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Paige Smith10-24-12Mr. JenningsArgument PaperUnderpaid Civil ServantsBefore college most people consider several career paths. A person can choose whether or not to provide goods and services to society, entertain the masses, or protect and benefit society. The criteria for salary are not based upon the contribution for the good of society, but rather how much their profession generates for society. This generally means that athletes, who people are willing to pay to see them perform their job, make more money than police officers, who protect the people. The average salary for a civil servant such as a teacher is $54,633, (“Salary Wizard”), while the average salary of a professional athlete is between $1.9 and $5.15 million, (Dorish). If culture truly values civil servants, then they should be paid more than athletes. The risk, benefit, and time put in by civil servants outweigh that of athletes, but civil servants remain underpaid. The risk involved in police work is high and should be rewarded. A professional athlete has almost the same risks of dying as an ordinary citizen everyday walking down the street, while the mortality rates for police men are on the rise. Between the years 2008 and 2011, a 75% increase in police officer deaths was recorded, (Schmidt). Everyday an officer risks their life in order to reduce danger for others. Although athletes do run risks of injury-related deaths because they are highly active, the evidence has shown that in reality the actual death rate has been lower than the estimated amount in this population. Between 1971 and 2000, an estimated 123.4 deaths from accidents was predicted. When the final tally of mortality from sports related injuries of basketball, baseball, football, and hockey players was calculated, only 106 people died in those thirty years, (Pinkham). Furthermore, deaths from the sport could be related to other preexisting physical ailments and exercise exacerbated them, while all of the police deaths came from gunshots, stabbing or other abuses suffered from perpetrators. If we valued the risks police officers took for us, the paycheck would show it. Teachers improve the future by giving students the tools to be informed citizens, whether it is to use correct grammar, think on their own, or the difference between right and wrong. Albert Einstein once remarked, “Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school,” (Blow). Although the lessons actually being taught are valuable, more important are social skills, respect, and responsibility that can benefit the student for the rest of their life. On the other hand, athletes teach greed, lavish life styles, and materialism. Paul Piff said, “Large sums of money may give people greater feelings of entitlement, causing those people to be the most averse to wealth distribution,” (Conley). Athletes can give people the idea that it’s normal to be extremely wealthy. This leads to people being less charitable. Firefighters work more than professional athletes do during their lifetimes. Firefighters work all year. The NFL season is seventeen weeks long, (“2012 NFL Season”). A quarter back works less than a third of a firefighter, yet their pay is on average 45 times that of a firefighter. Fire fighters work longer shifts (24 hours) than the average football game lasts (3 hours). “The origins of the 24-hour shift date back to the birth of big-city firefighting in the United States,” (Mower). A days’ work for firefighters is 8 times the length of a football players’. Firefighters work for many more years than football players are able to. “Federal firefighter will be able to stay on the job until they are 57,” (Friel). They are a much better investment since they can benefit society for decades rather than years. Civil servants are underpaid, but they won’t be rewarded for their hard work until society changes their values. Civil servants have more risks, contribute more, and work more and longer than athletes but are paid much less than they deserve. If we truly value civil servants, society will pay them more. Works Cited"2012 NFL Schedule." . NFL Enterprises, n.d. Web. 24 Oct 2012. < , Charles M.. "Teaching Me About Teaching." New York Times Opinion Pages. New York Times, 04 2012. Web. 24 Oct 2012. <, Mikaela. "Are Rich People Unethical?." ABC News. ABC, 27 2012. Web. 24 Oct 2012. <, Joe. "Average Salaries in the NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL." Yahoo Sports. Yahoo, 12 2011. Web. 24 Oct 2012. <, Brian. "Firefighter Retirement Age Rises to 57." Government Executive: Pay & Benefits. National Journal Group, Inc., 23 2001. Web. 24 Oct 2012. <, Lawerence. "Firefighters' 24-hour Shifts Get Close Look." Las Vegas Review-Journal. Las Vegas Review-Journal, 06 2012. Web. 24 Oct 2012. <, C. Allen. "Contingencies." Contingencies. (2001): 20. Print. <;."Salary Wizard." . Kenexa, n.d. Web. 24 Oct 2012. <, Michael S., and Joseph Goldstein . "Even as Violent Crime Falls, Killing of Officers Rises." . New York Times, 09 2012. Web. 24 Oct 2012. <;. ................
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