[State PBA President – via Lakewood Officer and State PBA Delegate Steve Kelusak] From the day Governor Christie took office and broke his promise to police and firefighters to never reduce benefits for active or retired officers, we have been engaged in a never ending effort to stop the revisionist history of blaming employees for the unfunded liability in the pension system. The facts are clear that the State and local governments went nearly a decade without making a full contribution into the State pension system and nearly a full 3 years passed without a penny of employer contributions being made. Unfunded liabilities exploded and combined with a failing economy and pension investments what was once an overfunded pension system soon became, in the Governor’s words, “unsustainable”.
But sometimes the facts don’t get in the way of good politics and the Governor’s mastery of storytelling has rewritten the State’s pension history. So when the pension and health benefit reform law was signed in 2011 and the champagne corks were popped in some circles around the State that public employees were finally put in their place, we were told to be thankful that our pensions were finally “saved” and that the increased employee contributions would only help restore fiscal soundness to the pension fund.
Retired cops in their 70’s, 80’s and 90’s who have small pensions and needed a COLAto survive were told by the Governor and others that these reforms were leading to a day around the corner when COLA would be given back to them. Active officers who saw their pension contributions jump to 10% and their health care contributions increase to as much as 33% of an uncontrollable premium were told their increased payments were needed to pay off the unfunded liability in THEIR pension system.
So after 3 years and 2 rounds of pension cuts, New Jersey law enforcement officers started making their increased payments. But as with everything else that has been said about pension reform in New Jersey, the demand that increased employee payments were required immediately to “save their pensions” were a half truth designed to mislead the public. On October 16th the Governor announced that because of the pension changes local governments could skip making another $116 million in payments to the pension system. That was on top of $267 million in “savings” the law yielded after its passage. So in the end, the same local governments that skipped billions in pension payments that created the unfunded liability in the pension system that became “unsustainable” are now being rewarded with $383 million in cuts to their current pension obligations.
Now let’s be clear. I don’t oppose using lower pension liabilities to lessen the impact on property tax payers. The Governor and his allies have done their best to make this an “us versus them” debate. But I am taxpayer too. A solvent pension system is what I was promised and I am ready to pay my fair share because it matters a lot more to me than to the average citizen whether my pension is around for my retirement. But this kickback to local government reeks of hypocrisy and it rewards the same politicians who created the crisis in the first place.
Look at it as you would your mortgage as if you were behind on your payments and the interest was piling on. If you suddenly received a big cash payment wouldn’t you want to pay down your debt on the house or would you use that money to buy something unrelated? I would like to think you would pay off your house debt to make sure you don’t lose it.
But that is the point the State is missing here. They have demanded that our senior citizen retirees lose their COLA on their pension, have increased our contribution rate to the highest in the State at 10% and have made structural changes to lower their costs. Wouldn’t it make more sense financially and out of fundamental honesty to then take those “savings” and use them to pay down more of the unfunded liability faster? Wasn’t the point of all these changes to lower “unsustainable” pension liability so that employee pensions would be secured for the future?
Any cop will tell you that all they are looking for when they are working is honesty. In this case, we are all wondering where the honesty is in using reduced pension costs to reward State and local government failure to fund their past obligations. Where is the honesty for an older retired officer who was promised these savings would bring his COLA back quickly but then told by the State that COLA won’t be restored until 2026? Where is the honesty for a cop who is now paying $20,000 more for pension and health benefit costs only to see health care premiums continue to rise, politically connected health care brokers continue to get rich and additional pension contributions go to a government that nearly bankrupted his retirement rather than toward paying down pension debt as we were told had to be done immediately?
When cops are made out to be the enemy of the people to advance a political agenda, we can see it for what it is. But when we are called on to bail out the government for their abuses that caused record losses in our pension and then watch that money leave the pension system we can’t help but feel disgust and disappointment we didn’t
think possible after the last 3 years.
Christine for president!!
The PBA, both statwide and locally need to stop complaining. This article means nothing. This is typical of the state pba!
“When cops are made out to be the enemy of the people to advance a political agenda’
They do it to themselves!!!!
