Government service, when I was a kid, was thought to be a "lesser" job but somewhat noble because people who "served" did so at below private sector pay rates because, it was thought by some, they wanted to serve their country. There was some bit of security involved because it was somewhat difficult to fire the guvment man. Somewhere along the way the guvment job became unionized and things went ape chit crazy. For the federal guvment it was John Kennedy's executive order 10988 giving the federal worker the right to collective bargaining. An executive order Trumpzilla should rescind.

I don't know but suspect that probably cleared the way for states to do the same...maybe it was the other way around but IL is the result.

Good read from ZeroHedge...thanks for linking to that site ICD...I have come to really like it.

"Last August, in a post that attempted to explain why public pensions are really about $8 trillion underfunded, as opposed to the $3-$5 trillion that you frequently see tossed around in the press..."