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excellent post... only public sector people can get taken to task on salaries because "my taxes pay your salary" ... but no one in the private sector can admit that the bottom line on goods and services are, in part, determined by the compensation and perks afforded to employees of those companies...
you know what... cut out all the multi million dollar salaries of the executives of (insert company here), bonuses, employee discounts, matching 401ks, etc... and they could provide their goods at a lower cost to the consumer while making the same profit margin...
caveat 1: by public sector employees, i'm refering to those who aren't unionized
caveat 2: i fully understand that's how the private sector works and don't have a problem with it... but if you're bitching about your taxes and public salaries...please give the same effort in bitching about why you paid $100 dollars for a certain good produced by a company for 10 dollars, whose ceo pulled down $30 million last year...
edit: all the numbers in caveat 2 were pulled out of my a$$ as an example and not reflective of any specific product and it's relative executive salary
The difference is that you have free choice in choosing your mechanic, lawyer or whatever, and if any one of these charge too much, they will tend to lose customers to others who charge less; but, you do not have the same free choice in your gov't school, because once you buy into a community, your options are limited to the local gov't school district and its attendance zones, unless you are wealthy enough to sell and buy a house in different school districts or different attendance zones within a school district each year or, in addition to paying your property tax, send your child to a private school.
There is a ton of "teachers get paid too much money" stuff going on here. Can someone explain why my mechanic is $110/hr and it cost 3k to get my car fixed and it still needs new injectors and a new digital dash?
My friend had two bathrooms done recently. That ran her around 30k. Why are the contractors so expensive??
We had a roof put on. And that was 10k why?
Has anyone called a plumber/electrician/etc? They are a fortune.
I used to practice law. I was billed out at $450/hr. Isn't that obscene?
Point is, everything is expensive. Why are teachers the ones who are taken to task but no one else? Just curious here.
Very easy...as a consumer in a free market a person could choose which mechanic, contractor, roofer, plumber, electrician or lawyer to use. That decision is based upon reputation, quality of work and ultimately price. The consumer makes the choice.
Teachers are public employees being paid for solely by tax dollars. In the past their contracts & salaries were well hidden from the public. Now you can view all salaries and actual contracts online and people are outraged by the outrageous salaries and benefits for a part time job. Teachers are public employees and therefore as taxpayers who pay for their salaries and benefits we have a right to express our views positively or negatively.
If you're upset about your garbage service, your police attention, or your public schools- by all means throw a stink about it. However if you're not using these services, or you just can't stand to see someone make a decent wage... change something about your own life.[/quote]
I should move from an area if I don't have kids in the school system? That makes no sense whatsoever.
What's your definition of "decent wage"? Superintendents making more than the President Obama? Administrators making more that practically all 50 Governors? Teachers making well over 100K for working 160 days?
My resentment is toward the teachers union. A loved and respected caculus teacher with 20 years of experience is actually underpaid if he/she is making 100K. But the useless 3rd grade teacher who has 20 years of experience also makes 100K. He/she could be replaced by hundreds of young and motivated teachers who would be happy to make 50K.
So that's it. Too many useless teachers, protected by the union, making nice salaries and entitled to outrageous pensions.
Agreed! A great teacher is worth her wieght in gold and I would gladly pay it. A bad teacher can sour most kids desire and ability and we can't get rid of them. If you eliminate tenure schools would be filled with good and great teachers.
People on here feel entitled to balk because they pay taxes, and demand blood for it.
Some have no kids and feel gilted paying such high taxes, which I can't say I blame them- but they have no good business living here given that situation.
Some are irritated because they work in a private sector job that's paying them the same as if they worked in Kentucky, and they probably need to take that up with their own job.
... and others, are going to try and justify how life would somehow be more managable if teachers just made 10-15% less, and somehow that would turn Long Island into some kind of financial utopia inciting lots of big business to plant roots here.
My bottom line tends to be, this will never (again) be an attractive part of the country to do business in, so residents have to pick up the tab- and that means fronting money to your public servants and having high expectations for what they do.
If you're upset about your garbage service, your police attention, or your public schools- by all means throw a stink about it. However if you're not using these services, or you just can't stand to see someone make a decent wage... change something about your own life.
Wow, what a load of ....
So if someone is overpaid due to a broken system, according to you we shouldn't complain but change our own lives??
How does that union kool aid taste?
I don't think teachers on the whole are overpaid, but citizens should have the right to complain if the civil servants are making more than their private sector counterparts who are paying the salaries of the civil servants.
