The Conservative Cave
Current Events => The DUmpster => Topic started by: Tess Anderson on July 30, 2011, 01:57:34 PM
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or staff or any other benefits
link (http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1612022)
but only the ones that don't agree with braindamaged ( DUmmie easily top ten '11):
DainBramaged (1000+ posts) Sat Jul-30-11 10:02 AM
Original message
Teabaggers in Washington should not enjoy health care, staffs, or any other benefit
They want to preach austerity, take everything away from these ****s and let them survive in Washington without the perks. Take EVERYTHING away. They hate government, let them see what it's like without the benefits. Let them survive in a tiny office wth a phone and a computer and do the work themselves.
$174,000 is their salary. AND they get a COLA (Cost of Living Allowance) annually. They get the BEST health insurance, vision and dental coverage, life insurance, and retirement plans money can buy. Their constituents get shit. They get budgets to pay for their staff and office expenses, running into the millions of dollars a year. And they can hire relatives and friends. It's staggering what they get. Not one of them is going to tell me they can live without the perks and benefits, because they are there for them NOT to help us the people of the United States.
They are scum.
http://disbursements.house.gov/
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For some peculiar reason, I don't think that taking the opinion of some guy 58 years old who calls dogs "goggies" (God only knows what he calls cats), is worth one's time.
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For some peculiar reason, I don't think that taking the opinion of some guy 58 years old who calls dogs "goggies" (God only knows what he calls cats), is worth one's time.
Well, I'm not surprised. What do ya expect from a c*nt?
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Not one of them is going to tell me they can live without the perks and benefits
Freshmen Members of the U.S. House of Representatives sleeping in their Washington, D.C., offices:
Republicans (19)
Steve Chabot (OH-1st), 58
Sean Duffy (WI-7th), 39
Stephen Fincher (TN-8th), 37
Chris Gibson (NY-20), 46
Tim Griffin (AR-2nd), 42
Paul Gosar (AZ-1st), 52
Trey Gowdy (SC-4th), 46
Morgan Griffith (VA-9th), 52
Richard Hanna (NY-24), 59
Joe Heck (NV-3rd), 49
Bill Huizenga (MI-2nd), 41
Bill Johnson (OH-6th), 56
James Lankford (OK-5th), 42
Patrick Meehan (PA-7th), 55
Todd Rokita (IN-4th), 40
Steve Stivers (OH-15th), 45
Joe Walsh (IL-8th), 49
Todd Young (IN-9th), 38
Tim Walberg (MI-7th), 59
Democrats (2)
John Carney (DE-At large), 54
Hansen Clarke (MI-13th), 53
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I believe it's still true that even after 5 terms in Congress, Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska, and even after 3 terms in Congress, Adrian Smith of Nebraska, both still sleep in their offices, as they have family here and don't want to put any money into Maryland real-estate.
Both of them (R)s, of course.
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Amazin' ain't it? Sacrifice is a four letter word to DemonRats!
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Err.....I seem to remember that when the TEA party Republicans were sworn into office, most of them started sleeping on cots in their offices.......to save money.......
I doubt any of them avail themselves of many perks.......I haven't heard any demands for a cross-country capable jet to be provided free of charge like Pelosi did......and don't forget the bar tab she ran up on that airplane. It should be noted that the "new" Speaker flies home on United (economy class).
I seem to recall and old sage that includes something about rocks and glass houses........
doc
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To my Congressman, Chris Gibson, sleeping in his office is probably luxury quarters, seeing his background . . . as a Ranger, and a commander of a brigade of Airborne infantry . . . Good on him!
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I seem to recall some very angry columns about the "selfish Republicans" that were sleeping in their offices instead of helping the economy by renting apartments and hiring staff!! :rotf: :rotf: :rotf:
As for the healthcare, I totally agree. ALL members of Congress should get the exact same healthcare coverage as everyone else. The only healthcare coverage the government should carry should be for our military and veterans. Members of Congress that can't afford to buy their own coverage should be allowed on Medicare for the length of their term in office. :rotf: :rotf: (I would totally love to see Reid or Pelosi jump through the hoops their much-beloved Medicare system imposes on people.)
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Considering that my Congressman (Guinta) was pretty well-off before being elected, I'm sure if someone said he had to get his own health insurance, he'd shrug and do it.
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I seem to recall some very angry columns about the "selfish Republicans" that were sleeping in their offices instead of helping the economy by renting apartments and hiring staff!! :rotf: :rotf: :rotf:
As for the healthcare, I totally agree. ALL members of Congress should get the exact same healthcare coverage as everyone else. The only healthcare coverage the government should carry should be for our military and veterans. Members of Congress that can't afford to buy their own coverage should be allowed on Medicare for the length of their term in office. :rotf: :rotf: (I would totally love to see Reid or Pelosi jump through the hoops their much-beloved Medicare system imposes on people.)
