Job Creation from the Stimulus Bill

The National Review's Veronique de Rugy posted a chart on relative unemployment by sector which should be self explanatory. The growth in unemployment in a relative fashion has grown across each of the sectors in an almost proportional sense - but if you look at starting and ending unemployment for the governmental sector over the period you can reach only one conclusion.

Historian Burton Folsom makes a distinction between political and normal entrepreneurs. Political entrepreneurs make their money by working the political system. A great example of the first kind are the big four who developed the railroads. They applied to the government and got land distributed in right of ways as they built their lines. The alternatives were people who actually made their money by developing new ideas with private sector funding. The growth of public sector unions are a modern example of political entrepreneurs.

Based on the Thatcher principle (“The problem with socialism is that you eventually, run out of other people's money.”) the long term trend for this kind of "stimulus" is not good.