Newest target for tea party rage... 'Overpaid' lifeguards

[ck4829]

The swell of anger from beachgoers and budget-watchers alike has blindsided the lifeguards, who have for years enjoyed the prestige of their jobs in an ocean-centric town that banks on summer tourism. Now, as the pressure mounts, they are balking at their portrayal as suntanned slackers lounging in beach towers as the surf rolls in.

Those whose salaries are in question point out that they hold management roles, have decades of service and are considered public safety employees under the fire department, the same as fire captains and battalion chiefs. The fulltime guards train more than 200 seasonal lifeguards who make between $16 and $22 an hour, run a junior lifeguard program that brings in $1 million a year and oversee safety on nearly seven miles of sand.

Many began as seasonal guards and worked their way into management roles and must stay certified as instructors in an array of advanced emergency, scuba and rescue techniques, said Brent Jacobsen, president of the Lifeguard Management Association, the lifeguards' union.

Leonard Musgrave, a former oil company employee, was so outraged that he wrote a letter to the local paper, The Orange County Register, earlier this month inquiring why the city didn't simply put up a sign reading, "Swim at your own risk." The 69-year-old retiree said he isn't swayed by the lifeguards' responsibilities or years of service.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110520/ap_on_re_us/us_lucrative_lifeguarding

"Swim at your own risk." - Basically, that's the conservative libertarian ideology in a nutshell right there.

Enjoy your summers at the beach everyone.