"It's not any more misleading than counting a guy assembling Humvees or a doctor working on an NIH grant" Right which is the problem with all numbers seeking t

"It's not any more misleading than counting a guy assembling Humvees or a doctor working on an NIH grant" Right which is the problem with all numbers seeking to quantify the size of government by a count of the employees. Since good numbers aren't available on the number of contractors that are de facto civil service employees vs employed by an entity that operates autonomously and provides a product to the government. I don't dispute your argument in terms of dollar amounts.