public sector. Definition. The part of the economy concerned with providing basic government services. The composition of the public sector varies by country, but in most countries the public sector includes such services as the police, military, public roads, public transit, primary education and healthcare for the poor.
Mr. Truman's Balcony. Irritated by the rejection of his West Wing expansion, in 1948, Truman decided to add a balcony to the South Portico at the second-floor level using money already allotted for White House maintenance.
President Truman maintained that a balcony would help balance the south face of the White House by breaking up the long verticals of the columns, and provide shade for the first floor portico without the awnings commonly used at the time, which tended to become dirty.