Since 1960, federal government spending has risen more than fivefold—and yes, that’s accounting for inflation.33 But the size of the federal civilian workforce has barely budged. It was slightly fewer than 2 million people in 1960 and it’s slightly over 2 million people today. In countries like China and Singapore, civil service is held in high esteem, and the brightest graduates compete in nationwide tests to win government jobs. In the United States, the word “bureaucrat” is tossed around as an epithet.
