Archived Story
Are you sick, tired of government?
Published 9:54am Friday, April 13, 2012Why can’t we just all be on our own, solve our own problems, meet our own needs and be left alone?
Do you realize how much government costs and how little it does?
Sure, we have to have schools, and teachers, administrators, bus drivers and books, but why can’t we get the cheapest of all of those and save some real money?
And we need cops and firefighters and highways workers and air traffic controllers…fine, but how much can that cost if we kill their unions?
I know we have to have courts and all that goes with that (judges, clerks, prosecutors, jailers, deputies), but surely these people could work without benefits, like the rest of us.
And why not eliminate all that regulation stuff altogether?
If you don’t like pink slime in your meat I am sure producers would stop using it, you just have to find out that they are using it first, right?
I am out of school, so I see no need for Pell grants or other financial aid for students, and all of that money could be saved.
I sold my business so I see no need for small business loans. We all know business doesn’t need government help or regulations, right? And that means we can stop subsidizing Big Oil and Big Banks, and Big Auto’s and Big anything once we free them from the shackles of onerous regulation.
Certainly we can trust our pharmaceutical companies to produce only good and safe products, because any other decision would hurt them in the free market. And we know their pricing will be fair based upon what the market will bear, so why harass them with regulation?
I am against terrorists overall, but when I think about all the waste in government, and recognize that government cannot do anything right, it just seems to me that Homeland Security is too expensive. After all, where I live a terrorist strike is hardly likely, so let New York pay their own security costs and leave me alone.
And let’s be serious, why in the world would we want to regulate Big Banks? After all, what could go wrong if we just let them alone to manage their risks and investors capital?
Don’t get me started on the EPA. Once the fire on the river went out I was convinced the EPA had done all that was required of it. If my water gets polluted I can buy a water purifier from a capitalist company and help the economy. Better yet, I can just have water trucked in at a small and fair profit if I need it to be safe.
Anything government can do, private for-profit business can do better.
Consider retirement…Mitt Romney has a far better retirement fund that mine, and he did it on his own. No need for that crazy pyramid scheme we know as Social Security, when we can all invest in stocks and hope the market doesn’t take a retirement killing dive again.
And if some lose their retirement savings then they should have been smarter investors. Somebody has to be poor after all.
And as for health care, that is the biggest waste of government there could be.
If we were smart we would all just buy catastrophic policies that cover things like cancer and handle the small stuff like broken bones by paying physicians out of pocket or by trading for their services with some eggs or perhaps a cow, like it used to be.
Now I am a Republican.
Jim Crawford is retired educator and political enthusiast living here in the Tri-State.
I have been gone for a while, but this has to be the best article Jim has ever written. Spot on Jim. Thank you.
(Report comment)
Mick: The newly hired workers are paying into the Health Care and Retirement funds thereby subsidizing the retired workers payments.
————–
Mick do you even think before you write something stupid like that? Say you have 250 retired workers and 250 active workers… Do you really think taking $100 a paycheck from the active workers is going to pay retired workers benefits… That’s just like Social Security Mick.. When I retire, I’m going to get the max payment of around $2,000 a month. Since by then with the baby boomers retiring, that means there will be 3-4 workers that have to pay my monthly benefits… In other words, the 3-4 workers that are going to be supporting me are going to have to take anywhere from $500-600 a month out of their paycheck… truly a Ponzi scheme.
(Report comment)
Mick: Poor judgement still prevails.
————-
Mainly from democratic politicians.
(Report comment)
Argentina says it will seize a controlling interest in oil company YPF that is owned by Spanish firm Repsol.
==================
Hope this doesn’t give Obama any ideas.
(Report comment)
When the supply of hostess twinkies runs out, unions will be in big trouble.
(Report comment)
Noesis; There are many small towns and villages that are incorporated that should be unincorporated. This is the crux of their problem. Times have changed. Poor judgement still prevails.