I disagree that only military and veterans should have access as federal agents(essentially) to healthcare. As a federal employee, they are MY employer. I have some expectation of that being offered as a benefit, of which they as my employer pay a portion(like any other employer), especially considering the lower wages I make by comparison to what is out there in the private sector. What's probably a better plan is for their plan to be more in line with what other federal employees make and to make it limited to their 'employment period' like any other employee. Trust me when I say, we don't have cadillac plans--ours are shopped and negotiated like any other business and we have several to choose from--if you want cadillac, you will pay for cadillac unless you are a congress critter. In fact the small business I worked for prior to this had a cheaper plan with more coverage--go figure. Congress really needs to come more inline with the peons of federal employment. :wink:
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I see that my NEW congressman from VA is sleeping in his office.
WAY TO GO, MORGAN! I KNEW you were a better man than Boucher!
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I disagree that only military and veterans should have access as federal agents(essentially) to healthcare. As a federal employee, they are MY employer. I have some expectation of that being offered as a benefit, of which they as my employer pay a portion(like any other employer), especially considering the lower wages I make by comparison to what is out there in the private sector. What's probably a better plan is for their plan to be more in line with what other federal employees make and to make it limited to their 'employment period' like any other employee. Trust me when I say, we don't have cadillac plans--ours are shopped and negotiated like any other business and we have several to choose from--if you want cadillac, you will pay for cadillac unless you are a congress critter. In fact the small business I worked for prior to this had a cheaper plan with more coverage--go figure. Congress really needs to come more inline with the peons of federal employment. :wink:
I agree with you 100% - I'm a federal employee, and although we don't utilize my benefits (my husband's company offers better plans for less), I don't see any reason why federal employees shouldn't be offered health benefits, if that's what it takes to get and retain good employees.
And Congress has the same options we do as federal employees - there they have to choose from FEHBP just like all other federal employees.
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But seriously, folks, who really 'Enjoys' health care anyway? Am I right?
:rimshot:
Ooooh yeah!
Thank you, thank you, and please, don't forget to tip your waitress.
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I disagree that only military and veterans should have access as federal agents(essentially) to healthcare. As a federal employee, they are MY employer. I have some expectation of that being offered as a benefit, of which they as my employer pay a portion(like any other employer), especially considering the lower wages I make by comparison to what is out there in the private sector. What's probably a better plan is for their plan to be more in line with what other federal employees make and to make it limited to their 'employment period' like any other employee. Trust me when I say, we don't have cadillac plans--ours are shopped and negotiated like any other business and we have several to choose from--if you want cadillac, you will pay for cadillac unless you are a congress critter. In fact the small business I worked for prior to this had a cheaper plan with more coverage--go figure. Congress really needs to come more inline with the peons of federal employment. :wink:
I agree with you 100% - I'm a federal employee, and although we don't utilize my benefits (my husband's company offers better plans for less), I don't see any reason why federal employees shouldn't be offered health benefits, if that's what it takes to get and retain good employees.
And Congress has the same options we do as federal employees - there they have to choose from FEHBP just like all other federal employees.
Of course, you are both correct. Federal employees should have health insurance offered. That is what I meant...all Federal employees should have the options as most private employees...much or all of the employee's insurance is covered by the employer as a benefit, family coverage is an option the employee purchases. However, I stick by my statement that healthcare, not insurance, should be government provided only for our military and veterans. (I would also like to see military healthcare in many places upgraded to be at least as good as private, and hopefully even better...)
My original post was not well worded...
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Of course, you are both correct. Federal employees should have health insurance offered. That is what I meant...all Federal employees should have the options as most private employees...much or all of the employee's insurance is covered by the employer as a benefit, family coverage is an option the employee purchases. However, I stick by my statement that healthcare, not insurance, should be government provided only for our military and veterans. (I would also like to see military healthcare in many places upgraded to be at least as good as private, and hopefully even better...)
My original post was not well worded...
Ah, got it, thanks for the clarification! I will tell you, that as retired military, I was never impressed with the healthcare I received when I was active duty. In fact, when our kids were born, we paid out of pocket to get supplementary insurance so that we could afford to take them to civilian doctors.
Under the current system, TriCare, many, if not most, dependents end up going to private physicians anyway.
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Of course, you are both correct. Federal employees should have health insurance offered. That is what I meant...all Federal employees should have the options as most private employees...much or all of the employee's insurance is covered by the employer as a benefit, family coverage is an option the employee purchases. However, I stick by my statement that healthcare, not insurance, should be government provided only for our military and veterans. (I would also like to see military healthcare in many places upgraded to be at least as good as private, and hopefully even better...)
My original post was not well worded...