When the Police & Firefighters stop caring and start doing more for themselves then what..you people dont understand what its like to put your life on the line. IF you were in that situation what would you do…What happens the day we don’t show up to your call..then what
I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Fact: there just isn’t enough money to pay for all the pensions and benefits promised to you.
Fact: we love our police, and therefore we are just as upset at those previous democrat politicians who promised you all those goodies that don’t exist.
Fact: we need a responsible governor who will be honest and responsible, tell us the truth, and stop the cycle of unsustainable promises to the police and how public sector workers.
Fact: Christie is just such a governor. And we thank Christie for doing what needs to be done.
the solution is simple: cut their ranks in half = then they will stop crying like a bunch of babies. EVERYONE in this economy is facing cutbacks, broken promises, and set-backs. you are NOT the only one. nj cops are the highest paid in the nation, and that has been documented and proven. IF THEY WANT BETTER PENSIONS = TAKE LESS AS YOUR SALARY.
In response to” by just saying”
Just like someone else who doesn’t show up to the job You Get fired.
The writer is absolutely right. Teachers, firemen and police officers have been lied to and made to be the scapegoats. I taught for almost 30 years, most of that time in Lakewood. I paid into my pension fund every penny that was asked of me. The state of NJ, on the other hand, did not do the same. When Governor Christie was running for his current position, he wrote to me and swore that he would not touch my pension or health benefits. This turned out to be an out and out lie! As soon as Governor Christie was elected, he took away half of my health benefits. Then he decided since teachers were the reason the Pension Fund was in so much trouble, another out and out lie, we had to lose our COLA, too. I planned my retirement around my pension and Social Security benefits. Now, 12 years into my retirement, I am told that I really don’t deserve those benefits.
That’s brilliant Mr Conservative. Go ahead and cut the police ranks in half. Who do you think will answer all the calls. I guess you’ll be out there coming to the aid of the towns population. I’m sure you’ll run right into a fight with weapons to brake it up. How about you go to a house at 3:00 in the morning and arrest a drunk who just beat their spouse. Maybe you could be the person who breaks the news to a family that their son was killed in a car accident.
I’m sure when the time comes you’ll be running into a burning house to help a family of into a crashed car to help putting your life on the line.
Christie, is he still gov? Maybe if stays out of NJ long enough he won’t come back! He’s (moderated)!!!
I wish I had the problem of my pension getting cut, but I don’t get one, I work in the private sector and I have to fend for myself and still find money to pay for others to have a pension. Private sector was not getting pay raises during this recession but the public sector employees got theirs never asking who was paying for the raises. Not going to find much sympathy here.
So here we go again. Politicians making a decision on not making full contributions again. As citizens we and you should be worried because the last time they did this it caused all kinds of problems for 10 yrs with the pension and being underfunded. The new process is only two years old and now the politicians say the pension is now fine and we should give the towns a break on their contributions. Who’s math are they using to now say everything is good based on the employee contribution.
I’m not sure why Government employee’s feel they are entitled to a pension, if they are lucky they shouldnt get more than a 401k contribution
give out more tickets and use that money
Ahh… The Unions… The bane of our society.
Its intresting that the teacher Who is retired is only compalining that he contributed as much as asked , I wonder if he agrees that the teachers are over compensated overall
#9 –
“Go ahead and cut the police ranks in half. Who do you think will answer all the calls.” guess what, you (moderated) wanted exactly that. you opted to have the younger newer guys fired so you dont have to forgo your raises. hundreds of young guys were laid off because you senior officers wanted your raises. so cry me a river!
” I guess you’ll be out there coming to the aid of the towns population.” –
been there, dont that. dont like your job = quit!
I bet if the governor or president announced tomorrow that they were raising taxes and cutting , food stamps , welfare , social security and wic then all those attacking the police and fire unions would be up in arms. What the public doesn’t understand is that the state and towns have not been paying into the pensions funds as required by law, which means the tax payers haven’t . may be the number of officers should be cut in half and if so I suggest you all build large fences around your homes and don’t plan on walking out side after dark.
