon to be 30 % of GDP just for the record .
        In 2015-2017 went Obama care fully kicks in it will be 100% of GDP when 16-24 Million go on for free the health care rolls .
        (3/4 THE POPULATION OF CANADA ) Not counting Unfunded Medicare Medicaid and Social Sec. at 12 Trillion .Debt by 2020-22 total including unfunded will be 32 trillion or 2 trillion a year in Interest .We currently take in 2.5 Trillion a year in revenues and under OBAMA Spends another 1.7 Trillion each year so far .
        Adding that 2 % B/S tax adds 80 Billion for 10 years or 8 Billion a year .
        that would run our Fed Govt for 8 days not counting Interest payments
        The CBO Say’s we need to add another 3.4 Trillion to the current 16 trillion national debt with borrowed money at 46.1 cent per dollar .
        Until the Fed . started and pushed by the left really Clinton Home Loan deal blow up… Our National debt under Bush was 575 Billion dollars and that Sept .Jobless rate was 5.6 % .
        Counting Obama 135 , 000 new employees and the IRS 16,700 New employees it is over 150,000 . Problem is they made 35-44 % more than private citizens doing the same work because of Govt. Unions ..totally unfair to tax payers .
        Of course Obama has spent several Hundred Billions on failed electric car , solar ,,wind mill and battery cos .
        Average cost of Job in Green jobs ? 2.1 Million .
        37 of largest 59 have failed .

  1. Pingback: The Irony! Obama Employs As Many Federal Workers As Entire 1776 Population - The Ulsterman Report

  2. New word of the day.

    Ineptocracy 189 up, 16 down
    Ineptocracy (in-ep-toc’-ra-cy) – a system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers.

    Now showing up on tshirts on Ebay….

    1. Before print those shirts, consider the following grammatical, syntactical, logical, and contextual corrections and improvements.

      Ineptocracy (in∙ep∙toc∙ra∙cy / ineptäkrəsē) – a system of government in which the least able to lead are elected by the least able to think, and in which the latter are rewarded by the previous with wealth, goods, and services confiscated from a diminishing number of responsible, self-sufficient producers.

    2. Sad thing is…..a liberal will never…..ever admit that they’re wrong! Are you folks driving around with Obummer/Biden bumper stickers really happy with this moron as president?? He certainly will destroy this nation in the next 4 years…..we’ll all see! He thinks just like his daddy who hated America, freedom, and democracy! you’ll all see…..give it time!

      1. Wait- I thought you all said Obama would destroy the country the first 4 years. What happened. Here is what happened:

        -Out of Iraq
        -Leaving Afghanistan
        -Unemployment down
        -Stock indices ALL up
        -My 401k recovered
        -Middle Class Tax cuts secured
        -No terrorist attacks in US
        -Fox News mow owned by Muslims

        Ouch- that last one must really bite.

        1. Not out of Iraq, still troops in as advisors
          Not LEAVING Afghanistan, we’ll still have troops on the ground
          Unemployment still up, because you liberal idiots won’t count the people that stopped looking for work.
          Some stocks up, not all
          Not all people are as lucky as you with their 401K
          Middle class tax cuts my a$$! My taxes went up by over $500 a month to pay for your beloved Obamacare
          Need to recheck your facts, bud. There actually have been terrorist threats that were stopped in US, but your beloved Administration doesn’t want you to know about them.
          And FOX is not owned by Muslims, that would be your boy Gore that sold his network to the Muslims…

        2. Iraq? No quite
          Afghanistan? One day
          Unemployment? If you don’t count people without a job for over a year.
          Stocks? Not against hard money
          My 401k? Ditto
          No terrorist attack? Isn’t the embassies and consulates considered US soil?
          Foxnews? It’s ok. They are statists as well!

        3. JND, your only fooling yourself. In any of that BS where’s the 6 trillion in new spending? 401K recovered, sure with money printed out of thin air. Fox news owned by Muslims? That’s the icing on the cake, just showed your true ignorance with that one!

