The United States is not a small-government country. Tyler Cowen points this morning to Nicholas Lardy’s new book, Markets Over Mao: The Rise of Private Business in China, which contains this very interesting fact: “China has only 31 government and party employees per thousand residents. The number of civil servants per thousand residents in France is 95, in the United States, 75, and in Germany 53.” As Professor Cowen points out, that figure needs to be qualified in that it excludes China’s extensive network of state-owned companies. It is very interesting nonetheless.
But even if we set aside China, a country against which it is difficult to make meaningful comparisons, consider the French and German figures, which suggests that in practical terms the United States does not really have a small public sector compared to western European countries. This is consistent with the fact that combined federal, state, and local public-sector spending in the United States is about the same as it is in Canada, just under 40 percent of GDP. Those who worry about the United States turning into a “big-government” country like Canada are behind the curve; we should be more worried about turning into a big-government country like France. Put another way, we should cut our public-sector headcount until we’ve reached the comparatively sensible lower level of a western European welfare state such as Germany.
If reducing the number of bureaucratic per capita is a metric that you find compelling — and I certainly do — then you might consider facing south and sending some applause in the direction of Governor Rick Scott.