I think what is being lost in this whole thread, is not if these are great people or great workers, or how dangerous their jobs are, or how horrible public school classrooms are etc, but a simpler and more fundamental question.
With the current economic conditions, CAN WE AFFORD THEM?
My wife worked in Riverside County some years back as a volunteer firefighter. She loved being a part of something important, even though she did not get paid. When we got to San Diego? No volunteers allowed!
I am actually not so interested in the on the ground police, teachers, firemen etc. , but rather the growing and much more expensive layer of administrative staff, which seems to be where most of the horror stories of overpaid government employees with massive pensions comes from.
On the subject of pensions, it is clear that we need to move away from the “for life” model of pensions and instead calculate each government workers contributions, matching contributions etc, weigh in the profits or LOSSES on the pension funds over time, and come to an actual balance owed each worker, regardless of if they live just a year or two, or if they live to be 100. Frankly, why should a worker who lives longer get MORE pension than one who is unlucky and dies shortly after retirement?
