Why are unions such supporters of making illegal workers legal? Does it not run against the best interests of the current membership? More workers in the supply chain only drives down wages, right?
Stay with me on this for a second or two…. I have an analogy I want to use that has been in the inventory for many years. When I was in my teens and too young to buy legal liquor, we could go to a bootlegger who would sell to us even on blue law Sunday. It was all illegal for him no matter when he sold liquor or to whom.
The same holds true for employers who hire illegal workers. It’s all illegal. Wages, taxes, overtime, social security, workers’ compensation. What difference does it make? So long as the employers of this country can get away with hiring illegal workers, the entire economy is harmed. Yes, we can buy goods and services provided at substandard wage rates. That is the American way, right? The business owner gets to make extra profits and pay less wages, benefits and taxes. That is the American way, right? Cheating is OK if you do not get caught, right? No, it is not OK.
The unions are trying to get an immigration policy developed for more than one reason. More members and dues? Yes, of course. But unions have fought for the rights of working people so long as they have existed. We could search for all kinds of ulterior motives, but seeking justice for all is what unionism is all about. That is the American way, right? So get over it.
Now… how about illegal workers in the public sector?
I could not find anything reliable to indicate how much or if at all the presence of illegal workers is a problem in public employment. I suspect it is not much of an issue because government by its nature will do a better job of screening employees. Hiring illegals will happen but not as often as in a sweat shop or strawberry patch.
So how does the public sector employer get to enjoy the cost savings enjoyed by corporations who hire illegal workers and pay them substandard wages and benefits?
You silly goose. They privatize and hire unregulated contractors who apparently can get away with doing so. Substandard wages and benefits mean more profits for the employer. How much money have you saved when the government participates in the scheme? Government is laying off employees and contracting out services so they can get a piece of that action. That is the American way, right?
BOHICA
And oh yes, have a nice Day?
Wjc
Caveat Lectores by Jeff Carnes
6500 Readers in 432 Cities, 41 States and 15 Countries
Read at your own risk.
Lectores Labor Consulting 813-240-8165
LectoresIT.com
Caveat Lectores on Facebook
Do the Lector a favor: If you like the stuff we post, share it on your Facebook profile by clicking the "Share" link under the item you like. Also, please use the "Suggest to Friends" link below our logo in the upper left corner to tell others about our Facebook page!
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Caveat Lectores on Illegal Worker Hypocrisy
I find the current discourse on illegal immigrants troubling mostly because of the hypocrisy involved. We claim we want to secure our borders from the demons who try to come here without a proper invitation, yet we demand a steady supply of low wage workers to do the jobs that others do not seek.
Our country has a rich but sullied history of exploiting those who want to be here so badly they will work for less. Oops, I almost forgot the millions of West Africans who “immigrated” to the new world on “cruise ships” to revel in the opportunities that abounded. Our country was founded upon cheap labor. So cheap, it was provided for free by slaves imported like cattle and frequently treated worse.
Sadly, some of our forefathers, we revere as being so sage and just, were owners and exploiters of slave labor. Very likely, our country would not be as economically successful as it is today but for peoples who came here and were exploited by the wealthy who could own them or later employ them once slavery was outlawed. The same is true for all the immigrant masses on whom we count to supply the bottom rungs of the economic ladder.
Why all of a sudden does it matter that people are coming here to take low paying jobs?
• First of all, this is not a new issue.
• It is an issue to some because the influx of illegal workers causes real problems to the affected economies and government entities.
• It is an issue to groups who try to rule by dividing those they seek to rule. Right wingnuts and Teabaggers come to mind here. Creating problems and demonizing others takes the public’s attention away from the real problems these ignorant demagogues cannot understand or begin to supply answers to.
• We have been demonizing newly arrived immigrant populations forever. They compete for good jobs as well as bad ones. Whoever is settled in at any given time usually does not welcome new competition. My understanding of available history is there have been issues with the Irish, German, Japanese, Chinese, Welsh, Scandinavian, Canadian, Australian, (you get the idea) and now Mexican and southern hemispheric and eastern European migrations to this country. Unless it suits the purposes of whoever is in charge, we do not like competition for our prosperity.
• Over supply of labor drives down existing wage rates. This is true, but there is a bigger problem created by the jobs we export to the same low wage countries who now supply the legal and illegal workers.
• Underpaid workers require government supplied social services to exist. This is true, but unemployed or underpaid workers require the same assistance no matter what legal immigration status they fall into. The pragmatic reason for much of the social assistance provided to the poor is to reduce the motivation to steal from the rich what they will not willingly share.
I do not know the answer. We have a devastating unemployment rate, but running out all the illegal workers will not make the low wage jobs any more attractive to the higher paid former workers who have lost their jobs. I guess we could completely dismantle the social services network and benefits they provide and cast the unemployed into the cesspool to swim in shit or drown.
Now I am getting the idea. The right wingnuts are more interested in blaming the illegal workers and building walls to keep them out than enforcing the laws against hiring illegal workers. That seems to be where I started this Rant. Illegal Worker Hypocrisy. Business needs low paid workers to make high profits. Wow. My head is throbbing.
And Oh yes, Have a nice day!
wjc
Caveat Lectores by Jeff Carnes
6500 Readers in 432 Cities, 41 States and 15 Countries
Read at your own risk.
Lectores Labor Consulting 813-240-8165
LectoresIT.com
Caveat Lectores on Facebook
Do the Lector a favor: If you like the stuff we post, share it on your Facebook profile by clicking the "Share" link under the item you like. Also, please use the "Suggest to Friends" link below our logo in the upper left corner to tell others about our Facebook page!
Our country has a rich but sullied history of exploiting those who want to be here so badly they will work for less. Oops, I almost forgot the millions of West Africans who “immigrated” to the new world on “cruise ships” to revel in the opportunities that abounded. Our country was founded upon cheap labor. So cheap, it was provided for free by slaves imported like cattle and frequently treated worse.
Sadly, some of our forefathers, we revere as being so sage and just, were owners and exploiters of slave labor. Very likely, our country would not be as economically successful as it is today but for peoples who came here and were exploited by the wealthy who could own them or later employ them once slavery was outlawed. The same is true for all the immigrant masses on whom we count to supply the bottom rungs of the economic ladder.
Why all of a sudden does it matter that people are coming here to take low paying jobs?
• First of all, this is not a new issue.
• It is an issue to some because the influx of illegal workers causes real problems to the affected economies and government entities.
• It is an issue to groups who try to rule by dividing those they seek to rule. Right wingnuts and Teabaggers come to mind here. Creating problems and demonizing others takes the public’s attention away from the real problems these ignorant demagogues cannot understand or begin to supply answers to.
