curiosity, yes I use public services, I have also worked in the public sector for about 2 years and the point I'm making is the the general attutude of public sector workers is that the job exists only to provide them with an income and whatever jollies they can get out of it. The actual function of the job is often secondary in their minds.
In my short time in the public sector I was rollucked by the Nalgo rep for not taking enough sick leave! Apparently I can take up to 13 days a year and I hadn't. "If you don't take yours we're all under scrutiniy" was the reasoning. Public sector is full of snout in trough types I'm afraid. No doubt there are a lot of hard working people but they are obscured by the freeloaders in the eyes of the general public.
Coobeastie, you must be a genius at economics, let's see for every pound of tax payers money we spend on a non job, we get errr some of it back, tell you what I'd rather keep the whole pound.