In the private sector, your salary is dictated solely by how much it costs to replace you if you quit. It seems there is a problem w/ jobs like teachers and firemen in NY when you have several qualified applicants for each opening (no offense to the teachers or firemen on the list). Also, your salary has nothing to do with whether or not your job is dangerous; otherwise, truck drivers, construction workers, and soldiers would get paid $250 k per year.
We all want to make more $$$ out of our own selfish desires to have better toys, but if every person's salary in the world were doubled, then cars, houses, boats and TVs would also double in price and the teachers and firemen (or anyone) would be left complaining they didn't make enough. What people are really saying when they complain about salaries is that they want to make more money relative to all the other fields because they view their work as more noble.
Go Bills!!!!!!