And, it's pretty common for nurses to make 100-150k a year in this region. I know for a fact that there are a few nurses that work at Valley medical center in San Jose that make over $200k.

While astonishing, those nurses tend to work a lot of overtime. And, it's in the overtime that those people pick up the money. The nurses that are making over $200k are working 16 hour shifts, 6 days a week.

Before people start disparaging unions... The union rules here are really nice. For instance, this is one of the only jobs I've ever had, where I get a break on a regular basis. The union contract says that I get 1 hour and 15 minutes of break time every 12 hour shift I work. If get off work at 11:30pm, and I have to come back at 7am, I get double time. The unions actually force hospitals to treat their employees more humanely. Silicon Valley is one of the few places in the nation where there isn't a nursing shortage.

I know that Police work a lot of overtime, too. I'd be willing to bet that those officers are working 80-100 hours a week. I'm sure their union rules are similar to ours regarding scheduling, etc... And, while a cop making $100k sounds outrageous to people not living here in Silicon Valley. Have you looked at housing prices in San Francisco?

If you want your cops to live in San Francisco, you're going to have to give them a wage that lets them think about buying a house there. The median home price in San Fran id $550,000, which means a mortgage payment of about $4000 a month. So, factor that in to your outrage at public employee salaries.