the Shameful Attack on Public Employees

[Karin]

Link

I brought this over, because I thought it was interesting.  SHRED starts with outrage:

SHRED  (1000+ posts)        Wed Jan-05-11 10:47 PM
Original message
The Shameful Attack on Public Employees
 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2011
In 1968, 1,300 sanitation workers in Memphis went on strike. The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. came to support them. That was where he lost his life. Eventually Memphis heard the grievances of its sanitation workers. And in subsequent years millions of public employees across the nation have benefited from the job protections they’ve earned.

But now the right is going after public employees.

Public servants are convenient scapegoats......blah blah blah blah from an article on Robert Reich's blog

Except for a few mewling "shamefuls", it doesn't garner the shared outrage amongt the DUmp denizens.

badtoworse (227 posts)      Wed Jan-05-11 10:50 PM
Response to Original message
1. It's not just the Right - look at what Cuomo is doing in NY 

dkf  (1000+ posts)        Wed Jan-05-11 11:15 PM
Response to Original message
5. Should taxes be raised on people who don't have pensions to pay other people's pensions?
 
That is the case that has to be made. In the past it was justified as public workers got paid less, but now with private sector salaries on their way down, that often isn't the case. 

dkf  (1000+ posts)        Thu Jan-06-11 06:09 AM
Response to Reply #8
10. It's a question of fairness.
 Do people without pensions compromise their own ability to retire to fund public workers ability to retire. Paying higher taxes means less can saved for someones own retirement.

And the fact is that if you don't have a pension you need to save even more because you need a cushion just in case. 

MadHound  (1000+ posts)      Thu Jan-06-11 08:35 AM
Response to Reply #5
19. Actually, when you compare the pay of private sector vs. public sector jobs,
 On a job to job, seniority to seniority scale, apples to apples, public employees are still getting paid about four percent less than private sector employees. Olberman had that little statistical fact on the other night.
 

notesdev (1000+ posts)        Thu Jan-06-11 12:27 AM
Response to Original message
6. another guy who doesn't get it 
 Public sector unionization is an inherent conflict of interest with the same people allegedly serving the public while bargaining against the public.

  Notesdev made a long post that made some sense.  This was just part of it.  Did the meds come in?  It's Jan 6, they must have.  First of the month.

badtoworse (227 posts)      Thu Jan-06-11 06:29 AM
Response to Reply #6
11. An interesting and thought provoking post
 I never looked at it quite that way. Resentment by the general public towards public employee unions was likely a factor in Gov. Christie's election in NJ.

After which SHRED makes another long post which I frankly did not read.

I am offended that you accuse me of "bargaining against the public".
Absolute nonsense.
The public is getting a damn good deal from our service.

  is the gist.

Gaedel (662 posts)      Thu Jan-06-11 08:47 AM
Response to Reply #15
21. A lot of citizens
 after dealing with a government office wish that they had the power to arbitrarily terminate government employees.

This is what you are fighting.

To the citizenry at large, government employees are seen as lazy and officious running their offices for the convenience of the employees and not for the convenience of the public. Huge lines at the DMV, only two windows open, and a host of guys just sitting at desks in the back drinking coffee.

When I worked for the federal government, we often described certain offices as "self-licking ice cream cones" where little work was done and they had written their missions, functions, and job descriptions so that they only "coordinated, oversaw, or reviewed" stuff, never anything like "work".
 

You're making too much sense and living too much in reality!     You know, I really think the meds did come in. 

[JohnnyReb]

DUmmie says...The public is getting a damn good deal from our service......I'll bet you that's he's had the same shovel for 10 years and the price tag is still on it.

[Texacon]

Gaedel (662 posts)      Thu Jan-06-11 08:47 AM
Response to Reply #15
21. A lot of citizens
 after dealing with a government office wish that they had the power to arbitrarily terminate government employees.

This is what you are fighting.

To the citizenry at large, government employees are seen as lazy and officious running their offices for the convenience of the employees and not for the convenience of the public. Huge lines at the DMV, only two windows open, and a host of guys just sitting at desks in the back drinking coffee.

When I worked for the federal government, we often described certain offices as "self-licking ice cream cones" where little work was done and they had written their missions, functions, and job descriptions so that they only "coordinated, oversaw, or reviewed" stuff, never anything like "work".

Boy does that post nail it.  The DUmmies are terrified of corporations and extremely terrified of monopolies .... WHY do they like it when the government does it?  You go to the DMV and don't get good service you can't go to the competition.  You go to the police department and don't get good service you can't go to the competition.

