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I'm all for taking pay cuts and furloughs. The problem is that the cuts are FLAT. Those of us at the bottom of the pay scale can't physically afford these cuts.
I can see how a 5% pay cut on a $35K/year salary might have a more devastating impact than a 5% pay cut on a $250K/year salary on Maui, especially when one is living "paycheck to paycheck." Unfortunately, reducing salaries by a set percentage across the board is a probably a little better than simply reducing all salaries by a set dollar amount.
Instead of increasing the fiscal year 2012 "capital improvement and infrastructure" budget by a whopping 74.7% (or $67 million), a mere 50% increase (or $44.8 million) would have freed up $22.2 million that could have been used to avoid salary cuts and furloughs. It's pretty unconscionable. Someone really needs to go through the Maui County budget line-by-line and question every expenditure.
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Originally Posted by winkosmosis
And I know they won't miss my business, but it's the principle. Buying from non-local stores is cheaper anyway.
On the other hand, all of us public workers DO spend millions in local shops and bars. If we all boycotted, those Wailea fatcats running the businesses would quickly realize that our dollars drive the economy just like everyone else's dollars.
Local businesses are having a rough go of it as well as the public workers. Increases in various fees and taxes, along with the elimination of certain exemptions, make it difficult for local businesses to compete against non-local businesses. In addition some non-local businesses are willing to endure losses in Hawai'i to drive their local competitors out of business. For instance, from mid-2006 the Mesa Air Group (via its "go!" subsidiary) endured losses to drive Aloha Airlines out of business by early 2008. Around 1,900 Aloha Airlines employees were left without jobs when it folded and some of them are still unemployed.
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Originally Posted by winkosmosis
You know, I'm getting more and more pissed at the people at the top. This morning one of those rich people in a Cadillac Escalade cut me off instead of waiting and merging into the huge gap behind me. Instead of getting mildly annoyed and shrugging it off I got pissed and laid on my horn for 10 seconds, because I know that ******* pays lower local taxes than me, hasn't seen any kind of suffering from this recession, and doesn't have to worry about anything except how hard it is to keep his black Escalade clean. And he has the balls to act like he owns the road, just like those people always do.
Many folks living on Maui came from somewhere else, so a certain level of rudeness shouldn't be too surprising. However, it probably doesn't help that much to contribute to it. Hertz rents Cadillac Escalades to tourists for $915.49 per week (before fees and taxes), so it's possible that person was simply driving the way they do "back home." At least you were cut off by a U.S.-built Cadillac Escalade and not something like a Porsche Cayenne Turbo, Mercedes G55 AMG, Range Rover Sport, Lexus LX570, or Infiniti QX56...
winkosmosis: Rich people do not pay less in taxes than you do. Trying to engage in class warfare will not get you anywhere in life either.
They pay a lot less in local taxes... despite the propaganda. And the people at the very top even pay less federal income tax. If I paid 5% less state tax like the rich people do, I'd have $100 extra a month, which is a huge difference! I'd be a little closer to breaking even....
I don't have to engage in class warfare. It's happening and we're losing.
Here's a graph of income categorized into percentiles. I don't know about you but I'm on the part that hasn't increased. Yep, we are losing. The ones whose incomes have been going up for half a century are the winners. You know the top 1% now owns 40% of national wealth right? Think Baldwin and Monsanto.... They own a huge percentage of this very island.
Last edited by winkosmosis; 04-21-2011 at 03:08 AM..
I can see how a 5% pay cut on a $35K/year salary might have a more devastating impact than a 5% pay cut on a $250K/year salary on Maui, especially when one is living "paycheck to paycheck." Unfortunately, reducing salaries by a set percentage across the board is a probably a little better than simply reducing all salaries by a set dollar amount.
It's like a regressive tax. BTW, there actually is a set dollar amount that everyone loses, the health insurance cost. Imagine being at the bottom of the pay scale and having to pay even more for the insurance for your 3 kids.
I don't understand the insurance thing to begin with. The $150 I pay is twice what I paid at the private sector job I had last year. What happened to public jobs having good benefits? And apparently a lot of people think Hawaii has some kind of universal healthcare, HAH!
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Instead of increasing the fiscal year 2012 "capital improvement and infrastructure" budget by a whopping 74.7% (or $67 million), a mere 50% increase (or $44.8 million) would have freed up $22.2 million that could have been used to avoid salary cuts and furloughs. It's pretty unconscionable. Someone really needs to go through the Maui County budget line-by-line and question every expenditure.
Sounds like favors to contributors.
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Local businesses are having a rough go of it as well as the public workers. Increases in various fees and taxes, along with the elimination of certain exemptions, make it difficult for local businesses to compete against non-local businesses. In addition some non-local businesses are willing to endure losses in Hawai'i to drive their local competitors out of business. For instance, from mid-2006 the Mesa Air Group (via its "go!" subsidiary) endured losses to drive Aloha Airlines out of business by early 2008. Around 1,900 Aloha Airlines employees were left without jobs when it folded and some of them are still unemployed.
They should think about that at election time. The public wants government workers to take pay cuts, but they ignore the fact that we are their customers... Especially in Hawaii.
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Many folks living on Maui came from somewhere else, so a certain level of rudeness shouldn't be too surprising. However, it probably doesn't help that much to contribute to it. Hertz rents Cadillac Escalades to tourists for $915.49 per week (before fees and taxes), so it's possible that person was simply driving the way they do "back home." At least you were cut off by a U.S.-built Cadillac Escalade and not something like a Porsche Cayenne Turbo, Mercedes G55 AMG, Range Rover Sport, Lexus LX570, or Infiniti QX56...
