and have to live with the salary that comes with it. The taxpayers in your area have, through the political system, set what they think public sector jobs are worth. If the employees don't like it, they're perfectly free to seek employment elsewhere.

I've been on both sides of this issue throughout my career. When I enlisted in the military back in 1975, I accepted the poor pay and living conditions that came with the job. Eventually, I grew tired of poor compensation and moved on. After finishing a college degree, I taught school for a year. I found that while my enlisted experience had accustomed me to poverty, I no longer "enjoyed" it. Again, I moved on. I went back into the military but this time as an officer. The compensation was much better than as an enlisted man and I enjoyed my work. However, world events like the collapse of communism led to a 25+% downsizing in the military starting in 1992. Once again, I found myself in the civilian workforce where I've been ever since.

Those who seek to work in the public sector knew what the jobs paid when they signed the contract. Like everyone else, they have the option to vote with their feet if they don't like the pay. Many "civil servants" that I've met were more interested in job security than anything else. Once protected by the civil service system, many "civil servants" become difficult to deal with. When was the last time you heard of a "civil servant", at least at the federal level, being fired for incompetence or even breaking the law?