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Post by feduptro on Jun 18, 2012 22:06:03 GMT -5
I am FedUp(The Real one) from the TU boards. I'm tired of Casey et al censoring me when I say nasty things about Cuomo. I'm a pef member since circa 2002 and was in M/C and CSEA titles prior to that.
I was first hired when daddy Cuomo was in office and boy the collective cheers in the office when he was unelected was amazing. Can't wait until baby cuomo's turn comes. I, like many others, am voting against the current PEF leaders because they are not leaders at all.
Although I was not on the chopping block, I was sickened by the display made by certain people and groups who were - begging pathetically for everyone to make huge sacrifices to save them and their fat kids. Really annoying. If I was on the chopping block, I would never expect, and certainly never ask or beg, others to give up their money for me. If you're working for the state and you don't have seniority, that's just the breaks. I hated how cuomo and our pef "leaders" worked as a team and played members against each other.
Anyway, that's all for now.
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Post by Darth Stateworker on Jun 19, 2012 10:53:11 GMT -5
Welcome aboard FedUp!
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Post by wny on Jun 19, 2012 17:10:19 GMT -5
Cuomo did the same with CSEA! Our leaders sold us down the river.
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Post by NYS Techie on Jun 19, 2012 19:10:08 GMT -5
Fed Up! Welcome! I've been an admirer for a while...
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Post by Darth Stateworker on Jun 19, 2012 20:11:40 GMT -5
Fed Up! Welcome! I've been an admirer for a while... ^ this.
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Post by feduptro on Jun 19, 2012 23:42:41 GMT -5
LOL, thanks. I thought techie was mad at me for defending the "tea party". Actually, the original concept of the Tea party was excellent. A group of "normal" people that just wanted the government to stop the insanity... things like 5 million dollars to study the migration and breeding habits of certain butterflies, etc. are wasteful when there are people being taxed out of their homes. I completely agree with that!
Unfortunately, the idea of the "tea party" became co-opted by various political factions for their own gains and no longer represented most of the original people in it. Sort of like what happened to the occupy movement too. I think in general people are discontent and rightly so. Our government HAS grown too large, too expensive, and too invasive. There are many functions of government that are useful and necessary, but is controlling the size soda you're allowed to drink (Thanks Bloomie, the original NYC Sugar Nazi) REALLY one of the things we need our masters, er I mean our government overlords... er um.... to do "for us"?
Cut government back to do just the essential things - I think that was the original spirit of the tea party and I support it. We don't need the DMV to license drivers and register cars do we? I still see people driving like utter assholes on a daily basis and unsafe vehicles on the road. My feeling is, simply arrest those who get into accidents or cause accidents due to negligent behavior such as speeding, DWI, driving a car missing a tire/brakes/<insert important mechanical device here>, etc. No licensing process is necessary - just common sense. Although one could argue all the laws are made "For our own good/safety", there's a good part of me that feels like we need a little more natural selection happening - it is after all nature's way of removing idiots from the breeding pool.
While I do feel there is much waste in government, what tends to annoy me is that most people are just content to try to blame the average state worker instead of looking behind the curtain. Things like hiring consultants to REPLACE state employees that actually designed custom systems and then shoving those people in a corner. I blame the politicians, particularly the governors, because they appoint the mostly inept agency leaders, who support and facilitate the dysfunctional system of doing business at the agency level. We, the peons, see the waste, but we're basically powerless. Moreover, if you dare to speak out, you'll be ostracized (if you're lucky) or worse.
I wish 60 minutes would do a hidden camera expose on what we deal with on a daily basis.
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Post by uncivilservant on Jun 20, 2012 6:05:28 GMT -5
Keep DMV, ditch NYRA. We're the only state in the union to LOSE money on gambling.
I'm also all for increasing punishments for these morons who think red lights are optional. How about attempted murder for disregard of signals? Don't forget those pedestrians who stroll down the traffic lane and look annoyed when the traffic wants to use the space alloted for it.
While we're creating so much convict labor, how about we force agencies to lease non-violent offenders before allowing them to hire consultants...
Okay I kid with that last one, I don't want to give embezzlers access to personal data.