        4. Washington is running the online conversation desperate to divert our attention since the truth has leaked out about the REAL Obama cover ups, the coup, the media blackout, and this last rigged election. Search Sarah Palin’s dirty little secret before the truth disappears forever.

        5. Nice JND reads the HuffPo talking points and has it all figured out.

          We are NOT out of Iraq unless you consider 20k+ is out. This time table was set before he was even in office.

          Ditto for Afghanistan.

          Unemployment down yeah right! When you eliminate a huge chunk of the work force and then don’t count under employed and those that have given up. Just a REAL SIMPLE look into this one shows what a lie this is. And it’s still strikingly higher than it was when he took office. Might I suggest you look at the U3 or U6 numbers.
          Stocks are up and we are at historic highs but the way the market performs it can all be erased if our fiscal house is not in order and it isn’t.

          Your 401k recovered? Unable to even verify this but it is complete bologna if you are saying those that invested heavy in their 401k have recovered.

          Middle class tax cuts that the House fought for and the Democrats said were all tax breaks for the rich when they were originally created. Now it is suddenly middle class tax cuts. Still didn’t save the %2 payroll deduction which was irresponsible in the first place but now is considered a hit. Overall wages are DOWN across the board, except for government jobs.

          No terrorists attacks in the US? Why even mention that? I guess you should take credit for no asteroids hitting us as well. Never mind the foreign policy disaster of Egypt or Libya or the little things like Fast and Furious.

          And the FOX news bit is totally off. It is your liberal/democrat buddy Al Gore and Current TV that was sold to the Muslims. Ouch! I bet that really stings but not a bit surprised considering the company the progressives keep.

          1. Commies probably did extensive polling to figure our how many people would need to be hired by the governemt to assure the democrats a victory with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 standard diviations.

        6. Poverty: Up.
          Real unemployment: up
          People on food stamps: up
          Taxes: up
          Household incomes: down.
          Terrorism: up.
          Religious freedom: down.
          Gov incomes: up

  3. It takes a lot of people to micro-manage the everyday lives of non-government employees, to oversee or direct what private businesses can and cannot do, to confiscate the wages of the working class, and oversee the healthcare of 300+million people.

      1. Or how about two county tree trimmers who arrive in my backyard at 9:30 a.m., and one is passed out drunk in the bushes at 10:30 a.m. Thankfully, the sober worker was able to carry him out to the truck! The tree trimming job is still unfinished….

  4. Keith – This is simply a not so funny Blog entry from you… Come on Buddy, you have better research skills than I ***AND*** know more about politics… The statement you make above may be of accurate, but the gist of any real discussion is way off base… It is like me stipulating that every time our President takes a breath, someone in America dies… True? Yes! Meaningful? Um, no…

    Any American or other interested party can go out to BLS or other sites and read the actual data. The size of Government has ***drumroll*** SHRUNK under Obama. What? Huh, yeah. This trend is even more noticeable if expressed as a % of total GDP or Population.

    Now listen, we do not have to give this presidency the credit for this (you can if you want). Geez, he took office during the worst onslaught of a recession since 1929 – worse in some respects (financial complexities). Bozo could have been President and some heads were going to roll in government jobs…

    That stated, if we’re going to cast mud, throw it accurately and at least provide better background data so some can develop an informed opinion. Also, heaven knows, when something good happens and a policy works or he “gets lucky”, share some love. In the long run, your work becomes more believable and subject to more reasoned debate provided the more balanced unbiased reporting.

    You know all this. Shame on you.

    RT

  5. Perhaps we should go back even further – to the founding of the colonies. Captain John Smith insisted that “He who shall not work, shall not eat.” This pretty much parrots 2 Thes 3:10.

    Save those who cannot, most everyone has something to contribute. Unfortunately, we live in a day where if you make bad decisions others are burdened with suffering the consequences more than the one who made the bad decision.

