Why are police officers and fire fighters payed so low wages?

Question

Why are police officers and fire fighters payed so low wages?

Answer 1

Because they will work for those wages.    I say strike and wait for the president to call out the national guard to force them back to work.

Answer 2

Good question but please substantiate with facts.  In California they are very well paid and have generous benefits.

Answer 3

You can thank the NEOCONS for that.  They think that teachers, the police and fire fighters is too socialist for the USA.

Answer 4

Low??? where???  Around here cops get over 60,000 a year and so do firefighters.  That's more than double the average working guys wage.  They also have great benefits and sick time paid and more days off a year than anyone else.  Some get 3-4 more days a year than there are stats.

Cops get lots of overtime as they have to go to court and that's all paid time so many are really making like over $80,000 a year.

If you consider than low then great.  But for the guy working in the coffeshop making $8.00 per hour, well that's a lot more money (cops earn around $28/hr or more).

So if this is low to you, do tell what would you like to see them paid.  Remember the money comes from taxes.  Not really an unlimited supply of money, but most politicians treat it like it is.

Answer 5

Hello,

Because most places do not know how to manage the tax payers money. The people figuring out what money goes where are the most payed. Surprise hu?

Answer 6

That's a good question. Why don't we switch them with the politician's wages.

Answer 7

Because most people don't stop and think about where their tax money goes. I live in a rural area and some years back a group of people moved out of a very large city and into the area where I live . It wasn't long before they started coming to the Twp. Supervisors meetings demanding to know why the Vol. Fire Co. didn't have men on duty 24/7,why they had to pay for garbage pick up and the list went on. when asked why they moved out of the city the answer was because the taxes were lower.

Answer 8

Beacuse some fire fighters are volunteers and beacuse of the city or town's buget if the city is large theay get a littel moore then small city or town's police officers and fire fighters

Answer 9

I can only imagine that it is because the job doesn't actually produce money for any one, it is a community service and our society doesn't give much credence to community services.  It is time it changed.

Answer 10

low wages where do you live

Answer 11

Are they low?

I don't know what they make. I understand that with overtime, they can actually make quite a lot.

When I work overtime (which is all the time) I don't get a dime extra.

Answer 12

They make decent money.  Firemen can retire at age 40, and get a nice retirement.  Teachers are the ones who really get screwed.  That's why 1 out of 3 quit after the first year.

Answer 13

I would guess because the rich people who steal don't want to be caught.....and I have NO idea why fire fighters aren't paid a lot! I think maybe in history everyone pitched in to help put out fires so it wasn't a specialized job?

Answer 14

One reason:  

Unfortunately, ...and I was a crime scene detective myself, most departments across the nation require the applicant to only have a GED or high school diploma to apply.  As a result, the departments are "paying for what they're getting" from the community.  

This is changing in many communities where the requirements are now at a higher level.  Those departments require at least a 2 to 4 year college degree.  Such communities typically have higher wages for their fire and police than other communities requiring only a high school diploma or GED.

Answer 15

Sadly, because their salaries are part of the budget for the city/town...depending on how much they have to go around, that's what they get paid...

Answer 16

How about school teachers they have a four year degree and are among the lowest paid .