Has public service turned into self service?

Is it public service or has it — at some level — turned to self service?

There have been many articles and letters in the Review-Journal recently about “double-dipping,” both pro and con. As a young boy, my mother, being a Great Depression survivor, told me many times to consider going to work for the government. She said, “You may not make as much money as in the private sector, but you will always have a job, even in tough times.” This may have been true at some point. But in most cases, the truth today seems to be that if you work for the government, you will always have a job, make more than those toiling in the private sector and get a good “guaranteed” pension, to boot.

I didn’t listen to mom. I went to work in the private sector, worked hard, advanced, got a pension through my own earned contributions and then retired.

A few years ago, I received a notice from our pension fund that it was in a “cautious” financial state, which could mean cuts. But unlike public pensions, we don’t have the option of going to the taxpayers for more funds.

I have no problem with anyone choosing the public sector. In reality, though, it has grown into a very hungry beast that needs more and more feeding. The elected “public servants,” in many cases, are the worst of all. They are the ones who negotiated these deals knowing that when the bill comes due they’ll either be advanced to a higher office or retired with their own special package.

Something seems very wrong with this negotiating system.