32 Arrested During Drug Sweep in Wilkes-Barre (camp, dangerous, moving to)

[Magritte25]

Originally Posted by thecoalman

If you legalize the drugs the crime involved with it evaporates. Many of drug dealers would probably move onto other criminal enterprises but the users and drug dealers doing it to support a habit no longer have a reason for criminal activity.


As far as your tax comments Margritte lets consider Scranton a city that can't afford to pay the fire and police what they are making now even with a tax hike. How about WB police getting an extra $1400 each year is it? To not write parking tickets and the FF union suing the city for the same compensation. People are fed up with that crap Margritte.

But in a previous comment I did say the following:

Originally Posted by Magritte25

Ok. So what do we do?

There are either not enough cops/detectives in the city to handle the overload of crime OR we have enough but they don't do their jobs. Which is it and how do we fix it?

If we don't have enough cops/detectives, are enough Wilkes-Barre residents going to support hiring more? If we have enough personnel who don't perform their jobs, how do we oust them and hire ones that will?

Can you refresh my memory about the FF union? I remember reading about that earlier in the year but I don't remember what it was all about.

[Magritte25]

I'm on the fence about legalization. I definitely see the arguments for it but I am a little wary of being able to purchase cocaine at some store (or wherever).

[fisheye]

Originally Posted by Magritte25

Perhaps one answer is for the general public not to ***** and moan every time hiring/raises for public servants comes up on the meeting agenda. I am so sick of hearing people complain about "my taxes" (always said in a bombastic, self righteous tone of indignation) being used to fund services like police and fire as well as public education and other parts of infrastructure.

(BTW, this is not towards you quiet life, just a general observation)

The taxpayer does not have bottomless pit pockets. If you look at a comparison between private compensation packages and public sector compensation packages you can clearly see the problem. Here is a link: Historical Comparison of Public and Private Sector Compensation Levels | Intellectual Takeout (ITO) Since 1980 our public sector compensation packages are out of balance with the private sector.

It isn't only about balance; it is also about proficiency. The private sector has been hit with outsourcing, robotics, technology and other money saving practices. In the public sector, in some cases, we have actually had more bureaucracy added to insure larger salaries. Education is fighting a major battle against technology. Our police have been assigned to other areas – SP to casinos, sitting in construction zones and the requirements of protecting government buildings after 9/11. You tell me why we still need an armed policeman sitting at a Social Security office eleven years after the attack?

Everything really boils down to the private sector makes products that give our dollars value. The public sector inflates our dollars and gives us less buying power. If we truly want a healthy economy; we have to bring back balance.

[fisheye]

Originally Posted by Magritte25

I'm on the fence about legalization. I definitely see the arguments for it but I am a little wary of being able to purchase cocaine at some store (or wherever).

My problem with legalization is safety and protecting our workplace. There is no guarantee that our users would stay off our roads and away from dangerous equipment. They don't do that now and more of them would also not respect our laws and regulations. It would also be harder to keep users out of our workplace. Some drugs, like pot, stay in your system for a long time. There would be more legal argument about when users 'used legally' and why they should not have been at work. It would just complicate an already bad system.

[thecoalman]

Originally Posted by Magritte25

Can you refresh my memory about the FF union? I remember reading about that earlier in the year but I don't remember what it was all about.

When WB hired meter maids the police union sued. They won something like a $1400 year award which of course negates one of the reasons for having meter maids in the first place which is to lower costs. The FF union had a stipulation in their contract they get whatever compensation the police do, they sued and won the same award. Now both the police and the FF's are both being paid to not write parking tickets.


------------edit----------

It's $1500 and according to this the city agreed to the compensation for the police to begin with:

City firefighters will receive stipend once reserved for cops - News - Citizens Voice

WILKES-BARRE - Five civilians enforce parking in the city at an annual cost of about $215,000, but the expenses hardly end there.


City police ceded parking-enforcement duty to civilians years ago in exchange for $1,500 yearly stipends that cover lost court pay and will total $135,000 in 2011.