(Report comment)
Noesis; In regards to your synopsis pertaining to the retired workers and the newly hired workers. The newly hired workers are paying into the Health Care and Retirement funds thereby subsidizing the retired workers payments. The “politicians” did not make a bad decision in granting these benefits. They were willing to pay for these benefits in deference to paying higher salaries. Not a bad decision. Through the years, you have been granted pay raises and better benefits, Health Care as an example, in order to keep up with inflation, not to mention increase in personnel leave days and vacation days. Our Public Servants deserve no less. You can rest assured, our Public workers are not overpaid. Yes!!! our taxes are going to be higher (and should be), just like everything else. Inflation just keeps on rolling along. I do not condone or endorse this materialistic and greedy attitude.
(Report comment)
One good thing about this article is Crawford will now vote republican
————————————————————
I’m not sure mikehaney understands that Mr. Crawford was being facetious. “Once the fire on the river went out I was convinced the EPA had done all that was required of it” – I’m not sure he gets the jokes here. Fifty percent of American teachers can’t pass the standardized test their students take? It’s obvious that school was an unpleasant and not very useful experience for Mike, but that’s just stupid. Even stupider: putting his NAME on his clueless comments. Stupidest: not knowing enough to be embarrassed about them.
(Report comment)
It’s in black and white keta, I thought you believed all the lefty articles you read.
(Report comment)
Kets: Even stupider: putting his NAME on his clueless comments. Stupidest: not knowing enough to be embarrassed about them.
———–
And yet, that has never slowed you down in the least bit. Why is that?
(Report comment)
Small Rhode Island Town Goes Bankrupt
Central Falls, Rhode Island, a little town in the northeast part of the state, with a population of only has 19,376, has gone into Chapter 9 bankruptcy.
Those who are part of the city’s pension plan may be hardest hit. According to Bloomberg,” The pension’s obligations were $48 million greater than the fair value of its assets as of June 30, 2010.
The New York Times recently reported that “the impoverished city, operating under a receiver for a year, has promised $80 million worth of retirement benefits to 214 police officers and firefighters, far more than it can afford. Those workers’ pension fund will probably run out of money in October, giving Central Falls the distinction of becoming the second municipality in the United States to exhaust its pension fund, after Prichard, Ala.”
————–
So Mick, where is 7,000 households (just guessing 3 ppl per household) going to come up with $48 million? And how do you pay current firefighters, police, teachers, road workers etc…?
(Report comment)
Mick, this has nothing to do with:
” that all members of society are treated with dignity and respect, this includes a just and fair wage for services rendered. Benefits; Health Care and Retirement are part of this fair and just wage.”
It’s about politicians that put their re-election needs ahead of the public they served. Promises were made by politicians just so they would get elected that future generations couldn’t keep. How do you hire new workers if you can’t afford to pay retirement benefits?
If you are a homeowner what would be your priorities? Having roads maintained or paying somebody’s health benefits that no longer works for the township? I think that is a pretty easy choice.
(Report comment)
mikehaney; I see this anti-union sentiment a throwback to years past, when slavery and indentured servitude prevailed. The Have’s looked down on the Have-Nots and treated them like dirt.
(Report comment)
Noesis; In actuality, I fully understand the “magnitude of the problem”. We have the responsibility and have made great strides in seeing that all members of society are treated with dignity and respect, this includes a just and fair wage for services rendered. Benefits; Health Care and Retirement are part of this fair and just wage. I see an attempt to erode this just and fair treatment of the lower and middle income members of our society. Your analytical mind prevents you from seeing the whole picture. Human beings cannot and should not be downgraded to figures. You can rest assured, where there is a will, there is a way. Do we chose to be selfish and self-centered? or: Do we chose to have care and concern for our fellow man and woman, seeing that all members of society are treated with dignity and respect.
(Report comment)
One good thing about this article is Crawford will now vote republican.
