There's a pernicious assumption hiding there that public employees by definition must not deserve or earn their pay, whereas private employees doing the same work and making the same amount do.
Not really. It's completely fair for taxpayers to question the NPV of their employees (aka government workers).
Questioning it doesn't mean the NPV is negative. After all, private employers do this all the time. They decide a line of business provides an insufficient return on capital or doesn't fit the core, and they shut it down. Other times they find the NPV is awesome and pour on the investment. Since taxpayers are "the boss," this is completely appropriate.
If anything, the pernicious assumption runs precisely the opposite direction: that anyone who dare question the value to cost ratio of our bureaucratic overlords be attacked.
Questioning it doesn't mean the NPV is negative. After all, private employers do this all the time. They decide a line of business provides an insufficient return on capital or doesn't fit the core, and they shut it down. Other times they find the NPV is awesome and pour on the investment. Since taxpayers are "the boss," this is completely appropriate.
If anything, the pernicious assumption runs precisely the opposite direction: that anyone who dare question the value to cost ratio of our bureaucratic overlords be attacked.