> Its worth asking ourselves why the offices that serve us, the citizens, on the daily are constantly underfunded to the point that the work is not rewarded in financial, social, or career oriented ways.

I couldn't agree more. I fundamentally do not understand why working for state or federal government could not be seen as a prestigious thing, instead of something you end up needing to sacrifice to participate in. Working in the public interest _is_ an excellent thing to do, to my mind, but we sure don't pay like it is, to our collective detriment.