• We have been demonizing newly arrived immigrant populations forever. They compete for good jobs as well as bad ones. Whoever is settled in at any given time usually does not welcome new competition. My understanding of available history is there have been issues with the Irish, German, Japanese, Chinese, Welsh, Scandinavian, Canadian, Australian, (you get the idea) and now Mexican and southern hemispheric and eastern European migrations to this country. Unless it suits the purposes of whoever is in charge, we do not like competition for our prosperity.
• Over supply of labor drives down existing wage rates. This is true, but there is a bigger problem created by the jobs we export to the same low wage countries who now supply the legal and illegal workers.
• Underpaid workers require government supplied social services to exist. This is true, but unemployed or underpaid workers require the same assistance no matter what legal immigration status they fall into. The pragmatic reason for much of the social assistance provided to the poor is to reduce the motivation to steal from the rich what they will not willingly share.
I do not know the answer. We have a devastating unemployment rate, but running out all the illegal workers will not make the low wage jobs any more attractive to the higher paid former workers who have lost their jobs. I guess we could completely dismantle the social services network and benefits they provide and cast the unemployed into the cesspool to swim in shit or drown.
Now I am getting the idea. The right wingnuts are more interested in blaming the illegal workers and building walls to keep them out than enforcing the laws against hiring illegal workers. That seems to be where I started this Rant. Illegal Worker Hypocrisy. Business needs low paid workers to make high profits. Wow. My head is throbbing.
And Oh yes, Have a nice day!
wjc
Caveat Lectores by Jeff Carnes
6500 Readers in 432 Cities, 41 States and 15 Countries
Read at your own risk.
Lectores Labor Consulting 813-240-8165
LectoresIT.com
Caveat Lectores on Facebook
Do the Lector a favor: If you like the stuff we post, share it on your Facebook profile by clicking the "Share" link under the item you like. Also, please use the "Suggest to Friends" link below our logo in the upper left corner to tell others about our Facebook page!
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Caveat Lectores on Rick Scott and Insanity
That Rick Scott guy, the multibillionaire Florida gubernatorial candidate who was so successful in the private sector he was invited to leave, has some really good ideas. Take his idea about revoking the business license of employers who hire illegal aliens for instance.
That actually seems like a winner until you try to figure out what we are going to do when the illegals leave and no one wants to do the low paying, shitty jobs they are stealing from the legal whites and blacks who would rather do something else. Unemployment is at record levels, but apparently most people, except right wing rePuPlicans and tea baggers, do not want the fucking jobs the illegals actually do.
Apparently, the tea baggers and rePuPlican Senators think they can reduce the supply of illegal workers and increase the supply of legal workers at the same time by doing away with unemployment compensation. My head is beginning to throb.
Maybe we could just declare a random day and designate it as the day everyone who is not legal must leave. We have enough people as it is. Take away all opportunity to work and all social services and they will quietly leave or die of starvation. No one will steal or try to cheat or just go underground.
We could tattoo all the legal’s Social Security number on our forearms. Anyone without a SS tattoo is fair game for however we treat them. I heard that something similar was tried in Germany some years back and it worked. Ok, things got a little mean spirited but genocide is a thing of the past. Right?
If someone is without a job, an employer looking for employees should be able to just draft any one not otherwise employed to do the work. Since they have pretty much denutted the private sector unions, they can just pay the draftees what seems fair. It is called “right to work” you shitheads. Oops,my vulgarity is slipping out. I hope I offended someone. Please report me to a clean speech monitor.
If none of this makes any sense to you, you are not a right wing rePuPlican or a tea bagger.
And oh yes, have a nice Day?
Wjc
Caveat Lectores by Jeff Carnes
6500 Readers in 432 Cities, 41 States and 15 Countries
Read at your own risk.
Lectores Labor Consulting 813-240-8165
LectoresIT.com
Caveat Lectores on Facebook
Do the Lector a favor: If you like the stuff we post, share it on your Facebook profile by clicking the "Share" link under the item you like. Also, please use the "Suggest to Friends" link below our logo in the upper left corner to tell others about our Facebook page!
That actually seems like a winner until you try to figure out what we are going to do when the illegals leave and no one wants to do the low paying, shitty jobs they are stealing from the legal whites and blacks who would rather do something else. Unemployment is at record levels, but apparently most people, except right wing rePuPlicans and tea baggers, do not want the fucking jobs the illegals actually do.
Apparently, the tea baggers and rePuPlican Senators think they can reduce the supply of illegal workers and increase the supply of legal workers at the same time by doing away with unemployment compensation. My head is beginning to throb.
Maybe we could just declare a random day and designate it as the day everyone who is not legal must leave. We have enough people as it is. Take away all opportunity to work and all social services and they will quietly leave or die of starvation. No one will steal or try to cheat or just go underground.
We could tattoo all the legal’s Social Security number on our forearms. Anyone without a SS tattoo is fair game for however we treat them. I heard that something similar was tried in Germany some years back and it worked. Ok, things got a little mean spirited but genocide is a thing of the past. Right?
If someone is without a job, an employer looking for employees should be able to just draft any one not otherwise employed to do the work. Since they have pretty much denutted the private sector unions, they can just pay the draftees what seems fair. It is called “right to work” you shitheads. Oops,my vulgarity is slipping out. I hope I offended someone. Please report me to a clean speech monitor.
If none of this makes any sense to you, you are not a right wing rePuPlican or a tea bagger.
And oh yes, have a nice Day?
Wjc
Caveat Lectores by Jeff Carnes
6500 Readers in 432 Cities, 41 States and 15 Countries
Read at your own risk.
Lectores Labor Consulting 813-240-8165
LectoresIT.com
Caveat Lectores on Facebook
Do the Lector a favor: If you like the stuff we post, share it on your Facebook profile by clicking the "Share" link under the item you like. Also, please use the "Suggest to Friends" link below our logo in the upper left corner to tell others about our Facebook page!
Friday, July 23, 2010
Caveat Lectores on The Myth of Ronald Reagan
By: Joan E. Dowlin
While today's conservative talk radio hosts mock President Obama by calling him "the Messiah", they actually worship a Republican demagogue, the late Ronald Wilson Reagan, 40th President of these United States of America.
To hear Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, and others wax nostalgic of the good old days of the 1980s when Reagan was, in their eyes, the "father of modern conservatism", you would think he saved the country from big government, single-handedly destroyed Communism, cut taxes and restored peace and prosperity.
Let's take a closer look at Reaganomics. The tenets of fiscal conservatism are cutting taxes, slashing spending, balancing the budget, building a strong defense, and creating smaller government. The truth is President Reagan cut taxes, but mostly for the very rich, and reduced spending on domestic programs while increasing the military budget 39% during a period of peace, thus creating a bigger government with huge deficits the likes of which we had never seen until President George W. Bush came along.
Reagan also deregulated big business, eased up on environmental restrictions, and fired the striking air traffic controllers, effectively busting their union and creating unsafe skies. This deregulation precipitated the financial situation we find our economy in today where greed and selfishness have run amok with the Enron scandal, a mortgage crisis and failing banks.