Thanks for clarifying, Mrs. Smith. One thing I do know is that what we have and what they have is way out of line. They should be treated like any other federal employee or servant and have access to the same packages for the same prices and with the same limitations.
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Thanks for clarifying, Mrs. Smith. One thing I do know is that what we have and what they have is way out of line. They should be treated like any other federal employee or servant and have access to the same packages for the same prices and with the same limitations.
They ARE treated like every other federal employee, and they have the same choices that we do. There isn't some super-special health insurance/healthcare plan for Congress. They use FEHBP just like we do.
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This is what your government has produced dainbramaged:
[youtube=425,350]J7XA2UUpXRk[/youtube]
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Ah, got it, thanks for the clarification! I will tell you, that as retired military, I was never impressed with the healthcare I received when I was active duty. In fact, when our kids were born, we paid out of pocket to get supplementary insurance so that we could afford to take them to civilian doctors.
Under the current system, TriCare, many, if not most, dependents end up going to private physicians anyway.
I wasn't impressed when my first husband was Air Force, either. The military should get a Cadillac plan, Congress should make do with an HMO...like mine. :-)
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I wasn't impressed when my first husband was Air Force, either. The military should get a Cadillac plan, Congress should make do with an HMO...like mine. :-)
Our military should have the best health care available........we send them into harm's way, and pay them little for it, it's the very least we can do.
Congress should have their benefits "means tested" as well........why should the taxpayer pay for healthcare for the likes of the Kennedy's or the Kerry's........they can afford to pay for their own.
doc
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Our military should have the best health care available........we send them into harm's way, and pay them little for it, it's the very least we can do.
Congress should have their benefits "means tested" as well........why should the taxpayer pay for healthcare for the likes of the Kennedy's or the Kerry's........they can afford to pay for their own.
doc
Meh, I'm not in favor of means testing employee benefits. A benefit is a benefit is a benefit, as they pertain to employment.
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Meh, I'm not in favor of means testing employee benefits. A benefit is a benefit is a benefit, as they pertain to employment.
I'd argue that an "employee" generates revenue.....they don't.......they serve at the will and expense of the taxpayer. IMO the period of elected national offices being a career should be over. The founders certainly never envisioned it to be so.
Since the Dems have announced that they favor "means testing" for Medicare recipients (who, regardless of financial status have been forced to pay premiums for their entire working lives) .....I'd say that it's only fair for politicians as well.
doc
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I'd argue that an "employee" generates revenue.....they don't.......they serve at the will and expense of the taxpayer. IMO the period of elected national offices being a career should be over. The founders certainly never envisioned it to be so.
Since the Dems have announced that they favor "means testing" for Medicare recipients (who, regardless of financial status have been forced to pay premiums for their entire working lives) .....I'd say that it's only fair for politicians as well.
doc
For the record, I don't believe in means testing Social Security or Medicare either - I've paid into it, and I expect to get my benefit.
I'm also in favor of a Constitutional amendment to limit Congressional terms.
As to federal employees not generating revenue, I agree, however, it isn't the purpose of government to generate revenue. So, while I don't make any money for the taxpayer, I certainly provide a valuable service, and I should be fairly compensated for that service. If that compensation includes medical benefits, retirement benefits, etc., then those shouldn't be subject to whatever other income I might have (in my case, military retirement).
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Our military should have the best health care available........we send them into harm's way, and pay them little for it, it's the very least we can do.
Congress should have their benefits "means tested" as well........why should the taxpayer pay for healthcare for the likes of the Kennedy's or the Kerry's........they can afford to pay for their own.
doc
I think they should get modest salaries, and modest travel expense money. In fact their pay scale should match what we pay enlisted men in the armed forces. First term they get E-1 pay second term E-2 and so forth.
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I certainly provide a valuable service, and I should be fairly compensated for that service. If that compensation includes medical benefits, retirement benefits, etc., then those shouldn't be subject to whatever other income I might have (in my case, military retirement).
From this I assume that you are a government employee,,,,,,and you may be the exception, but in all of my years I've never met or worked with a government employee (except for military, emergency services, or law enforcement) that I thought rendered a "valuable or essential" service yet. The vast majority of them just get in the way.
My son,, who works for a large DC consulting firm that does a lot of work with nearly all of the agencies, has told me repeatedly that the federal government could easily get by with HALF of the employees that they have currently........by simply abandoning affirmative action, political nepotism, preferences, and seniority.....ending up with the RIGHT employees. His favorite expression for the average DC drone is "chair warmers".
doc
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From this I assume that you are a government employee,,,,,,and you may be the exception, but in all of my years I've never met or worked with a government employee (except for military, emergency services, or law enforcement) that I thought rendered a "valuable or essential" service yet. The vast majority of them just get in the way.
