Today could be the day....Follow

Perhaps it's because they create nothing and do little, if anything, to contribute to the economy. They are a drain on resources.

Actually, it does, just in a more round about sort of way. Public employees are no better than welfare recipients. They suck at the government tit and largely vote for whoever promises to increase their ranks or their union contract benefits. The money trail that leads to them is the conflict of interest that is inherent to public sector unionization.

You still carrying that big ol chip on your shoulder cuz your kids teacher (a female no less) makes more money than you?

Can you think of a single powerful country without a well developed civil service?

Without union bosses, it'd be union anarchy!

And why is that a bad thing?

You get all my green arrows for the day

The U.S. before the explosion of the Federal government in the last 40 years.

My bosses comment following the Walker's triumph. STORY


We've had pay cuts, hour reductions, lay-offs and most recently (and rather unexpectedly) our health insurance was flat-funded. I am effectively making less money than I did 5 years ago. Longevity pay has been removed and we've received no merit raises or cost of living raises since 2008. I hold a college degree and am a twenty year employee. I fall into the corrupt group of middle management. I make about 50k a year. This is what our quivering blob of a union has done for us lately.

Oh ouch it hurts.

Meh, lunch 1/2 hour is over - better get back to work. (I'm kind of sad about my job today)

Yes, but I live in Minnesota. Having seen the education system where you grew up, that doesn't surprise me.

Including benefits and work rules? Or are you just looking at salary? See, I'd take a pay cut too, were I in a similar job, if I could get an 80% pension and Cadillac health coverage. But I work for a for-profit company, and that's just not profitable.

I'm sure gbaji can (and will, Bob help us) give you a more thorough answer, but as best as I understand it (without necessarily buying into all of it), Joe Taxpayer is frustrated that all of his retirement savings got wiped out in the various financial collapses, but he's still on the hook (or more accurately, his kids are) to pay for Jane Publicunion's pension. Plus, when public unions are negotiating their CBA with local/state/federal governments, the gov't doesn't have as much incentive to limit benefits and cost increases since they're not really paying them with their money (but rather with Joe Taxpayer's taxes).

A reduction of force generally accompanies the transition to peace time.

Yours don't, but I didn't say since the explosion of Federal government employment in the last 40 years.