The exodus of American manufacturing to foreign countries began during the Reagan era chronicled by Michael Moore in his movie Roger and Me which follows the demise of General Motors in Flint, Michigan after GM CEO Roger Smith moves his automobile factory to Mexico.
Eerily, the Moore movie interviews laid-off auto workers as their homes are foreclosed on and boarded up before they move to other towns seeking work. Today, we have that same scenario playing again all over our nation.
One could argue that the selling of American businesses to overseas' markets began under Ronald Reagan. With no government interference, corporations were free to seek profits wherever the labor was cheapest. Some call the '80s a golden age. It depends on who you talk to. It created golden parachutes for CEOs and corporate executives but with tax breaks for the wealthy and business deregulation, the rich got richer, the poor got poorer, and the middle class shrank. It's still shrinking.
As for foreign policy, the "gipper" may have put up a good front. After all he was an actor, and playing the Commander in Chief was his greatest role. He may have contributed to ending the Cold War, but "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this war (in Berlin)" notwithstanding, the USSR's communist economy basically collapsed from within.
Reagan also covertly supported Afghanistan in their battle against the Soviet Union (as shown in the move "Charlie Wilson's War"), but those we helped to arm later became the Taliban, a militant religious group that are now our enemy in the war against terrorism.
A similar backlash has occurred in Iraq. President Reagan backed then Iragi leader Saddam Hussein by sending him weapons to battle Iran in their eight year war. Later Hussein invaded Kuwait and Iraq became our enemy forcing Reagan's successor, George H.W. Bush to begin the Gulf War in 1991. President George W. Bush used the terrorist attacks of 9/11 as an excuse to finish his father's business and drive Saddam Hussein out of power in the Iraq war in 2003.
We are still waging war in both countries which is ironic because the father of conservatism armed both of our now enemy nations. Maybe that is why President George W. Bush was sure that Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. President Reagan had sold them to him. Where they ended up is anyone's guess.
Reagan may have been the "great communicator" who knew how to negotiate with the opposing party to get his agenda passed. I'm just not sure his agenda was good for the nation. In truth, the only modern president who cut taxes for the middle class, balanced the budget, created a surplus, cut the size of government, reformed welfare, created jobs, and presided over the nation during a time of unprecedented peace and prosperity was a Democrat, President Bill Clinton. He did this after inheriting a recession with record deficits.
Wouldn't it make sense to follow Clinton's example, rather than glorifying the myth of conservative icon Ronald Reagan?
From:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joan-e-dowlin/the-myth-of-ronald-reagan_b_527951.html
The Lector has nothing to add to this except to agree and wish I had typed it on the page first. This is an opinion blog not a fair and balanced news network like Fox.
And oh yes, have a nice Day?
Wjc
Caveat Lectores by Jeff Carnes
6500 Readers in 432 Cities, 41 States and 15 Countries
Read at your own risk.
Lectores Labor Consulting 813-240-8165
LectoresIT.com
Caveat Lectores on Facebook
Do the Lector a favor: If you like the stuff we post, share it on your Facebook profile by clicking the "Share" link under the item you like. Also, please use the "Suggest to Friends" link below our logo in the upper left corner to tell others about our Facebook page!
While today's conservative talk radio hosts mock President Obama by calling him "the Messiah", they actually worship a Republican demagogue, the late Ronald Wilson Reagan, 40th President of these United States of America.
To hear Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, and others wax nostalgic of the good old days of the 1980s when Reagan was, in their eyes, the "father of modern conservatism", you would think he saved the country from big government, single-handedly destroyed Communism, cut taxes and restored peace and prosperity.
Let's take a closer look at Reaganomics. The tenets of fiscal conservatism are cutting taxes, slashing spending, balancing the budget, building a strong defense, and creating smaller government. The truth is President Reagan cut taxes, but mostly for the very rich, and reduced spending on domestic programs while increasing the military budget 39% during a period of peace, thus creating a bigger government with huge deficits the likes of which we had never seen until President George W. Bush came along.
Reagan also deregulated big business, eased up on environmental restrictions, and fired the striking air traffic controllers, effectively busting their union and creating unsafe skies. This deregulation precipitated the financial situation we find our economy in today where greed and selfishness have run amok with the Enron scandal, a mortgage crisis and failing banks.
The exodus of American manufacturing to foreign countries began during the Reagan era chronicled by Michael Moore in his movie Roger and Me which follows the demise of General Motors in Flint, Michigan after GM CEO Roger Smith moves his automobile factory to Mexico.
Eerily, the Moore movie interviews laid-off auto workers as their homes are foreclosed on and boarded up before they move to other towns seeking work. Today, we have that same scenario playing again all over our nation.
One could argue that the selling of American businesses to overseas' markets began under Ronald Reagan. With no government interference, corporations were free to seek profits wherever the labor was cheapest. Some call the '80s a golden age. It depends on who you talk to. It created golden parachutes for CEOs and corporate executives but with tax breaks for the wealthy and business deregulation, the rich got richer, the poor got poorer, and the middle class shrank. It's still shrinking.
As for foreign policy, the "gipper" may have put up a good front. After all he was an actor, and playing the Commander in Chief was his greatest role. He may have contributed to ending the Cold War, but "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this war (in Berlin)" notwithstanding, the USSR's communist economy basically collapsed from within.
Reagan also covertly supported Afghanistan in their battle against the Soviet Union (as shown in the move "Charlie Wilson's War"), but those we helped to arm later became the Taliban, a militant religious group that are now our enemy in the war against terrorism.
A similar backlash has occurred in Iraq. President Reagan backed then Iragi leader Saddam Hussein by sending him weapons to battle Iran in their eight year war. Later Hussein invaded Kuwait and Iraq became our enemy forcing Reagan's successor, George H.W. Bush to begin the Gulf War in 1991. President George W. Bush used the terrorist attacks of 9/11 as an excuse to finish his father's business and drive Saddam Hussein out of power in the Iraq war in 2003.
We are still waging war in both countries which is ironic because the father of conservatism armed both of our now enemy nations. Maybe that is why President George W. Bush was sure that Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. President Reagan had sold them to him. Where they ended up is anyone's guess.
Reagan may have been the "great communicator" who knew how to negotiate with the opposing party to get his agenda passed. I'm just not sure his agenda was good for the nation. In truth, the only modern president who cut taxes for the middle class, balanced the budget, created a surplus, cut the size of government, reformed welfare, created jobs, and presided over the nation during a time of unprecedented peace and prosperity was a Democrat, President Bill Clinton. He did this after inheriting a recession with record deficits.
Wouldn't it make sense to follow Clinton's example, rather than glorifying the myth of conservative icon Ronald Reagan?
From:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joan-e-dowlin/the-myth-of-ronald-reagan_b_527951.html
The Lector has nothing to add to this except to agree and wish I had typed it on the page first. This is an opinion blog not a fair and balanced news network like Fox.
