Infrastructure: Census of Governments Employment and Payroll Data

As I noted in my overview of all federal, state and local government activity, which you can read here, most people do not benefit from most government programs, activities and expenditures. These are instead limited to select eligible populations, based on age (public education, Medicare, Social Security), means or needs. But this post and the two after it will compare local government employment and pay levels for the sorts of general public services that could be used by anyone, some of which are used by everyone. Most of these services are provided by local governments, and are far more extensive in urban areas than in rural areas. This post is about public infrastructure – highways and streets, mass transit, and public water, sewer, electric and gas utilities along with related private sector activities. A series of charts on the subject comparing New York City with other parts of New York State, New Jersey, the U.S. average, and selected other areas may be found on “Saying the Unsaid in New York.”