My wife has worked with MPs in the past on projects in the public sector & frankly they'd be complete failures if they were being paid for performance.
Well quite, and the same goes for many people in the public sector. A mate of mine started working for his local council after time in the private sector and was astounded at the laziness / incompetence - and was rebuked for working too hard and making his colleagues look bad...! :doh:
Journalists arnt using tax payers money
That is true, but it is very hypocritical to judge others by standards you are not meeting yourself. Mr Pot, meet Mr Kettle...