And oh yes, have a nice Day?
Wjc
Caveat Lectores by Jeff Carnes
6500 Readers in 432 Cities, 41 States and 15 Countries
Read at your own risk.
Lectores Labor Consulting 813-240-8165
LectoresIT.com
Caveat Lectores on Facebook
Do the Lector a favor: If you like the stuff we post, share it on your Facebook profile by clicking the "Share" link under the item you like. Also, please use the "Suggest to Friends" link below our logo in the upper left corner to tell others about our Facebook page!
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Caveat Lectores on Teabaggers and Dixiecrats and John Birch
Recent research has informed me that I am not the only political hack who sees a similarity between Teabaggers and Dixiecrats and John Birchers. It makes me feel a little better to know that I do not stand alone. I just wonder why this is not a more frequent topic.
All three groups, dating back to the days of FDR, were firmly in favor of right wing conservatism, limiting the federal government and social regression to times long past.
For those who forgot or never knew about Dixiecrats, this was the nickname of the States’ Rights Democratic Party. The underpinnings of the Dixiecrats began in the 30’s when the southern Democrat voting bloc accepted the Depression motivated economic intervention of the federal government but would not accept civil rights for Negroes. In 1948, the official party was formed primarily to protect against racial desegregation. Strom Thurmond ran for President as a Dixiecrat and lost. The Dixiecrats eventually self destructed as the country moved forward on civil rights. Some of the Dixiecrats remained with the Democrat Party while others like Thurmond became Republicans. The original Dixiecrats changed their public racist tune and became champions for right wing conservative causes that included states’ rights. (A common code word for segregation)
In subsequent years, various segregationist elements and the Republican Party and its “Southern Strategy” were able to siphon off more southern Democrat politicians and voters. The 60’s civil rights movement further splintered the southern Democrats. Barry Goldwater, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Newt Gingrich and G.W. Bush were able to find ways to further fragment what was once the Democrat monolith of the South by promising right wing conservatism, limited government intervention and appealing to single, otherwise unimportant issues (at least to the Republican leadership), that would entice southern Democrat politicians and voters.
Beginning in the Cold War 50’s, the John Birch Society (JBS) had much the same right wing conservative base but focused on fighting the evils of Communism instead of segregation to build its base. Limiting federal government, personal freedom, patriotism, return to 18th century values and government based on Christian principles were the hallmarks in addition to anti-Communist zealotry. The JBS opposed the Civil Rights Act, the U.N. and OSHA, as well. The JBS purportedly opposed the Vietnam War because of a belief the war itself was a Communist plot to take over the United States.
The JBS is pretty much against anything proposed or carried out by the federal government. It still exists but has been largely marginalized. It was never a political party as such that competed with the conventional parties but it probably hindered the Republican Party efforts to consolidate voters.
In today’s political world, does any of this sound familiar. Can you say Tea Party Patriots?
Tea Baggers are hard to corral because they are not exactly organized enough to define their core beliefs. Remember, they are “mavericks.” We know they are against anything the Democrats OR Republicans do. The Republican Party has been accused of being behind the Tea Baggers, but it seems the Rs have more voters to lose if the Tea Baggers succeed at whatever they are trying to do.
Apparently, they are trying to take over government but are proud of the fact they know nothing about government except they do not like government. They want anyone with knowledge of government put out of office.
We know they convulse at the mention of Barack Hussein Obama although they assure us it has nothing to do with his race. When a member goes off the deep end, they disavow any support but do not refute. They still think President Obama is a foreign born illegal alien. The senior Tea Baggers do not want “socialist” healthcare for all but do not want the federal government messing with their Medicare or Social Security. They want less government regulation but demand the federal government correct the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Actually, they blame over regulation for the disaster.
They seem to be made up of a foundation of heretofore disinterested but otherwise “patriotic” conservative non- participating citizens who got involved only after a partially Negro man became President of the United States. They believe this man is a Muslim. They religiously believe anything told to them by Fox News pundits.
They are not poor or uneducated, just naïve. BOHICA
And oh yes, have a nice Day?
Wjc
Caveat Lectores by Jeff Carnes
6500 Readers in 477 Cities, 41 States and 15 Countries
Read at your own risk.
You may learn something you did not want to know
about political and labor relations complications that affect ALL
Public Employees: Firefighters, Paramedics, Law Enforcement,
General Employees and Teachers.
Lectores Labor Consulting 813-240-8165
LectoresIT.com
Caveat Lectores
Caveat Lectores on Facebook
All three groups, dating back to the days of FDR, were firmly in favor of right wing conservatism, limiting the federal government and social regression to times long past.
For those who forgot or never knew about Dixiecrats, this was the nickname of the States’ Rights Democratic Party. The underpinnings of the Dixiecrats began in the 30’s when the southern Democrat voting bloc accepted the Depression motivated economic intervention of the federal government but would not accept civil rights for Negroes. In 1948, the official party was formed primarily to protect against racial desegregation. Strom Thurmond ran for President as a Dixiecrat and lost. The Dixiecrats eventually self destructed as the country moved forward on civil rights. Some of the Dixiecrats remained with the Democrat Party while others like Thurmond became Republicans. The original Dixiecrats changed their public racist tune and became champions for right wing conservative causes that included states’ rights. (A common code word for segregation)
In subsequent years, various segregationist elements and the Republican Party and its “Southern Strategy” were able to siphon off more southern Democrat politicians and voters. The 60’s civil rights movement further splintered the southern Democrats. Barry Goldwater, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Newt Gingrich and G.W. Bush were able to find ways to further fragment what was once the Democrat monolith of the South by promising right wing conservatism, limited government intervention and appealing to single, otherwise unimportant issues (at least to the Republican leadership), that would entice southern Democrat politicians and voters.
Beginning in the Cold War 50’s, the John Birch Society (JBS) had much the same right wing conservative base but focused on fighting the evils of Communism instead of segregation to build its base. Limiting federal government, personal freedom, patriotism, return to 18th century values and government based on Christian principles were the hallmarks in addition to anti-Communist zealotry. The JBS opposed the Civil Rights Act, the U.N. and OSHA, as well. The JBS purportedly opposed the Vietnam War because of a belief the war itself was a Communist plot to take over the United States.
The JBS is pretty much against anything proposed or carried out by the federal government. It still exists but has been largely marginalized. It was never a political party as such that competed with the conventional parties but it probably hindered the Republican Party efforts to consolidate voters.
In today’s political world, does any of this sound familiar. Can you say Tea Party Patriots?
Tea Baggers are hard to corral because they are not exactly organized enough to define their core beliefs. Remember, they are “mavericks.” We know they are against anything the Democrats OR Republicans do. The Republican Party has been accused of being behind the Tea Baggers, but it seems the Rs have more voters to lose if the Tea Baggers succeed at whatever they are trying to do.
