Dear Editor, At over 40 per cent the Cook Islands has the greatest percentage of public servants in the free world.

Our public workforce is far too blown up and the minimum results on our lives serves as a reminder that the recipients of our tax dollars enjoy benefits well beyond the average Cook Islander.

Public servants and politicians are removed from the economic forces at play in the private sector, they are insulated from the effects of their own actions and our getting privileges that most private sector workers can only dream about.

For example, our politicians have a schedule of just 43 work days on average in a year and despite this part time schedule they receive a median pay of five times the average Cook Islander.

It is worth noting that public servants face a near zero chance of getting fired in a given year. That is 45 times lower than the average private sector worker in a democratic society.

This shields public servants and politicians who are cited for wrongdoing and incompetence from losing their job.

There is no doubt that most public servants and politicians think job security is more important than helping the public.

Unlike many businesses the government is not susceptible to sudden changes in the economy that can lead to mass layoffs.

While the private sector sheds jobs during an economic turndown, the government continues to add employees.

We cannot sustain ourselves without a public sector workforce but our increasingly bloated public servant workforce is an ongoing recipe of disaster for an ever-increasing soaring debt and vote buying by our politicians.

Also, Prime Minister Mark Brown needs to take the action that will considerably transform this nation by meeting in the Executive Council and allow for the individual and designated growing of cannabis that will help alleviate the physical and emotional pain of patients in the Cook Islands.

Sincerely,

Steve Boggs