COPS WANT OUR SYMPATHY?!! STOP TREATING US LIKE DOGS WHEN YOU PULL US OVER AND MAYBE WE WILL CARE ABOUT YOU.
Steve first off great writing, but lets face it the public doesn’t care about us one bit. They say oh we love the cops but you see right here the real feelings of those. For example write more tickets or cut the amount of cops in half. Why would you waste your breath no one cares about us but our own. But those who wrote the comments will be the first scream if they call for the police and we aren’t at thier door by the time they hang the phone up. So while we work 24/7 365 serving for over 25 years and paying into our penison and the towns don’t have to pay I think the cops should start slowing down on enforcement of everything and let the public see what its like to wait, like we have to wait for the govonor to stop LYING to everyone
stop complaining. christie is the best governer nj ever had!
what? a politician who didn’t stay true to his word? I’m shocked!
To Retired PD:
We do care about all that is being stated here is that times are hard and look how many of us are out of work and loosing everything we own. All we are saying is we don’t get a pay raise why should you. Are you saying that we must loose everything so that you can get yours, doesn’t sound fair to me.
Now as far as the contributions to your pensions don’t blame the non union people for that it is the Politicians trying to get re elected with their lies. Stop electing the Democrats that know nothing but TAX and Spend.
I understand how you heel, you were made a promise and the Politicians broke that promise and spent or gave away your money. Blame them not us. When you complain about money owed you, in these tough times you sound worse than those complaining.
Christie continues to do a wonderful job!
Hey Joe First of all..You would get more respect if you didn’t argue with the officers about why they pulled you over and for those people that think if they call in to report the officers conduct, you do realize that the entire traffic stop is recorded on an officers microphone. So everything you say and do while the officer is around is recorded. His/Her conduct is based on how you come off when you are arguing with them about what you did.
Second- It doesn’t matter if you care about them or not they all care what happens when they are on patrol out there in Lakewood. Every resident is given as much respect to them as they give the officers..If you want to be respected remember this..You get what you give..That goes for our dispatchers as well, don’t treat them like they are second class citizen. They take your attitude and your calls and still give the utmost respect to everyone as they are cursed and rediculed about the response times. Stop thinking that Police, Fire & Teachers are a stepping stone to a better life for you..if it wasn’t for these people you would be in less of a good place and more in a bad one..Its not always about the money, but when the government says one thing and does another, they deserve that little extra for protecting us.
A little thank you would be nice every once and a while
Christie is the best Gov NJ has EVER had? Your kidding right? Tolls are the highest they have EVER been, property taxes are they highest they have EVER been, Unemployment is higher than it has EVER been in decades (4th highest out of 50 states BTW), car insurance is STILL in the top tier of highest nationwide. These are all facts. So tell me what has even accomplished so far? Besides making the sheep believe these pension reforms are making a difference in your life that is.
Why should any public employee get better benefits than paid in the private sector? In the private sector there’s only 401ks.
And dont give me the story that public employees get paid less. That’s not true anymore. Ever check what the avg. salary of a NJ cop is? (And Lakewood’s average is actually higher than the state average.)
I don’t have time to refute every lie you just stated, but this one is the easiest:
Tolls are highest that they’ve ever been, BECAUSE DEMOCRAT GOVERNOR CORZINE RAISED THEM RIGHT BEFORE HE WAS VOTED OUT OF OFFICE.
You see, you vote in the Dems, they raise your taxes, your govt fees, cause businesses to stop hiring, unemployment goes up, and then when we finally vote the Dems out, you blame the Republicans for the Democrats actions.
Unbelievable.
Back to the pensions. First off, you’re lucky that you’re getting a pension in the first place. I don’t get a pension, but I pay taxes for your pension.
Now, who promised you the pension? The Democrat politicians. You should be upset at them for promising you unsustainable promises. (Do you even know the meaning of the word “unsustainable”?)
The fact is, there is no more money to pay for all those promises made to you by other politicians.
When the Democrat politicians were making all these pension promises to you, the Republicans were trying to tell you that there won’t be enough money to pay for all those pensions. But you just laughed, you voted for the Dems, and they made those promises.