Apparently, they are trying to take over government but are proud of the fact they know nothing about government except they do not like government. They want anyone with knowledge of government put out of office.
We know they convulse at the mention of Barack Hussein Obama although they assure us it has nothing to do with his race. When a member goes off the deep end, they disavow any support but do not refute. They still think President Obama is a foreign born illegal alien. The senior Tea Baggers do not want “socialist” healthcare for all but do not want the federal government messing with their Medicare or Social Security. They want less government regulation but demand the federal government correct the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Actually, they blame over regulation for the disaster.
They seem to be made up of a foundation of heretofore disinterested but otherwise “patriotic” conservative non- participating citizens who got involved only after a partially Negro man became President of the United States. They believe this man is a Muslim. They religiously believe anything told to them by Fox News pundits.
They are not poor or uneducated, just naïve. BOHICA
And oh yes, have a nice Day?
Wjc
Caveat Lectores by Jeff Carnes
6500 Readers in 477 Cities, 41 States and 15 Countries
Read at your own risk.
You may learn something you did not want to know
about political and labor relations complications that affect ALL
Public Employees: Firefighters, Paramedics, Law Enforcement,
General Employees and Teachers.
Lectores Labor Consulting 813-240-8165
LectoresIT.com
Caveat Lectores
Caveat Lectores on Facebook
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Caveat Lectores on Opera Winfrey
After spending the day staring at a computer screen trying to redesign some Lectores Labor Consulting PowerPoint Seminars, I decided to spend a little time working on redesigning ME. That did not take long because ME is either perfect or a hopeless case. Nothing is going to change any time soon.
All of a sudden I got the brilliant idea that my commercial ventures would be much more successful if I could get an endorsement from a celebrity. After much thought, I could not decide who would be the best spokesperson for Caveat Lectores. Out of the blue, it came to me. Why not give Opera Winfrey a crack at it? She is reasonably well known and a woman of color. Caveat Lectores is all about diversity. Why not share my diverticular tendencies with her.
I knew she probably did not need the money so much so I decided she might enjoy a weekend at the House on Devil’s Neck. I am not staying there right now because the summer mildew has given ME a terrible case of bronchitis; therefore, it would not inconvenience ME too much.
Well, I Googled her and got her phone number. When I called, you would have thought they thought I was crazy. Something about how they do not appreciate prank phone calls. Who does she think she is? They would not even let me tell them about Alliburton Gator or how we solved the oil spill with Spanish moss. She is very self absorbed. I finally put Dr. Hooby Boo on the line to brush her off.
Next I called Lucille Ball because I heard they were selling her Roll Royce. She must need the money. They told me she was dead since 1989. That whole thing did not work out so well. I finally put Dr. Hooby Boo on the line to brush her off.
I decided to call Kevin Spacey since he is the source of the stories about my hero Kaizer Sose’. "...la plus belle des ruses du diable est de vous persuader qu'il n'existe pas!" That did not work out so well either. Something about him just being an actor and I should not believe everything I see on the TV. I finally put Dr. Hooby Boo on the line to brush him off.
I finally struck pay dirt with the Three Stooges. Shemp Howard’s third cousin’s grandson’s wife’s brother lives just down the street from the House on Devil’s Neck and has agreed to be the official spokesperson for the next Devil’s Neck Labor/Management Kumbaya Retreat. We normally only have one annual retreat per quarter, but with a spokesperson like Little Pete “the Coward” Howard we changed the whole scenario.
Now that the remodeling is completed, we will be having an Annual Devil’s Neck Labor/Management Kumbaya Retreat once a month. Be there or not. If not, just send the extra $500.00 for the Enhanced version that includes all the certifications, group picture and you do not have to attend to get credit. Cash only. To make reservations, just call the toll free number 800-YOU-BHAD.
And oh yes, have a nice Day?
Wjc
Caveat Lectores by Jeff Carnes
6500 Readers in 432 Cities, 41 States and 15 Countries
Read at your own risk.
You may learn something you did not want to know
about political and labor relations complications that affect ALL
Public Employees: Firefighters, Paramedics, Law Enforcement,
General Employees and Teachers.
Lectores Labor Consulting 813-240-8165
LectoresIT.com
Caveat Lectores
Caveat Lectores on Facebook
All of a sudden I got the brilliant idea that my commercial ventures would be much more successful if I could get an endorsement from a celebrity. After much thought, I could not decide who would be the best spokesperson for Caveat Lectores. Out of the blue, it came to me. Why not give Opera Winfrey a crack at it? She is reasonably well known and a woman of color. Caveat Lectores is all about diversity. Why not share my diverticular tendencies with her.
I knew she probably did not need the money so much so I decided she might enjoy a weekend at the House on Devil’s Neck. I am not staying there right now because the summer mildew has given ME a terrible case of bronchitis; therefore, it would not inconvenience ME too much.
Well, I Googled her and got her phone number. When I called, you would have thought they thought I was crazy. Something about how they do not appreciate prank phone calls. Who does she think she is? They would not even let me tell them about Alliburton Gator or how we solved the oil spill with Spanish moss. She is very self absorbed. I finally put Dr. Hooby Boo on the line to brush her off.
Next I called Lucille Ball because I heard they were selling her Roll Royce. She must need the money. They told me she was dead since 1989. That whole thing did not work out so well. I finally put Dr. Hooby Boo on the line to brush her off.
I decided to call Kevin Spacey since he is the source of the stories about my hero Kaizer Sose’. "...la plus belle des ruses du diable est de vous persuader qu'il n'existe pas!" That did not work out so well either. Something about him just being an actor and I should not believe everything I see on the TV. I finally put Dr. Hooby Boo on the line to brush him off.
I finally struck pay dirt with the Three Stooges. Shemp Howard’s third cousin’s grandson’s wife’s brother lives just down the street from the House on Devil’s Neck and has agreed to be the official spokesperson for the next Devil’s Neck Labor/Management Kumbaya Retreat. We normally only have one annual retreat per quarter, but with a spokesperson like Little Pete “the Coward” Howard we changed the whole scenario.
Now that the remodeling is completed, we will be having an Annual Devil’s Neck Labor/Management Kumbaya Retreat once a month. Be there or not. If not, just send the extra $500.00 for the Enhanced version that includes all the certifications, group picture and you do not have to attend to get credit. Cash only. To make reservations, just call the toll free number 800-YOU-BHAD.
And oh yes, have a nice Day?
Wjc
Caveat Lectores by Jeff Carnes
6500 Readers in 432 Cities, 41 States and 15 Countries
Read at your own risk.
You may learn something you did not want to know
about political and labor relations complications that affect ALL
Public Employees: Firefighters, Paramedics, Law Enforcement,
General Employees and Teachers.
