Choose your color scheme:
The Vette Barn  
 
Go Back   The Vette Barn > Off Topic/Babes/Other > Politics & Religion

Politics & Religion Discussion of politics and religion

User Tag List

Reply
 
Share Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 04-02-2011, 10:49am   #1
Will
Barn Stall Owner #15
Fantasy Football Champ '11,'13,'17
Points: 49,374, Level: 100
Activity: 0%
 
Will's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Somewhere between mild insanity and complete psychosis.
Posts: 7,972
Thanks: 319
Thanked 2,447 Times in 1,241 Posts
Gameroom Barn Bucks: $1050381
Unhappy More Americans work for Govt. than in manufacturing, farming, mining, etc. combined

Not Good.


We've Become a Nation of Takers, Not Makers
More Americans work for the government than in manufacturing, farming, fishing, forestry, mining and utilities combined.


Quote:
If you want to understand better why so many states—from New York to Wisconsin to California—are teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, consider this depressing statistic: Today in America there are nearly twice as many people working for the government (22.5 million) than in all of manufacturing (11.5 million). This is an almost exact reversal of the situation in 1960, when there were 15 million workers in manufacturing and 8.7 million collecting a paycheck from the government.

It gets worse. More Americans work for the government than work in construction, farming, fishing, forestry, manufacturing, mining and utilities combined. We have moved decisively from a nation of makers to a nation of takers. Nearly half of the $2.2 trillion cost of state and local governments is the $1 trillion-a-year tab for pay and benefits of state and local employees. Is it any wonder that so many states and cities cannot pay their bills?

Every state in America today except for two—Indiana and Wisconsin—has more government workers on the payroll than people manufacturing industrial goods. Consider California, which has the highest budget deficit in the history of the states. The not-so Golden State now has an incredible 2.4 million government employees—twice as many as people at work in manufacturing. New Jersey has just under two-and-a-half as many government employees as manufacturers. Florida's ratio is more than 3 to 1. So is New York's.

Even Michigan, at one time the auto capital of the world, and Pennsylvania, once the steel capital, have more government bureaucrats than people making things. The leaders in government hiring are Wyoming and New Mexico, which have hired more than six government workers for every manufacturing worker.

Now it is certainly true that many states have not typically been home to traditional manufacturing operations. Iowa and Nebraska are farm states, for example. But in those states, there are at least five times more government workers than farmers. West Virginia is the mining capital of the world, yet it has at least three times more government workers than miners. New York is the financial capital of the world—at least for now. That sector employs roughly 670,000 New Yorkers. That's less than half of the state's 1.48 million government employees.

Don't expect a reversal of this trend anytime soon. Surveys of college graduates are finding that more and more of our top minds want to work for the government. Why? Because in recent years only government agencies have been hiring, and because the offer of near lifetime security is highly valued in these times of economic turbulence. When 23-year-olds aren't willing to take career risks, we have a real problem on our hands. Sadly, we could end up with a generation of Americans who want to work at the Department of Motor Vehicles.

The employment trends described here are explained in part by hugely beneficial productivity improvements in such traditional industries as farming, manufacturing, financial services and telecommunications. These produce far more output per worker than in the past. The typical farmer, for example, is today at least three times more productive than in 1950.

Where are the productivity gains in government? Consider a core function of state and local governments: schools. Over the period 1970-2005, school spending per pupil, adjusted for inflation, doubled, while standardized achievement test scores were flat. Over roughly that same time period, public-school employment doubled per student, according to a study by researchers at the University of Washington. That is what economists call negative productivity.

But education is an industry where we measure performance backwards: We gauge school performance not by outputs, but by inputs. If quality falls, we say we didn't pay teachers enough or we need smaller class sizes or newer schools. If education had undergone the same productivity revolution that manufacturing has, we would have half as many educators, smaller school budgets, and higher graduation rates and test scores.

The same is true of almost all other government services. Mass transit spends more and more every year and yet a much smaller share of Americans use trains and buses today than in past decades. One way that private companies spur productivity is by firing underperforming employees and rewarding excellence. In government employment, tenure for teachers and near lifetime employment for other civil servants shields workers from this basic system of reward and punishment. It is a system that breeds mediocrity, which is what we've gotten.

Most reasonable steps to restrain public-sector employment costs are smothered by the unions. Study after study has shown that states and cities could shave 20% to 40% off the cost of many services—fire fighting, public transportation, garbage collection, administrative functions, even prison operations—through competitive contracting to private providers. But unions have blocked many of those efforts. Public employees maintain that they are underpaid relative to equally qualified private-sector workers, yet they are deathly afraid of competitive bidding for government services.