    I would love if we rolled back time and had a “do over”. Let the charities, mostly the churches, distribute charity. There are very few consequences to making poor choices any more. There seems to be a safety net around every corner destroying the incentive to learn from your mistakes. You drop out of high school and don’t want to go to college? No problem. Just apply for food stamps, housing assistance, etc. because you deserve the same “happiness” as anyone else. You pile on debt so high you get to the point you can’t pay your bills? No problem. File bankruptcy and start all over. You decide you must have all the stuff you don’t really need today and find you don’t have much for tomorrow because you didn’t save? No problem, we’ll take care of everything.

    Until the populace decides differently these dog and pony shows will continue no matter who is in charge at the moment. For those of us who do things differently, well…….we still have to partake in the ride as well. Fortunately, for some, we get to minimize the impact.

  6. This isn’t NEARLY as ironic as was inaugurating a President whose main political strength, primary reason for getting the job, and most prominent reason for keeping the job is that he’s Black – on Martin Luther King day, of all days.

    What was that line?

    “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. ”
    Martin Luther King, Jr.

    http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/martinluth115056.html

    Sigh.

  7. This here’s the story of Barry Soetero
    Who changed his name to Barack Hussein
    He knows how to talk and he knows how to fight
    And all the contenders were beat out of sight

    Sing, Baracky, Baracky Hussein
    He floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee
    Baracky, the black superman
    Who calls to the other guy I’m Barry catch me if you can

  8. Pingback: Obama Government Equal to Population in 1776 « END TIME HEADLINES

  9. If that isn’ reason enough to reduce the scope of government then we are destined to implode. Already the Dem. Party (Obam) areseeking ways to reduce the impact of te GOP by omitting filibustering and going on an all out operation to split the GOP in the House. They see this coming and are prepared….they better be anyway! This is the one time in history that the GOP need to remain dedicated to each other and Conservative values as they will witness an all out attack from the left!

  10. You do realize that is just about the same percentage of federal workers to population in 1776 and 2011 correct? Not sure why this is a big deal.

    1. Not really, Joe…1776 there were approximately, (according to the article above) 40 federal workers per 100,000 population. 2011 there were approximately 680 per 100,000….that is 17 times greater. And yeah, I believe it is a big deal.

      1. @Not So Fast – Go to BLS and get the data. There is a nice report going back to 2000 – further if you care to dig… While Obama has been president, Government employment has decreased. That is just a fact.

        Thanks for sharing on 1776 – Why folks talk about 1776 in this context is well known – but has little basis in sustained conversation. We were a fledgling upstart with zero infrastructure… The comparison might make good talk at a bar, but does little to advance the narrative here.

        Hey, what do you think about those Forty Niners? Have a chance?

  11. Barack Obama: Administrator

    If he were alive today, Edward House, Woodrow Wilson’s right hand man and author of the novel “Philip Dru: Administrator”, would have been dancing a jig at one of the recent after hours coronation parties at the White House. If he could only see America today, he would realize his blueprint for radical socialist revolution – 100 years in the making – has reached fruition…

  12. Obama has no respect for life, liberty or the pursuit of happiness.

    Respect for life in incompatible with his support for abortion, which includes allowing babies to be left out to die should they survive the procedure. There is no more radical position than this.

    Respect for liberty is incompatible with the enormous number of restrictions, regulations, taxes and fees he has laid on the American people.

    Respect for the pursuit of happiness, but which the Founders meant ability to participate in commerce, is incompatible with his pro-union stance, the firing of the head of GM (and other usurpations upon them), and Obamacare.

  13. So on average, only 2 out of every 350 people work for the federal government.

    About 0.57 percent of the U.S. population.

    That is a remarkably small number.

  14. WOW. What a DUMBAZZ statistic! And you wonder why you people keep takin’ it in the GIBLETS! Because you are STUPID, you MAJOR in MINORS. You congratulate yourselves when some idiot on some obscure show, mirrors one of the stupid thoughts that rattle around in your damaged brains. And somehow you convince yourselves that you’re winning. There are THREE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY MILLION people in the U.S. There are more people working on WALL STREET than lived in any single state in the U.S. in 1776 and SO FREAKING WHAT? What does that PROVE? NOTHING that’s what. The population has GROWN DUMAZZ! There are more people in EVERY pursuit of life than there were when your hero slave owners raped slaves and had WOODEN TEETH. SO F-ING WHAT.

