Whither the Public Sector?

By Phillip Donavan

And so the battle comes to a close, or so we think, only to find that it has now been upped to a different level and death threats are flying around against the senators who pushed for the law that removes the collective bargaining rights of the unionists. Apparently, according to the Democrat senators who fled the scene so that the numbers would fall short for the vote, it is ok to hold the state (and the country at large) to ransom and “collectively” bargain for a larger salary or more perks when the nation is reeling under an appalling amount of debt.

Everyone knows that it’s time to tighten the purse strings instead of printing more money to generate a false sense of security when there is actually none; everyone knows that it’s not possible to go on raising taxes indefinitely to offset a budget deficit; and everyone knows that some sacrifices will have to be made along the way to take our nation on the road to recovery. But no one wants to face the facts, no one wants to accept their responsibilities, and no one wants to be the ones to make a difference.

At a time when the elections are around the corner, it’s a brave stand for the Republicans to take in Wisconsin and face any public backlash steadfastly. It’s time the public sector realized that it cannot always get its way just because it is the sole provider of many essential services and so it is easy for it to hold the country to ransom. The truth is that if many of the services that were provided by the public sector were thrown open to the private sector, the increased competition would not only generate more jobs and infuse a genuine and much-needed shot in the arm for the economy, it would also provide more options for those who currently labor in the public sector. Also, when there is more competition, the drive to excel comes about automatically in order to stay ahead, and this would make more options available to the people at a lower cost.

It’s a solution that will work for everybody, the government, the private sector, and the people. But the public sector is a huge monster, one that has become too fat and bloated and completely mismanaged. While I don’t doubt that there are many sincere public sector workers who do their best at their job and yet remain underpaid and go unrecognized, the truth is that many people take their jobs for granted because of the protection that being in a union offers. This is what creates the laidback attitude that in turn reflects on the state of our public services across the nation.
It’s a pity that the entire sector has to suffer only because of the selfish and callous attitude of a few who think that being aggressive is all that’s needed to get them ahead in life.

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This guest post is contributed by Phillip Donavan, who writes on the subject of Political Science Degrees Online. Phillip can be reached at his email id: phillip.donavan@gmail.com