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It's also a job far far overcompensated if you are saying job risk is what should determine pay. By your reckoning, soliders and construction workers should be the ones with the highest compensation. See http://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2015-dangerous-jobs/

Lifetime cost of living increases, raises and medical coverage for you and your family for life, and that on top of any additional public safety job pension you get makes it really sad that police and fire who are supposed to be protecting and improving society are instead bankrupting it and making it worse by preventing funds from being used for much needed infrastructure improvements.