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End of Gravy Train

Posted: February 24th, 2011, 7:01 pm
by vman
In an era when most (employees & companies) face the stinging reality of heath care costs, saving plans & pensions most unionized folks (teachers esp.) resist the realities of sharing in these rising costs. Furthermore, it 's absurd what govt. workers get in benefits, pension, etc. WE PAY FOR THESE OUT OF CONTROL ENTITLEMENTS FOLKS........an Ann Coulter article was forwarded me today - had to share & I know some on here just really luv her :)

Look For the Union Fable
by Ann Coulter
02/23/2011


The good news out of Wisconsin is that public school students' test scores skyrocketed last week, mystifying educators. The bad news is many student-teacher love affairs were hard-hit without access to janitors' closets and locker rooms.

Democrats are acting as if Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's demand that public sector employees give up collective bargaining would have George Washington rolling in his grave (a clear violation of Gravediggers' Local 803 regulations concerning the rolling of the dead).

In fact, government employees should never, ever be allowed to organize.


The need for a union comes down to this question: Do you have a boss who wants you to work harder for less money? In the private sector, the answer is yes. In the public sector, the answer is a big, fat NO.

Government unions have nothing in common with private sector unions because they don't have hostile management on the other side of the bargaining table. To the contrary, the "bosses" of government employees are co-conspirators with them in bilking the taxpayers.

Far from being careful stewards of the taxpayers' money, politicians are on the same side of the bargaining table as government employees -- against the taxpayers, who aren't allowed to be part of the negotiation. This is why the head of New York's largest public union in the mid-'70s, Victor Gotbaum, gloated, "We have the ability to elect our own boss."

Democratic politicians don't think of themselves as "management." They don't respond to union demands for more money by saying, "Are you kidding me?" They say, "Great -- get me a raise too!"

Democrats buy the votes of government workers with generous pay packages and benefits -- paid for by someone else -- and then expect a kickback from the unions in the form of hefty campaign donations, rent-a-mobs and questionable union political activity when they run for re-election.

In 2006, 10,000 public employees staged a rally outside the New Jersey State House to protest the mere discussion of a cut to their gold-plated salaries and benefits. Then-Gov. Jon Corzine leapt onto the stage shouting: "We will fight for a fair contract!"

Only later, someone noticed: Wait -- isn't he management? (It takes a special kind of courage to promise 10,000 crazed union agitators that you'll fight to get them more money.)

Service Employees International Union officials openly threaten California legislators. At a 2009 legislative hearing, an SEIU member sneered into a microphone: "We helped to getchu into office, and we gotta good memory. Come November, if you don't back our program, we'll getchu out of office."

It used to be widely understood that collective bargaining has no place in government employment. In 1937, the American president beloved by liberals, FDR, warned that collective bargaining "cannot be transplanted into the public service." George Meany, head of the AFL-CIO for a quarter century, said unions were not appropriate for civil servants. As recently as 1978, the vast majority of states prohibited unionization of government employees.

Anytime there is the slightest suggestion that perhaps in the middle of a deep recession, public school teachers should pay 1.5 percent of their salaries toward their extravagant health care plans for their entire families, suddenly we get television ads of hard-working men doing dangerous jobs on docks and in foundries while being abused by their greedy capitalist overseers.

The unions must be desperately hoping that no one will notice ... Wait a minute! WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TEACHERS! This isn't the Discovery Channel's "Dirty Jobs" -- it's Mrs. Cooper's seventh-grade "values clarification" class.

With heavy union dues, labor has plenty of money to pay for propaganda and to threaten and bribe politicians.

On his first day in office, the Republican governor of Indiana, Mitch Daniels, signed an executive order denying public sector employees the right to bargain collectively -- something that had been granted, naturally, by a Democratic governor.

As a result, Indiana government employees instantly got to take home an extra thousand dollars that no longer went to union dues -- and good employees started getting raises, while bad employees got cashiered.

