The public economy is winning

By Tom Quiner

The Obama years have produced a whole new dynamic when it comes to the way we view the economy.

Team Obama sees two economies that compete with each other: the public economy vs. the private economy.

The public economy, which is funded by taxpayers, has historically been viewed as the servant of the private economy. No longer.

The president makes it clear to entrepreneurs, innovators, and small business owners that they “did not build” their businesses or invent their inventions by themselves. They need to give equal credit to the public economy.

The patent office deserves just as much credit as Edison for inventing the light bulb, goes the thinking.

As Mr. Obama tends to do, he pits groups against each other, in this case, the producers against the bureaucrats. He makes it clear his desire to redistribute resources from those who earned it in the private economy to the public economy, which votes largely for his party. As Obama said to Joe the Plumber, he wants to”spread the wealth around” as long as it runs through the public economy over which he yields great influence.

The Obama viewpoint embraces the moral efficacy of government at the same time it disparages the greed and callousness of the private economy.

The public economy: good.

The private economy: bad.

Historically, the best and the brightest have gravitated to the private sector where their talents would be rewarded. That has changed. Most people will fare better in a government job financially than in the private sector unless they have a professional degree or a doctorate.

The Obama philosophy of a dominant public economy is producing some of the best and brightest well-paid bureaucrats the world has ever seen, ninety percent of whom vote Democrat.

The chart above shows the gap between public and private sector pay and benefits.

The public economy is winning.