The real public servants


Following Rep. Bart Stupak's announcement that he will not give voters the opportunity to hold him accountable for selling out his principles during the Obamacare vote, Rep. Gary Peters issued a press release praising Stupak for 18 years of "public service."

Can we dispense with the canard that career politicians are public servants? In 2010, the salary for a U.S. representative is $174,000 per year and according to previous congressional calendars, the legislature is in session for only about 120 days.

The average yearly wage in the United States is below $50,000 and we work about 240 days each year. If "public service" means earning more than three times the average American and working half as much, sign me up.

Public servants are those who provide useful goods and services to a willing public. The cashier at a grocery store and the barista at the local coffee shop are public servants. The creators of computers, medical equipment, and cell phones are public servants. The builders of homes, factories, cars and airplanes are public servants.

A politician with nothing to offer except what he took from someone else is not a public servant.

[Letter to the Editor - Farmington Observer. Published 04/22/2010.]