Public or Private Doesn't Matter When You're Not Working

On the way in to work this morning I was listening to a discussion on the radio about private sector jobs versus government jobs. According to the gentlemen talking the nation won’t recover from its economic issues until the private sector has the freedom to do what it needs to grow and start hiring people again. There are too many government jobs.

I don’t have a government job but I work for an agency that depends on government money. That has its advantages. Your budget is pretty set in stone so as long as there is not a catastrophe you will get paid. You also don’t work any overtime so your free time is always there. You get to meet a lot of good people and feel like you are helping your community. You might even get to travel every now and then for a conference and free trips are good. All of that is cool as long as you don’t mind not getting raises for a long time or having to take a second job if you can find it. I work with a lot of good people but I wouldn’t say any of them are exactly getting rich.

When it comes to money nothing can compare to a good corporate job. The best thing about corporate jobs are raises and overtime. I’m one of those people that actually wanted people to not show up for work or needed a day off so I could take that time. I once made a killing just by covering shifts for LSU graduates during football season. Money making opportunities don’t come along like that in the non profit world. The benefits are better. The holiday parties are better. There’s usually a few perks here or there if you get in good with management. There’s also room for growth in most private sector jobs. I worked nine hours my first week of the first job I ever had and ended up in management. Mostly everyone at the agency I work for now has the position they are going to have as long as they work there.

If I had to choose the job I wanted for the next twenty years there is no doubt in my mind that it would be a corporate job. I actually agree with conservatives when they promote the value of the private sector. The only problem with the way things are in our country right now is that I had a private sector job that I never would have quit but one day I went in and was giving a pink slip with the rest of my team. I desperately wanted another job just like the one I had but when you are out of work five months and are trying to survive that love for the private sector goes out the window. You apply for everything hoping someone will call and you get back in the game.

I think most Americans just want to be in the game and working. I don’t think too many people care if their job is public or private as long as they can feed their families. If I knew anyone that turned down a government job out of principle even though they had responsibilities and no private sector jobs were available I would call that person a fool to their face. We are in this period where American jobs paid for by America somehow don’t reflect American values. If the political leaders of our country are going to start cutting programs as if there’s no jobs connected to those cuts and leave all of the hard working people affected out on the streets looking for jobs then they better make sure that there are enough private sector jobs to make up for it.

The question I don’t here anyone trying to answer is what happens if we cut all these programs from the budget and give all of the tax cuts to the private sector that they supposedly need to start reinvesting in America but instead of investing they deposit that money and use it to keep their management receiving record bonuses? What are regular citizens supposed to do if our own government is shrunk to the point it can’t help us and the job creators who get all of the tax breaks decide they would rather keep their money to themselves and not help the country grow? Why would Americans no matter what they believe let things go the way they are headed without a plan B?