I'd like to see the Oregon statistic for loss of governmnet employees. Somehow, I just don't think that's the case in Oregon and more specifically, Portland.

If it's true, it's surprising. I don't think government is an industry, either.

Today I saw yet another thing that rankled and jostled the anti-Democrat sentiments.

One of the reasons we moved to our present house was the presence of speed bumps all the way down a quiet, blessedly quiet, street where only the occasional doglover and its master passes by the window of my personal office.

This morning, I actually saw a parking enforcement vehicle patrolling on this quiet street, which is in a very modest section of town where there is undoubtedly very high relative unemployment.

Tax dollars at work.

"First and second on the list are state and local government"

Don't count on it. As soon as tax revenues start ticking up again (like in 2007 when Ted went on a hiring and raise spree), empire building will continue. Then when the downturn comes again, the services get cut. It's a no win propostion.

Speaking as a former journalism major, I love the regular warnings about the collapse of the newspaper industry. They've all turned out to be absolutely true, and yet I still watch innumerable idiots going $75k into debt for journalism degrees because they think it'll be different for them. (It's a great time to be a weekly newspaper publisher: any of the staff gets uppity about making a living wage, and s/he can be replaced in seconds by 3000 brand new journalism grads who will do ANYTHING to "get some exposure".)