An email from Bruce Dillahunty
:
Driving in to work this morning, it hit me just how big government is…
I live in Atlanta, GA, which is well known for its bad traffic. An area of 2-3 million people, few of which live in the city, the morning commute is normally rough. Tuesday morning, it was great. The difference? The federal government offices/courts were closed (for the day of mourning for President Ford). Now I’m sure there is some randomness to the traffic, and there is still the holiday “recovery” with people extending their vacation, but just how many people in various “non-DC” cites work as a part of the Federal government? Do we need that many?
I don’t wish anyone to loose their jobs, but…
To be fair, a lot of government schools and local government offices were also closed, either because of the Holiday break or the day of mourning.
But federal spending – not counting Social Security and Medicare payments – accounts for over 12% of the economy. That’s a lot of commuters going to their federal jobs, clogging up the roads and making the commute more stressful for everyone else.
So the Day of Mourning for Gerald Ford was good for America. Just by not showing up for work, federal employees made the day less stressful and more pleasant for everyone else. Perhaps we should have more national holidays!