Shunning government down

Suppose there were a way to reduce the size, cost, and intrusiveness of government, at all levels? How about a way to do it at virtually no cost?

In my last commentary, That government monkey on your back, the "monkeys" on our backs are the 18.5 MILLION government (full-time equivalent) employees employed by government at all levels. Those 18.5 million government employees pull down close to a BILLION dollars in pay every year, plus expensive benefits.

What would happen if... government employees started bailing out of their jobs and instead took real, productive jobs in the private sector? It would not be unfair to picture a resigning government employee as a worker who comes into the job market with a sort of hiring bonus attached. For every one of them making such a move, our economy would save more than $60,000 in taxes.

Suppose that it became a trend... government employees bailing out and working in the private sector? You're thinking that others would simply be hired to replace them, but suppose that wouldn't happen? Suppose that working for the government became considered a bad thing... a shameful employment, a job that most of America disliked?

In shortl, I'm proposing that American taxpayers actively SHUN government employees. In case you're not familiar with shunning, let me begin by pointing out that quite a few religions have used, or still use, shunning as a no-force, no fraud means of letting straying members know that their actions are not approved of. The Amish people may be the best known of those who use shunning (Meidung or avoidance), but it has also been used by the Catholic church (excommunication), Jehovah's Witnesses (disfellowshipping), Judaism (Cherem), Mormons (disfellowshipment), Wiccan (Reculement).

Shunning can be a powerful action. It usually means that those doing the shunning simply act as if the person being shunned no longer exists. No conversation, no communication, no interaction... they're ignored. How effective the shunning is depends on how often the individual encounters shunning and how completely they're shunned.

If enough American taxpayers openly expressed displeasure with government employees, and avoided dealing with them, as individuals, it could easily get the point across... that working for the government is just not acceptable.

I know that most of you can come up with some set of government employees you already disapprove of seriously enough to consider shunning. I suspect first on the list for a great many would be the IRS (Infernal Revenue Service). It may be those in the INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service), or the BATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms). Top of your list might be the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) or the Defense Department, the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration), the CIA (Central Intelligence Administration) or FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation). Don't forget state and local governments while you're at it. Local city agencies and employees "touch" a lot of people, through eminent domain actions, petty zoning and regulations, and spendthrift development projects that benefit some at the expense of many.

My real point is that those people working for the government just do not deserve to be treated as if they were just employees in a another industry. Government is not just another industry, and the people in government jobs are not just "other" employees... they're part of an out-of-control bureaucracy that costs us dearly, and they're benefiting handsomely from their participation. They're paid half again as much as the rest of us, and what they get comes out of our earnings. Much of what those government employees do impacts negatively on our lives, so it is not at all unfair to think of government employees as ripping off the rest of us. All those 18.5 million government employees empower government. Government cannot do what it does without them, and there are things every one of us wants government to stop doing.

Let me be clear... I'm not suggesting that we hate government employees. Most of them are good people, but they've voluntarily placed themselves into hateful positions... into jobs that create nothing, do us harm, and cost us a lot of our earnings. They're part of a system that continues to become more intrusive, costly, and that is destroying our nation. They've sold out to government for more pay, benefits, and security. Many are in it for the feelings of power it gives them over the rest of us. They should be ashamed to be part of it, and we need to make that clear to them.

We hear a lot of enraged talk about greedy corporations, but nothing matches the greed of our government, and government has the power of force to act on that corrupting greed. Government operates with a gun in its hand, and has no hesitation about using it. One way to stop that power (perhaps the only way short of revolution), is to make those who would work for government pay a price they aren't likely to afford... the price of our active disapproval.

It is NOT OK to work for the government, at any level. Join me in shunning government employees.