Scott Brown’s phony concern for public servants

By Steve Benen

If it seems as if Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) frequently struggles with the basics, it’s because he does.


This is just a mess. I’ll concede that there are probably some law-enforcement personnel who, with extensive overtime, can earn six-figure salaries, but (a) it’s a very small number; (b) thanks to marginal tax rates, a tax increase on income above $250,000 would hardly affect these folks at all; and (c) if they’re bringing in over a quarter-million a year, shielding these folks from modest tax increases to strengthen the country overall shouldn’t be politicians’ top priority.

Besides, as Benjy Sarlin noted, “It doesn’t sound like there’s an epidemic of high-income public servants based on the available data for the area. According to Salary.com, which tracks average pay across various professions, 90% of Boston police patrol officers made a base salary below $75,307 last year and 90% of Lowell patrol officers made a base salary below $70,857. 90% of firefighters in Boston make under $68,793, and below $64,729 in Lowell. The average teacher in Lowell makes about $80,841 a year, according to the Massachusetts Department of Education, higher than the statewide average of $68,781.”

But even if we put all of that aside, what really rankles here is the notion that Scott Brown is eager to look out for teachers and first responders.

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