WE THE PEOPLE…MARCHING DOWN THE ROAD TO SERFDOM. June 11, 2015
Police & Fire pay raise.
Facts state all government entities are paid far more than equivalent employment in the private sector and every government entity is represented by a union & all joined inextricably at the hip.
Government salaries of comparable positions should never be higher than the private sector which subsidizes them.
Ray Gosack & Richard Jones are quoted in the T.R. June 10, 2015, three, at the very least two, disingenuous statements. Jones, “Since 2006 Fort Smith’s pay for police & fire has lagged behind comparison cities”. Jones, “In 2014 Fort Smith’s pay was nearly 13% behind”. Jones, everything & everybody are not equal.
Gosack,” Without cost of living or market adjustments (oh wow), our pay plan stays stagnant while other cities around us, we’re comparing to, are moving their pay plans along”. Just what is a pay plan??!!
“Comparing” is the same dishonest psychology that politicians & bureaucrats use to make We the People feel guilty for not sacrificing ourselves for more government & its employees.
What Gosack & Jones are doing is trying to compare apples to oranges. Here’s the Marxist mentality again—every city in this case is equal, with no regard for demographics. Additionally, because city claims they need a raise is no foundation for the city to be automatically given one—try that with your boss in the private sector!
Demographics must be the determinate—population size, sex, age, marital status, numbers of children, education levels, economic factors, and a series of others, none of which are being considered by Gosack & Jones. And local private sector salaries should specifically thrown into the mix.
Who exactly is Jones comparing Fort Smith with? Here are the comparison cities Jones cited and their populations.
1. Little Rock—198,000
2. Springfield, Mo—160,000
3. Tulsa, OK—617,000
4. Okla. City, OK—399,000
5. Hot Springs, AR—35,000—since the 1940’s Hot Springs has grown by 3,000. Fort Smith’s population is 89,000. Hot Springs is a tourist city and both residents and visitors are taxed to the hilt.
Note the disparity in population numbers. There is no commonality whatsoever between the cities. It is absurd and slaps the taxpayers of Fort Smith trying to use this mechanism for an excuse for a pay raise.
Divulge to the citizens and let us observe the following areas regarding pay and perks of city employees. List each pay grade beginning with the entry level up to the highest, citizen contribution to their healthcare and the cost of their healthcare, same for dental, pensions, pay allowances, paid time off, paid vacations & length, sick days, holidays, free days, and not to mention, government employees have 100% job security—as opposed by the private sector.
Gosack & Jones offer no justification whatsoever for any type of pay raise. Government employees are not an endangered species. Let them absorb the same standards that are observed by the private sector and if they are not happy there are always those willing to fill their slot.
Joe McCutchen
P.S. Still waiting to hear what the cash reserves are for the city of Fort Smith!
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