Cops, Security Guards, and Prisoners

I decided to compare these numbers after I read this story about an Iraqi veteran patrolling a suburban VA golf course, armed with a Glock, mace, and handcuffs, making $16/hour (h/t Balloon Juice):

Total cops in the US (2009): 883,600; median wage (2008): $51,410

Total security guards (2009): 1,028,830; median wage: $23,820

Total prisoners (2009): 1,613,740

Welcome to NeoFeudalism, where we keep cutting middle class, union jobs paying police to protect our common good, and instead pay poorly-paid highly armed private security guards to patrol golf courses.

And if that security guard job doesn’t work for our veterans, there’s always the other option: prison.