[forlorn_mammoth]

> It’s that government jobs aren’t subject to market forces so you need some sort of external controls,

has the inbuilt assumption that 'market forces' are the only appropriate form of external control.

which is homeomorphic to "ideological mistrust of the public sector".

[rayiner]

Market forces aren’t the only appropriate form of external control. That’s why we have pay scales for government workers legislated by Congress. But OP said that’s driven by ideological mistrust of the government too.

And your second point is wrong too. See Scandinavia for places that both have a deep trust in the public sector and also deeply believe in markets and market forces.