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... The trail to military service seems to be a narrow one in that not many take that path. We have been and remain a different 1% of the population. I would tell you that a 20-year career wrings you out pretty good, especially after a combat tour or seven. Lots of people (via their blog entries) suddenly get jealous of your pension when they examine their own bleak retirement situation. Perhaps the sentiment is not prolific, but it happens enough to be common.
I mentioned my list of disabilities once and a response came back that they knew of a retired Admiral who had served for 30 years and he has no disabilities, therefore, there is no reason for a 20-year enlisted man to have any disabilities.
I agree - I haven't heard of any vets being vilified for their pensions. Only about 15% of the people who ever serve in the military stay the 20 years required to qualify for a pension. Even then, it is about $2200/mo for a typical enlisted (paygrade E7) retiree or $4100/mo for a typical officer (paygrade O5) retiree.
I retired in 2001, an E6 with COLA increase most years I currently get around $1480/month.
In 2016 an E6 retiree would start getting $1886/month.
I think the outcry is not that public employees have pensions, but rather at how generous the pensions are. My ex-husband, a retired sheriff's deputy, draws more on his pension than he made working. That is the norm. The benefit formula is structured in such a way as to make it the norm.
This has been my experience also... knew a lot in law enforcement since my Uncle died in the line of duty...
Many times I have been told I don't know what I'm talking about... and they may be right if they include the entire country as my experience is limited to the greater SF Bay Area.
It's the same for Registered Nurses... almost 10 years ago SF General was starting new RN nurses at at 100k plus benefits... my friends in Washington and Utah said that is crazy and called me on it until I sent them the job postings...
It's all about the choices we make. Police/Sheriffs/LEOs today face increasingly hostile and dangerous environments. I don't begrudge them their pensions but it is getting harder and harder for the underwriters of those benefit to remain solvent. I think it's likely that the USG may reduce or default on its obligations in the future. Of course, that will be done under the banner of "fairness". You pay in, someone else collects the benefit.
It would be nice if it came down to simply choosing... the consent decrees turned Public Safety hiring upside down in the Bay Area...
If a male or worse yet a caucasian male wanted a career in law enforcement it often meant paying his own way through the academy next to candidates that were paid to attend.
The Chief put is simply... if half the population is female than I need to have half the force female... if 20% of the population is African American then I need 20% of my officers to be African American.
There was more to it than that... the city gave a slight boost to city residents applying to the department but not if caucasian.
The Department gave additional points for conversational second language skills... it was in the application package... my friend spoke excellent German and was passable in in French... he noticed he did get the language points and when he followed up was told no credit for German or French... nowhere in the package was this stated... now if you spoke Spanish, Hmong, Laotian, etc... the red carpet was rolled out.
It would be nice if it came down to simply choosing... the consent decrees turned Public Safety hiring upside down in the Bay Area...
If a male or worse yet a caucasian male wanted a career in law enforcement it often meant paying his own way through the academy next to candidates that were paid to attend.
The Chief put is simply... if half the population is female than I need to have half the force female... if 20% of the population is African American then I need 20% of my officers to be African American.
There was more to it than that... the city gave a slight boost to city residents applying to the department but not if caucasian.
The Department gave additional points for conversational second language skills... it was in the application package... my friend spoke excellent German and was passable in in French... he noticed he did get the language points and when he followed up was told no credit for German or French... nowhere in the package was this stated... now if you spoke Spanish, Hmong, Laotian, etc... the red carpet was rolled out.
That makes sense. There are a lot of residents who speak Spanish, Hmong, or Laotian. German or French, not so much. The points aren't given as kudos because you speak another language; they are given because your knowledge will be useful to the department.
I do agree the application package should specify which languages qualify for extra points.
That makes sense. There are a lot of residents who speak Spanish, Hmong, or Laotian. German or French, not so much. The points aren't given as kudos because you speak another language; they are given because your knowledge will be useful to the department.
