And the Bankers Say "Fuck 'Em!"

[Minimalist]

As always.

http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/20433-...next-stage

In the past two days we've seen a federal judge rule that Detroit can go bankrupt, putting its workers' pensions in jeopardy, and we have seen Illinois' Legislature vote for substantial cuts in its retirees' pensions. Undoubtedly these two actions are just the tip of the iceberg. We have opened up a new sport for America's elite: pension theft.

[YoukaiSlave]

Oh noes! Not teh guvmint workers! /sarcasm

[Minimalist]

The Daily Show....last night.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-de...avy-settle


Pt. II


http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-de...-non-guilt

---

Oops.

Can't leave out Colbert.


http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert...g-congress

[Ryantology]

I don't understand why some people look upon employees of the government with scorn, as if working in the private sector somehow confers upon one some kind of moral superiority.

[freedomfromforum]

Their pensions are paid with our tax dollars. Private sector pensions are not.

[Ryantology]

That doesn't mean they didn't earn those pensions fairly.

Work is work. It doesn't matter who's employing you.

[YoukaiSlave]

I don't understand why some people look upon employees of the government with scorn, as if working in the private sector somehow confers upon one some kind of moral superiority.

That doesn't mean they didn't earn those pensions fairly.

Work is work. It doesn't matter who's employing you.

There's a very specific reason as to why private workers are better than government workers. Private workers are faced with competitions from employees of other companies, so they have to do a good job or else they'll lose their job. With government work, it's completely different. The government is a monopoly. Since they have no competition, they have no incentive to do a good job. The public sector unions have also rigged the rules in a way where it's impossible to fire them no matter how bad of a job they do.

[Captain Colostomy]

Meh, it's jealousy. After the private firms, by and large, shucked pension plans for 401ks, those non gubmint employees had yet another reason to be jealous. (Besides job security, benefits, good pay, sizeable vacations...)

Well, that's my thoughts. Sour grapes.

[Ryantology]

There's a very specific reason as to why private workers are better than government workers. Private workers are faced with competitions from employees of other companies, so they have to do a good job or else they'll lose their job. With government work, it's completely different. The government is a monopoly. Since they have no competition, they have no incentive to do a good job. The public sector unions have also rigged the rules in a way where it's impossible to fire them no matter how bad of a job they do.

That sounds like demonizing everybody for the sins of a few, like denying welfare to everybody because a tiny fraction abuse the system.

It's not as though many of those same abuses don't take place in the private sector, it's just that the beneficiaries tend to exist higher up the ladder and at the expense of everybody below them. Private sector workers are definitely subject to a lot more abuse from their employers, and for some reason, this should be the standard?

[popeyespappy]

There's a very specific reason as to why private workers are better than government workers. Private workers are faced with competitions from employees of other companies, so they have to do a good job or else they'll lose their job. With government work, it's completely different. The government is a monopoly. Since they have no competition, they have no incentive to do a good job. The public sector unions have also rigged the rules in a way where it's impossible to fire them no matter how bad of a job they do.

That sounds like demonizing everybody for the sins of a few, like denying welfare to everybody because a tiny fraction abuse the system.

It's not as though many of those same abuses don't take place in the private sector, it's just that the beneficiaries tend to exist higher up the ladder and at the expense of everybody below them. Private sector workers are definitely subject to a lot more abuse from their employers, and for some reason, this should be the standard?

It's been my experience that people with an opinion similar to that expressed by BreadGod above have little to no exposure to government employees. At least not at the professional level in the federal government. To begin with promotions for federal jobs are awarded competitively. If you want to move into a different position in order to earn a higher salary your resume and performance evaluations are going to be compared against those of all the others interested in the position you want. The US federal government is among the largest employers in the world. That means there is lot of competition for desirable jobs.

I have spent most of the last 25 plus years as a federal government contractor. I work with federal employees every day. With very few exceptions the government employees I work with are intelligent dedicated individuals who consistently put in more than a forty hour work week in a sometimes vain attempt to do more with less. In most cases they are asked to do this for less pay than their contractor counterparts.