Letter of the day: Easy commute, so he asks: Too many government workers?

Normally, I have a tough commute -- through both metropolitan areas twice each day -- to and from my office in St. Paul. On Monday, traffic was unusually light. Yes, high unemployment influences the traffic patterns. But this day seemed better than ever. It was Martin Luther King Day -- and all governmental holidays create light traffic flow. I recently saw a chart created from Bureau of Labor Statistics data that compared the level of jobs in Goods Producing Industries vs. Government Employment. In other words, the chart pits the producers vs. the "eaters" of wealth. The data were collected from 1939 to the present. Over most of the years, the number of goods-producing jobs kept pace with increases in government jobs. In the late '70s, goods-producing jobs leveled off (no surprise there as so many manufacturing jobs have been "off-shored") yet government employment continued to increase. And by late in 2007, the center of balance had changed. At this point, the total number of government jobs exceeded the total number of goods-producing jobs. As a kid, I had a red Radio Flyer wagon. It was always fun when we all took turns pulling it. However, when I was relegated to only pulling the wagon and more kids got into it, I was less inclined to pull. When too many piled in, I could not physically pull the wagon. Is it time we ask ourselves if we are fast approaching this analogical point? DANE BOGAARD, MOUND