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Post by feduptro on Jun 20, 2012 7:48:28 GMT -5
The truth is that I have heard state DMV is being cut back drastically and that counties will run their respective DMV's. When you think about it having a state DMV plus all the county ones is duplicate effort. 90% of what can be done at DMV should be done online anyway.
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Post by feduptro on Jun 20, 2012 7:50:30 GMT -5
As far as people "strolling" in the traffic lane, I agree, although it's more like waddling pushing a double baby carriage and towing 3 toddlers by the hand in the middle of the day. Be nice though... It's a long walk to the mailbox for them.
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Post by Darth Stateworker on Jun 20, 2012 9:11:32 GMT -5
Actually, the original concept of the Tea party was excellent. A group of "normal" people that just wanted the government to stop the insanity... Unfortunately, the idea of the "tea party" became co-opted by various political factions for their own gains and no longer represented most of the original people in it. Sort of like what happened to the occupy movement too. I think in general people are discontent and rightly so. ^This. Both the Tea Party and Occupy were right on the money when they were first formed. The issue is that the Tea Party was completely co-opted, and the Occupiers were so worried about being co-opted, they never became a cohesive group. I agree government needs to be scaled down in some areas, but I don't think we should be afraid of government in cases provides a service that would never be profitable (IE: social services), shouldn't be profitable due to moral reasons (health care), or services that can be profitable but shouldn't be because they benefit the public good (IE: municipal power, water, sewer and cable companies). On the DMV - I would be weary of giving counties more control. Other agencies that act as a central "control" agency and let counties do their own thing are far from efficient, and neither are the county run services for those agencies. Right off the bat, OCFS, OTDA and DOH come to mind. Nothing is standardized between county social services offices or health offices, leading to huge inefficiencies that waste millions. I would think we'd be better off taking such items away from county management and bringing them under the direct control of the state so that things can be standardized and that there are no longer sweetheart deals in each county for friends of county politicians to service contracts for such agencies. This includes DMV. While that means state government gets a bit bigger, it also means county government gets smaller, which means lower property taxes. And due to standardization and the efficiencies that come from such consolidations, I would bet the state could do the same work with fewer employees - IF such offices are managed right and don't become another state fiefdom run by managers worried about consolidating power more than providing services efficiently. But we all know that's a tall order.
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Post by Darth Stateworker on Jun 20, 2012 9:13:21 GMT -5
Keep DMV, ditch NYRA. We're the only state in the union to LOSE money on gambling. Exactly. How the hell does the HOUSE lose money? Gambling is supposed to be uberly profitable for the house. NYRA has to go. Same deal with the various OTBs - if they aren't profitable, goodbye.
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Post by feduptro on Jun 20, 2012 9:49:51 GMT -5
I could agree with letting the state take over DMV instead of the counties as opposed to the other way around. I think the main issue is that several agency functions are duplicative between county and state and that needs to be fixed.
NYRA and OTB both sucked. Anyone that can lose money running a gambling ring is utterly incompetent or has their hands in the til. I could tell a few stories about OTB from when I worked there in college that would shed light on why they lost money.
I don't mind government and I am not afraid of it per se; however, that being said, I think when government becomes invasive and oversteps (Bloomberg's cup size ban for example), then its time to re-evaluate. I'd like to see government pared back to what is REALLY needed. Believe it or not we don't need every facet of our lives ruled and regulated by the government overlords. We should not, except in very special cases, need the government to care for us like we're pet hamsters in the science lab, droling out the government approved kibble (sanss sugar and trans-fats) and forcing us to run in the wheel for their amusement. [I'm waiting for Bloomie to mandate exercise next. Perhaps a threadbill or a human-size hamster wheel hooked into the power grid to prove you met your government mandated exercise quota?]
Anyway, ponder this. What is social security for/to most people? The government literally confiscates YOUR money from your paycheck before you ever see it - for your entire working life - under the premise that someday you can get money to live on when you're tooold and/or sick to work.
Well, guess what? First of all, there IS such a thing called insurance that people can get to cover such things. For those fortunate enough to last a lifetime without getting ill and who can retire eventually, if they had just SAVED the money on their own that the government confiscated from them, they'd have MORE that the pittance they get from social security. For some of us, we'll never see our money that the government stole from us, ever again. It's gone, spent done.
