Posted on 12/21/2010 5:53:45 AM PST by Poundstone
That's as good of a criteria as any as far as I'm concerned.
I'm sure the Sub-Assistant Secretary of Human Rights in Outer Slombovia is utterly convinced he or she is doing 'important work'.
It used to be that the Army Engineers or the Navy Seabees did the building. Now there's no job so small that it can't be done by a G-14 Federal employee with a pension.
L
republicanangel: “I served 30 years alongside my husband.”
Military spouses deserve a lot of thanks for the sacrifices they made. Despite deploying many times, I never had to worry about my wife. I knew she was capable, and that let me focus on the task at hand. However, it does hurt a bit when my daughter tells me I was never around when she was growing up.
But it goes beyond just the active duty military and their spouses. DoD civilians are often right there taking the same chances as the active duty force. I have friends who deploy regularly to Afghanistan, and they come under fire just like the GIs. Military success requires more than just than GIs slogging it out in the mud (and that is NOT in any way meant to demean infantry, God bless them!).
To tell the truth, I’m in open jawed disbelief that some people despise government employees so much that they attack all of them, no matter what they do. Conservatives are NOT anarchists, and the federal government has enumerated powers. I’m at a complete loss why some FReepers think ALL federal employees are scum, but I hope that’s not the general consensus on Free Republic.
I probably confused you; he’s retired California Highway Patrol.
I know you would be proud of such a certificate, babe. I got the read on your type LONG ago.
Hey, bvw, you’re confusing reality with Starship Troopers.
To be less harsh, I have gotten some certificates too, but usually destroy them when I get home. It’s just not what I want from life.
I am sure you are justifiably proud of your husband.
Name them.
Lurker: “It used to be that the Army Engineers or the Navy Seabees did the building. Now there’s no job so small that it can’t be done by a G-14 Federal employee with a pension.”
Do you mean GS-14? Those are few and far between. So you’d rather have active duty military do it all? Do you realize they have better health care and retirement benefits than federal civilian employees? A military retiree pays about $450 per year for TriCare, and I believe they get something like 50% of their base pay after 20 years. A federal employee has to pay for their own (partially subsidized) health care, and gets 1% of pay per year served.
Some people are good citizens as well as federal employees. What’s your point?
Jeez, guys. The Federal retirement system was reformed back in the 80s. They pay into their own system and into social security now and have been doing so for 25 years. Now, I’m not easy on them because they are underworked and most govt jobs are useless. But the retirement benefits are not out of line with the private sector.
The major scandal besides the over-hiring is the false classification of jobs at levels higher than the comparable public sector jobs. Govt paper-pushers will get classified as senior execs when they are nothing but file clerks.
Only an outside audit can clean up the mess because the higher you go in the govt the more corrupt and incompetent the personnel. It’s too corrupt to fix itself.
I learned this stuff — this ‘attitude’ first from my grandpop, who ran away from home at 14 and served under General Pershing at the Mexican border and later in Belgium, France and Germany. He got a bunch of medals but NEVER showed them to anyone and refused to join the VFW and American Legion, even when they wanted to name a post after him.
Later I came to study American history, and learned how real men took their ‘duty’. Most real heroes of the Revolution were shamed to take a pension — putting it off until they were decrepit, and often a destitute widow of a good veteran would have to prove that that her husband had served with honor and beg for a pittance of a pension to keep her in a house and free of hunger.
There’s a middle ground in there between that very harsh attitude towards charity — and that’s what pensions are — and our modern attitude of super entitlement. But it falls much closer to their attitude than our time’s.
So you’re sexist, too. Nice.
An enumerated power? National defense for one.
So you are a slow reader too. Sweet.
I’m curious what you think my type is, babe? I could tell you the story of how the certificate ended up on my dining room wall next to my husband’s shadow box, but that would fit into your sterotype, right? My husband wanted it up there, I had it hidden in a closet.
You are right. I was too harsh on you. That was a miserable over-the-top reaction on may part.
I think in the hail of gunfire that is being fired here, we are overlooking something. To me, laziness and incompetence of some goverment employees is far less of a problem, than hard working competent employees implementing bad laws and regulations. Wouldn’t it be great if the FCC was too lazy, incompetent, and apathetic to promulgate internet regulations? Or Congress was too lazy and imcompetent to work hard through the holidays to destroy our country, as they have been doing?
I’ll take a lazy overpaid government employee any day over a hard working fascist who earns his pay. A lazy Congress is a good Congress, any day they are NOT in session is a great day for Freedom.
Seruzawa: “Only an outside audit can clean up the mess because the higher you go in the govt the more corrupt and incompetent the personnel. It’s too corrupt to fix itself.”
A voice of sanity. I agree. There are good and bad federal employees just like there are good and bad private sector employees. The trick is finding out which is which, because it’s hard to penetrate the layers of bureaucracy that protect worthless or low worth employees. The best approach, in my opinion, is to start eliminating or cutting back federal agencies that aren’t authorized per the US Constitution. The Departments of Energy and Education come to mind.
Some FReepers go too far. They impugn the work of ALL government employees regardless of the pay earned or work performed. That’s why I gave the example of DoD employees who serve alongside the active force. You’d think some of these haters would at least appreciate THAT.
Take a closer look at some of those studies that claim federal employees are overpaid. You’ll find SOME career fields are actually underpaid. Unless people want anarchy, we have to have some sort of government and what would people prefer, slugs or talent? Talent costs money.
Not nearly few or far enough for my liking.
So you’d rather have active duty military do it all?
You really don't get it. The point is that there are WAY TOO DAMN MANY FEDERAL EMPLOYEES! Other than the Dept. of Defense we don't need you. We don't want you. And we're TIRED AS HELL of paying for you.
You mentioned 'enumerated powers'. I asked you if you could name them. Can you?
You don't just fire them, you reduce the pay to a point where you find someone competent at the lowest salary possible. Those who want to make more money than a non-profit like the government is willing to pay can go into the for-profit sector.
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