Now, when the Republican warnings are coming true, go to the ones who deserve the blame – the Dems who promised you impossible promises.
________________________________
________________________________
The same thing will happen with ObamaCare, by the way.
You guys think there is enough money to pay for ObamaCare without breaking the system. You’re wrong. ObamaCare is unsustainable, and it will cause more unemployment than before. This will begin happening in 2013 when the ObamaCare taxes are implemented, and then in 2014 when ObamaCare is fully implemented. We warned you, but you didn’t listen.
Of course, when this happens under a Romney administration, you will blame Romney. But these are the direct results of ObamaCare, passed by Obama.
THINK BEFORE YOU VOTE.
#16 – You missed the point! First of all, my problem is NOT that I payed into the pension fund all that was asked of me but that the state of NJ did not bother fulfill its obligations. I planned very carefully for my retirement and then 12 years into it, our governor, who lied to me and every other public employee, changed the playing field. If reform is needed do not do it on the backs of the retrirees who are counting on their pensions to live. As far as public school teachers being over paid – walk a mile in my shoes and then you can criticize. Contrary to public opinion my job was never the length of the school day. I worked weekends and nights on planning and developing materials for my classes and put much of my own money to provide materials that the BOE did not supply! So, no, I do not think that I was overcompensated. Most public school teachers do the job because they want to teach! Most people would not put up with the problems in our public schools – lack of supplies, criticism from parents, administrators and citizens, etc for any price!
to #23 you say stopped voting in the democrats. last I looked the man LYING to everyone right now is a republican. I am not blaming non-union I am saying with these comments it just shows that we aren’t loved like those writers say. Please why would anyone say we love you then go to say “you make to much money,you don’t deserve this or that. Well look when you can say you missed dinners,wedding,birthdays and holidays, to protect those who now bash us then I will listen to your comments. In the mean time I don’t have to do anything except vote those lying out of office (republican or democrat
Yid you say you pay taxes for the pension system but tht not correct. The statevornlocal towns have skipped those payments for the last ten years. Thats why the system is failing and the members are now forced. To pay more. all we aknis that the tax payers pay their fair share.
401k for all public employees. They should be different than private employees
Please why does this have to be an anti police forum? With the utmost respect to our men in Blue Red And Teachers, True you were promised this pension and true you planned your retirement on it and true i would love for you to get every penny. But the truth is the pension system is a ponzi scheme, the people who lost millions with madoff we said we feel so bad for you we want you to get every penny back but sorry you made a bad investment. Same thing here you got a raw deal the ponzi scheme collapsed
P.S you people talking @#$%^& about cops stop it your a bunch of cowards
i just want to say, i LOVE what cops do. they are absolutely a wonderful asset to our lives every day. if cops were not around, our lives would be that of the people in Africa or South America = where murders are at an almost an hourly rate.
But i want the cops in NJ, to be realistic:
1. HIGHEST PAID IN THE NATION. Regular patrol officers getting salaries of 90,000-120,000 after 6-8 years(depending on contract).
2. THEY ARE HYPOCRITES:
they are anti-crime. they hate criminals. they hate gangs & thugs. they are tough on crime. they hate liberal judges who release criminals early or with a slap on a wrist. they hate democrat politicians who make pro-criminal laws. they hate how democrats squander tax money on creating ghetto’s/abbot/etc. = BUT YET THEY CONTINUE TO VOTE DEMOCRATS INTO OFFICE, BECAUSE DEMOCRATS PANDER TO UNIONS!!!
