
Cops’ massive salaries are robbing taxpayers blind - rbcgerard
http://nypost.com/2017/09/13/cops-massive-salaries-are-robbing-taxpayers-blind/
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_petronius
It's hard for me to get bent out of shape about salaries for public employees.
Most of them do shit work, at shit pay, for many years -- and if a few of them
accrue enough overtime and holiday pay to make very good money in their last
few years of employment, and therefore secure a good pension, then I'm not
about to argue it should be taken away from them. Lord knows that if you broke
down the budget of NYC (~ $85 billion annually) what these guys are making
probably barely puts a dent in it.

In general, I hate this crabs-in-a-bucket mentality to how we fund (or don't)
public services and the social safety net. Every teacher, police officer,
paramedic, and sanitation worker -- the people who keep society functional and
healthy -- _should_ be getting this kind of money! And if you look at it
jealously because your private-sector job (perhaps as a NY Post hack?) would
never get you nearly that much, then maybe you, too, should unionize and
agitate for better pay. I mean, you should probably do that anyway, regardless
of what teachers and cops get paid, but that's for another thread.

If it costs the government more money to pay these salaries, with increased
taxes to go along with that, then I'm fine with that. These services are
available to anyone and everyone, for everyone's benefit. This (from my
experience, especially but not only American) need to moan and complain about
every dollar of tax paid, or (if you're rich enough) pay accountants and
lawyers enormous sums so you don't have to pay any taxes at all -- is,
frankly, unethical and contributes to the ongoing breakdown of American civil
society that I have been watching for my entire life.

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mac01021
Don't you think, though, that there are probably hundreds of people who would
be eagerly lining up to do that job for half the price?

It's not clear how many of those are as qualified as the guys discussed in the
article but, if there are any, isn't it the job of your town to get you the
best deal it can when hiring a police force?

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gambiting
This could lead to an opposite problem - where I am from(Poland) police
bribery is _still_ an issue despite years of fighting against it, and I have
no doubts one of the main reasons for it is the low pay of policemen. Someone
with 10 years of experience in the force takes home about $800/month. So if
they are offered $200 to forgive a fine, that's like a week-worth of money for
doing less work.

~~~
mac01021
What would you guess is the median monthly income there, counting people of
all professions?

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quuquuquu
Median net worth (not net income, and not average) in Poland in 2016 was
$9,484 USD.

So, assuming a cop is at the 50th percentile of society, a $200 bribe would be
2% of his life savings.

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rando444
So, do they use that officer's unpaid vacation time that he cashed in during
his last year when calculating his pension?

The article seems to imply that, but does not say it directly.

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yipopov
>including one officer who pulled down $442,000, a new report shows.

Is that considered a lot for a senior wage for a skilled worker in the US?
Sounds pretty tight, even with dramatically lower taxes than most European
countries.

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quuquuquu
That would be considered a fabulous sum of money in any city here.

You are getting into the realm of surgeon/athlete money when you are talking
442k.

There are some cops who only make maybe 40-70k.

I've heard lofty cops in rich towns are making 100-200k.

It's not exactly a tough job.

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jackhack
>>It's not exactly a tough job.

I agree with everything you said, but this. It betrays a profound lack of
understanding of what police actually do.

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quuquuquu
I'll admit that I have a bias here, and I know that many cops in specific
areas have truly dangerous jobs.

HOWEVER.

The above is not true for many, many jurisdictions. These cops are armed, well
paid, and operating in very very normal and safe neighborhoods.

In many dangerous neighborhoods, police don't even go in.

Regardless, the question is also about price. Police are valuable, but at what
price? Ask the property tax payers in that neighborhood what they feel is the
right salary. People will move if they don't like it.

Just look at South Side Chicago and Detroit.

First responders are often not showing up to calls within an hour. Gunshot
victims are being turned away from hospitals.