I do agree the application package should specify which languages qualify for extra points.
I used the example to point out how flawed the system is by putting out a written application package and then simply changing or not following the Department's own standard they created.
Sometimes it makes a person wonder or question just how competent those in charge actually are.
The real reason is virtually anyone that speaks German and/or French speaks English... and German/French language speakers don't even make the stats when it comes to crime in my city.
On the other hand... I know many people that have lived here for decades with no English language skills... as in zero...
One of my police officer friends speaks Hmong and is very well suited to community policing... he is constantly being recruited by other agencies and even the Feds because of his language skill... many in the Hmong community that are older want nothing do do with law enforcement and he offers a bridge because he as raised with the traditions and customs... it does make sense.
The issue is with "using it all the time" which implies over and over. Which implies CONTINUING to buy stuff they don't need and use such that they have a supply of junk and then also have the need for cash after over-buying.
I learned many years ago from an ex-spouse that it is stupid to sell good stuff you own for pennies on the dollar because you have an emergency or extended financial downturn and need money NOW. Then, when times turn, and you want that stuff back, you pay a premium! You've lost money TWICE! Be sure you're not selling stuff that you'll turn around and buy again later. And be sure this is not behavior you keep repeating - that signals a bigger and longer term spending problem.
Something like this works better for a large, unexpected, one time expense than to pay down a pile of debt.
If you have a $500 auto repair bill, you might easily find enough stuff to sell to cover that. Usually debt piles are large enough that it's not going to make a large dent in your debt.
I have two monitors here at my desktop. The second monitor isn't "required," but it's a 21.5" model from 2009. What am I realistically going to get for that today? $30-$50 maybe? I use it as a TV most nights streaming something. It has a higher "use value" to me than what I could sell it for. I could sell every book I have, but that's not going to get me much. Same with the Beanie Babies I liked as a kid - I have like 200 of them, but they're not worth much. They're worth more to me a sentimental item or are still useful than I could get for them.
A lot of the stuff we have in our homes is honestly not going to be that valuable on the secondary market. I have a lot of electronics and computer equipment, but that stuff depreciates quickly. I do have some things I need to sell, but I'd sell it more to just thin out the junk - any income it brings is just a bonus.
If someone has a pile of debt and a collectible car worth a lot, expensive jewelry, a valuable antique, etc., that's different, but liquidating in a fire sale is ultimately going to lead to what you mentioned - repurchasing the same item later.
Maybe it's growing up in small town Tennessee, but I'm amazed at the number of people that are utter basket cases, and I don't just mean strictly financially.
I'd say probably 20% of my high school class have either significant legal records or substance abuse issues. Many don't work, or would be "marginally attached" to the labor force, at best. Probably another 10%-20% are just getting by paycheck to paycheck.
I'm not doing the best financially, but it's amazing to me the number of folks that are essentially in a criminal history underclass. Virtually all those people are going to end up on the dole, if they aren't already.
I grew up in small town PA and it was very similar. If you didn't leave after high school, there just wasn't much there work wise other than part time minimum wage. Some people were willing to super commute 2-3 hours everyday because they wanted big city wages but a small town lifestyle and low COL.
when we had our house in the Pocono's we saw that frequently . but over time the commute took its toll . then they ended up with lower local wages after all .
in my industry pay was 1/2 in that part of pa yet cost of living was only about 1/3 less for us . so it was a bad idea to make our second home our primary and relocate.
that drop sucks when it comes to your social security down the road . higher wages equal higher ss payments so you are better off retiring then relocating many times .
that higher ss payment can go on for more years then you spent working .. .
what made relocating so expensive for us was the fact it is just my wife and i and we are very happy in our 2 bedroom 2 bath apartment . no one else stays over since everyone is local . but in pa we needed a whole big house because all the kids stay over with the grand kids so owning that house was a big expense .
the cost of housing would actually have been more for us in pa then here in nyc .
Last edited by mathjak107; 05-31-2016 at 06:57 AM..
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