[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by MartinEden99

I don't mean this directly at anybody in particular...but I think some of the disconnect we see is that many who were formally educated, and spent a lot of money on it, were never educated on how to truly innovate in society. So, there is this bitterness that occurs because "nobody taught me how to make lots of money like that fat cat CEO".

I would say that bitterness comes from becoming formally educated in a field not likely to ever return to it's former "glory" and having to take lower paying jobs where paying off that formal education will take the better part of 20 years. I would also say your snipe is an indicator that you think you're somehow above ever having that happen to you. All I can say is life is full of surprises, you never know. Good luck!

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by $musicman$

"Fat Cats"

..love that..try becoming one instead of getting angry at other's success..or maybe even a chubby cat..you might like it.

Oops, missed that snipe! I'm not in an unfortunate economic circumstance and am thankful daily I probably never will be. There are tens of millions of people who aren't doing well and I speak for them. To suggest most if not all of them aren't trying to make it is an insult. Sometimes things seem black and white in simple little worlds.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by MovedfromFL

The message now is "Public sector jobs are for freeloaders and private sector workers can do no wrong."

Well, think about how many of these so called "private sector" jobs actually depend in whole or in part on government spending. Many private sector jobs would be lost if we cut government spending (state and federal).

Simulation companies (defense dept money); medical industry (federal money via Medicaid and Medicare); grocery stores (SNAP money, TANF, etc - food stamps); private nursing homes (Medicaid); home health workers, medical device manufacturers, pharma industry; pharmacist jobs; speech/occupational/ physical therapist jobs (Medicaid spending, state spending, US Dept of Education spending); IT jobs (defense spending, gov't spending, state spending); construction jobs (state spending, US gov't spending). I could go on & on with this list.

The reality is that many private sector jobs and entire businesses depend largely on gov't contracts and tax dollars.

Sadly, our manufacturing base has been off-shored and the reality is FL depends in large part upon (a) pensioners from up North who move here and spend their pension money (b) foreign tourists (c) government spending in the form of Medicare.

Until the state makes something useful again, our economy is just shifting dollars around and skimming off the top.

Originally Posted by JM1822

Rick Scott is destroying this state. None of his ideas are doing anything to improve the condition of the State of Florida.

He is doing a great job pitting the public sector against the private sector though. He has talked the private sector into believing that Florida government is living high on the hog despite the fact that Florida has the smallest state workforce, and the lowest paid state workforce in the country.

He also talked everyone into believing that the state retirement system was doing a nose dive and would not be able to continue to exist without serious changes. Interestingly enough, just today the Florida Retirement System announced that the plan GAINED 19 billion dollars this year from investments. And it has gained 54 billion in the last 27 months. But, with Rick Scotts propaganda, the general public is thrilled about the change in the pension that was promised to state workers.

Despite having the smallest government per capita in the country, Florida is getting rid of more and more of it. Wait until the next time you have to renew your Florida driver's license. I'm dead serious when I say that the average wait in many D.L. offices is 4 hours. The problem with these cuts, is that most people won't notice them until the are effected by them. Then when they get upset about it, they'll take it out on the poor state worker behind the counter that can't do anything about it in the first place.

And we all know Scott wants to privatize anything and everything that he can. Now we wants to lay off a $9 or $10 an hour state employee at the parks and replace them with an $8 private employee. And don't forget about the private prisons. He wants to get rid of state corrections officers that make peanuts compared to other states ($30,870 regardless of time working for the state). We're going to turn over much of our prison system to private companies whose only goal is to make a profit. A Florida county just went through that mess with a privately run county jail. The private company decided not to renew it's contract and left the county high and dry. Then the county had to hurry up and hire a ton of new jail deputies just to be able to secure the facility.

Sorry, but I haven't seen a single thing that the Scott administration has done to benefit Florida. Do you really think that a person, especially a life long businessman, would spend 74 million dollars of his own money and NOT expect to get it back????

Intelligent insightful commentary! Thank you!

[TriMT7]

Originally Posted by MovedfromFL

The message now is "Public sector jobs are for freeloaders and private sector workers can do no wrong."

Well, think about how many of these so called "private sector" jobs actually depend in whole or in part on government spending. Many private sector jobs would be lost if we cut government spending (state and federal).

Simulation companies (defense dept money); medical industry (federal money via Medicaid and Medicare); grocery stores (SNAP money, TANF, etc - food stamps); private nursing homes (Medicaid); home health workers, medical device manufacturers, pharma industry; pharmacist jobs; speech/occupational/ physical therapist jobs (Medicaid spending, state spending, US Dept of Education spending); IT jobs (defense spending, gov't spending, state spending); construction jobs (state spending, US gov't spending). I could go on & on with this list.

