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> Then we’re going to need to spend waaaaay more money on policing Don't believe it. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, cops earn more than software

> Then we’re going to need to spend waaaaay more money on policing Don't believe it. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, cops earn more than software engineers in many states. Half, or more, of most municipal budgets go towards police salaries, benefits and pensions. Some of the highest paid public employees, if not the highest paid employees, on any government's payroll are police. Most cops sit in their cars for hours waiting for something to happen, often accruing overtime in the process. They have plenty of time to play Candy Crush, hard to believe they have no time for paperwork.

thegrim33 2y ago
Well, your first claim that in "many states cops earn more than software engineers", seems completely untrue. I simply went on the BLS website (that you mentioned) and looked. In all 12 states with the lowest SDE salaries, the SDE mean wage is still higher than the police, and in all 10 states with the highest police salaries, their mean wage is still less than SDEs. I also spot checked other random states and have not found a single one where police get paid more. Look for yourself, data from May 2023: https://www.bls.gov/oes/2021/may/oes151252.htm https://www.bls.gov/oes/2021/may/oes151252.htm https://www.bls.gov/oes/2023/may/oes333051.htm https://www.bls.gov/oes/2023/may/oes333051.htm
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- cherry_tree 2y ago
  Did you read the note on the annual mean wages column? > (2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data. It is not accounting for overtime pay at all, it’s using the hourly wage multiplied by what they consider to be full time employment. From your links a software developer makes 63$ per hour in Napa, CA while a cop makes 59$ per hour, it wouldn’t take much overtime at $88.50 to surpass the salaried developer in yearly income. Cops also get pensions in many areas, so if we consider total comp I think it’s safe to say there are places where police are making more money than software developers.
fnfjfk 2y ago
Are you in New York, or are cops crushing candy all day instead of actually doing anything useful a nationwide problem?
- heavyset_go 2y ago
  It's an everywhere problem. It's an amazing grift if you think about it.

thegrim33 2y ago

Well, your first claim that in "many states cops earn more than software engineers", seems completely untrue. I simply went on the BLS website (that you mentioned) and looked. In all 12 states with the lowest SDE salaries, the SDE mean wage is still higher than the police, and in all 10 states with the highest police salaries, their mean wage is still less than SDEs. I also spot checked other random states and have not found a single one where police get paid more. Look for yourself, data from May 2023: https://www.bls.gov/oes/2021/may/oes151252.htm https://www.bls.gov/oes/2021/may/oes151252.htm https://www.bls.gov/oes/2023/may/oes333051.htm https://www.bls.gov/oes/2023/may/oes333051.htm

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
cherry_tree 2y ago
Did you read the note on the annual mean wages column? > (2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data. It is not accounting for overtime pay at all, it’s using the hourly wage multiplied by what they consider to be full time employment. From your links a software developer makes 63$ per hour in Napa, CA while a cop makes 59$ per hour, it wouldn’t take much overtime at $88.50 to surpass the salaried developer in yearly income. Cops also get pensions in many areas, so if we consider total comp I think it’s safe to say there are places where police are making more money than software developers.

fnfjfk 2y ago

Are you in New York, or are cops crushing candy all day instead of actually doing anything useful a nationwide problem?

heavyset_go 2y ago
It's an everywhere problem. It's an amazing grift if you think about it.