Quit picking on firefighters, police

As I read the editorial about the impact of police and fire pensions, I became increasingly upset because it appears the whoever authored it was biased against public servants or they just don't get it.

Number one, this is not the private sector, nor can it be. No one in the private sector would put up with the stuff that police and fire professionals have to put up with.

Second, there is not a horde of people breaking down the door to get into this line of work, so wouldn't you think there should be some kind of benefit or incentive to do it? A decent pension, perhaps?

Why would anyone want to do a job that most people do not want to do for the same pay and benefits that you can get without the aggravation, shift work, long hours and the danger aspect. Sounds like a no-brainer.

And lastly, I don't know about other pension programs, but where I work we contribute to both a police pension, Social Security and pay taxes. So if you want the best possible service and protection, you sometimes have to offer the best. Leave the police and fire guys and gals alone and do more stories about why gas prices are so high and the private sector guys are making billions in profits.

Joe Ciancio

South Elgin