As a government employee, I can tell you that people don’t work here for the money. They work for the benefits. The biggest benefit is the reluctance of the government to get rid of you after 50.
Also people want more government workers. They want more people working in the DMV and Social Security and Medicare and etc etc. They just want them to work for free. Or get their dead azz off STD/LTD and go back to work.
I work for a school district and have met more women who work there just for the medical benefits. Their husbands are all self employed.