Police and firemen are a necessary evil at best.
"Apparently," says libertarian journalist Steve Greenhut, "Americans are desperate for heroes, even ones who only occasionally act heroically and who are paid handsome sums for their heroism ($100,000 retirements at age 50, three-day work weeks, paid while sleeping, salaries with overtime that often top $200,000). There's not much sacrifice going on here. But perhaps the more the public sees the response, or non-response, to fires in places such as Roseville, the less apt they might be to continue with this silly hero worship."