    1. Geez, Arbiter… Not that anyone listens to an opposing position around here, but you just took the same approach so often found here….

      Heck, liberals are suppose to be the educated snotty ones with high brows and “visions”… You just set them back a few IQ points…lol… That said, I share your pain on some levels… and so do the folks who frequent this Blog to vent…

  15. Joe, I ran the numbers roughly and I’m getting that we have approx 17 times the number of federal employees now. Are you the idiot type liberal or the lying type?

  16. I’m not sure how those numbers would any way reflect in a negative light population grows and so did presence in foreign countries, with it so would the government its simple math

  17. Ummm… Isn’t that people that would not otherwise be making a paycheck? But I suppose free market job creators would be making up for all those jobs?

  18. Keith, I’m surprised at you…there are better number comparisons…

    From 2008-2013 the country has added 12 million to our population (303 to 315 million).

    from 2008-2013 15 million people were added to FOOD STAMPS!

  19. Everybody should agree we have too many federal government workers. There is duplication of entire agencies, for god’s sake. Spend five minutes on the cagw.org website for an idea. You say do the math – well, we did the math and the PROPORTION of fed employees to population has increased 17 fold! If anything the proportion should have DECREASED due to economies of scale and the advent of computer technology.

    1. Not only that . Did you ever consider that a Federal or any governmental worker is a net drain on the government’s cash flow. Private sector worker pay comes from an exchange of money for goods or services which generate taxes which flow to the governemnt. Governmental workers conversely do not pay taxes persay….they merely rebate a portion of their pay back to the government. So any lowering of especially Federal worker would mean more money for the needed beneficial programs. But sadly there will never be a move for less Federal workers only a push for more and more to Regulate the Private Sector and siphon off more and more money.

  20. The number is actuall LESS than the last couple administrations, GW and Clinton when Homeland Security (200,000+ employees) is not counted as that was implemented during GW’s days and not barely complete with the addage of new job vacancies until afte Obama entered. You won’t get those types of details from this author though, he won’t bother to even give you a reference.

  21. Why are the Postal service numbers not included? What about the military? When I served I was most certainly a government employee. If you add those numbers the percentage should change significantly.

    Post Office
    546,000 — number of career employees

    US Military
    Active personnel 1,456,862
    Reserve personnel 1,458,500

    So estimate 5.7 million on the Federal Payroll. Since we are speaking about the size and scope of our government I think we should include these.

    US Population
    311,591,917 – Jul 2011
    Obvious Federal Employees
    5,700,000 est.

    1. We can go back 100 years to see the progress in growth of this bureaucratic leviathan. I’m not buying your claim about Reagan. He was the first and last true conservative president in my lifetime…so far. He tried to abolish the Department of Education. It was becoming increasingly radicalized by the teachers unions and intruding on states rights. He was unsuccessful because the ruling class – on both sides of the aisle – will never give up a source of power.

      “Government is like a baby: An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.” – Ronald Reagan

    2. Susan – “I’m not buying your claim about Reagan.”

      Huh? Why not?

      You are wrong, Susan. But that’s OK. It is just a simple fact. It does not mean Reagan was a bad President or lessen his historical contributions. Run the graphs on how our deficits went up under Reagan (Bush 41 / 43 for that matter). These are just numbers – fact, but just that.

      It ain’t about the “fact” Susan – it is what is derived from the fact(s). Up until Obama, these three president ran up more debt that nearly the sum of all president before them. That simple.

      You need to acknowledge some simple truths Susan. So what? Well, as Reagan would say, it limits any hope of someone taking you serious…

        1. The Pitch – Fastball, waist high 84 MPH, no movement

          I am so tempted to answer this in PG13 language, but I will refrain.

