Readings for Monday Evening

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1. Belinsky says:

   December 27, 2010 at 7:23 pm

   Michael Fleming leads GOP charge against public employee unions:

   http://www.delawarefirst.org/government_and_politics/year-review-commentary-top-2010/

   Reciting his lines almost on cue:

   http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/12/27/931008/-House-GOP-intend-to-destroy-public-employee-unions

2. Geezer says:

   December 27, 2010 at 9:49 pm

   Yes, by all means let’s get behind high wages and benefits for taxpayer-paid employees. That’s an issue that resonates with a huge number of employees … er, voters.

3. Belinsky says:

   December 27, 2010 at 10:04 pm

   T-Paw leading the way from Fleming’s comments to “teachers unions are more dangerous than al Qaeda”:

   http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2010/12/13/tpaw-unions/

4. Geezer says:

   December 28, 2010 at 7:45 am

   There’s a nugget of truth to the argument that public-sector pensions are overly generous — every state’s pension fund is woefully underfunded, meaning we’re making promises we aren’t going to keep anyway. The GOP is taking it much farther because in these economic times, the job security public workers have makes up (in many people’s minds) for the lower pay. Throw in the better benefits (which are there to make up for the lower pay) and you’ve got a recipe for plenty of resentment. And, as we all know, the GOP is all about the politics of resentment.

5. Capt.Willard says:

   December 28, 2010 at 8:12 am

   These are the same SNOBS who looked at public employment with unadulterated derision and cringed when they’d accidentally brush against one on the Rehobeth boardwalk.
   That fat fuck Chris Christy has never missed a meal yet the state of NJ has not funded it’s pension liabilities for 13 out of the last 18 years.
   No wonder it’s underfunded.
   Once again, they’ll default on their obligations and CONTRACTS with working class PEOPLE rather than go belly-up on MUNICIPAL BONDS and upset their MASTERS on WALL STREET.

6. Geezer says:

   December 28, 2010 at 9:02 am

   Chris Christy is hardly responsible for New Jersey’s failure to fund its pension liabilities.

   There’s a simple reason for the choice you decry: They can always find more workers, but if their bond status sinks to junk, they won’t be able to afford capital bonds in the future.

   And what’s with the “snob” business? Project much?

7. Capt.Willard says:

   December 28, 2010 at 9:12 am

   A CONTRACT is a CONTRACT.
   In a sense, I’m included as one of those SNOBS. Except I wouldn’t cringe when bumping into them.
   They chose security and benefits over higher pay and more prestige[?].
   Now, suddenly they’re the whipping boys and girls for everything wrong with government.
   Why? Because they still have jobs trying to provide basic services to the citizens they were hired to serve.
   Chris Christy,the FAT FUCK who’s NEVER missed a MEAL, is the one TALKING about DEFAULTING on the PENSIONS you FUCKING ASSHOLE!!!
   How’s that for PROJECTION, you old JERK!!!

8. Nancy Willling says:

   December 28, 2010 at 9:16 am

   In a Morning Joe Rewind the other day, Chris Christie was at his most spittingly vitriolic, jabbing his finger into the air as he says about NJ’s teachers “it’s not just about the adults and not the children, it’s about the adults and their money!”.

   Christie was on the show with Corey Booker, Mayor of Newark and the discussion was about receiving 100M from the creator of facebook for the troubled city’s education system. We were supposed to buy the line that teachers unions were a money grab of greatly underserved proportions while the kids from Newark’s ghettos weren’t getting educated much less graduating from the public schools. Funny that Booker kept his trap shut.

   I couldn’t help but thinking that Christie was trying to deflect derision about his failing to garner RTTT funding for his state –NJ lost the chance on a technical glitch on their application, something the governor would like everyone to forget.

   OTOH, he has national ambitions in a party that lives to kill unions so what else do you expect he’d be saying? (I don’t think we’ll see NJ asking for permission to declare bankruptsy so they don’t have to pay public employee pensions.)

9. Geezer says:

   December 28, 2010 at 9:52 am

   “A contract is a contract”

   Yes, it is. I don’t support the idea of cutting the benefits that have already been promised. But here in the private sector, companies long ago did away with defined-benefit pensions in favor of 401k plans. Given the pension fund shortfalls (multiplied by the budget shortfalls), I don’t see how much longer governments can continue promising defined-benefit pensions.

10. Capt.Willard says:

    December 28, 2010 at 1:41 pm

    OK, I get that.
    Let them offer 401k’s for FUTURE employees.
    Abrogating a contract unilaterally should be held in just as high of contempt as defaulting on a bond.
    The state’s credit rating should suffer the SAME consequences.
    But, somehow, I don’t think it would turn out that way in this day of crucifying the middle class and below to squeeze the last measure of comfort, security and aspirations for their children to live better lives than their parents out of them.

11. Geezer says:

    December 28, 2010 at 1:43 pm

    You’re right about that. Seriously, as long as unemployment is as high as it is now, people will accept any indignity for a job as secure as a state job. This is especially true in Kent and Sussex, where the economy is more dependent on government than it is upstate.

12. Capt.Willard says:

    December 28, 2010 at 2:57 pm

    I just don’t get it.
    Six months ago The President and vice-President were all about JOBS,JOBS,JOBS!
    David Byrne had a line in a song, I forget which one:” You talk a lot, but you’re not saying anything”.
    Perfect summation for what we hear out of Washington.