That article is a heck of a collection of thoughts on the economy. And how many of those jobs were in the government where the average pay plus benefits is $120K vs $60K in the private sector? I think they said if you cut government salaries to match the private sector we'd be in a surplus or something along those lines- start with Lahood.

And I am all for ending congressional pensions. You shouldn't be incentivised to make a career out of the place.

Just fwiw, GDP includes government spending and was recently revised down again. All I can say is I'd like to go back to what the President termed, back when he was running for President, the worst economy since the great depression, when the unemployment was 4.7% or something along those lines.



Just notice 04-07's trend in budget deficits, which does include Iraq spending fwiw.

Now to bring this back to Delta, I wonder even if the economy sputters again do we need to continue hiring? My bet is yes.