(Report comment)
I have to agree with Mick, what would these poor teachers do without union backing. You know, defenders of the common people.
—————————-
50% of American teachers are not able to pass the Standardized test that American children are expected to pass at all levels of the American educational system. Yet, in California, the Union spent $7.5 million to defend seven (7) poor teachers eventually fired by the state due to their proven inability to teach their students the required basic curriculum for the majority of their educational careers.
————————————
And dues is paid by the taxpayer!!
(Report comment)
Amen sick and tired of big gov’t!
(Report comment)
Here you go Mick… now maybe you’ll get an idea of the magnitude of the problem. I’m not holding my breathe though… you like putting your head in the sand whenever realty strikes.
In addition to pension benefits, state and local governments often also provide other retirement benefits, especially postretirement health care benefits. These nonpension postemployment benefits include such things as health insurance, dental and vision insurance, and prescription drug plans. Unlike pension plans, most of these nonpension benefit plans are completely unfunded. That is, assets are not being set aside to fund the obligations. The Pew Center on the States reports that nonpension benefit unfunded liabilities across all states were about $537 billion in 2008. Our estimates of the reported unfunded liabilities of state and local governments for pensions and other postemployment benefits total $1.03 trillion, but when these unfunded liabilities are recalculated using a more appropriate discount rate, the total unfunded accrued liability is much higher.
We analyzed 153 state and local pension plans, representing more than 85 percent of liabilities for state and local pensions and other benefits, and recalculated their liabilities using a lower discount rate. Our calculations show:
Unfunded pension liabilities are approximately $2.5 trillion, compared to the reported amount of $493 billion.
Unfunded liabilities for health and other benefits are $558 billion, compared to the reported $537 billion.
Thus, total unfunded liabilities for all benefit plans are an estimated $3.1 trillion — nearly three times higher than the plans report.
To put these liabilities in context, state and local governments’ reported unfunded obligations under pension and other benefit plans amounting to 7.1 percent of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) in 2008. When adjusted using a more appropriate discount rate, however, states’ unfunded obligations were 22 percent of U.S. GDP. All but 10 states and the District of Columbia have total adjusted unfunded liabilities above 15 percent of their state GDP, and four states — Alaska, Hawaii, New Jersey and Ohio — have adjusted unfunded liabilities above 35 percent of their state GDP.”
(Report comment)
Hey Keta… where’s the democrats budget? You can’t point to Obambi’s because every democrat has voted against it. Where’s the Senate’s budget? It’s been over 1,070 days since they have passed one. The Ryan plan passed by a vote of 228-191. ObambiCare passed by a vote of 219 to 212. So if Obambi thinks that 219-212 is a “strong majority”, 228 to 191 must be a mandate.
(Report comment)
Mick, you still aren’t getting it…. public workers were made retirement and health care benefit promises that the city could not keep financially. Say you had 100 workers in your city and their salary took up 50% of the budget and road repairs took up the other half (for simplicity sake). Now… say all those workers are retiring and you have to hire another 100 workers… How much is going to be left for road repair?
(Report comment)
Noesis; As an interesting PS: Democrats and Republicans are far from “realizing the truth”. We have the moral responsibility as individuals to realize the truth.
(Report comment)
Noesis; In answer to your comment “Now you were saying Mick?” I was saying “You fail to comprehend, Public Workers declined to take pay raises in order to receive retirement and health care benefits. In point of fact, retirement and health care benefits are part of Public Workers salary.” I could agree to a cut in health care and retirement benefits to Public Workers if their salaries or wages were increased to compensate for this cut in their overall package.
(Report comment)
Paul Ryan’s new budget plan, the “Path to Prosperity”, cuts education funding by 45%. That should help, right? Incidentally, it also ends the Medicare guarantee of adequate health care for retired people, but of course they’re free to use their savings to pay for health care. Everything in that budget makes working/poor people
responsible for getting us back on track. It not only protects every tax break for the wealthy, it creates new ones – three trillion dollars worth in all. How republican, to prefer closing schools and post offices to making everyone share the burden equally. The one percent, thankfully, is only one percent, and everybody else is tired of this crap.
