Federal workers dodging layoffs

One of the best places to have waited out this recession was in federal government. Federal workers have pretty much gotten
a bye on pink slips at a time private sector employees have taken it on the chin.

In Indiana, federal job rolls
actually increased 2.7 percent in the past two years while private sector employment plummeted 7.5 percent. (These are August
figures, the latest available.)

State government workers haven’t fared so well. Their ranks have dwindled
5.8 percent. Local government employment, which includes schools, has edged up slightly.

What’s your philosophy
about government employment? Should job numbers be kept in synch with ups and downs of the economy and the waxing and waning
of tax revenue? Or should headcount stay about the same, considering that roads must be policed and national parks maintained?