In Defense of Government Jobs
This letter is in response to Don Hull’s Feb. 5 letter regarding layoffs in the private sector but not in government.
When government provides services it does so to provide for the general welfare, not for a profit or to promote socialism, as he alleges. Socialism, let us recall, is an economic system whose basic feature is that government owns the basic industries of a given society.
With respect to layoffs, which jobs would he want eliminated in an economic downturn? Maybe we can eliminate firefighters, peace officers, sanitation workers or some of the clerical workers that keep services flowing to citizens like Mr. Hull.
It is very popular to constantly harp on government workers as “parasites” that live off the production of others, but the next time Mr. Hull needs a paramedic or other vitally needed service, I hope he remembers to call on the private sector and let the rest of us who gladly pay our taxes rely on our reliable public servants.
BEN ALVILLAR
Tustin
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