But government workers think the job of everyone else in the economy is to protect their high salaries, crazy work rules and obscene pensions. They self-righteously lecture us about public service, the children, a "living wage" -- all in the service of squeezing more money from the taxpayer to fund their breathtakingly selfish job arrangements.

There's never a recession if you work for the government. The counties with the highest per capita income aren't near New York City or Los Angeles -- they're in the Washington, D.C., area -- a one-company town where the company is the government. The three counties with the highest incomes in the entire country are all suburbs of Washington. Eleven of the 25 counties with the highest incomes are near Washington.

For decades now, the Democrats have had a good gig buying the votes of government workers with outrageous salaries, benefits and work rules -- and then sticking productive earners with the bill. But, now, we're out of money, no matter how long Wisconsin Democrats hide out in Illinois.

Re: End of Gravy Train

Posted: February 26th, 2011, 10:23 pm
by Crimsoncrush67
Again, I would expect more from you than to read anything this woman writes.

Re: End of Gravy Train

Posted: March 1st, 2011, 1:21 pm
by southpaw
Usually agree with vman but not 100% here. I teach school am very conservative and do not have "gold plated benefits". Pay into my pension twice what the district pays and have a co premium for healthcare about 8%. Some districts pay nothing some pay more. Do I think we should pay more? I think the whole health care hmo idea needs to be redone. Get rid of copays and one size fits all policies which we have no choice in seleting. Go back to the deductable days and give people options on different plans to choose from. Once I retire I have to pay 100% of health insurance. Sure some unions have better bennies than that seem Wisconsin does.

The bigger problem is that we have exported away to China a whole segment of the economy of family sustaining jobs some were union some weren't and for what? Cheaper chinese imports? Cheaper in quality not in price! Until we renogtiate so called "free" trade agreements into "fair" trade agreements there will more and more strife in America as the "economic pie" get smaller and smaller.

Re: End of Gravy Train

Posted: March 1st, 2011, 1:24 pm
by southpaw
Crimsoncrush67 wrote:Again, I would expect more from you than to read anything this woman writes.
Not a big Ann Coulter fan...seems to seek shocking headlilnes than educate people.

I am a big fan of Michael Savage, and Pat Buchanan. Straight shooters who have depth of knowledge. Hannity, Limbaugh, and the Coulters of the world have little depth of knowledge and just rile people up by saying the same things every day.

Re: End of Gravy Train

Posted: March 2nd, 2011, 10:23 pm
by CRBL Baseball
Southpaw, to clarify some things ~ you contribute 7% towards your retirement plan called PSERS ~ Public School Employees’ Retirement System. Note, under this plan the amount of a member’s pension benefit is not tied to the investment performance of the Fund like a 401K plan I participate in (i.e., do not bear the investment risk of a down market). Note, your pension benefit is based on a fixed formula that is defined by the Legislature in the Retirement Code (i.e., the State of Pennsylvania, elected officials control these dynamics). Elected Officials are on the same program and implemented this plan. For example, if you work until age 60 with 30 or more years of service you can easily draw a fixed amount of $45k per year (Final Average Salary (FAS) x 2.5% x Years of School Service = Annual Benefit or $60,000.00 FAS x 2.5% = $1,250.00 x 30.00 Years of School Service = $45,000 Annual Maximum Single Life Annuity or $3,750 per month) (no withdrawal of contributions and interest). Members can opt to withdrawal in a lump sum of all personal contributions plus interest for a reduced benefit amount. Benefits are: subject to federal income tax, but not state taxes in Pennsylvania and not local taxes in Pennsylvania. Typical 401K plans are capped at a 15% contribuiton per year and are based on the performance of the market and over 2 years ago my plan went down over $150k with nobody coming to the rescue to refund my lost balances. By the way, your co-pay is 5.33% and the District absorbes the other 94.67% and all increases with premiums absorbed 100% on the District or the taxpayers.

