Offices in the DC area are filled with uptight Type A who want to turn the world of fire! (layoffs, taxes)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Is the only point of this forum, "Hey, where can I find a cheap pho place near Columbia Heights"?
.
I agree. I'm happy to answer these types of questions, but if the only function is answering "is Petworth safe?" which has already been asked and answered 50 times, it's a pretty pointless forum.
I've tried to explain the fact that DC is the way it is because the rest of the country makes it that way. You'll either get that or you won't, but blaming DC for the people you all send to us remains misguided.
Quote:
Originally Posted by clb10
Second, Yes...most Americans want corporate CEO's to be held accountable for the TARP money we all gave them. But that doesn't mean that most Americans support a bunch of drum circle dancing, pot smoking, public park destroying misfits who have little understanding of the corporate world beyond "PUT ALL THE BILLIONAIRES IN JAIL!!"
Now you understand why we don't support your equally absurd views.
Quote:
And third, I am still waiting for somebody to explain why every Federal position in D.C. or anywhere else is essential since they are being paid for by struggling Americans who are trying to squeeze every penny during a harsh recession.
Do you have specific, concrete examples of positions in question? I don't think any industry could claim that every position is absolutely necessary or that everybody is pulling their weight. That's human nature, but do you understand the role each agency and staff play to make an informed determination about the value of their work, or are you still just dancing around your drum circle with little understanding of the federal world beyond "FIRE ALL THE EXECUTIVE ASSISTANTS!!"?
The market justifies the salaries, and federal employees salaries are 1) linked to the market rate for comparable non-federal jobs in their location 2)average 22% less than their private sector counterparts in an honest statistical comparisson.
And conversely the salaries justify the market. If you raise salaries, then property values increase as well. Again, NOVA has highest salary range in the US. Why do you think the COL is high here?
You dont just build a million dollar home in the middle of no where, and ask corporations to build around you to justify a salary, it works the other way around. When Microsoft moved to a little town (not city) called Redmond from New Mexico what the heck happened to property values there?
Very simple bro.......
Quote:
Originally Posted by KStreetQB
If you're seeing an article claiming that the feds are paying secretaries 80k, then they are including the value of their benefits as well, and it's only the secretary who has completely capped out their payscale after a long career with the highest locality adjustment (DC).
I am not seeing an article, I am posting job listings.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KStreetQB
Looking at the things that actually baloon the federal budget, anyone who thinks that 80k secretaries are a significant contribution are an embarassment. It's just misplaced spite.
Sure, and just writing off an obvious waste by pointing at another example through ad hominem is completely ignorant. The #1 expense of any organization including the federal government is salary/human expense. ECON 101. There are practically no businesses that have a higher expense than what they pay employees/citizens through salary and benefits. So guess where you start cutting when money runs dry.
Set a model of an efficient government, and live by that. How can paying a secretary 80K help us get out of a recession??
Just curious, what do you think about military spending?
I'm all for limiting the government...but most who talk about limiting the government, usually never question DOD spending of $707 billion a year, homeland security at $47 billion a year, Stealth Bombers that cost $1.5 billion each, etc.
I'm all for cutting out a few secretaries making 80K a year, but looking to cut there is like trying to encourage the soon-to-be-bankrupt guy to cut down on his coffee consumption to save a few dollars, while his purchasing vintage Rolls Royce collection goes along unchecked.
Fair point.
The DoD is recieving some very unusual cuts, and they are pulling the plug on alot of programs. I think this is a correct course of action. Too much of our GDP goes to defense spending, and other countries are not carrying their load. The US simply cannot afford to spend like that.
Also, they should combine agencies that have similar functions. INS and CBP, or ATF, Secret Service and FBI, DIA and State Department. Make them into one larger organization and eliminate duplicate jobs.
If you relocate more jobs from DC, many current gov workers will simply move with their jobs to their new location. New gov jobs will probably attract the same pool of job seekers, except they will be more spread out.
While we're at it, why not spread out more Wall Street and Silicon Valley jobs across the U.S. as well? While we're at it, why not take American jobs and spread them around the world to countries in desperate need of them? :-O All is not what it seems.