——————————————————–
NJ police officers need to get real, and realize the people of NJ are not as stupid as they once were. Everyone realizes how valuable nj police officers are- but we are not going to bury ourselves into debt simply to support outrageous incomes & retirement packages while the rest of us going more & more into poverty. NJ cops needs to realistic and be thankful for having a job that pays so much, and be realistic about the pensions to get have- or will be receiving. people are moving all across the country in search of better jobs; that can feed their family; while NJ cops are making top dollar & still crying that their pensions are not good enough…… the spoiled brats need to wake up. AND THE WORST PART ABOUT IT, IS THAT ITS NOT ALL COPS. PLENTY COPS I KNOW AND HAVE WORKED ALONG SIDE HAVE SAID IT AND CONTINUE TO SAY IT: I AM HAPPY TO MAKING WHAT IM MAKING, AND INVESTING MY MONEY WISELY IN ORDER TO NOT HAVE TO RELY UPON THE CORRUPT POLITICIANS TO GIVE ME MY RETIREMENT. WHATEVER I DO END UP GETTING WILL BE A PLUS.
hey JOE, why don’t you tell us what YOU did to get pulled over. What’s the matter sweetheart?, did the big bad police officer give YOU a ticket for a motor vehicle LAW that YOU broke??, or did the mean officer put the cuffs on you too tight for something YOU did???
mr. Conservative, just go away, you say you love what cops do and are assets, but then blast them and ridicule them in your next statement, you would get more respect if you were just honest and admit you hate cops, what they get and what they stand for…
Lakewood guy says: “mr. Conservative, just go away, you say you love what cops do and are assets, but then blast them and ridicule them in your next statement, you would get more respect if you were just honest and admit you hate cops, what they get and what they stand for…”
–this is a ludicrous & childish mentality. and telling someone to go away because they dont agree with you in a fiscal stand-point, proves how ridiculous YOU are. it also proves why the state has such a hard time negotiating contracts with unions. this MY WAY, OR GO AWAY mentality doesnt work in the real world. and for your info, you would be surprised on who i am, and what i have done, do, etc.
JUST BECAUSE I DISAGREE WITH SALARY & PENSIONS, DOESN’T MEAN I HATE THE CAREER OR THE PEOPLE WHO WORK IN IT. Just like plenty cops have a hard time swallowing teachers complain while having 3 months of vacation time! that doesn’t mean that they hate teachers, or the job they do. its a financial disagreement- nothing personal. seriously… you cant be this ignorant.
there have been times in my life where i have been honest and said: “for this job, i am being over-paid/compensated” (plenty people have said that before about their job/contract/side job) = but that doesnt mean i hate myself, or the job, or the people i work along side of.
everyone is cutting back so your no diffrent !
money doesnt just grow on trees like they say
ty for your hard work
stop crying the tomsriver patch reports that ,, 51 ocean county law enforcment officers just 51 people made 9.1 million last year! 3 million odd in pensions and then 5 million odd in salary ! double dipping. christie tried to stop it but to many loopholes ! im sorry i am not going to worry about a cop that ay 45 years old collects 60k a year for the rest of his life then gets another job in law enforcment and makes 100k a year for 25 more years. stop crying. please !!!!
In 1970 I was paid $7,600.00 per year to be a Police Officer. Had to buy the gun I carried. Court time was only paid if it was scheduled when I was working. That did not always happen. Every weekend I worked a 12 hour shift,4pm to 4am..The extra 4 hrs. were paid at regular rate. ( ended up looking down the barrel of a sawed off shotgun and a .38 special at a house Robbery on that shift. Well let this fact set in.More Police officers are killed on Fridays,4pm to 12am,in December. When others celebrate,we work hardest. I am proud I served the public. I always contributed my Pension Deduction from my Paycheck. Much more than the “Private Sector” Social Security Deduction I can assure you. I saw over 100 D.O.A.’s ,from natural causes,car accidents and murder. Wrestled people to the ground who were armed. Received death threats to myself and family. What “Private Sector” job does that? Three fellow officers shot themselves to death during my employment. I still see things in my sleep that will never leave me. Shame on me for collecting a PENSION! A COST OF LIVING INCREASE JUST HELPS ME GET BY AS A SENIOR CITIZEN . That cost of living increase which Social Security recipients get, is now gone. I will not live long enough to see it return. I am still proud to have served in Lakewood,attended School in Lakewood. I am not the enemy because I served , and expected my promised Pension. God Speed.
well said retired LPD/137, and thank you for your service. And I can assure you, those who have commented on here telling officers to stop whining and stop complaining, would RUN THE OTHER WAY from things you have faced head on.