Re: End of Gravy Train

Posted: March 3rd, 2011, 10:27 am
by southpaw
Here is the conondrum with the perceived union busting tactics of the Rep. Gov's. It is extremely poor practice to put all the blame of budget woes in public employees when the real culprits are the bankers and hedge fund managers that caused all this in the first place. How many bankers and brokers ended up being charged with any crimes? Only one I can think of ponzi scheme Madoff. Heck why not throw all of Congress in jail because our SS system is nothing more than a ponzi scheme. No instead of indicting the criminals in the finance industry the Fed bails them out to the tune of trillions of dollars to "balance" accounts. How many bankers missed their "bonuses" on taxpayer money? We can sit here and bash unions all day long but to ignore the root cause of this calamity is assanine. State budget crisis' around the country is only partly attributable to pensions funding. If there is accountability then the bankers should be held accountable for their role in this too. Everybody and I mean everybody needs to take a bite the sh!t sandwich not just the unions!

Re: End of Gravy Train

Posted: March 3rd, 2011, 6:34 pm
by CRBL Baseball
southpaw wrote:Here is the conondrum with the perceived union busting tactics of the Rep. Gov's. It is extremely poor practice to put all the blame of budget woes in public employees when the real culprits are the bankers and hedge fund managers that caused all this in the first place. How many bankers and brokers ended up being charged with any crimes? Only one I can think of ponzi scheme Madoff. Heck why not throw all of Congress in jail because our SS system is nothing more than a ponzi scheme. No instead of indicting the criminals in the finance industry the Fed bails them out to the tune of trillions of dollars to "balance" accounts. How many bankers missed their "bonuses" on taxpayer money? We can sit here and bash unions all day long but to ignore the root cause of this calamity is assanine. State budget crisis' around the country is only partly attributable to pensions funding. If there is accountability then the bankers should be held accountable for their role in this too. Everybody and I mean everybody needs to take a bite the sh!t sandwich not just the unions!
Now you are talking Southpaw, I agree with Congress & Bankers going to jail but will not happen because it is all a scam and both are tied to the hips ~ money, votes, power & greed! Check how much of your union dues goes towards fighting for your rights or paying Uni-Serve reps in your back yard at a $125k per year or buying off politicians. If you are contributing $800+ per year dues, you have the right to review where this money is going and understand what your directi union reps are doing for you as a member. Agree, everybody needs to make scarifices and it should be across the board and not just the taxpayers ~ bankers, politicians and union members!

Re: End of Gravy Train

Posted: March 4th, 2011, 1:06 pm
by southpaw
Not only does the gravy train need to end for unions and banking welfare it needs to end in our military and foreign aid. I saw a chart with all 190 or so countries on the planet and we give aid to like 150 of them! Unbelievable! We patrol the 38th parallel on the Korean peninsula with 25,000 troops but we can't even patrol our own border with Mexico? Unbelievable! We still have troops on bases throughout the pacific rim and in Europe. For what? To protect Japan and Europe? From who? China and Russia? What a joke this whole mess is. The gravy train doesn't start or end with public employee unions. Bring the troops home, close the bases, make Europe and Asia defend itself and we can build new factories and create tens of thousands of new jobs building tanks, bombs, and planes for Europes and Asias defense. There is a job creation strategy that will work.

Re: End of Gravy Train

Posted: March 6th, 2011, 2:12 pm
by CRBL Baseball
southpaw wrote:Not only does the gravy train need to end for unions and banking welfare it needs to end in our military and foreign aid. I saw a chart with all 190 or so countries on the planet and we give aid to like 150 of them! Unbelievable! We patrol the 38th parallel on the Korean peninsula with 25,000 troops but we can't even patrol our own border with Mexico? Unbelievable! We still have troops on bases throughout the pacific rim and in Europe. For what? To protect Japan and Europe? From who? China and Russia? What a joke this whole mess is. The gravy train doesn't start or end with public employee unions. Bring the troops home, close the bases, make Europe and Asia defend itself and we can build new factories and create tens of thousands of new jobs building tanks, bombs, and planes for Europes and Asias defense. There is a job creation strategy that will work.
Southpaw, agree and are you doing your part to vote out current politicians that have kept these measures in place year after year or term after term?