National Fallen Firefighters Memorial

A good politician under democracy is quite as unthinkable as an honest burglar.
H. L. Mencken

President Bush, the Mourner in Chief, visited the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial http://www.firehero.org/index1.aspx?BD=7703 on October 7 to honor fallen firefighters. President Bush, and other politicians, must do this to solicit the vote of AFSCME (The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees). Their 1.4 million members are a powerful political force.

The memorial was created by congress in 1981 with taxpayer money. Why are the memorials for government employees funded by the taxpayer while most private memorial are funded by private funds? Where in the constitution does congress have the authority to use your money to fund memorials for state government employees?

Congress has not created a memorial for the fallen private sector truck drivers that deliver our goods. No where is there a memorial for the fallen private sector deep sea fishermen that catch fish for us. No where is there a memorial for the fallen private sector construction workers who build our shelter. No where is there a memorial for the private fallen farmers who grew our food.

The firefighters have a monopoly providing a service. They also vote for the people who approve their pay and benefits. Imagine the pay of employees of a private company if those employees could vote and elect the company CEO. Of course a private company would soon go broke because of competition. The firefighters have no competition.

Check out the salary and benefits of the Jacksonville, FL firefighters. http://www.coj.net/Departments/Fire+and+Rescue/Employment/Salary+and+Benefits.htm Most firefighters can retire with 60% of their pay after only 20 years of service. If they work 30 years they can collect 80%. After 20 years a firefighter will be young enough to collect 60% of their pay, with a COLA, and start a new career in another field.

Private Citizen John Doe