alt Hacker NewsSince you took the data for federal and state and local, you end up with 22.51 million employees[1].
Out of a total number of employed people of ~160M that's 1 in 8 employees. If you're calling 1 in 8 'a small share' the we just disagree there.
As to the $400 statistic, let me just point out that this
> That leads to those who qualify for many social programs, i.e. low-income earners, to put aside a relatively small portion of their income for savings.
Is very much an opinion, not a fact.
Maybe there's also that for the low income earners there isn't any money left after paying for housing, food and such. And I'm not even talking about health insurance.
[1]: https://www.statista.com/statistics/204535/number-of-governm...
Government employees are ~7% of the population, ~12–13% of employment, but account for roughly a quarter of government spending through payroll.
As for the $400 statistic, it in no way shows that US disposable income PPP is lower than peer countries.
Liquidity does not equal income and savings behavior does not equal purchasing power.
That generous welfare systems reduce savings is well-documented finding.