Exactly this—we've essentially already done parent's suggestion for public employees, and nothing negative has come of it.
It's amazing how many of the comments here are making hyperbolic suggestions about all the terrible things that would happen if salary data were public -- considering the data, these comments are not only misguided, but experimentally proven to be incorrect.
What do you mean "nothing negative" has come of it? I agree that the scenarios of robbers targeting folks based on an income database are far-fetched, but I interpret "negative" to include more subtle, systemic impacts, such as furthering the bias against haves/have-nots, or at least making it easier to shame/doxx people.
It's also important to note that public employee salaries are within a specific domain with specific features. Among the most important: public agencies already have to publish pay schedules, so it's always been possible to guesstimate what someone makes given their job title. And there's the moral argument that citizens have a right to know how their tax dollars are spent.
It's amazing how many of the comments here are making hyperbolic suggestions about all the terrible things that would happen if salary data were public -- considering the data, these comments are not only misguided, but experimentally proven to be incorrect.