The entitled class

Entitlements. It's become a term of derision from those who find Social Security, Medicare or other government programs too expensive.

But that feeling of being entitled extends to federal employees. The Government Accountability Office reported Tuesday that 67 percent of the premium-class air travel by executives and their employees was unauthorized or otherwise unjustified. The bill for that wasted travel: at least $146 million. And why did these public servants do it? Because they felt they were entitled to the perk. What an outrage!

But it's not just a national problem. It can also apply to those serving the public sector in New Jersey, too. Assemblywoman Amy Handlin, R-Monmouth, has a bill in the hopper to bar public entities from hiring lobbyists. She cites, as one abuse, the "power breakfasts'' that lobbyists for NJ Transit enjoy at a Manhattan hotel at up to $60 a person. All charged to the state's cash-strapped transit agency and, eventually, the state's taxpayers. That's a lot of muffins and bagels - and for what? Another outrage!