It’s a public servants thing–the public wants to know what they’re paying for, so public servant salary records are public.

Various websites compile this information from the various state and federal sources. It’s wicked easy to find information on, say, every public servant with the title “librarian” in Fake County, Kentucky.

Knowing their full name, you can look up their home ownership records in the county real estate or tax databases and ta-da, you know where they live. You also know if they work part-time at a different public library, so that’s convenient for stalking purposes.

Edit: not that I think it’s a good thing. It’s creepy as all get out. If we have to post salaries, I’d much rather they be anonymized like on Glassdoor.

Edit2: and these lists do get used for political ickiness. There’s an anti-union group that mails out helpful tips on how to save money–leave your union. They even provide a “I want to leave” postcard addressed to your union leadership for you to sign, pre-filled-in with your info.