President Obama says we have to retool our economy to "win the future." The only way to do that is to grow the economy that makes things, not the sector that takes things.
Stephen Moore: We've Become a Nation of Takers, Not Makers - WSJ.com
Will is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2011, 11:14am   #2
thkauffman
Barn Stall Owner #31
Points: 8,873, Level: 65
Activity: 0%
 
thkauffman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Michigan
Posts: 2,794
Thanks: 108
Thanked 602 Times in 489 Posts
Gameroom Barn Bucks: $73231
Default

Sickening. What a waste.
thkauffman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2011, 12:33pm   #3
ChasC5
Banned
Points: 18,058, Level: 92
Activity: 0%
 
ChasC5's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Where Cons Fear
Posts: 7,146
Thanks: 369
Thanked 410 Times in 376 Posts
Gameroom Barn Bucks: $37320
bilmem

Yea let's get rid of all of those lazy bastards, then bitch about the Unemployment numbers.
ChasC5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2011, 12:38pm   #4
ptindall
A Real Barner
Points: 12,767, Level: 78
Activity: 14.7%
 
ptindall's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 2,101
Thanks: 1,151
Thanked 665 Times in 269 Posts
Gameroom Barn Bucks: $56446
Default

Holy crap that fact is nauseating.
ptindall is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2011, 12:39pm   #5
ptindall
A Real Barner
Points: 12,767, Level: 78
Activity: 14.7%
 
ptindall's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 2,101
Thanks: 1,151
Thanked 665 Times in 269 Posts
Gameroom Barn Bucks: $56446
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by ChasC5 View Post
Yea let's get rid of all of those lazy bastards, then celebrate as the private sector lurches foward into great prosperity.
There we go.
ptindall is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2011, 12:44pm   #6
Entropy
Fantasy Football Champ '12
Points: 26,770, Level: 100
Activity: 0.7%
 
Entropy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Cedar Rapids, IA
Posts: 6,234
Thanks: 742
Thanked 1,264 Times in 766 Posts
Gameroom Barn Bucks: $90918
Default

I'm glad that the author took the time to describe the improvements to manufacturing that caused us to not need as many workers, and also included the fact that farmers now are more efficient at producing crops than at any other time in history.

Why am I in the public sector? Because when I was looking at jobs 5+ years ago, that's who I got calls back from, interviews and job offers. Maybe that's a critique on my abilities, or that's just the reality of the situation. Either which way, many of my friends who went to graduate school weren't thinking about industry afterwards, the instability of it after spending so much time and energy on the degree was a little nauseating. Most of them are in academia or research institutes.

I'm also finding that is incredibly hard to get out of where I'm at. I'm not getting call backs for the research jobs I apply for. It's making me wonder if I've been marked as "unfit" since I'm trying to come from the public sector. My accomplishments in labs don't seem to matter, not the critical thinking that went into those achievements. It's very frustrating.
Entropy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2011, 1:03pm   #7
Will
Barn Stall Owner #15
Fantasy Football Champ '11,'13,'17
Points: 49,374, Level: 100
Activity: 0%
 
Will's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Somewhere between mild insanity and complete psychosis.
Posts: 7,972
Thanks: 319
Thanked 2,447 Times in 1,241 Posts
Gameroom Barn Bucks: $1050381
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Entropy View Post
I'm glad that the author took the time to describe the improvements to manufacturing that caused us to not need as many workers, and also included the fact that farmers now are more efficient at producing crops than at any other time in history.

Why am I in the public sector? Because when I was looking at jobs 5+ years ago, that's who I got calls back from, interviews and job offers. Maybe that's a critique on my abilities, or that's just the reality of the situation. Either which way, many of my friends who went to graduate school weren't thinking about industry afterwards, the instability of it after spending so much time and energy on the degree was a little nauseating. Most of them are in academia or research institutes.

I'm also finding that is incredibly hard to get out of where I'm at. I'm not getting call backs for the research jobs I apply for. It's making me wonder if I've been marked as "unfit" since I'm trying to come from the public sector. My accomplishments in labs don't seem to matter, not the critical thinking that went into those achievements. It's very frustrating.
Just hit your knees and be thankful you have a decent job.

It's a blood-bath out there.