My son,, who works for a large DC consulting firm that does a lot of work with nearly all of the agencies, has told me repeatedly that the federal government could easily get by with HALF of the employees that they have currently........by simply abandoning affirmative action, political nepotism, preferences, and seniority.....ending up with the RIGHT employees. His favorite expression for the average DC drone is "chair warmers".
doc
One way to get rid of a lot of government employees would be to do away with a bunch of government regulations. In my agency, more than half of the employees are eligible for retirement. They won't retire because they have gravy jobs enforcing stupid regulations. My job BTW, is specifically authorized by law. A lot of these agencies wouldn't be so bad, but they balloon out of control once the bureaucrats start writing regulations.
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From this I assume that you are a government employee,,,,,,and you may be the exception, but in all of my years I've never met or worked with a government employee (except for military, emergency services, or law enforcement) that I thought rendered a "valuable or essential" service yet. The vast majority of them just get in the way.
My son,, who works for a large DC consulting firm that does a lot of work with nearly all of the agencies, has told me repeatedly that the federal government could easily get by with HALF of the employees that they have currently........by simply abandoning affirmative action, political nepotism, preferences, and seniority.....ending up with the RIGHT employees. His favorite expression for the average DC drone is "chair warmers".
doc
Yes, I am a government employee, and I agree with you that there are lots of federal employees that are a waste of not only money, but of oxygen as well. Having said that, there are far more, at least in my agency, that are valuable public servants that provide a valuable service to the citizens of this country. While your son is certainly welcome to his opinion, I don't happen to share it.
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Yes, I am a government employee, and I agree with you that there are lots of federal employees that are a waste of not only money, but of oxygen as well. Having said that, there are far more, at least in my agency, that are valuable public servants that provide a valuable service to the citizens of this country. While your son is certainly welcome to his opinion, I don't happen to share it.
I can certainly understand that.....it's your ricebowl.....from the prospective of most of us out here in the hinterlands, we just don't regard government services (other than the ones that I emphacized above) as particularly valuable.......
I can certainly exist just fine without:
EPA
HUD
DoEd
DoEnergy
Health and Human Services
DoAg
Just off of the top of my head.......eliminating just the ones listed would balance the budget in two years.......
doc
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They ARE treated like every other federal employee, and they have the same choices that we do. There isn't some super-special health insurance/healthcare plan for Congress. They use FEHBP just like we do.
I did not realize that we get to maintain it AFTER our federal employment is over or if we retire a couple years in. :wink: I know I don't have that option anyway.
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Yes, I am a government employee, and I agree with you that there are lots of federal employees that are a waste of not only money, but of oxygen as well. Having said that, there are far more, at least in my agency, that are valuable public servants that provide a valuable service to the citizens of this country. While your son is certainly welcome to his opinion, I don't happen to share it.
Agreed. I know I'm busting my hump. My experience in this capacity is if you show you have aptitude and competence for anything you will be overloaded with work, not the reverse. Although there are some in my area that are dead weight and I think if we could dispense of some of those people then people like myself wouldn't be quite as overloaded with the work we have. but the majority, imo, work their hindquarters off for this country in whatever capacity they do and they take their mission very seriously. I work with a consulting agency in DC too...always responsive, timely and willing to help get the mission accomplished. Unfortunately, the bad apples and the incapability to rid ourselves of the bad apples gives an impression of the entire work force that is untrue.
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I am sure some current Federal employees would be terribly unhappy if the Federal government - as a whole - was run as a private company is run. Dead weight doesn't often survive "in the real world." My son is a Federal employee now, and his tales of how he was finally hired...and the "skills" of those that have been promoted ahead of him...tell me a lot about why our government is bloated and inefficient.
My own employment in healthcare gives me perspective on one segment of government regulations, and I see tons of stupid regulations written "for safety" that do nothing for safety at all. They waste thousands of man-hours writing this bilge, and then we are forced to waste thousands of man-hours following it...and while government rails at increasing healthcare costs!! They are one of the largest burdens on healthcare in the country, both through idiotic regulations and by extremely low compensation for medical care. What private company could get away with sending you compensation that only covers 65% of your COSTS???
And this is only for one industry, not even an industry targeted for destruction, like our energy sector! Our country will fail, and it will happen because our government has borrowed, spent and grown until we just can't carry the massive bloat any longer.
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DainBramaged (1000+ posts) Sat Jul-30-11 11:16 AM
Response to Original message
6. I called, his lackey says without a balanced budget amendment, he will not help America
and he claims Harris has PRIVATE health care yet offered no proof.
Is the congressman supposed to fax you his insurance card, complete with account number and group number? So that you can turn around and commit fraud with it?
He continues..
Call his Washington office, he has a lackey on duty now.
It takes a special person to man the phones at a politician's office, don't you think? You would need the patience of Job, and a healthy sense of humor.