Privatizing Everything: Federal Firefighting contractors don't have Health Insurance

Republicans' propensity to outsource civil service jobs to private companies, kill and maim unions, disparage public safety workers of all types, and just generally treat workers as horribly as possible has led to this wonderful fact (via Kos via Ezra Klein):

While Colorado goes up in flames, and the Republican wing of the Supreme Court writes the dismantling of Obamacare, the men and women hired by the federal government to fight wildfire are risking life and limb. Many of them are doing it without health insurance.

Of all the jobs where you might want health insurance, firefighting near certainly ranks near the top of the list. Firefighters spend two-week shifts working 18 hour days in dangerous conditions. Some develop breathing problems due to smoke inhalation.

But many federal firefighters are temporary employees, who only work six months out of the year. [...] Under federal regulations, temporary employees of the Forest Service do not receive benefits. That means no health care and no retirement pension.

"A lot of them are not making a lot," says Bill Dougan, president of the National Federal of Federal Employees. "The only way they can afford insurance is if they have a spouse that might be able to get coverage under an employer. In some places that's not an option."

There you have the Republican, Anti-Labor, Free-Market philosophy in full view.

Congratulations, Coloradans, you may thank the Republicans you voted for and how they are fulfilling your wishes.