Here in Santa Clara County, there have been ample headlines lately about the latest government handout:
I’m partly peeved about this because I just got my annual property tax statement in the mail, so that’ll be another $14,000 of my hard-earned money that I have to send in to these lazy, slow-working, plodding slobs.
What really rankles me, however, is the clumsy use of the word “hero”. Hero? HERO? You mean Marge, the clerk in accounting? And Bob, the guy who sorts mail for the county tax collector? And Ramon, who answers the phone at the tax assessor’s office? Those heroes?
First, let’s take a look at what these brilliant and industrious people draw from their employer, the government of the county of Santa Clara. Here’s a taste from some of the 25,000 (!!!!!!!!!!) employees……….(click image for easier reading):
So approaching a million dollars a year. Public “servant“, huh? Doesn’t sound that way to me. Sounds more like a private servant.
Well, sure, Tim, but you’re looking at the top dogs. Why not look at some of the more regular jobs? Fine, fair enough. I’ll go one better than that. I tried to think of the lowest-pay, lowest-skill job, and I figured “janitor” would do nicely. You could have a 1st grade education and still manage it. How are the janitors of the county doing?
Jesus CHRIST! Nearly $200,000 to push a broom and clean vomit off the floor? Are you kidding me?
But what can ya do, right? With so-called public service unions deeply entrenched, these work-when-they-feel-like-it rejects of the free enterprise system are going to suckle at the public teat until the entire nation is bankrupt.
Yet the notion of them getting given $2,500 in public funds – – every single one of them – – for absolutely no reason at all – – is appalling. But what makes it far worse is to festoon these funds with the moniker of Hero. These people aren’t fucking heroes! They’re just people that couldn’t secure a job at a place that requires actual skills and talent and instead wound up on the public dole, working 15 hours a week for a full-time salary.
You want to see real heroes? How about the man who jumped into ice-cold waters to save a black lab?
How about President Bush’s service animal who wouldn’t leave the side of his casket?
How about the countless intelligent, highly-trained military canines who have garnered well-deserved honors?
Or those who work alongside police officers and are killed in the line of duty?
Or, lest you think humans can’t be included, or county employees for that matter – – how about the Oklahoma City firefighter who broke the nation’s heart by bringing out a very young victim of the bombing there?
This truly isn’t about my contempt for people who draw a check from the public sector (abundant though those feelings may be). It has to do with cheapening the term hero. It’s disgusting, and it does a real disserve to the tiny sliver of humanity which is indeed imbued with heroic tendencies and, on rare occasions, is given the opportunity to employ them.
Hero, my ass.
