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I voted other. I have no problem if the government worker pension is 1,000,000 per year if it from their saving while working either from their own money or the government contribution while in work force. I do have a problem if the pension/benefit are from current budget or have to raised tax to pay for it or have to cut the expense by stop hiring/ pay current workers less.
OUCH! This thread is getting a bit out of hand. Look people we hate the government but we elected it. Most government workers are average joes doing you a service. If you want to bash government workers narrow down the beam a bit. Let's look at appointees that make up the bulk of our resentment. Also if I were a moderator here I would shut this thread down or at minimum move it to Political and Contriversial topics.
Unfortunately there are always those who will go off-topic or use any excuse to grandstand or take cheap shots at others but overall, the primary question has been answered. It's comforting to know that if you take away the issue of compensation, 77% think government workers provide useful services. That's higher than one might suppose looking at remarks in the various fora when the subject arises or there is blame to be laid.
Part of the problem is that many have failed to invest and create a nice nest egg
. They forget that whilst they didn't many with pensions did and that's why we are doing so well.
Part of the problem is that many have failed to invest and create a nice nest egg
. They forget that whilst they didn't many with pensions did and that's why we are doing so well.
There is some truth in what you say. However, the problem with conservatism in general is that it attempts to reduce every action in life down to a "choice". This would be reasonable if everyone if life started on an equal footing, or at least something which approaches an equal footing.
I have many young clients who are struggling to make ends meet. My son has many young friends in their early twenties. As a group, I actually find these young people polite and respectful. They do tend to be shy and a bit introverted which I attribute to today's technology more than them. If they are fortunate enough to have work at all, it tends to be work at something near the minimum wage. Education here is more expensive than it used to be. So, this potential avenue of "moving up" has been considerably narrowed. Plus, they hear too many stories about people who took out large student loans, graduated, and now can't find employment. Mind you, this doesn't excuse a complete failure to make any future plans or save anything at all. However, to suggest that these people have the same choice that a young person, like my son has, who is having his college education paid for by me is simply wrong. Given that I know approximately how old you are, I will just say there were more real choices for your group than the current one.
What you do is present the false choice, or the false dichotomy. Than you blame young people for not taking that "choice".
I would submit that a person's birth date has more to do with their economic position or success in life today than whether they work and earn a college degree with a truly useful skill. A fifty-eight year old truck driver who got a job at the local air force base out of high school is in a better position because of retirement and benefits than a 23 year old student who obtained a degree in mechanical engineering and is struggling to find work. Which skill adds more to our economy? How many mechanical engineering graduates are there compared to people who have a CDL? While the mechanical engineering graduate struggles to find work and tries to pay back his student loans, the truck driver who "got lucky" and got a job with the air force when he was 19, was able to get married and start a family immediately. By age 30, he had three children and was on his way to earning a tax-payer subsidized pension plan along with the best health insurance in this state.
This is an example of how out of balance things have gotten in this country.
In a previous post, you told the military contractor to enjoy his retirement because he made sacrifices that others did not. The irony that I see here is that if things keep up the way they do, that the military contractor may well need his skills to keep himself safe and happy during retirement. With the generational divide that is occurring and the impoverishment of large sectors of this country, I suspect we will see more and more gated communities and more and more people with guns trying to guard them.
My second home is in a community that is not gated. I like to think we have a little different attitude down there. Many of my neighbors would rather spend their time trying to "lift up" the less fortunate than use our resources living in a fortress. Sadly, I can see that attitude is not shared by large portions of this country anymore.
Ariadne, in many cases they do treat their employees as well if not better than equivalent government employees. That is why government struggles to compete with them and offers longevity related benefits to retain top talent. Especially at the top of the skill set range. Employers in the DC region pay their well educated skilled employees well and give them good benefits. The problem is many of those who protest live away from the highly competitive regions government is usually located in.
There is truth to that. In my case I worked for the fed nearly 10 years close to 30 years ago here in the DC area. I left because I could make much more in the private sector in which I did. It is now, in my case, completely flipped.
And away we go OT again. Only took one post and off it went. The thread isn't about financing retirement. That's covered in this forum ad infinitum, ad nauseum. This thread is about perceptions of government employees.
Now I agree that the thread can be closed anytime.
I think that many deserve their compensation and benefits, but I also believe that there is no system of "checks and balances" in place to run efficiently. I think, in general, the government is a "bloated bureaucracy".
I think that many deserve their compensation and benefits, but I also believe that there is no system of "checks and balances" in place to run efficiently. I think, in general, the government is a "bloated bureaucracy".
Having been a "part" of several bureaucracies I tend to agree with you. I actually wrote off two management positions I held because I discerned redundancy. As a civil servant I found that embarrassing.
Interesting! The final tally as of today when the poll closes shows that 83% of respondents find worth in government employees even if roughly a third of those think they're over-compensated. That's a much higher approval rate than one would suppose from reading all the rants and raves on other boards on which civil servants are vilified and blamed for everthing from bankruptcy to cholera outbreaks (not really but close).
From a personal perspective it's nice to know that my wife and I just might have provided some useful and even appreciated services to the people we served.
Thanks to all those who participated; especially those who could stay on topic.
I was in a Florida Olive Garden and a couple of Gov't Retirees came over and tried to goad me into a fight. When I wouldn't accommodate them they grabbed my bowl of breadsticks and knocked my hat off. I later saw one of them alone at the Lakeland Mall and considered pushing his wheelchair down the escalator but decided to let it go as he probably wouldn't have known why I did it anyways. However, I still don't care much for Gov't retirees since that incident, not one bit.
"I still don't care much for Gov't retirees since that incident, not one bit."
To be fair I don't care much for people who base their opinion on 1 incident with "a couple of Gov't retirees" when their are tens of thousands of Gov't Retirees.
Do you base ALL your opinions of groups of people on a "couple" of People?
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