I’ve thought about this a lot, and it is a common topic that is brought up. The classic idea of public servants getting paid much less than they are worth, while other positions get paid a handsome wage.
Politicians are public servants and they seem to consistently receive cost-of-living pay increases every year, while other public servants (police officers, social workers, teachers, fire fighters, etc.) continue to have to fight and advocate for cost-of-living increases. While the costs around them rises, their income doesn’t seem to match.
I can’t help but feel like the “good people with big hearts” are taken advantage of because their will to help others tends to be more important than what they are paid. With all this emphasis on prevention issues like suicide and mental health, wouldn’t it make sense to compensate the people on the ground floor, making the differences, to match their worth for the work they do?
Shouldn’t these positions hold just as much value as their higher-up public servant counterparts? They shouldn’t have to search for outside donations, resources and grants to help make a bigger impact.
Britton Meyer, West Jordan