Tell me how or why we need government to powder our bottoms. Let people save their own damn money for retirement. Those that don't take responsibility for their own lives and money deserve to spend their golden years eating dog food. We were born endowed with free will. Choose to be responsible or choose not to be. Actions have consequences.
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Post by Darth Stateworker on Jun 20, 2012 9:59:20 GMT -5
While I agree with you on Bloomberg, I do see a benefit to social security. While in many cases, personal responsibility is a good argument, I don't think that's the case here for multiple reasons. Firstly, even a savvy investor can lose everything. Secondly, whether we like it or not, we are a society, an as a society, we have a responsibility to others in that society that can no longer care for themselves (like the elderly who collect social security), even if they are irresponsible. I for one do not think anyone in this nation should ever be stuck "eating dog food". Such talk is Darwinistic and IMO, not indicative of what a modern society in the wealthiest nation on the world should be.
Where I see personal responsibility being a more compelling argument is other forms of social services: If you're able bodied and can work, get off your ass and get a job, and stop punching out a new kid every year or so so that you can keep getting "your check". I'm tired of paying for your ass. We've talked about that here before - there are so many ways many of us would reshape the social services system to ensure that those who can work, do work it's impossible to list them all here.
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Post by feduptro on Jun 20, 2012 10:24:18 GMT -5
Obviously, I am not all for letting certain groups of people starve and die, but there are already other entitlement programs for those groups. Foodstamps, welfare, section-8, Medicaid/Medicare, HEAP, and on and on. These programs were intended to help those that literally can't care for themselves - The elderly, disabled persons (physical, medical, or mental) who can't work,and children. Everyone else needs to hop to and get off their ass and stop being a leech.
The ONLY other group I feel should ever recieve any of the benefits listed above are those that TEMPORARILY, despite being responsible, find themselves in need of assistance. These programs were never intended to be a "way of life" for anyone that was able-bodied and able to work. The trouble is that with all of these benefits, a person makes more than they would working 40+ hours a week at mcDonald's. Although you can't blame someone for wanting to stay home, do nothing, and make more than they could hunched over a fast food grill all week, they should never have that choice to make.
And it's not mcDonald's fault for paying minimum wage either. These are jobs that require almost zero skills and what skills are required, training is provided. It all goes back again to personal responsibility. What does a person expect if they drop out of high school and get into trouble with the law? Cut these people off the dole and they'll be lining up for those minimum wage jobs and maybe learn what it means to earn a dollar. Maybe they can work their way up to management eventually within the chain or use their new skills and training to land a better job and thus elevate their pay.
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Post by Darth Stateworker on Jun 20, 2012 10:56:31 GMT -5
I see this to be the major problem. I know what you are saying about low skilled jobs, however, the reality is that those who work low skill jobs rely on the taxpayers to help them make ends meet because their employers - as represented by the first quintile in the graph (the top 20%) - are paying them less and paying themselves more. Walmart is a huge example in the corporate world: it has been documented that they will actually give employees social services applications when they start the job. That's not right, because that is just Walmart relying on the taxpayers for another form of "welfare" for corporate America instead of doing the right thing and paying their employees well enough that they don't need assistance. And the worst part about that is that there is a study out there that reflects that Walmart could do that if each customers bill was 5 CENTS more. That's not a huge cost to keep people off the government dole. I'd also like to add that there will always be a need for low skill jobs. So even if everyone in the nation got a batchelors, some would need to be waiters, burger flippers or ditch diggers, because there wouldn't be enough jobs to go around. If we look backwards in our history, to say, the 50's and 60s, we can see that when we paid the lowest compensated among us enough, demand for social services was far lower. Personally, I believe that even at a low skill job people should make a living wage, and if they did, more money would be spread around more equally, making the increase in prices needed to do such a thing far more affordable for all. Does this mean that they should make enough to be able to afford luxuries like a huge flat screen or a Caribbean vacation? No. It means they should be able to make enough to meet all their actual needs and leave them with enough for a little bit for savings and "fun money" however.
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