Public Service

In Turnaround, Mitt Romney frames public service as a return measured in “a currency of an entirely different denomination” — one that “can’t be taxed, stolen, or depleted,” and that makes him feel richer the more of it he has. He contrasts this against the path of accruing stock options and money, recounting his father’s view that a life spent only as a corporate chief executive “would have been unfulfilling and uninteresting,” whereas public service opened “great new vistas and opportunities.” Romney says there is “not one day” he has regretted the full commitment, even though he could have made far more money staying in his investment job — money that “would mostly have gone to the taxman.” Service over earning is one of the book’s recurring throughlines.

Context: Public service refers to work undertaken for the public good — typically in government, civic, or nonprofit roles — often at the cost of higher private-sector earnings, and valued for non-monetary rewards like impact, relationships, and meaning.

Where this appears

• Turnaround — Romney’s “currency of an entirely different denomination” framing of service over money, drawn from his own career and his father’s example.