#39 its amazing how little u know about pensions and law enforcement!
1. a sheriff is an elected position that is conducted throughout a county and the sheriff is part of the PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM OR P.E.R.S. NOT THE POLICE AND FIREMENS PENSION SYSTEM OR P.F.R.S.
2. THIS WOULD MAKE HIM OR HER A POLITICIAN DOES THIS SURPRISE U.
3. IT IS AGAINST THE LAW TO COLLECT TWO PENSIONS THROUGH THE P.F.R.S.
4. THE UNDER SHERIFF IS ALSO AN ELECTED POSITION
BLAME YOUR POLITICIANS THIS IS WHY UNION ARE NEEDED TO PROTECT THE WORKER DUE TO POLITICIANS RUNNING THE SHOW REGUARDLESS OF WHAT THE LAW READS…….
Hey retired LPD/137, its workers like yourself that DESERVED the pension and any perks you got. frankly, at the time you were not paid enough for your service to the people of your town. it was times like then, that you described = when unions were an asset and a great benefit to secure your future. now a days unions and the members that make up said unions, are nothing but spoiled brats.
you must understand, that back in 1970, the minimum wage was $1.50/hour that equals roughly to $3,120/year. (so you made slightly more than double the hourly wage.)
today’s cops are making roughly $90,000(base salary after 6-8yrs) which equals to $43.27 per hour. thats 5-times the rate of today’s hourly wage(roughly $8/hour)!
had the unions been as greedy back in your day, you could have made $15,600 per year back in 1970’s! now if you made $15,600 per year in 1970’s = would you be asking for more?? highly doubt it.
TODAYS COPS ARE LIVING A GREAT LIFE. MOST KNOW IT, BUT SOME WANT MORE. thats just pure greed.
NJ cops are the highest paid in the nation. let me repeat that for the spoiled little brats who dont hear that = HIGHEST PAID IN THE NATION = and yet NJ is not the most expensive to live in. NJ is a typical democrat state = reduce citizens rights to defend themselves, make getting guns harder, remove the ability to shoot intruders, thus putting citizens in a position to want more police & and not mind paying more to get more of them. NJ COPS NEED TO SIMMER DOWN. OUR TROOPS OVERSEAS SEE 100X’S MORE DANGER AND GET PAID ROUGHLY 40K. WE HAVE FIREMEN RIGHT HERE IN LAKEWOOD WHO RUN INTO BURNING BUILDINGS FOR FREE….seriously, dont make super hero’s out of yourselves. there are plenty people in this world who are just as brave, or heroic to do the job of a police officer. dont give yourselves more credit than you deserve. its just a job. relax.
mr. conservative “its just a job relax ” tell that to the families of all the fallen police officers wives and kids. lets make it more local go to the lakewood police department and make that statement to the chief of police and the rest of the lakewood police department who just had one of their own murdered. it real easy to hide behind a keyboard.
by the way mr smart guy volunteer fireman get a pension.
mr. conservative so your saying police officers are only worth minimum wage? back to ur comment on #34 about hypocrites are you going to accept ur social security. if im not mistaken that was inacted by a democrat. by the way police dont get social security. and now #37 u stated something about childish mentality about someone stateing GO AWAY u should look in the mirror and read ur #43 post out loud to yourself.
Thank you LPD/137 for your years of dedication and service to our town 🙂
A little education would be effective; while most officers’ pensions are the way you describe, there have been a number of high profile cases of double dipping. Chicago is famous for having time spent working at a union counted towards police retirement pension (the time spent on the government job was one day). California, as well, as had multiple scandals. Unions are necessary, but when they create a class warfare system to prove their relevancy, it does not engender goodwill with the voting population
#47 this is the problem the media portrays ALL cops in this light. then the rest of society paints all cops with that same stigma and the govenor backs it up with his constant snide remarks and attacks on law enforcement. u as a tax payer should be up in arms about the news that towns are skipping there pension payment contribution. u should be asking where that money is going. i sure know i am. my taxes have not gone down and im sure yours havent either.
