Letters: Lax management | Hard data

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Skyrocketing pay programs
Loose city administration

Re: „City-labor costs soar” (page A1, Aug. 23).

Is anyone as mad as I am about the fire chiefs making $703,815 in pay and benefits? Will people understand how ridiculous this is?

That is what gives the government a bad name. Where I grew up, angry mobs would march in the streets and protest. Don’t tell me these employees deserve it: it’s the political administration and government unions that are sloppy.

People living in the private economy pay them. Don’t ask your children to strive to be lawyers or doctors; Ask yourself to be a firefighter in today’s world. Private employees are cheated.

Don Johnson
Heights

Hard data shines
Light on city costs

Re: „City-labor costs soar” (Page A1, Aug. 23).

Great article on what cities spend on their employees. It’s amazing how some cities spend $500 per citizen (like my city Cupertino) while others spend $7,000 (like San Francisco).

Do San Franciscans get 14 times the benefits from their city employees that residents of Cupertino do? It’s even more surprising to know that „Electric Crew Forperson” earned $852,000 in compensation in 2023. Fool me. I thought only Silicon Valley tech workers and lawyers made big money in this state.

As an engineer, I know that there is no hard data to shine a light on what is really going on. Good job finding these.

Thomas Trangle
Cupertino

The US economy is doing well
It’s in the hands of the Democrats

Re: “Choosing Democratic parties reverberates into the future” (page A6, Aug. 22).