According to an article published in the Washington Post, some government workers are feeling unloved and unwanted.
"For most of their lives, federal workers in Mantua say, having “United
States Treasury” atop their paycheck meant security, pride and a sense
of mission. Things change: Now it means having to defend yourself
against arguments, from strangers and even from your own relatives, that
you’re an overpaid and underworked leech. And in these days of
political paralysis, it means that that paycheck suddenly isn’t so
secure anymore."
I didn't realize that the disdain of the taxpaying public was playing head-games with some government employees. Heck, when I was a young girl, my mom tried to get a job at the post office; hundreds of people applied for one position. The job was considered a gravy-train of pay and bennies, and required no skills other than being able to read and count change. Alas, she didn't have the connections to be handed the sugarplum. The article captures this view of government work in one quote:
“I don’t know if people will want to go into the government the way it’s
thought of now,” Foo said. “For us in the ’70s, it was about security
and availability. It wasn’t the highest paid of jobs, but the pay was
guaranteed and you couldn’t get laid off.” (bolding mine)
Actually, even back in the seventies, the pay was good. I've often seen a certain "disconnect" between
some federal workers and the private sector, and it doesn't surprise me that a few of them are feeling a bit of animosity from their friends and families. While those in the private sector have been brutalized by the crippled economy and the budget-busting weight of millions of pages of new regulations, the government-class has been fairly well insulated from the pain. It's difficult for people who are living in personal austerity to relate to...well, to THIS guy:
"The professor has already cut back in anticipation of the forthcoming
budget slashing: He told a carpenter who was going to build bookshelves
in the living room that the $5,000 job will have to be put off, and he
told his doggie day care provider that he’ll have to go without that
service when the furloughs kick in."
Really? Please tell us more about your tragic personal situation! Or not. Whining will not win the hearts of folks who have seen their retirement savings gobbled up by simple living expenses, their paychecks (if they're lucky enough to have one) remain stagnant, and their taxes go up.
We
need a small staff of federal workers; good ones. Strong people. Educated people who take public service as a calling, not a pig trough. They are out there; hard-working, brilliant, and dedicated. I think we owe those people a hearty "thank you", and on the flip side of the coin, they owe taxpayers a hearty "thank you" for the paychecks and benefits the private sector provide.
While it's true that the federal government has an enormous glut of personnel and programs, and that the tail has been wagging the dog to the point of economic collapse, we must be careful, in our fed-up disdain, not to throw out the baby with the bath water.