you referenced chicago and california those pension laws would have to been passed by the politicians in order for them to become law as in any state. and those who abuse it should be held accountable. not everyone. its like getting a ticket for the guy in front of running a red light.
check those high profile double dipping cases and u will be surprised that the number of them that involve career politicians who used the pension system to their advantage.
wow says: “its just a job relax ” tell that to the families of all the fallen police officers wives and kids. lets make it more local go to the lakewood police department and make that statement to the chief of police and the rest of the lakewood police department who just had one of their own murdered. it real easy to hide behind a keyboard.
by the way mr smart guy volunteer fireman get a pension.
———————————
MY REPLY: ok, lets get one thing out of the way. dont you dare bring the dead to this, to attempt and use them as some form of tear jerker to get people to see your way.
Chris Matlosz was killed while in the performance of his duties. duties he knew well in advance, could lead to his early demise. he died at the hands of a criminal, and that doesnt allow you to use that in your “WE NEED HIGHER PAY & HIGHER PENSIONS” argument. you should be ashamed of yourself. Chris Matlosz loved his job, and did it for many years as a class2 officer in freehold twp & englishtown with no pension, nor high pay- making around $12-$16. he faced the same dangers as he did the night of his murder. he didnt whine & complain. he loved every minute of it. seriously, you should be ashamed!!
just because people die while in the performance of their daily lives/jobs = that alone does not warrant a higher compensation(income).
The need of the service warrants the proper compensation. people die every day, in every line of work. more people are killed as a roofer, than police officers, yet they make 30k per year. HECK, EVEN PAID FIREMEN MAKE LESS THAN COPS!
wow says: “tell that to the families of all the fallen police officers wives and kids.” – and whats your point? plenty people die, everyday while at work. PLENTY PEOPLE DIED THIS WEEKEND WHILE RIDING A MOTORCYCLE…. IS A MOTORCYCLIST NOW SOMEONE TO LOOK UP TOO? IS RIDING A MOTORCYCLE NOW SOME HIGH HONOR? seriously man… come back down to earth. your either a cop suck-up, or the job went to your head.
wow says: by the way mr smart guy volunteer fireman get a pension.
and guess what= they make no pay, and the pension is pennies compared to the service they offer. Volly’s deserve every ounce of that skimpy pension and more. NICE TRY COMPARING BLOATED POLICE PENSIONS & INCOMES TO VOLUNTEER FIREMEN.
Mr. conservative, in your rant, it is obvious that anyone other than police officers are justified in their pay, benefits, pension, etc. The poison that you preach against police officers in your comments, seem to be the words of an angry jealous man who once dreamed of a career in law enforcement but somewhere somehow along the line your dream was crushed. Now all you do is preach your hatred towards a profession of honor
Hey Mr. Conservative,
Why don’t you use your real name, so that people know who you really are? Of course not!!! It’s easy to hide behind a made up name and slam the people that risk their lives everyday for people like you! I know exactly the type of person you really are. You’re someone that stands across the street watching as a Firemen runs into a burning building or a Police Officer that runs towards the sounds of gunfire. Yes indeed, while you stand safely behind cover shooting the entire event from a cell phone, to show your goofy friends the cool thing your C-type loser personality witnessed today! You bash the people that defend the police and fire pension system and know little or nothing about how the government, under the Christie Whitman administration borrowed millions from it to bail out a failing economy back in the early 2000’s, and nearly bankrupted it. Did you know that municipalities were given the option to defer pension payment for 10 years by that same Governor? Of course you didn’t! Did you know that the money that was borrowed from the pension system (a pension system that was made lucrative by police officers and firemen that made their contributions faithfully week after week) was never repaid by the government of New Jersey or the local municipalities? Of course you didn’t! No Officer or Firemen is asking for anything that was not already earned by them! Get you facts straight before you continue to show how unintelligent you really are! Oh yes, I am sure if you wanted to stop down at 231 Third Street and have this same conversation with one of those “Chris Matlosz, Cry Baby Police Brethren” in person, they would be more then happy to oblige you! Good Day Sir!