I am only concerned about the Fed. I am totally fine with Fed workers relocating with their jobs, as long as they accept the new salaries local to that area. Again, MDA working in NOVA meant that their access to Rocket Scientists was extremely limited, they made a great move by reloing the agency to Huntsville. You get cheaper AND better resource pools.
When you challenge a child the child often says you "hate" them.
A lot of children are spoiled...they just expect everything to be given to them and never expect to hear "no" once in a while.
I guess all of the people who were laid off over the last few years were "hated" by their employers, right?
I don't have enough money to purchase a congressman but, yeah I guess I can send them letters to be put in the circular file, usual.
If I am paying for something because if I don't I go to jail, then excuse me if I care where that money goes. Only an entitled, spoiled government worker would be offended by that. It is not up to me to prove the validity of a bureaucracy; it is up to the bureaucracy to prove the validity of its existence.
So much emotion from people who are scared of a .001% cut in federal workers while real America has to deal with 9.1% unemployment. Again, please show me ANY group of Americans who don't depend on da Gubment pay who support your positions.
If my viewpoints were some fringe, right-wing element then why do SO many people DISAPPROVE of Obama's policies?
LOL you use disapproval of Obama's policies to show the public at large supports your view? Major mistake. Maybe you should look up how many people "support" the tea party, and therefore support the kind of massive government overhaul you propose. Hint: It's not good news for you
Now contrast that to people who support Occupy Wall Street, which shows that people are more angry at Wall Street, bankers, and CEO's and not middle class "gubment" workers like yourself, and you find more bad news for you
For the record, if you were seriously arguing that that less than 1% of government workers aren't essential then I wouldn't even be having this debate with you. I'm not "scared" of cuts or most options to retool the federal workforce to be better.
But several pages back you implied half of fed workers should go and have said several times that most fed workers are lazy and waste without showing anything quantitative to actually support your position. That IS offensive and I'd be having this debate with you if you were sitting here arguing that half of bankers are lazy or half of construction workers were lazy because such baseless statements are so removed from reality that they are downright offensive. In my experience these types of arguments are par for the course for tea party and far right-wing types.
You're missing the value of an industry ecosystem. Sure, you could spread the entire federal government out evenly throughout the country, but it would become horribly inefficient and raise costs exponentially just to handle travel, negotiations, etc. You can't impact government or legislate very well over conference call.
Similarly, we wouldn't have the technologies we have today without a technology ecosystem of like-minded industries huddled together in Silicon Valley.
Fair point, I agree that "meetings" would be a concern, but we have technology that allows groups of individuals to meet without having to physically be there. If you go to any large corporation that has offices in multiple cities, many individuals do not fly back and forth to meet with their coworkers (they will to meet with customers), but of course the government is 10 years behind industry in even the most basic of enhancements (some agencies still use Typewriters to write up reports....sheesh).
Fair point, I agree that "meetings" would be a concern, but we have technology that allows groups of individuals to meet without having to physically be there. If you go to any large corporation that has offices in multiple cities, many individuals do not fly back and forth to meet with their coworkers (they will to meet with customers), but of course the government is 10 years behind industry in even the most basic of enhancements (some agencies still use Typewriters to write up reports....sheesh).
I've tried to explain the fact that DC is the way it is because the rest of the country makes it that way. You'll either get that or you won't, but blaming DC for the people you all send to us remains misguided.
Now you understand why we don't support your equally absurd views.
Do you have specific, concrete examples of positions in question? I don't think any industry could claim that every position is absolutely necessary or that everybody is pulling their weight. That's human nature, but do you understand the role each agency and staff play to make an informed determination about the value of their work, or are you still just dancing around your drum circle with little understanding of the federal world beyond "FIRE ALL THE EXECUTIVE ASSISTANTS!!"?
Explain exactly why we need this as a federal office:
The board provides advice for tribal members’ arts and crafts businesses, and it also operates three regional museums — in Montana, Oklahoma and South Dakota — showcasing tribal artisans’ work.
I know you are going to say that they just take a lil' wee bit of tax money but, hey, it would be a start, right?
We are in a recession. Why not let Americans keep a little more of their money?
Earlier I linked to a LONG list of federal agencies. So we can't spare a single one?
And regarding "any industry" when it comes to waste and necessity?
THAT IS NOT MY MONEY. What do I care about waste and fraud with PRIVATE capital?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