I would think people visiting a strange place would be more cautious drivers.
It's like a regressive tax. BTW, there actually is a set dollar amount that everyone loses, the health insurance cost. Imagine being at the bottom of the pay scale and having to pay even more for the insurance for your 3 kids.
I don't understand the insurance thing to begin with. The $150 I pay is twice what I paid at the private sector job I had last year. What happened to public jobs having good benefits? And apparently a lot of people think Hawaii has some kind of universal healthcare, HAH!
Someone's probably trying to figure out how to make the bulk of the public sector employees in Hawai'i eligible for QUEST.
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Originally Posted by winkosmosis
Sounds like favors to contributors.
There's quite a bit of cronyism involved as well.
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Originally Posted by winkosmosis
They should think about that at election time. The public wants government workers to take pay cuts, but they ignore the fact that we are their customers... Especially in Hawaii.
Unfortunately, averages can be deceiving. If you take two county government employees that are paid $29,500 per year and their boss who's paid $118,000 per year and average their salaries together, you'll get that $59,000 per year "average salary." Yet, the public sees the average salary and assumes that all of the county government employees are getting paid around $59,000 per year. Thus, a 5% pay cut for government workers doesn't seem that bad, especially to folks in the private sector that are making $35,000 per year and don't have as much job security.
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Originally Posted by winkosmosis
I would think people visiting a strange place would be more cautious drivers.
For folks that have rental vehicles with navigation systems and opted for the "supplemental insurance", there's not much incentive to be more cautious. There are no freeways or "driveby shootings" on Maui, so some visitors tend "throw caution to the wind." Since they paid thousands of dollars for their "vacation", some folks try maximize the number activities they do even if it means rushing around and offending the locals. Besides, if they can afford to rent a luxury SUV, a potential traffic ticket or two doesn't matter much when one's in hurry to get to the golf course to make their tee time.
I think the average salary in Hawaii is now $50k. I'm guessing that's also a deceiving average because, at least here on Maui, there are a lot of rich people and a lot of poor people.
Our salaries are way below private sector. The two GIS analysts above me in my 6 person department only make $43k. In the private sector, in Houston where cost of living is a lot lower, they'd be making $50-60k at least for the same type of position.
Our salaries are way below private sector. The two GIS analysts above me in my 6 person department only make $43k. In the private sector, in Houston where cost of living is a lot lower, they'd be making $50-60k at least for the same type of position.
Yeah, but Houston is an armpit. You have to remember to factor in the "Paradise Tax" to the equation.
For folks that have rental vehicles with navigation systems and opted for the "supplemental insurance", there's not much incentive to be more cautious. There are no freeways or "driveby shootings" on Maui, so some visitors tend "throw caution to the wind." Since they paid thousands of dollars for their "vacation", some folks try maximize the number activities they do even if it means rushing around and offending the locals.
More than that, people on vacation like to loosen the leash anywhere they can:
"Want another drink?" "Why not, I'm on vacation!"
"How bout that molten chocolate volcano cake now?" "Why not, I'm on vacation!"
"Want another drink?" "Why not, I'm on vacation!"
"It says entry is forbidden. Should we go anyway?" "Why not, I'm on vacation!"
"Want another drink?" "Why not, I'm on vacation!"
"Hey, don't drop your garbage there!" "Why not, I'm on vacation!"
"Don't take the black sand!" "Why not, I'm on vacation!"
"Want another drink?" "Why not, I'm on vacation!"
"Me so love you long time, yeah?" "Why not, I'm on vacation!"
I'm boycotting local businesses. The retail industry has to see a downside to public worker pay cuts, especially since they elected a "pro business" mayor, but they haven't from me because I've been using debt to get by. If local shops and bars want our money, they should pay a little more taxes so we can get living wages.
Thanks one hell of a lot Wink! I (and all my fellow retail employees everywhere) really, really do thank you for boycotting where we work because we don't really need our wages - we just work because we love it so.
I work part-time to help make ends meet, I have been at my place of employment for 7 years and have not had a raise in 5 years. We got an incentive pay for working Sundays - it has just been taken away. We used to have 3 employees in each department all the time, now we have 2 employees covering 3 departments. Our customer service suffers because of that. Some departments of our store has closed because they were not as profitable for the store as other departments, even though customers still ask for the products we carried there and I have to send them to our competitors.
Please, please continue to boycott local businesses and please get all your friends to boycott them also. Like I said, we don't really need our wages or for the businesses to make money so they can stay open and offer their services and pay their employees.
Oh, and don't tell me I can just find another job. It's a bit difficult when you are 73 - even though age discrimination is against the law. I am "over qualified" for almost any job I have applied for in my field, so I work in a retail store.
I am on Medicare since I am retired and on Social Security, but I also pay my own (secondary) health insurance at the group rate from where I retired - and it has just gone up ~ $60.00 a month because of the President's Health Care Reform. I can't change to another insurance because of my wife's pre-existing health problems.
Wink, from what I have been reading in your posts, since you hate your job and our country and the way we do things, you should probably move to Europe where you can get 4 weeks paid vacation, free health care, 50% + income tax, VAT etc. etc. etc. I think you would be much happier.
Mickey
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