82 times more expensive than when I was a kid, and still losing money
At the heart of all of this are people who feel entitled. Entitled to salary, benefits, overtime, etc. well beyond what their employer (the government = the taxpayers) can afford. Entitled to work inefficiently and then receive 'overtime' to complete work they could have finished during regular hours with reasonable effort.
I'm not dumping specifically on public employees. I'm sure there are many who work very hard. I'm just tired of people feeling entitled to whatever they can get - irrespective of how they get it. The same happens in every sector of society.