And starting next year, city firefighters also will receive $108,000 in total stipends to honor a contractual agreement that stipulates they receive the same pay increases as city police officers.

[Magritte25]

Wow, coalman. Thanks for the link. No wonder why unions get a bad rap! I cannot believe this. How is it even legal?

[Magritte25]

Originally Posted by fisheye

The taxpayer does not have bottomless pit pockets. If you look at a comparison between private compensation packages and public sector compensation packages you can clearly see the problem. Here is a link: Historical Comparison of Public and Private Sector Compensation Levels | Intellectual Takeout (ITO) Since 1980 our public sector compensation packages are out of balance with the private sector.

It isn't only about balance; it is also about proficiency. The private sector has been hit with outsourcing, robotics, technology and other money saving practices. In the public sector, in some cases, we have actually had more bureaucracy added to insure larger salaries. Education is fighting a major battle against technology. Our police have been assigned to other areas – SP to casinos, sitting in construction zones and the requirements of protecting government buildings after 9/11. You tell me why we still need an armed policeman sitting at a Social Security office eleven years after the attack?

Everything really boils down to the private sector makes products that give our dollars value. The public sector inflates our dollars and gives us less buying power. If we truly want a healthy economy; we have to bring back balance.

I don't believe the government should be run like a business because it's main function is NOT profit. It's main function is infrastructure, order, protection and education. That doesn't mean we shouldn't have transparency or responsibility. I just think people need to realize that the US Government - at any level - is not meant to turn a profit.

[fisheye]

Originally Posted by Magritte25

I don't believe the government should be run like a business because it's main function is NOT profit. It's main function is infrastructure, order, protection and education. That doesn't mean we shouldn't have transparency or responsibility. I just think people need to realize that the US Government - at any level - is not meant to turn a profit.

Yes; I agree with part of your statement. But that does not entitle government to a blank check. Going back to my statements; there has to be balance. If everybody worked in government; our money would be worth nothing – it would not pay to print the money. If private industry goes through cost cutting improvement in efficiency; government should go through the same improvements. This is basically Economics 101.

Our US government is over 16 trillion in debt. Many of our cities are maxed out. You have wasteful spending like thecoalman just pointed out – I know that the firefighters and police do not share the same opinion. If there is no compromise or balance all of us go down. We will continue to work longer and harder for less purchasing power. Our crime rates will go up and require even more government.

[Magritte25]

Originally Posted by fisheye

Yes; I agree with part of your statement. But that does not entitle government to a blank check. Going back to my statements; there has to be balance. If everybody worked in government; our money would be worth nothing – it would not pay to print the money. If private industry goes through cost cutting improvement in efficiency; government should go through the same improvements. This is basically Economics 101.

Our US government is over 16 trillion in debt. Many of our cities are maxed out. You have wasteful spending like thecoalman just pointed out – I know that the firefighters and police do not share the same opinion. If there is no compromise or balance all of us go down. We will continue to work longer and harder for less purchasing power. Our crime rates will go up and require even more government.

I agree that our governments need to be more efficient but not at the cost of important services that will render society dangerous and/or useless. Wasteful spending is definitely a factor (a big one!) but another is lack of taxes from many sections of society - rich and poor alike.

[fisheye]

Originally Posted by Magritte25

I agree that our governments need to be more efficient but not at the cost of important services that will render society dangerous and/or useless. Wasteful spending is definitely a factor (a big one!) but another is lack of taxes from many sections of society - rich and poor alike.

The more you increase the tax burden; the more foreclosures and the tax base further erodes. This takes us back to balance and controlling spending.

Personally I think that our whole US educational system should be downsized, streamlined and modernized. I love the online services like Khan Academy (Khan Academy). I just think that, as a nation, we can do a better job integrating these online courses into our traditional educational system. Mandates like the “No Child Left Behind” have also hurt us. It is almost like keeping the armed officer at the Social Security buildings. When government gets a bad program it takes them years to come to their senses.