On Receiving the Elliot Richardson Prize for Public Service

In remarks upon receiving the Elliot Richardson prize, Alice Rivlin said that although Americans fail to recognize how challenging public service jobs can be, they firmly believe that these jobs are onerous and unappreciated. They are sure that those who do them would much rather be doing something else. But most people Rivlin knows who have had careers in public service have loved their work. It used talents and ingenuity they did not know they had and they did not get to use elsewhere. It gave them the satisfaction of making the world or some little piece of it a little better.