          Thanks for the opportunity! Maybe SNL can take it from here…lol…

  22. OK, but then the House of Congress exceeds the entire (non-“native”) US population of 1620. And Obama – by himself! – exceeds the US European/Black population of 1450. I’m neither a liberal nor a supporter of Obama – I’m just making an observation…

  23. Talk about cherry picking your data. Reagan and Bush I managed a larger federal workforce with a larger number of DOD employees. Bush II and Clinton had temporarily smaller governments. Is this why comments are moderated?

  24. AND…they’re all in unions. All unions that support statist government. All unions that provide cash and bodies to wprk for statist candidates at every level of gubmint. Hmmmm….lemme see, lemme see could it be that when govt. union contracts are bieng negotiated and unions and politicians are sitting at the table NO ONE is there t0 represent the peasants?? Ooops! I mean the tax -payers. Sorry.

  25. Obama twisted and distorted and butchered the words of our Founding Fathers like a true Alinsky Marxist, but he sure does give a great speech. Yeah, right.

  26. Pingback: The government is the size of 1776 entire population | New Media Fallout

  27. Nobel Peace Prize Nominee: Obama Asks Military Leaders If They Will “Fire On US

    Citizens”

    Paul Joseph Watson
    Infowars
    January 22, 2013

    2009 Nobel Peace Prize nominee Jim Garrow shockingly claims he was told by a top

    military veteran that the Obama administration’s “litmus test” for new military

    leaders is whether or not they will obey an order to fire on U.S. citizens.

    Garrow was nominated three years ago for the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize and is the

    founder of The Pink Pagoda Girls, an organization dedicated to rescuing baby girls

    from “gendercide” in China. Garrow has been personally involved in “helping rescue

    more than 36,000 Chinese baby girls from death.” He is a public figure, not an

    anonymous voice on the Internet, which makes his claim all the more disturbing.

    “I have just been informed by a former senior military leader that Obama is using a

    new “litmus test” in determining who will stay and who must go in his military

    leaders. Get ready to explode folks. “The new litmus test of leadership in the

    military is if they will fire on US citizens or not”. Those who will not are being

    removed,” Garrow wrote on his Facebook page, later following up the post by adding the

    man who told him is, “one of America’s foremost military heroes,” whose goal in

    divulging the information was to “sound the alarm.”

  28. NEWSFLASH:

    Headline: Cubs Paying the Price for Their Role in Fiscal Crisis in 1907 and subsequent policy focus in 1908.

    Shortly after the Cubs won their first World Series in October, 1907, there was a financial panic: A run on Knickerbocker Trust Company stock sets events in motion that will lead to a depression. Then in 2008, the Cubs won the World Series again – their last. President Taft was swept into office as a result and swiftly implemented a domestic agenda that largely focused on trust-busting, civil service / postal service reform, and passage of the Sixteenth Amendment (Taxes). Ba bye Cubs!

    Fast Forward: With Taft and Wall Street setting the stage, the Cubbies have been conspired against for over a century. In 2008, having won their division with 95+ games, they look promising for a World Series appearance. Catching wind of this, Washington Cronies contact Barrack Obama and ask the soon to be 44th President to intervene. Leading in the polls by a huge percentage and a shoe, Obama shows his true colors and sells his soul to accommodate Washington insiders… The Cubbies lose 3-0 to a mediocre LA team.

    You just have to connect the dots! The Cub Organization has had enough. For the Cubs to win a world series, they now realize they are going to have to get with the program. Brushing 100’s of years of tradition aside, I have inside information that the Cubs have reached out to the Tea Party. Stand by as this breaking story develops…

    1. I’m heading out to Walmart with my tea party coherts to buy new boxes of crayons, but you better believe that the minute we get back to our ‘puters, we’ll be connecting the dots on our keyboards.
      With our new crayons. Yeah.

  29. When one,s life is threatened does a person’s identity or reason matter? HILLARY SEEMS TO HAVE HER PRIORITIES MIXED UP.

    First order and Oath taken by the Commander in Chief is, “…to defend American People…”. IT DOESN’T LEAVE ROOM FOR WHO THEY ARE, WHAT THEIR MOTIVES, OR ANYONE’S POLITICAL AGENDA.