There is a ton of "teachers get paid too much money" stuff going on here. Can someone explain why my mechanic is $110/hr and it cost 3k to get my car fixed and it still needs new injectors and a new digital dash?
My friend had two bathrooms done recently. That ran her around 30k. Why are the contractors so expensive??
We had a roof put on. And that was 10k why?
Has anyone called a plumber/electrician/etc? They are a fortune.
I used to practice law. I was billed out at $450/hr. Isn't that obscene?
Point is, everything is expensive. Why are teachers the ones who are taken to task but no one else? Just curious here.
Oh, dear. $110 is just much too much for a mechanic. I know a guy who is only $86 an hour. Might be $88 or $90 an hour by now. I haven't seen him in a while, which, given that my car is a '96 and still gets about 28 mpg, is testimony to his talent.
People on here feel entitled to balk because they pay taxes, and demand blood for it.
Some have no kids and feel gilted paying such high taxes, which I can't say I blame them- but they have no good business living here given that situation.
Some are irritated because they work in a private sector job that's paying them the same as if they worked in Kentucky, and they probably need to take that up with their own job.
... and others, are going to try and justify how life would somehow be more managable if teachers just made 10-15% less, and somehow that would turn Long Island into some kind of financial utopia inciting lots of big business to plant roots here.
My bottom line tends to be, this will never (again) be an attractive part of the country to do business in, so residents have to pick up the tab- and that means fronting money to your public servants and having high expectations for what they do.
If you're upset about your garbage service, your police attention, or your public schools- by all means throw a stink about it. However if you're not using these services, or you just can't stand to see someone make a decent wage... change something about your own life.
Yep! Go freelance!
Do it right and you can make as much as, if not more than, JDMBA's mechanic.
I sincerely believe that for many career paths, independence is the last bastion of true opportunity. For most rank-and-file workers, the big money is just never going to happen while working for someone else. Working for someone else has some benefits, true, but it also puts a cap on how much you can make and your creativity in making it. It would have to be a sweet job with a lot of autonomy and fantastic people for me to ever consider going back to working in an office again. For the hassle you have to deal with--other people's idiosyncrasies and personalities, other people setting your priorities and making your schedule, having to ask for permission to take a few hours to go to the dentist, dress codes, policies and procedures, soul-sucking meetings, noise and interruptions, stinky lunches and burned popcorn in the office microwave, insane commutes--ugh, no.
There is a ton of "teachers get paid too much money" stuff going on here. Can someone explain why my mechanic is $110/hr and it cost 3k to get my car fixed and it still needs new injectors and a new digital dash?
My friend had two bathrooms done recently. That ran her around 30k. Why are the contractors so expensive??
We had a roof put on. And that was 10k why?
Has anyone called a plumber/electrician/etc? They are a fortune.
I used to practice law. I was billed out at $450/hr. Isn't that obscene?
Point is, everything is expensive. Why are teachers the ones who are taken to task but no one else? Just curious here.
Like why do they get paid so much...and they don't even produce ANYTHING! I say, let's not pay them as much!
There is a ton of "teachers get paid too much money" stuff going on here. Can someone explain why my mechanic is $110/hr and it cost 3k to get my car fixed and it still needs new injectors and a new digital dash?
With what you have stated you are not driving a ford taurus. If you choose to buy an expensive car be prepaired for expensive repairs.
Your choice.
My friend had two bathrooms done recently. That ran her around 30k. Why are the contractors so expensive??
If your friend went with basic bathrooms with tile on the floor and tub area only ,direct replacement fixture locations little or no electrical changes ect.. she could have done the for almost half that number.
I'm guessing there is some tumbled marble tile , possibly radiant heat, high end fixtures, frameless glass shower doors, exspensive vanitys ect.. Again Her choice.
We had a roof put on. And that was 10k why?
Alot of variables here. most of them mentioned by a previous post. A roofer pays $65.00 per $100 of payroll for workmans comp insurance not to mention liability insurance. When you add that with the rest of the operating overhead that makes up a chunk of the ten grand. Actually you should ask the roofer if he works on cars. More bang for the buck!
Has anyone called a plumber/electrician/etc? They are a fortune.
Again, it all starts with overhead and the cost of doing business. There are many to choose from to find a honest plumber/electrician. You have a choice not to get screwed.
I used to practice law. I was billed out at $450/hr. Isn't that obscene?
Ah yes, the blood sucking lawyers. I'm with you on that one. With lawyers you have no choice but to get screwed.
Point is, everything is expensive. Why are teachers the ones who are taken to task but no one else? Just curious here.
This one has been answered many times on this forum.
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What's with financial industry execs?
