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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).
The letter’s author predicted that Democrats would „increase” the national debt. For the last 50 years the writer must have been unfocused.
Every Republican president since 1980 increased the deficit (Reagan 94%, George HW Bush 67%, George W. Bush 1,204%, Donald Trump 317%). Democratic leaders have done well. Bill Clinton cut the deficit by 150% and had a budget surplus by the time he left office. Barack Obama cut the deficit by 53%. Biden cut the deficit by 50% in his first full budget year.
And these diverse programs are not limited to budget deficits. by other sustainable economic activities (Unemployment, Job development, Inflationetc.), America has done better under Democratic presidents than Republican presidents over the past 50 years.
Stop watching Fox.
Carl Kramer
Heights