Firefighters dont even make the list of the top 20 most dangerous jobs . . .
But first, CA Renter, your argument comparing the USA to Somalia is flat out stupid. First of all, Somalia is not a capitalist state – it is a failed state. Second, the US no longer runs a capitalist system, we have a mixed economy and it has been that way for 45 years. To put it bluntly, you dont know what you are talking about. If you are so enamored with socialism then move to Venezuela or Cuba.
NOW LETS LOOK AT THE FACTS ON PAY AND JOB DANGER:
For some additional perspecitve on the dollar value of laying your life on the line, consider that the USMC pays about $450 per month extra for service in “a designated hostile-fire area or in an area where they are exposed to hostile fire or in “grave danger of physical injury.””
That drops to only about $250 a month,for service in a foreign area that is designated as an area of imminent danger. A full month of duty in the area of imminent danger is required to be eligible for the $250 payment. Partial months dont count.
Remember, these men are not eating BBQ down at the station, or going home after thier shift to relax and watch TV. They are sleeping on the ground and eating food from plastic pouches. For $450 a month extra.
Yes, firefighting is hard work. So is policing. But neither of them is as hard as soldiering. And neither of them is nearly as dangerous as driving a truck or working construction.
Using the arguments of how dangerous the job is truckers should make even more than the cops and firemen – they die at a much higher rate and account for 20% of all workplace fatalities in the USA. Convenience store clerks are in the top ten – pension for these minimum wage workers? NOT A CHANCE! No pension for the construction worker who dies at a much higer rate than either the cops ro the firemen, and does just as much if not more damage to thier bodies while on the job. Sales clerks and supervisors face more life threatening danger than the cops or firemen and make a fraction of the pay.
Firefighters dont even make the list for the top 20 most dangerous jobs by fatalities(police detectives do). Neither the cops nor firemen make the list for highest rates of on the job injuries. You can find the Department of Labor report here:
Life can be a bitch for anyone, but that doesn’t (shouldn’t) entitle them to a free ride. 50 years of defined benefit pension for 20 years of work just doesnt make sense. The unions that drive these bad policies need a haircut.
