The growth of government spending, relatively slow in the first half-century of monopoly capitalism, becomes extremely rapid thereafter. The following tabulation made by Baran and Sweezy illustrates this, in terms both of spending figures and the percentage of Gross National Product passing through government in the United States.
It must not be supposed, however, that the impact of government spending upon the occupational structure is proportional to these figures. Much of government spending is channeled through the existing structure of the market rather than through direct government employment: it takes the form of military orders, the letting of contracts for highway and building construction, transfer payments to individuals and businesses, etc. Thus in 1961, when the federal, state, and local governments were spending almost 29 percent of the Gross National Product, the combined civilian employment of all three types of government was 13 percent of total civilian employment. But even this percentage is large, and it has been growing. In federal employment, it is concentrated heavily in the civilian establishment for administering the military; in state and local governments, it is concentrated in education.
Notes
Part IV
The Growing Working-Class Occupations
200
Labor and Monopoly Capital