The reality is that many private sector jobs and entire businesses depend largely on gov't contracts and tax dollars.

Exactly! The irony being, of course, that Rick Scott's own fortune and highly successful medical company was built on the very government entitlements and spending that he rails (no pun intended) against. Medicare, anyone?

[MartinEden99]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

I would say that bitterness comes from becoming formally educated in a field not likely to ever return to it's former "glory" and having to take lower paying jobs where paying off that formal education will take the better part of 20 years. I would also say your snipe is an indicator that you think you're somehow above ever having that happen to you. All I can say is life is full of surprises, you never know. Good luck!

But that's part of the problem in my mind. Too many people going into debt to get education that isn't needed to contribute to society. I think something more kids need to be told before pursuing higher education as well is that the more educated you become, the more likely you'll need to leave your hometown to earn a higher salary to pay off such debt.

That's why I'm a firm believer in kids going to work directly from high school and pursuing education that fits them, when are more mature & capable of seeing the bigger picture in life. Certainly there are exceptional kids that should move on to college immediately as that is best for them & society...but the bottom line is that going into debt is an individual choice whether that be for a nice car, a house, or formal education. And you are not entitled to a well paying job because you "showed up to class".

As for the "snipe"...that wasn't directed towards you as I don't know you at all. I can tell you that I am definitely not immune to having my knowledge base of today be outdated. No different than my knowledge base of 6 years ago being outdated today. This is why I pursue knowledge & adaptability above credentialism & entitlement.

[$musicman$]

I My point is downsizing government and/or cutting government funding at a time when the private sector is in flames probably isn't the best idea.

It's the ONLY thing that can be done when the private sector is in flames..because state governments don't have a money printing press like they have in Washington.

Private sector in flames means taxes collected are SEVERELY less than the past.

..ie..government shrinks..that simple.

[$musicman$]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

Lastly cutting unemployment benefits when there aren't jobs for everyone probably isn't a great idea either. toward .

Tell me..do you think that continuing to extend unemployment benefits is contributing to people not bothering to look for jobs?

..or does it tend to hurry the jobs recovery process along by inspiring people to look and look.

[OrlFlaUsa]

Originally Posted by $musicman$

It's the ONLY thing that can be done when the private sector is in flames..because state governments don't have a money printing press like they have in Washington.

Private sector in flames means taxes collected are SEVERELY less than the past.

..ie..government shrinks..that simple.

With all due respect, it sounds like you're saying that when our Capitalist Messiah, the Private Sector, fails us, the for us, by us, Government should also leave us hanging??!!

Perhaps if corporate America had realized that by eliminating good jobs here in the US, they would also eliminate a strong customer base. This also had a dire effect on tax revenues collected by the states as well. While there are other issues to consider as well including entitlement fraud, I'm not willing to pin and fix our economic woes on the backs of the unemployed, poor, and disenfranchised, the majority of whom are there through little fault of their own.

[$musicman$]

Originally Posted by OrlFlaUsa

With all due respect, it sounds like you're saying that when our Capitalist Messiah, the Private Sector, fails us, the for us, by us, Government should also leave us hanging??!!

If you're dependent on government..you're already hanging.

But the government?

Yes..if the private sector is suffering..the government that survives by confiscating much of their wealth or income..are kind of stuck.

It all starts in the private sector..in good economies or bad.

[OrlFlaUsa]

Originally Posted by $musicman$

If you're dependent on government..you're already hanging.

But the government?

Yes..if the private sector is suffering..the government that survives by confiscating much of their wealth or income..are kind of stuck.

It all starts in the private sector..in good economies or bad.

Yes, you are right, they are primarily to blame for this bum economy. However, the Government has to step up and do it's part by giving these money hungry people some boundaries, unfortunately, our Government has a price tag. See there has to be a balance between letting the free market do its thing, and the Government making sure people aren't completely forgotten about. When they are in bed with one another, it's us that's getting screwed.

Also, please don't think I'm suggesting dependence on Government. If anything, I am wishing the private sector was provided with more incentive by the Government to take care of their employees. Instead, eliminating jobs, and increasing profits are the name of the game, which I get, but there has to be a line. If your CEO has 3 houses, 2 yachts, and millions of dollars in the bank, but your front line customer facing employees (who make or break a company's success) don't even have enough money to provide for their health care, then that is a sick relationship. Sure sure, go work somewhere else, you agreed to these terms. Or better yet, your job is unskilled, therefore minimal pay. Yeah, I'm not talking $20 per hour, but come on, let's look at what it would cost to survive and make that happen. Perhaps, company profit, shrinkage rates, and productivity would increase if people didn't despise their crappy employer.