Lectores Labor Consulting 813-240-8165
LectoresIT.com
Caveat Lectores
Caveat Lectores on Facebook
Caveat Lectores on S. 3194: Lies and Deception
The Lector has avoided weighing in on the discourse about S. 3194: officially the “Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act.” The main reason was my laziness. As a political hack, I knew what I would read about the bill on any given day was slanted one way or the other. As a lawyer, I knew that I would only have to live with what was passed by Congress not the labor or management spin. Either way, I was waiting on the end result before really getting engaged.
If it passes, public safety employees in anti-employee states will get a boost in their efforts at recognition of their rights. Fire and police in states that already sanction collective bargaining will see very little change unless the state law in effect is substantially inferior to the federal law.
Both sides have been spinning this piece of legislation to the point of absurdity, but the management side has certainly won the grand prize for lies and deception.
By management I mean the “right to work” anti- employee political factions who are insanely fearful of losing the death grip they have on the "second class public sector workers" of this country. These “factions” are typically right wing conservatives and tea baggers; however, there are some Democraps who would like to see S.3194 fail as well.
Naturally, nearly all management oriented lobbying groups oppose S. 3194 because that is what they do. It is their job to oppose worker rights. The more professional groups tend to publicly take a somewhat less fraudulent stance in opposition but not all.
The Internet and other media are inundated with nearly identical scripted stories about the “Police and Firefighter Monopoly Bargaining Bill.” Each details the horror of what will happen when public safety employees are given the right to participate in their professional careers by deciding whether to form a union and voting on whether to become part of the collective bargaining process. The scripts refer to big labor and union bosses who will place police officers under their thumbs and bankrupt local government. The scripts claim firefighters will watch buildings burn while on strike if the poor public agencies do not succumb to their greedy demands.
Googling the term “Police and Firefighter Monopoly Bargaining Bill” produced 1,020,000 hits. Right wing bloggers are having spasms as they draft pretty much the same story of how the world we know it will end if S. 3194 passes. Letters to the editor, in what is left of newspapers, abound with the same distorted message. The public is being encouraged to plead with their elected officials to save them from the ever dreaded scourge of collective bargaining.
Here are some sad examples of the false “facts”:
http://www.teapartypatriots.org/BlogPostView.aspx?id=eff325c4-04f0-4d49-abdd-204ee0fef6cd
http://www.theledger.com/article/20100716/EDIT02/100719890?Title=Beware-Public-Safety-Unions
The current state of public sector collective bargaining law is a mess that needs attention. There is no federal law for state and local public employees like the NLRA (passed in 1935) which requires a certain level of conformity among the states and applies the rule of law to a subject that is fraught with dispute.
Here are some facts:
• Twenty-six states that allow collective bargaining for public employees are: Alaska, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.
• Twelve states have laws that provide bargaining rights to specific groups of workers (e.g. state workers, teachers, or firefighters) but not to all state and local government workers are: Georgia, Indiana, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Wyoming.
• Twelve states do not have collective bargaining laws for public employees and some actually forbid collective bargaining. They are: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.
What troubles me most is not that management opposes S. 3194. I would not expect anything different. It is the extent to which the right wing conservatives will lie and distort the facts to try to win the battle against worker rights. I actually know the facts about public sector collective bargaining, and I know the world will not end with the passage of S. 3194. Neither will the problems associated with terms and conditions of employment in anti-worker states come to an end, but it will be a start in the right direction.
Too many of the firefighters and law enforcement officers in this country want to align themselves with single issue conservative causes. These misguided brothers and sisters continue to support those who seek to dominate and harm them. That is the classical definition of a tragedy.
And oh yes, have a nice Day?
Wjc
Caveat Lectores by Jeff Carnes
6500 Readers in 432 Cities, 41 States and 15 Countries
Read at your own risk.
You may learn something you did not want to know
about political and labor relations complications that affect ALL
Public Employees: Firefighters, Paramedics, Law Enforcement,
General Employees and Teachers.
Lectores Labor Consulting 813-240-8165
LectoresIT.com
Caveat Lectores
Caveat Lectores on Facebook
If it passes, public safety employees in anti-employee states will get a boost in their efforts at recognition of their rights. Fire and police in states that already sanction collective bargaining will see very little change unless the state law in effect is substantially inferior to the federal law.
Both sides have been spinning this piece of legislation to the point of absurdity, but the management side has certainly won the grand prize for lies and deception.
By management I mean the “right to work” anti- employee political factions who are insanely fearful of losing the death grip they have on the "second class public sector workers" of this country. These “factions” are typically right wing conservatives and tea baggers; however, there are some Democraps who would like to see S.3194 fail as well.
Naturally, nearly all management oriented lobbying groups oppose S. 3194 because that is what they do. It is their job to oppose worker rights. The more professional groups tend to publicly take a somewhat less fraudulent stance in opposition but not all.
The Internet and other media are inundated with nearly identical scripted stories about the “Police and Firefighter Monopoly Bargaining Bill.” Each details the horror of what will happen when public safety employees are given the right to participate in their professional careers by deciding whether to form a union and voting on whether to become part of the collective bargaining process. The scripts refer to big labor and union bosses who will place police officers under their thumbs and bankrupt local government. The scripts claim firefighters will watch buildings burn while on strike if the poor public agencies do not succumb to their greedy demands.
Googling the term “Police and Firefighter Monopoly Bargaining Bill” produced 1,020,000 hits. Right wing bloggers are having spasms as they draft pretty much the same story of how the world we know it will end if S. 3194 passes. Letters to the editor, in what is left of newspapers, abound with the same distorted message. The public is being encouraged to plead with their elected officials to save them from the ever dreaded scourge of collective bargaining.
Here are some sad examples of the false “facts”:
http://www.teapartypatriots.org/BlogPostView.aspx?id=eff325c4-04f0-4d49-abdd-204ee0fef6cd
http://www.theledger.com/article/20100716/EDIT02/100719890?Title=Beware-Public-Safety-Unions
The current state of public sector collective bargaining law is a mess that needs attention. There is no federal law for state and local public employees like the NLRA (passed in 1935) which requires a certain level of conformity among the states and applies the rule of law to a subject that is fraught with dispute.
Here are some facts:
• Twenty-six states that allow collective bargaining for public employees are: Alaska, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.
• Twelve states have laws that provide bargaining rights to specific groups of workers (e.g. state workers, teachers, or firefighters) but not to all state and local government workers are: Georgia, Indiana, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Wyoming.
• Twelve states do not have collective bargaining laws for public employees and some actually forbid collective bargaining. They are: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.
What troubles me most is not that management opposes S. 3194. I would not expect anything different. It is the extent to which the right wing conservatives will lie and distort the facts to try to win the battle against worker rights. I actually know the facts about public sector collective bargaining, and I know the world will not end with the passage of S. 3194. Neither will the problems associated with terms and conditions of employment in anti-worker states come to an end, but it will be a start in the right direction.
Too many of the firefighters and law enforcement officers in this country want to align themselves with single issue conservative causes. These misguided brothers and sisters continue to support those who seek to dominate and harm them. That is the classical definition of a tragedy.