  30. Although this is an interesting fact, it doesn’t provide any insight in terms of size. This would be a more useful fact if the author used percentages as well.

    In 1776 the size of the government represented X.X% of the population and in 2011 under the current president where the size of government represents nearly the entire population in 1776, the government accounts for X.X% of the population.

    Although this is interesting, it is difficult to draw a conclusion.

  31. Pingback: Fun fact: Obama gov’t same size as U.S. population in 1776 | Liberty Unyielding

  32. And more on the way. New departments for new gun laws, health care, gay equality for sure will need a shit load for that, new immagration laws…hell we are doomed…how can the tax payers pafford this? God Bless America!

  33. Pingback: News Scan 01/23/2013 | Signs of the Times – World News Scan

  34. Um……..the Constitution was designed to CREATE power and UNITE the independent colonies. And to suggest we live in the 18th Century is just…..well…….childish.

    I guess not many people go to school anymore.

    1. Product of our stellar unionized public school system. The Constitution of the United States was written to be a timeless document. That is why there is an amendment process. There is no expiration date on any of our founding documents, to include the Declaration of Independence.

      By the way, if that 18th century document is so yesterday’s news, why does your beloved government require all it’s employees like Preezy Revenge to take an oath to protect and defend it?

    2. @ Susan – You are missing his point. Or, if I dare, you get the point but choose to ignore it and plod on with whatever…

      Ole Grover is trying to point out that Keith’s Blog Post was cheesy, i.e., not meaningful. That’s it. Now, if you want to discuss its profound relevancy, go ahead. My guess, that ain’t going to happen.

      But, do not worry. Keith is fine.

      1. Guess Grover needs one of his intellectually superior overseers to explain his post for him.

        “Arguing with progressives is like playing chess with a pigeon, no matter how good you are at chess, the pigeon is just going to knock over the pieces, crap on the board, and strut around likes it’s victorious.”

      2. Too funny Susan – Grover needs no help. This is on you dear, as your ignorance was clearly demonstrated by ***YOUR*** initial response to Grover… and subsequently to me.

        BTW, do you know what a Progressive is? Try Wikipedia first. I do not want your head to explode by ingesting content that may enlighten your frame of reference… ;)

        Not all is lost. I love the quote.

        1. Sorry Susan – Um no, Susan. Wikipedia is not a source I use much. But, once again, you missed the obvious play / fun I was having… Well, maybe not so obvious if you were not paying attention… Let me explain:

          I wanted you to try Wikipedia why? “So your head would not explode”… Why Wikipedia? Because if you went deeper, i.e, real research, it would “enlighten your frame of reference.” Not stated but implied – “you do not want to be enlightened.” Why not enlightened? Glad you asked. It ties back into your “Progressive” comment… You know, how we “progressives are all striving to enlighten others to our social causes…et. al…

          Oh! I get it!

          My job is done here. No thanks required. Send payment to my Paypal account. It is forwarded to Keith. :)

    1. In history, how many groups of humans have taken land from the existing inhabitants? This has been going on for MANY thousands of years.

      The american Indians are not alone in this. Looking at the way Indians lived thru killing, torture and a hand to mouth existence. They are better off now with the many advantages we have afforded them. I.E. Liquor, venereal disease, Flatulence, overweight, and heart disease.

      How could they possibly be better. They could have Obama in charge of them!

  35. Interesting data and comparisons. Just doing some quick calculations, using your numbers:

    ~1007 federal workers (1000 + 5 cabinet + President Washington + VP Adams) for a country with a population ~2.5M (for sake of argument between 1776-1789 let’s say the birth rate equaled the death rate, there was a war fought in between this time, after all) means ~0.04% of the population constituted the federal government. In 2013, we have ~2.15M federal employees for a nation of ~300M, meaning ~0.72% of the population constitutes the federal government. This is roughly an 18-fold increase in the size of the federal government, relative to the population estimates. If the percentage listed for 1789 were applied to today’s population, the federal government would be ~120K persons.

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