Growing government
Those needing further convincing that Pennsylvania better start making the state a more friendly climate for industry should pay heed to this stunner. Pennsylvania has been creating jobs – government jobs, that is.
The Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association, citing U.S. Department of Labor statistics in its June 9 Bulletin, reported that late last year the number of Pennsylvania workers employed by the government exceeded the number employed by the state’s manufacturing sector. Whether they are employed by local, state or federal government, guess who is paying the salaries and benefits? A dozen years ago, Pennsylvania hosted 959,400 manufacturing workers and 706,200 government workers. As of December 2002, manufacturing employment stood at 746,900 and the government at 748,100. Indicative of the sluggish economy, manufacturing lost 36,400 jobs in just one year from December 2001 to December 2002. What is more stunning is that during that same time period, the government hired 11,600 more workers.
PMA President Jim Panyard wrote, “The continuing expansion of government in the face of stagnant growth in the commonwealth’s over-taxed, over-regulated, lawsuit-riddled private sector will leave Pennsylvania with more ‘takers’ – whose salaries are paid by the taxpayers – than ‘makers’ who add value to the economy by manufacturing products. That is an unhealthy trend for Pennsylvania’s well-being, and ultimately an unsustainable one.”
We couldn’t have said it better.