(Report comment)
Even democrats are realizing the truth Mick…
Democratic mayors challenge teachers unions in urban political shift
As a young labor organizer in Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa worked for the city’s teachers, honing his political skills in the fight for a good contract. The union loved him back, supporting the Democrat’s election to the State Assembly, City Council and, finally, the mayor’s office he occupies today.
But now, Villaraigosa, a rising star in the national Democratic Party, has a different view. He calls the teachers union “the one, unwavering roadblock” to improving public education in Los Angeles.
Villaraigosa is one of several Democratic mayors in cities across the country — Chicago, Cleveland, Newark and Boston, among them — who are challenging teachers unions in ways that seemed inconceivable just a decade ago.
…The mayors want a raft of changes. They want to replace the uniform pay scale with merit pay. They seek to expand public charter schools, which are largely non-union. Some want to lengthen school days, requiring teachers to work more hours.
And nearly all of those mayors have set their sights on the one workplace protection that teachers have held central for more than 100 years: tenure.
(Report comment)
(Reuters) – New York state lawmakers approved pension reform that will save an estimated $80 billion over 30 years, largely by reducing benefits for newly hired state and local public workers, which union officials Thursday blasted as an attack on the middle class.
Governor Andrew Cuomo praised the bill enacted by the legislature with several others starting late Wednesday as key to maintaining the state’s fiscal health. The bill also provides a safeguard for municipalities that will protect them from any financial burden if the state increases their pension benefits.
Spiraling pension obligations are one of the top financial problems faced by state and local governments across the United States. For New York’s municipalities, pension costs have risen more than 650 percent since 2002, to $12.2 billion in 2012, Cuomo said.
—————-
650%? Now you were saying Mick?
(Report comment)
“Sure, we have to have schools, and teachers, administrators, bus drivers and books, but why can’t we get the cheapest of all of those and save some real money?
And we need cops and firefighters and highways workers and air traffic controllers…fine, but how much can that cost if we kill their unions? I know we have to have courts and all that goes with that (judges, clerks, prosecutors, jailers, deputies), but surely these people could work without benefits, like the rest of us.
Crawford, you are a nitwit. Where in the Constitution, besides a federal judiciary, do you find the above as a responsibility of the federal government? Go back to being a Democrat. Your mentality fits them perfectly.
(Report comment)
Noesis; You fail to comprehend, Public Workers declined to take pay raises in order to receive “retirement and health care” benefits. In point of fact, retirement and health care benefits are part of Public Workers salary.
(Report comment)
It’s funny that local governments are cutting way back on services — why? Because they made such exorbitant promises for retirement and health care of past workers that they can’t afford new workers, or basic government services. For some reason, that never gets mentioned.
(Report comment)
Jim Crawford; A superb tongue-in-cheek article. Loved it!!! In regards to your closing (perfect) comment, “Now I am a Republican.” I will say a special prayer for you to St. Jude, the patron of hopeless causes.
(Report comment)
“Are you sick, tired of government?”—you betcha.
(Report comment)
It seems this writer thinks most americans or at least those in this area are so stupid and dependent upon the federal gov;t to provide care for us that we are incapable of making a decisions on our own much like Obama believes Americans are not able to make decisions. He wants us all dependent upon the federal gov’t to tell us when and how how to run our lives such is the socialism way of life. Do people really want that as there future with this president?
(Report comment)
Hey best article you have ever written not sure how sincere you are but yes big government is out of place and needs to be trimmed. If you actually think a big gov’t can provide all your needs as this federal gov’t is so inefficient in anything it does then I have some great swamp land full of reptiles I would be glad to sell.
(Report comment)