From Pine View Farm

The Entitlement Society 3

“All these high CEOs and Wall Streeters getting bonuses on our tax dollars and . . . the government coming after public employees saying they’re the . . . cause of this . .”

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At the Guardian, Paul Harris comments on the anti-worker frenzy, pointing out the dipsy-doodle to distract persons from the real culprits:

What is perverse about this trend is just how vastly it misunderstands what went wrong with the American economy. No one is denying that this is a time for belt-tightening. Or that some unions have problems. Or that some union contracts look over-generous in austerity America. But the fundamental truth remains: powerful and reckless unions did not cause the Great Recession by rampant speculation. Nor did an out-of-control labour movement cause or burst the housing bubble. It was not union bosses who packaged up complex derivatives to sell in their millions and thus wrecked the economy and put millions out of work. Nor was it union bosses who awarded (and continue to award) themselves salaries worth hundreds of millions of dollars for doing nothing of social value. Neither was it the union movement that was bailed out by the taxpayer and then refused to change its habits.

All that was the work of the finance industry.

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3 comments

  1. Bill

    January 8, 2011 at 3:54 pm

    I work for the federal government.  We do not administer one program unless it is authorized by congress and we do not spend one penny unless it is appropriated by congress.  If there is waste, it starts with congress – not the employees.

     
  2. Frank

    January 8, 2011 at 8:41 pm

    I have known many persons who work for government at all levels.

    They take their jobs as seriously, if not more seriously, than private sector employees, often for far less pay than for the same job in the private sector.

     

     

     

     
  3. Bill

    January 9, 2011 at 7:00 pm

    I’ve worked for the federal government for 35+ years.  Most of the folks I work with are “professionals” – meaning their job has a positive college degree requirement.  We have no minimum wage jobs.  Even our lower level jobs are very technical in nature.
     
    In my opinion, there is “waste” in what we do but it’s wasteful programs passed and authorized by congress not wasteful people doing their jobs.
     
    There is so much misinformation and so many misconceptions about what we’re paid and all our great “free” benefits.  Our benefits are good, but not great, and they’re not free.  My standard health insurance costs me $133 every two weeks – that’s my share that comes out of my check.  It’s decent coverage but nothing special and does not include any routine dental or vision coverage.  I’m glad I have it and don’t have to pay the bill myself, but it is by no means free.  And I’ve paid 7% of every penny I’ve ever made into our retirement system.