$30 isn't GOOD money, EVEN for a government worker. A 2LT in the army makes that right from the signing line. According the the US Bureau of Labor at
http://www.bls.gov/cew/state2002.txt in 2002 the average US income was $36,219, and unfortunately, average does not mean GOOD. $30k is enough to live on with a family, and not really have much else. I guess that's GOOD enough for some people, but...