So government workers were given an additional 16 days vacation....time off WITH pay? Am I understanding this correctly? Is this how things normally work after an employer lock-out, which is essentially what this was, right?
The American Federation of Government Employees thinks it's fair since they've already been hit with a three-year pay freeze and given no more "increases" to their retirement contributions. "Employees are frustrated at being made the sacrificial lamb of deficit reduction....the federal government is becoming a less attractive employer."
Like they don't already have a cushy deal now?
* NOTE: The private sector pay chart above is already skewed by outsized pay for corporate executives / CEO's, sports stars, rock stars, etc.
Numerous studies have shown that federal workers already get 25-33% MORE in pay / benefits than workers in the private sector doing comparable work. I don't see bringing their pay package more in line over time WITH THE WORKERS WHO PAY THEM is being unreasonable. I'm not suggesting they deserve anything less, but just comparable.
OK, there's my conservative thought for the day. Now to appease my more liberal friends:
While we need to be very careful to not step over the social safety net fiscal make / break line*, I do think taxpayers are looking to save money in the wrong places. They're all upset about the costs involved with ObamaCare, and considering how the government mucks up most everything else it touches, I'm not so sure it's the way to go, either. But still, I do firmly believe in some sort of "universal health care".
Let's be pragmatic here. Yes, it will be a huge weight off all our shoulders to know that if we are sick or injured we can all receive quality health care without going bankrupt. And obviously they can't just give it away....we must somehow pay for it.
But think about how much more competitive this will make us in the new world economy. A healthier, stronger work force....mentally, emotionally, and physically....is bound to contribute significantly to our national bottom line. I just don't see how it couldn't. Instead of trying to tear apart the idea, why not work together to find a way that can make it work?
IMO, not all conservative ideas are bad, nor are all liberal ideas bad. We should calmly, logically consider them all.
* There is an interesting article in the NYT today highlighting the crushing burden on the French of their cradle-to-grave social programs and how it is busting their national budget.
OK, rip me.
S
The thing about the back pay is sure those employees got 16 days off but it wasn't a vacation since they had no idea when they'd get to work again and with their wages frozen any who were living paycheck-to-paycheck couldn't afford to go anywhere. It was basically like being unemployed. I was unemployed once for the better part of 6 months (a couple temp jobs interspersed there) and it was a living hell because sure you don't have to do anything but you have NO MONEY. So you can't go out to eat or watch a movie or take a drive because you don't have any $$$ to pay for it. That's how I'm sure most of those Federal employees felt so it's only right to make them whole again. The ones who don't deserve money are the idiot Tea Partiers who created that mess.
ReplyDeleteBut Pat, still, the taxpayers got gypped. They didn't get 16 days worth of labor they paid for. Want to take it out on the Tea Party...be my guest. Remember the date, November, 2014.
DeleteIf it had been a strike I'd share your outrage but those people didn't ask to be furloughed. And the whole point was to get rid of Obamacare, not about balancing the budget; that's just the Tea Party straw man.
DeleteGovernment over pays and over hires because it can, and cutting wages and cutting employees is hard.
ReplyDeleteMy firm had to HAD TO make cuts or go out of business several times and we always managed to get the job done with less...Gov't NEVER even tries!!
I 100% agree with you on healthcare. What we have sucks, and what we are getting will suck, maybe it will force changes that will be fair and will work. Healthcare system needs to change because HEALTHCARE has changed.
Just a point of interest, and losing company healthcare insurance is not a good thing, but that chart makes it look like company coverage which has dropped 8% has dropped 60%. Do you think the person who designed the chart had a bias? Statistics...love them!
Yep, the Gubment can just print however much more money they need. But I think you're making too big a deal of the comapny health care chart. My point was just to show that more and more employers, mainly small businesses I imagine, are not providing health care anymore. You can see where the trend will ultimately lead.
DeleteIt's obvious that Obamacare isn't perfect, but it's taken decades just to get this far. Let's face it, the Republicans do not want to cover everyone or even reform our healthcare system, which is laughed at around the world. Actually, Obamacare is loaded with Republican ideas. The ideas they put forth to counter Hillarycare in '94 are all here, only now the Republicans don't like it. I find it interesting that so many conservatives claim to love Jesus. I can't help but believe that Jesus would have wanted the most vulnerable among us to be protected.
ReplyDeleteThey're all just acting like spoiled kids. As I said, give every idea a fair hearing.
DeleteS
I keep hearing about how EXPENSIVE it will be if we pay for healthcare for EVERYONE. This thinking assumes that someone who is without insurance and means to pay does not receive healthcare. They do...in the most inefficient way. They wait until it's too late, and what would have been a $2,000 colonoscopy becomes major emergency surgery for colon cancer, paid for by taxes and higher insurance premiums by the rest of us. And those famous $4 aspirins you get in the hospital.
ReplyDeleteI had never thought of the impact of a healthier U.S. work force as a benefit of health insurance!
Is the VA part of the govt? because they act like it....see my blog in 30 min for full report of the idiot over there [not the doctor's but the staff]
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