Listen in as In the Public Square Team discusses the American bureaucracy that cannot be changed. Since Civil Service Reform in the 1890?s (The Pendleton Act) the idea that government should be run by ?professionals? has resulted in the creation of a permanent class of government employees who cannot be fired or laid off. Consequently, all our elected representatives are beholden more to the interest of public service unions and bureaucrats than to the American people. Congressional Representatives, Senators, Cabinet Members and Presidents come and go by the election process but the same old government employee class continues to accrue power and empire build without any recourse in the process of democracy. Ultimately, this means that America is less and less a government of, for, and by the people, and more and more a government controlled by a permanent ruling class.