K Street is where the real money is. That’s why so many people who leave government “service” to supposedly “spend more time with their families” end up working there for big lobbying firms.

And Obama supporters are most likely to benefit. “In this climate, Democratic backgrounds are attractive to people,” Laura Sheehan, a Democrat and vice president of marketing and communications for the American Gas Association, told the Post. “This town, that’s what it runs on.” Just so -- money, and not on political patronage anymore.

Washington, D.C., is considered “recession proof” because so many civil servants can’t be fired except in extraordinary circumstances. But in the years ahead, our country is going to face just such circumstances. The looming entitlement crisis will have to be paid for, as will the hundreds of billions of dollars the government is currently borrowing to bail out everyone from investment banks to automakers.

These days other businesses are slashing jobs. Why shouldn’t the government be able to do so when it finds itself overstaffed and over budget?

“Barack Obama campaigned on change. Well, change is good for the lobbying business,” former Reagan aide Ed Rodgers told the Post. It also would be good for the governing business. Obama would do himself and his successors a favor by striking now to reform our civil service system. It’s an opportunity that could help prevent a future crisis.