Our Love Hate Relationship with Well Paid Public Employees

[bleedingheart]

When the firefighter puts out the fire at your home, he is the hero.

When the 1st Grade teacher does an outstanding job teaching your child, you are overjoyed.

When the Road Crew spends the night out on blustery below zero days, making sure that the roads are safe for your car and the schoolbus, you are pleased.

When the police cruise through your neighborhood to make sure that everything is okay and to make their presence known to the bad guys, you feel comforted.

But when they make more than you do...well it seems to touch a chord, then it seems they aren't worth so much, you could do the job better, they are unfit...all because you are paying taxes that pay their salaries....

But let me remind those who aren't keen on public servants making a decent wage that if we paid them poorly, we wouldn't get good service and they would be more likely not to stay in the positions. The Great Teacher might just find a better job outside teaching, the firefighter might take a job elsewhere...
Well paid police officers are less likely to turn the other cheek and take a bribe...

I also want to remind people that public servants don't make much money from the beginning. Their starting wages are lower and they must put in years of service to gain a decent salary.

[Pockets]

1. They aren't so much the problem

I'm more concerned about the cost of contractors outside the government.

[bleedingheart]

3. Personally I don't know why people think contractors are so cheap

I think the fact that the Army doesn't make its own meals anymore seems like a huge way to suck taxpayer funds away.

[swag]

4. There is a lot of gouging and shoddy work by contractors

even at the local level.

They aren't all bad, but the idea that they are more efficient and cost-effective that government units is laughable.

[Pockets]

7. I worked as a temp for a gov contractor

TSA HR contactors -- no offense guys if anyone is reading this.

The amount of money they all made -- hundreds of them -- was enourmous. I can't begin to estimate -- I think they made like $27/hr plus overtime, and charged for 70-100 hour weeks since they were on the road, coming to potentially over $2500/week -- plus free room and board at luxury hotels. That's alot of money to me anyway who had to make it on like $700/week.

[swag]

2. Great post

Negative talk about public employees is, unfortunately, rather widespread. I'm not a public employee, but the ones I know are dedicated, hard-working, committed. They have a lot of the same struggles that those of us in the generally better-paying private sector have, plus the burden of unjustified disparagement.

Dollar for dollar, our public employees are giving us a great deal. We should be grateful to them, and quit kicking them.

[DoNotRefill]

5. I'm a public employee...

and if I worked in the private sector I'd make at LEAST 8 times my current salary.

I HIGHLY value my ability to sleep with a clear conscience.

[jus_the_facts]

6. heh yeah...those public servants are real hero's alright.....

....I made one of our city's finest grit his teeth at me the other day for attempting to tell him that people on welfare aren't taking HIS money...the Chamber of Commerce IS...they recently opposed a continuation of some property taxes for our police and fire depts....here's the result of that altercation... :nopity:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x3226969

[Wickerman]

9. Sorry you got slapped down

he was an asshole. However, in my years of public service I'd say he is the exception to the norm. Some of the most dedicated and skilled folks I know work in the public sector and some of the worst fo the worst I have met come from the private world.

Nominated this thread.

[jus_the_facts]

10. I voted FOR him to keep his job...yet now I'm threatened to lose mine.....

...most of the cops I work with aren't like that...at least the minority ones who better understand how the system really works...this white nazi mofo looked like he wanted to shoot me where I stood...then I get warned not to say another word about what I overhear other people saying if I wanna keep my job and be able to barely exist m'self. :puke:

[newportdadde]

8. The only time I get irritated is road crews.

I seems like there is a 50/50 chance of me running into a crew and they are looking at a hole together or 4 are watching 2 others work on the hole. :)

Ow and the snowplows... if its Wed at 8pm not a plow to be found, but if its Saturday(xtra overtime) they are combing the streets blading nothing :evilgrin:

[LostinVA]

11. Many of those road crews are NOT public employees

many areas contract that work out to private companies.