Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Colo., has a long overdue message from America’s taxpayers to Washington politicians and bureaucrats: It’s time for you to share our pain. Coffman proposes to furlough all nonessential federal workers for two weeks next year. That’s a radical proposal only in the nation’s capital. Twenty-four states are presently furloughing public sector workers in response to budget problems. The Coffman bill also cuts the $174,000 salaries of senators and representatives by 10 percent. A mere $5.5 billion in savings would result if Hoffman’s measure is approved, but that’s not the point. As Heritage Foundation analyst Jason Richwine said during a panel discussion Tuesday on civil service overcompensation, the debate over federal salaries is really “a matter of government legitimacy.” Are these people America’s civil servants or our masters?