re: #266 MandyManners

I believe that a true count of how many people are paid by our tax dollars can only be taken if EVERYONE who is paid by our tax dollars is included.

And you have a good point.
But you realize that there are lots of people in industries that are almost 100% funded by government contracts. It’s the not counting of those contractual employees that’s always bothered me. People here (including the damned legislature) constantly harp on how much is being spent on state employee pay, and forget there is at least an equivalent amount going to private companies who have government contracts (those companies often owned by good friends of our legislators). When a budget cut is needed, they don’t cut the contracts - they cut state jobs. Then we work understaffed and underpaid, with everyone yelling at us about how inefficient we are, while the fat-cat contractors keep their big bucks.