Here's some "Captains" for ya...
https://transparentcalifornia.com/salaries/search/?q=Captain
Public service pays well...very well most of the time. Benefits alone are unmatched in private industry.
You can call it fake news all you want, I really don't care what you believe.
I'll start off by saying I am not a firefighter, but a Sheriff's Deputy with 8 years on the job. Since it is public knowledge, I don't mind saying that for reference, my annual salary is around $58k a year counting my overtime. As far as benefits, in my specific area, while my benefits are certainly good, all the local mines and production plants are as good or better (I have friends and family that work or have worked at them) and all of them pay significantly better. My county is somewhat above average overall compensation in the state (Wyoming). The vast majority of other LE people I know are in a similar, blue collar life style. And that is fine, we do not do this job because of the pay. But Wyoming actually pays pretty well. When my family was contemplating moving to Arkansas, I was applying for a county Deputy job in the area we were looking at. They paid 34k/year, and the insurance plan plus paying the other medical expenses I would have needed for my family would have been about half my check. Even with my wife being a registered nurse, we were not able to make it work due to that. I'm not saying this looking for pity or anything like that, I make a fair and honest living, but I simply wanted to put it in an accurate perspective.
Your specific area in California is not representative of the entire USA. The average firefighter wage for California is pretty high, however the national average is in the upper 40k/year range. That is only counting the ones that actually get paid, not the thousands of small municipal and rural fire departments around the country that are ran on a volunteer basis. Your referencing one of the higher paying departments in the country and applying it to the entire firefighter community, and it is simply incorrect.
However I can see part of your point. Another $6-8 per 50 bullets is not a huge deal, and none of the LE's or vets I know expect a discount. I have used his LE discount a couple times, and if the use, or suspected over-use, is concerning enough that it warrants this thread, I completely understand from a business perspective. I personally just won't use it anymore. Maybe that will help make up for someone that illegitimately uses it. Steve has worked hard to make his company what it is, and deserves what he asks for his product.
Sorry for the novel. To attempt to contribute to your thread in a meaningful manner Steve, you could possibly do it by email verification. Just have them email you or one of your people in I.T. with a current ID, and if they are approved, just send them a coupon code to use at checkout. You could even have certain codes, say the ones for first responders, expire at the same time annually, and have to re-verify with a still valid form of first responder ID. The military vets could get a code that doesn't expire. The initial transition would be time consuming, but I think eventually it would get pretty manageable.
