"Federal district court judges are paid $165,200 annually; appeals court judges make $175,100; associate justices of the Supreme Court earn $203,000; the chief justice gets $212,100."
Pretty lucrative public service at that.
Lifetime positions they are. The courts should not be turning over very often otherwise our society has no supprt structure behind it when the latest fad thinking comes into vogue.
Roberts puts a much simpler question: why wouldn't a top-flight practicing lawyer [like he himself used to be] decline a judgeship? In one case it is 1 million plus a year, and in another - 200K + tenure - confirmation circus.