The idea of the "rich" teacher or the "rich" police office is a fantasy I find surprising otherwise rational people maintain in their heads as fact. I have never known a cop or a teacher or a firefighter who made a reasonable living wage. I grew up the son of a cop and a nurse. We did not live a particularly glitzy lifestyle. Around where I live, the starting pay for a full-fledged teacher is about 30-35k a year. I make more than that, but I live in a one-bedroom apartment, with no dependents, and I just barely get by. And I don't even have a cable bill!
It's also important to remember that a lot of these folks aren't exactly spoiled for choice in the job market. Not everyone can be a millionaire; someone has to clean the toilets, or mine the coal, or drive the taxi. Somebody has to do it, and it always seems like the people most angry about those people demanding better pay are folks who enjoy the services provided by them, but who prefer not to do the jobs themselves. I'll tell you one thing: I like driving on roads, but I certainly don't want to pave them.
Why do we live in this culture where there's the feeling that they deserve to be paid meager wages? That they somehow haven't earned more money than, say, me, or you, or the next guy? Who set those rules? In my opinion, you deserve to make the money you can make, however you make it; if they unionize, and force better wages, good for them. Why is that a bad thing?
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