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Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Maybe a Hint

I got a hint the other day of what, perhaps, could be a large part of what's wrong with the American economy. They did a news story about the top five employers in the greater Phoenix area. These were, in order from top to bottom, the State of Arizona, Walmart, Banner Healthcare, the City of Phoenix, and the County of Maricopa.

What an odd group! Not one of them produces anything. Three of the five don't even support themselves. They operate with income from the public that is not voluntary. In other words, more people in this area are employed by companies that don't produce anything and don't support themselves than anything else.

Now, I'm sure we need government. And I have to be honest -- I work for the State of Arizona myself. Still, you have to wonder. If our economy is built largely on government and service, where is the production? Where is the progress? Where is the underlying structure needed to support government and service? It seems to me that this isn't a particularly good balance for a healthy economy.

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