Lifeguarding in OC is lucrative; some make over $200K

CriticalBill wrote: It's little things like this that only come to light now that shows how messed up the government is, state and federal. The people never get a say in what they pay these employees with their taxes, it's some government schmuck or commitee that makes the decision. Even with California as a working example, our "leaders" in Washington still can't figure out why this country is going broke.

I remember when the banks got bailed out and there was an outcry because the government wanted to impose limits on the bonuses of CEO's of those companies, saying that it wasn't Big Brother's place to make that decision even though it was taxpayer money that saved their a$$es.

I agree that government pay, and waste (inefficiency, bureaucracy, etc), is something that needs to be addressed, but so too does compensation everywhere. And how to go about setting limits for occupational pay when different areas of the country have different standards of living? $200K may sound like a lot, but in OC, can a person even afford a house there on that salary? I don't know, I'm just asking to show a point - back when I was in SF, I remember news stories about teachers in San Jose making $60K/year and living in homeless shelters with their kids because it wasn't enough for rent, food, and utilities - that's just sick. They were hard-working Americans, trying to earn a decent living, and not be on welfare, but just couldn't - they all can't move out of San Jose and find jobs elsewhere or there are no teachers available for the schools for the families who live there. What's the answer? Our whole society has become overrun with greed, and ridiculous compensation for certain occupations, and inadequate compensation for too many more, and I'm not sure that there's an easy or obvious fix for it. Any ideas?