Six-Figures!!!!!

What has the world come to?!?! Cops who make six figures!?!?!

A Star-Ledger analysis shows the average municipal cop in New Jersey is paid 80 percent more than the average resident, and three of 10 made at least $100,000 last year. In addition, police tend to be paid the best in small towns with little crime.

You know, the "average" resident doesn't put on a gun, a badge, and a bullet-proof vest every day. Do we want the best-of-the-best patrolling our streets or what?

And by the way: if you pay more, you get the best cops. And that would probably mean less crime. So the lowest crime areas would naturally have the best-paid cops, yes?

This whole article reeks of the stink of public-employee bashing, but it's also a form of class-warfare. Low six-figures is hardly lifestyles of the rich and famous - it's not like these cops are summering on the Riviera. Do you think cops should own homes in the communities they serve or not?

Articles like this always present the same false choices:

Palma Crooks, 46, of Norwood, also said she’s not bothered by how much police earn. But as a retired special educator, she said if teachers are pressured to forgo raises, police officers should, too.

"If cuts are going to be made, they should be made across the board," she said. "I don’t want to say police aren’t worth the amount of money they make. But I feel education is equally important."

Schools or cops? What a bulls*** choice. Because we dare not EVER question the idea that maybe the wealthy in this state pay too little and we should gut the property tax system and instead raise taxes on them to pay for public services.

We can't do that, because... er.... GOLD-PLATED BENEFITS!