I can attest to the ABSOLUTE TRUTH of this part:

Quote:
Don't expect a reversal of this trend anytime soon. Surveys of college graduates are finding that more and more of our top minds want to work for the government. Why? Because in recent years only government agencies have been hiring, and because the offer of near lifetime security is highly valued in these times of economic turbulence. When 23-year-olds aren't willing to take career risks, we have a real problem on our hands. Sadly, we could end up with a generation of Americans who want to work at the Department of Motor Vehicles.
In an economy and nation now moving towards socialism, attitudes have changed. Many would gladly take a cushy .gov job and settle for guaranteed mediocrity. After all, if one takes risks and forges their own way, they will simply be punished and demonized by our Democrat overlords.

Toil and save for a home? Watch its value plummet due ti a bubble as socialists decided that those who don't put in the work should get a home-loan too.

Take a private sector job that seems attractive? Lose your livelihood and put your family's well being at risk as Democrats tax and regulate your employer to either extinction or outsourcing your job.

Stock-pile savings responsibly for your own retirement rather than relying on a govt. pension? Watch the value of your wealth dissipate as Democrats spend the nation into oblivion and devalue the currency.

Try to start your own manufacturing endeavor of some kind? See yourself fall prostrate before union thugs as Democrats strip you of your rights and force you to sit at a "bargaining" table with your hands chained behind your back.

Work for yourself as a professional? Bend over and pay the FULL portion of payroll taxes on yourself for a social security program that may not even exist when you reach retirement age.
Will is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2011, 4:03pm   #8
VITE1
Barn Stall Owner #69
Bantayan Kids '14,'15,'17
GTMS ‘18
Points: 62,120, Level: 100
Activity: 3.2%
 
VITE1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Port Saint Lucie FL
Posts: 43,822
Thanks: 25,657
Thanked 12,526 Times in 5,847 Posts
Gameroom Barn Bucks: $1084134
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by thkauffman View Post
Sickening. What a waste.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ChasC5 View Post
Yea let's get rid of all of those lazy bastards, then bitch about the Unemployment numbers.

And once they are unemployed all that money flowing into the governments hands will now stay with the more productive and efficient users of capital and within a few years most of them will have jobs.
VITE1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2011, 6:05pm   #9
ChasC5
Banned
Points: 18,058, Level: 92
Activity: 0%
 
ChasC5's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Where Cons Fear
Posts: 7,146
Thanks: 369
Thanked 410 Times in 376 Posts
Gameroom Barn Bucks: $37320
biggrin

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its latest employment numbers today. Some key findings include:

·******** U.S. payrolls increased by 216,000 in March
·******** The private sector added 230,000 jobs during the month.
·******** The unemployment rate fell to 8.8 percent.
·******** The unemployment rate for college-degreed workers is 4.4 percent.
·******** Temporary help services added 29,000 jobs over the month.

ChasC5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2011, 8:15pm   #10
mrvette
Latin American Goat Roper
Barn Stall Owner #101
Bantayan Kids '13
Points: 132,350, Level: 100
Activity: 10.8%
 
mrvette's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Orange Park Florida
Posts: 60,581
Thanks: 32,797
Thanked 11,529 Times in 5,686 Posts
Gameroom Barn Bucks: $1138393
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by ChasC5 View Post
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released its latest employment numbers today. Some key findings include:

·******** U.S. payrolls increased by 216,000 in March
·******** The private sector added 230,000 jobs during the month.
·******** The unemployment rate fell to 8.8 percent.
·******** The unemployment rate for college-degreed workers is 4.4 percent.
·******** Temporary help services added 29,000 jobs over the month.

THAT one is stone bullshit.....the true measure is UNDERemployment.....

that's a rough one....

get over it.....

degrees in basketweaving are not worth the powder to blow them to hell....

the degrees worth having.....note the graduates racial factor....

ORIENTAL/Asian Indian.....

the rest are studying common sense, trying to find some....

mrvette is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2011, 9:05pm   #11
ChasC5
Banned
Points: 18,058, Level: 92
Activity: 0%
 
ChasC5's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Where Cons Fear
Posts: 7,146
Thanks: 369
Thanked 410 Times in 376 Posts
Gameroom Barn Bucks: $37320
Default

Step #1 - Deny
ChasC5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2011, 9:09pm   #12
Luetic
Vette Barn Crew
Points: 1,225, Level: 20
Activity: 1.4%
 
Luetic's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 172
Thanks: 2
Thanked 20 Times in 12 Posts
Gameroom Barn Bucks: $351
Default

the recession is over, all is well, move on



it's funny that the government counts government spending as production, part of the GDP, when it is actually consumption. lol