And oh yes, have a nice Day?
Wjc
Caveat Lectores by Jeff Carnes
6500 Readers in 432 Cities, 41 States and 15 Countries
Read at your own risk.
You may learn something you did not want to know
about political and labor relations complications that affect ALL
Public Employees: Firefighters, Paramedics, Law Enforcement,
General Employees and Teachers.
Lectores Labor Consulting 813-240-8165
LectoresIT.com
Caveat Lectores
Caveat Lectores on Facebook
Friday, July 16, 2010
Caveat Lectores on Newt Gingrich and Insanity
The Lector now has irrefutable proof the right wing rePuPlicans are NUTZ.
My law office just received a phone call and follow up facsimile from Newt Gingrich the General Chairman of American Solutions for Winning the Future. I have been appointed to the Advisory Board of the Jobs and Prosperity Task Force. This is a “…unique tri-partisan organization designed to rise above traditional gridlocked partisanship…” (rePuPlican, right wingnut and tea bagger ?)
Somebody named Joe Gaylord personally recommended me to the Newt-man. They want my permission to send out a press release telling the world I am a right wingnut and tea bagger, I guess.
WTF. They must be NUTZ. Something tells me there would have been a large check involved before my appointment was approved by the Newt-meister.
I have never knowingly voted for a right wingnut in my life. Both my grandfather and father died within two years of voting for right wingnuts. (Nixon and Reagan) Both would surely be alive today had it not been for that moment of insanity that caused their demise. I am too young to die such an ignoble death.
This is proof the Tea baggers are out of touch with reality.
And oh yes, have a nice Day?
Wjc
Caveat Lectores by Jeff Carnes
6500 Readers in 432 Cities, 41 States and 15 Countries
Read at your own risk.
You may learn something you did not want to know
about political and labor relations complications that affect ALL
Public Employees: Firefighters, Paramedics, Law Enforcement,
General Employees and Teachers.
Lectores Labor Consulting 813-240-8165
LectoresIT.com
Caveat Lectores
Caveat Lectores on Facebook
My law office just received a phone call and follow up facsimile from Newt Gingrich the General Chairman of American Solutions for Winning the Future. I have been appointed to the Advisory Board of the Jobs and Prosperity Task Force. This is a “…unique tri-partisan organization designed to rise above traditional gridlocked partisanship…” (rePuPlican, right wingnut and tea bagger ?)
Somebody named Joe Gaylord personally recommended me to the Newt-man. They want my permission to send out a press release telling the world I am a right wingnut and tea bagger, I guess.
WTF. They must be NUTZ. Something tells me there would have been a large check involved before my appointment was approved by the Newt-meister.
I have never knowingly voted for a right wingnut in my life. Both my grandfather and father died within two years of voting for right wingnuts. (Nixon and Reagan) Both would surely be alive today had it not been for that moment of insanity that caused their demise. I am too young to die such an ignoble death.
This is proof the Tea baggers are out of touch with reality.
And oh yes, have a nice Day?
Wjc
Caveat Lectores by Jeff Carnes
6500 Readers in 432 Cities, 41 States and 15 Countries
Read at your own risk.
You may learn something you did not want to know
about political and labor relations complications that affect ALL
Public Employees: Firefighters, Paramedics, Law Enforcement,
General Employees and Teachers.
Lectores Labor Consulting 813-240-8165
LectoresIT.com
Caveat Lectores
Caveat Lectores on Facebook
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Caveat Lectores on Pension Attacks
Below is a web address to a pension attack staged on MSNBC.
The Lector began warning about the future way in the past. Public employees are being demonized by the media and the right wingers. It is not enough to do a good job. You must get behind you union’s efforts to save your careers and your benefits. You do belong to a union don’t you?
http://www.afscmeblog.org/2010/07/15/lets-talk-about-facts/
And oh yes, have a nice Day?
Wjc
Caveat Lectores by Jeff Carnes
6500 Readers in 432 Cities, 41 States and 15 Countries
Read at your own risk.
You may learn something you did not want to know
about political and labor relations complications that affect ALL
Public Employees: Firefighters, Paramedics, Law Enforcement,
General Employees and Teachers.
Lectores Labor Consulting 813-240-8165
LectoresIT.com
Caveat Lectores
Caveat Lectores on Facebook
The Lector began warning about the future way in the past. Public employees are being demonized by the media and the right wingers. It is not enough to do a good job. You must get behind you union’s efforts to save your careers and your benefits. You do belong to a union don’t you?
http://www.afscmeblog.org/2010/07/15/lets-talk-about-facts/
And oh yes, have a nice Day?
Wjc
Caveat Lectores by Jeff Carnes
6500 Readers in 432 Cities, 41 States and 15 Countries
Read at your own risk.
You may learn something you did not want to know
about political and labor relations complications that affect ALL
Public Employees: Firefighters, Paramedics, Law Enforcement,
General Employees and Teachers.
Lectores Labor Consulting 813-240-8165
LectoresIT.com
Caveat Lectores
Caveat Lectores on Facebook
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Caveat Lectores on Political Extremists
Below is a good article on the 21 traits of an extremist. Both the right and the left have some.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8745839
And Oh yes, Have A nice Day?
Wjc
Caveat Lectores by Jeff Carnes
6500 Readers in 432 Cities, 41 States and 15 Countries
Read at your own risk.
You may learn something you did not want to know
about political and labor relations complications that affect ALL
Public Employees: Firefighters, Paramedics, Law Enforcement,
General Employees and Teachers.
Lectores Labor Consulting 813-240-8165
LectoresIT.com
Caveat Lectores
Caveat Lectores on Facebook
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8745839
And Oh yes, Have A nice Day?
Wjc
Caveat Lectores by Jeff Carnes
6500 Readers in 432 Cities, 41 States and 15 Countries
Read at your own risk.
You may learn something you did not want to know
about political and labor relations complications that affect ALL
Public Employees: Firefighters, Paramedics, Law Enforcement,
General Employees and Teachers.
Lectores Labor Consulting 813-240-8165
LectoresIT.com
Caveat Lectores
Caveat Lectores on Facebook
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Caveat Lectores on Underfunded Pensions
The Lector just received this from the Cypen & Cypen Newsletter. http://www.cypen.com/pubs/07-10/2010jul08.htm.
UNFUNDED PENSIONS WILL NOT CAUSE MUNICIPAL INSOLVENCY: Unfunded public pension liabilities will not result in defaults by municipal bond issuers because the problem is not severe enough to cause financial distress, a report by Herbert J. Sims & Co. says. Reviewed by businessweek.com, the report finds that state and city retiree funds are not insolvent and forecasts of widespread defaults and municipal bankruptcies are overblown. A historic review of pension history shows that underfunding has not led to budgetary insolvency and default.
