The Parasitic Class, Bureaucracy, and Taxes

[John Kilduff]

I liked this editorial so much that it's a pity it can't be reproduced here in its entirety. I'm not even sure which parts to excerpt.

The theme involves how excess taxes go to support overly generous salaries and pensions for government bureaucrats, benefits the like of which the private sector would not be able to match. The author offers an anecdote regarding a local tax measure on the ballot. I'll offer a corroborating anecdote related to me by a local friend and landlord who is in his 70's. His property taxes more than doubled this last year. He went to the board or wherever he had to go to plead his case for a tax reduction, which was denied. He finally told them: You will all be retiring when you're in your early sixties, with very generous pensions in addition to social security. I'm in my 70s and I'm still working (he both owns and manages the apartment complex) and I can't afford to retire because you keep raising my taxes. And he was telling the truth, though I'm sure it didn't help his case any, it being already ruled upon.

Well, back to the editorial I mentioned. Various societies throughout history have had classes of parasitic people, from the Aristocracy to the Soviet bureaucrats to many of today's politicians and bureaucrats. The big government machine keeps growing and growing and so do the perks and benefits these guys receive. Today, serious politicians are much like Hollywood stars, getting richer by book offers and the like, working very convenient hours, pulling down special pensions, etc...and continuing to raise our taxes to fund their perks and the overall bureaucracy which makes all that possible. In short, they are in many ways a parasitic class. Value is drained from the pockets and bank accounts of citizens, much is wasted, but the politicians make sure they get theirs. One thing that strikes me as additionally bad, is that by and large they aren't even genuinely responsive or representative of the wishes of their constituencies, to a large degree.

I'm not saying all politicians are bad, but politicians and bureaucrats, by and large, are feeding at the trough of the citizen's funds and it just isn't fair or right, the extent to which this is overdone and the degree to which we are taxed and the massive bureaucracy that is so well-padded and funded. As Duffy points out, it is like a parasitic organism sucking the life energy out of the host.

I'll just link the editorial now because I think the author does a better job of framing the discussion than I have attempted.


The Parasitic Nature of Bureaucracy, by Dave Duffy


Hope you enjoy it and all comments welcome as always. Thanks for reading.

[Felz]

William A. Niskanen and Harvey Leibenstein, very good men.

[Nielsio]

Do you think that tackling a problem such as this would be for people to be able to secede from a contract with their representative if the contract is violated? I'm not talking about on a collective basis like voting but on an individual basis. That seems to me the only way for people to have any power and for other people to be responsible for their actions.

[Borodog]

This is where he loses his own argument:

[ QUOTE ]
Sure, there are useful aspects to a government bureaucracy, and schools do need our support . . .

[/ QUOTE ]

[Copernicus]

"overly generous salaries and pensions for government bureaucrats, benefits the like of which the private sector would not be able to match"

As a general statement this is nonsense. Those bereaucrats who are in a position to influence their own salaries and pension benefits are not compensated nearly as much as they would be for equivalent jobs in the private sector.

[pokerbobo]

[ QUOTE ]
"overly generous salaries and pensions for government bureaucrats, benefits the like of which the private sector would not be able to match"

As a general statement this is nonsense. Those bereaucrats who are in a position to influence their own salaries and pension benefits are not compensated nearly as much as they would be for equivalent jobs in the private sector.

[/ QUOTE ]

If the end result was what they acheive in congress, these idiots would be unemployed in the private sector... or behind bars for fraud.

What is the median salary for a professional who comes in above budget on every project, and acheives desired results in none?

[John Kilduff]

[ QUOTE ]
"overly generous salaries and pensions for government bureaucrats, benefits the like of which the private sector would not be able to match"

As a general statement this is nonsense. Those bereaucrats who are in a position to influence their own salaries and pension benefits are not compensated nearly as much as they would be for equivalent jobs in the private sector.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't think we're talking only about those in high level positions. I think most government jobs have better benefits than equivalent private sector jobs. Post Office, for example.

[iron81]

Low level federal government jobs generally have better benefits but lower pay than equivalent private sector jobs. I know because I worked both.

[lehighguy]

Education is the worst. Superintended and up pull down a ton and do almost nothing.

[kidpokeher]

Nice article. I also like the google ads on the side for colon cleansers, tape worm medications and the like.