True story; Someone stole my debit card number and took a large amount of money out of my checking account before anyone noticed it.  After I did my thing at the bank they directed me to our small town police department.  They did NOTHING.  I called numerous times and each time the detective assigned said "I'll call you back ...".  He never called me.  Not once.  That was about 3 years ago.  He still hasn't called me.  I wanted just one thing.  I wanted the receipts of what was purchased.  I even contacted the store but without the cops getting involved they would give me nothing.

Now if my true story above had been about a car dealership/grocery store/etc ... I would have taken my business somewhere else but being as it is a function of government, I am/was stuck.

KC

[jukin]

Yep, KalTrans just laid off 100,000 workers since the department procured a shovel that stands up by itself.

[Karin]

What really, really gets me is the double-dip pensions that go on.  How that was ever made legal and kosher is beyond me.  It just smells so corrupt, back-scratching amongst the insiders on everyone else's dime.  A government job should not be the pathway to assured millionairehood, (except for careful savings and wise investments, just like a normal career.)  All of a sudden, people were looking around at state troopers building McMansions at the age of 45 and wondering what the hell was going on. 

[Randy]

I got one better for you. They decided to bribe out the county workers here ho were eligible to retire. A bunch did. Took their pension and the thousands they were offered. They waited 3 months and reapplied and got their old jobs back, for higher pay. To the gubbamints credit after the first dozen or so got away with it they did stop it.

[Ballygrl]

But now the right is going after public employees.

Because people are paying for public employees benefits and retirement and not able to pay for their own.

[true_blood]

Because people are paying for public employees benefits and retirement and not able to pay for their own.

That's exactly it. When do they take part in cutting their own pay or adjusting their pensions as the private sector has already done?

[Ballygrl]

That's exactly it. When do they take part in cutting their own pay or adjusting their pensions as the private sector has already done?

They don't, and because of union contracts they pay minimal towards their retirement as opposed to the population who pay half and employers paying the other half.

[AllosaursRus]

I am offended that you accuse me of "bargaining against the public".
Absolute nonsense.
The public is getting a damn good deal from our service.

Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!

Yep! That's why it used to take me 8 hours to bail a guy outa jail for shopliftin'!

It's cause you people are so efficient!

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!

Are Public Sector Workers Overcompensated?

Several analyses of average wages and benefits in the public and private sectors reveal that state and local government workers earn more than private sector workers. According to the most recent Employer Costs for Employee Compensation survey from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of December 2009, state and local government employees earned total compensation of $39.60 an hour, compared to $27.42 an hour for private industry workers-a difference of over 44 percent. This includes 35 percent higher wages and nearly 69 percent greater benefits.

Private vs Public Sector Wage Comparison

And you guys take OlberDorks word for everything, doncha? IDIOTS!

ETA:

Question for you lurking DUmmies: Ya think any gubmint leech has taken a ****in' cut in pay in the last ****in' century?

Suck on that, DUmbasses! Sit on it and twirl!

'Scuse me while I go kick a cat!

[zeitgeist]

I got one better for you. They decided to bribe out the county workers here ho were eligible to retire. A bunch did. Took their pension and the thousands they were offered. They waited 3 months and reapplied and got their old jobs back, for higher pay. To the gubbamints credit after the first dozen or so got away with it they did stop it.

While not all government employees are corrupt it would seem a fair number are.  The self licking ice cream comment reminded me of the folk who manuvered to get in a position where they were offered buyouts only to come back as contactors.  And would you believe it, it seemes like it was always the ones you were most happy to see leave in the first place.  Never the werkers, always the sherkers........glad handers, ring knockers, and union druids were usually among the worst offenders. 

[DumbAss Tanker]

Yep, KalTrans just laid off 100,000 workers since the department procured a shovel that stands up by itself.

 

^5!

[GOBUCKS]

Gaedel (662 posts)      Thu Jan-06-11 08:47 AM
Response to Reply #15
To the citizenry at large, government employees are seen as lazy and officious running their offices for the convenience of the employees and not for the convenience of the public. Huge lines at the DMV, only two windows open, and a host of guys just sitting at desks in the back drinking coffee.

DUmmy Gaedel has painted an eloquent word picture of a government office. He is a troll. The only places in private enterprise I've seen operate like the DMV are Academy Sports and Barnes & Noble. Long lines at one or two open registers, while groups of employees stand around all over the store.