GDP - oba spending = still negative


keep moving, jobs are great, recession is over, nothing to see here
Luetic is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2011, 9:23pm   #13
ChasC5
Banned
Points: 18,058, Level: 92
Activity: 0%
 
ChasC5's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Where Cons Fear
Posts: 7,146
Thanks: 369
Thanked 410 Times in 376 Posts
Gameroom Barn Bucks: $37320
Default

Step #2 - Anger
ChasC5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2011, 9:40pm   #14
vetteman9368
Barn Raising III
Points: 20,308, Level: 98
Activity: 1.8%
 
vetteman9368's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 7,515
Thanks: 3,105
Thanked 2,179 Times in 966 Posts
Gameroom Barn Bucks: $1120967
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by ChasC5 View Post
Step #2 - Anger
the step you are stuck on=stupid
vetteman9368 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2011, 9:49pm   #15
Will
Barn Stall Owner #15
Fantasy Football Champ '11,'13,'17
Points: 49,374, Level: 100
Activity: 0%
 
Will's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Somewhere between mild insanity and complete psychosis.
Posts: 7,972
Thanks: 319
Thanked 2,447 Times in 1,241 Posts
Gameroom Barn Bucks: $1050381
Quote:
Originally Posted by vetteman9368 View Post
the step you are stuck on=stupid
Will is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2011, 9:51pm   #16
vetteman9368
Barn Raising III
Points: 20,308, Level: 98
Activity: 1.8%
 
vetteman9368's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 7,515
Thanks: 3,105
Thanked 2,179 Times in 966 Posts
Gameroom Barn Bucks: $1120967
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Will View Post
vetteman9368 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2011, 9:55pm   #17
ChasC5
Banned
Points: 18,058, Level: 92
Activity: 0%
 
ChasC5's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Where Cons Fear
Posts: 7,146
Thanks: 369
Thanked 410 Times in 376 Posts
Gameroom Barn Bucks: $37320
biggrin

Quote:
Originally Posted by vetteman9368 View Post
the step you are stuck on=stupid
Like clock-work comes; Step #3 - Name Calling

Then we go back to Step #1



ChasC5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2011, 10:01pm   #18
vetteman9368
Barn Raising III
Points: 20,308, Level: 98
Activity: 1.8%
 
vetteman9368's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 7,515
Thanks: 3,105
Thanked 2,179 Times in 966 Posts
Gameroom Barn Bucks: $1120967
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by ChasC5 View Post
Like clock-work comes; Step #3 - Name Calling

Then we go back to Step #1



Please point out where i called you a name, explicitly. Your modus operandi is to attack the messenger. I can find it in a dozen threads just on the first page. When you do post "facts", they are usually just some leftinista's editorial or some edited, twisted, fabricated story from a "source" so far off he left edge that even most liberals would dismiss it as garbage.

You literally do not know anything about government, politics, or the constitution. You should probably stick to IT stuff and let the big boys run the country.
vetteman9368 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2011, 10:03pm   #19
ChasC5
Banned
Points: 18,058, Level: 92
Activity: 0%
 
ChasC5's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Where Cons Fear
Posts: 7,146
Thanks: 369
Thanked 410 Times in 376 Posts
Gameroom Barn Bucks: $37320
Default

Employment Situation Summary

ChasC5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-02-2011, 10:04pm   #20
vetteman9368
Barn Raising III
Points: 20,308, Level: 98
Activity: 1.8%
 
vetteman9368's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 7,515
Thanks: 3,105
Thanked 2,179 Times in 966 Posts
Gameroom Barn Bucks: $1120967
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by vetteman9368 View Post
Please point out where i called you a name, explicitly. Your modus operandi is to attack the messenger. I can find it in a dozen threads just on the first page. When you do post "facts", they are usually just some leftinista's editorial or some edited, twisted, fabricated story from a "source" so far off he left edge that even most liberals would dismiss it as garbage.

You literally do not know anything about government, politics, or the constitution. You should probably stick to IT stuff and let the big boys run the country.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChasC5 View Post
see the part in bold............and of course we all know we can trust the federal government, right?
vetteman9368 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

The Vette Barn > Off Topic/Babes/Other > Politics & Religion


Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 3:32am.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
User Alert System provided by Advanced User Tagging (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
Copyright © 2009 - 2024 The Vette Barn


Support the Barn:
 
Download the Mobile App;
 
Follow us on Facebook:

Become a Stall Owner

 

Apple iOS App        Google Android App

 

Visit our Facebook page