Separately, Standard & Poor's said in its own report that the funded pension level for state plans fell to 80 percent in 2008 from 83 percent in 2007 and 100 percent in 2000. The funded ratio is the amount of assets available to pay expected future benefits. S&P said the decline in public pension assets is contributing to significant budget challenges for U.S. states.
• Yes, there are some pension funds that are in trouble. Some not all
• Yes, there are some funds that are giving generous benefits. Success is a virtue to many.
• Yes, the benefits cost some money in the form of taxes to citizens. Government costs money.
• Yes, the problem was not caused by the employees. Employees ask for things, they do not demand anything.
• Yes, the stock market is down. It will rebound and always has.
• Yes, the employers selectively underfunded the pension funds when they could get away with it. Now, the politicians and right wingers do not want to pay up. They blame the employees.
• Yes, the taxpayers will have to make up for the bad judgment of the professional managers and politicians. We call that representative democracy.
• Yes, this is seen by right wingers and big corporate interests as an opportunity bring public employees in line with the private sector employees whom they raped in years past.
• Yes, employee benefits reduce profits. All expenses reduce profits. Duh!
• No, big business can never make enough profits to make sharing a virtue to them.
• No, unions did not cause the problem.
If there is anything about this Rant you do not understand, feel free to respond. I will take what you say under advisement and place it where any right wing, tea bagger bullshit should go.
And Oh yes, Have a nice day?
Wjc
Caveat Lectores by Jeff Carnes
6000 Readers in 432 Cities, 41 States and 15 Countries
Read at your own risk.
You may learn something you did not want to know
about political and labor relations complications that affect ALL
Public Employees: Firefighters, Paramedics, Law Enforcement,
General Employees and Teachers.
Lectores Labor Consulting 813-240-8165
LectoresIT.com
Caveat Lectores
Caveat Lectores on Facebook
UNFUNDED PENSIONS WILL NOT CAUSE MUNICIPAL INSOLVENCY: Unfunded public pension liabilities will not result in defaults by municipal bond issuers because the problem is not severe enough to cause financial distress, a report by Herbert J. Sims & Co. says. Reviewed by businessweek.com, the report finds that state and city retiree funds are not insolvent and forecasts of widespread defaults and municipal bankruptcies are overblown. A historic review of pension history shows that underfunding has not led to budgetary insolvency and default.
Separately, Standard & Poor's said in its own report that the funded pension level for state plans fell to 80 percent in 2008 from 83 percent in 2007 and 100 percent in 2000. The funded ratio is the amount of assets available to pay expected future benefits. S&P said the decline in public pension assets is contributing to significant budget challenges for U.S. states.
• Yes, there are some pension funds that are in trouble. Some not all
• Yes, there are some funds that are giving generous benefits. Success is a virtue to many.
• Yes, the benefits cost some money in the form of taxes to citizens. Government costs money.
• Yes, the problem was not caused by the employees. Employees ask for things, they do not demand anything.
• Yes, the stock market is down. It will rebound and always has.
• Yes, the employers selectively underfunded the pension funds when they could get away with it. Now, the politicians and right wingers do not want to pay up. They blame the employees.
• Yes, the taxpayers will have to make up for the bad judgment of the professional managers and politicians. We call that representative democracy.
• Yes, this is seen by right wingers and big corporate interests as an opportunity bring public employees in line with the private sector employees whom they raped in years past.
• Yes, employee benefits reduce profits. All expenses reduce profits. Duh!
• No, big business can never make enough profits to make sharing a virtue to them.
• No, unions did not cause the problem.
If there is anything about this Rant you do not understand, feel free to respond. I will take what you say under advisement and place it where any right wing, tea bagger bullshit should go.
And Oh yes, Have a nice day?
Wjc
Caveat Lectores by Jeff Carnes
6000 Readers in 432 Cities, 41 States and 15 Countries
Read at your own risk.
You may learn something you did not want to know
about political and labor relations complications that affect ALL
Public Employees: Firefighters, Paramedics, Law Enforcement,
General Employees and Teachers.
Lectores Labor Consulting 813-240-8165
LectoresIT.com
Caveat Lectores
Caveat Lectores on Facebook
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Caveat Lectores on “The End of the Line”by Jim Brantley
Caveat Lectores usually avoids using the works of others to make a point unless they did a better job that I would have done.
Jim Brantley, Esq. is a former firefighter from Florida who followed the hallowed footsteps of this writer to attend law school and practice law as a labor attorney. He is smarter than the Lector because he retired before he left so he collects a pension. I take partial credit for helping him through law school only because I kept telling him to settle down and enjoy the ride while in school. Now he has to work like the rest of us.
Jim is not usually a man of few words, but he punched out some really good thoughts here in only a few words.
Roger Lowenstein doesn’t mention how public pension funds became so underfunded. During the boom years when pension-fund investment returns were high, the majority of public employers used those returns as justification to take a ‘‘pension holiday,’’ meaning that in the times of high investment returns, many public employers contributed little or nothing to their employee pension plans. Public employees were not given the same opportunity — most plans require the employee to contribute to the plans in both good investment times and bad. In some instances, public employers failed to contribute to these plans for many consecutive years. Now that these plans find themselves underfunded, the employers and Lowenstein are advocating that the employees must foot the bill for this calculated investment error through the reduction or elimination of their pension benefits.
Jim Brantley, Fort Myers, Fla.
Jim will be published in the New York Times Magazine on Sunday, July 11, 2010. You read it here first. He has an invitation to contribute to the Rants at Caveat Lectores anytime.
BOHICA is the Caveat Lectores message for the day.
And Oh yes, have a nice day?
wjc
Jim Brantley, Esq. is a former firefighter from Florida who followed the hallowed footsteps of this writer to attend law school and practice law as a labor attorney. He is smarter than the Lector because he retired before he left so he collects a pension. I take partial credit for helping him through law school only because I kept telling him to settle down and enjoy the ride while in school. Now he has to work like the rest of us.
Jim is not usually a man of few words, but he punched out some really good thoughts here in only a few words.
Roger Lowenstein doesn’t mention how public pension funds became so underfunded. During the boom years when pension-fund investment returns were high, the majority of public employers used those returns as justification to take a ‘‘pension holiday,’’ meaning that in the times of high investment returns, many public employers contributed little or nothing to their employee pension plans. Public employees were not given the same opportunity — most plans require the employee to contribute to the plans in both good investment times and bad. In some instances, public employers failed to contribute to these plans for many consecutive years. Now that these plans find themselves underfunded, the employers and Lowenstein are advocating that the employees must foot the bill for this calculated investment error through the reduction or elimination of their pension benefits.
Jim Brantley, Fort Myers, Fla.
Jim will be published in the New York Times Magazine on Sunday, July 11, 2010. You read it here first. He has an invitation to contribute to the Rants at Caveat Lectores anytime.
BOHICA is the Caveat Lectores message for the day.
And Oh yes, have a nice day?
wjc
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