The Unions Go to Town...

Originally posted by der schwarze Ritter
I should have guessed you were English. I don't know what they're teaching you over there on the other side of the pond, but it is wrong. The stock market has nothing to do with prevailing wages, nor benefits paid to public employees.

They teach us to read. That's not what I said.

Originally posted by Palynka
Did you ever stop to think about the implications of using the NCPA as your ONLY source for economic 'studies'?

Oh my gosh -- you're right. Here are four other studies that should suffice, none of which originated with the NCPA:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080201/METRO/193713891/1001

http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2008/01/21/daily21.html

http://www.pewtrusts.org/news_room_ektid32368.aspx

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/07/05/RETIREE.TMP

Originally posted by der schwarze Ritter
...and bankrupt America's cities.

Many California cities have a 3 percent rule which allows a state, county or city worker to accrue a pension benefit of 3 percent of his final salary for each year worked. So an employee who started on the job at age 22 can retire at age 52 with a lifetime pension benefit of 90 percent of the final salary. Cle ...[text shortened]... oyee unions.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/886hxint.asp

And yet somehow, we pay HUGE taxes to the Feds (13% of the US GDP) who then give the money back to states like North Dakota, Alaska, Mississippi and West Virginia.

Of course we'll have financial problems when we're supporting Red America via the Feds.

Having said that, you do have a point. Paying a full-time salary for life to 50-something year olds who no longer work does not sound like a good idea.

Originally posted by der schwarze Ritter
Oh my gosh -- you're right. Here are four other studies that should suffice, none of which originated with the NCPA:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080201/METRO/193713891/1001

http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2008/01/21/daily21.html

http://www.pewtrusts.org/news_room_ektid32368.aspx

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/07/05/RETIREE.TMP

Gosh, you're right.

The links you've posted before are similar to the ones you've just posted. They're ALL opinion articles and not really economic studies published by respected reviews. My bad.

Originally posted by der schwarze Ritter
The issue is not the benefit, but rather, the fact that their benefit is bankrupting our cities, counties and states:

http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=15537

http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=15509

http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=15375

http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=14732

paying benefits to people who have earned them after 30 years of service is not what's bankrupting the government. Out of control spending on pork projects that line the wallets of the rich, and corporate welfare are bankrupting America

Originally posted by duecer
paying benefits to people who have earned them after 30 years of service is not what's bankrupting the government. Out of control spending on pork projects that line the wallets of the rich, and corporate welfare are bankrupting America

The "rich" like the firefighters who were the richest in the city described?

Originally posted by duecer
paying benefits to people who have earned them after 30 years of service is not what's bankrupting the government. Out of control spending on pork projects that line the wallets of the rich, and corporate welfare are bankrupting America

Paying civil servants 90% of their salaries and guaranteeing them free lifetime medical care in a retirement that begins in their early or mid-50s is bad fiscal policy for any private or government enterprise.

Originally posted by der schwarze Ritter
Paying civil servants 90% of their salaries and guaranteeing them free lifetime medical care in a retirement that begins in their early or mid-50s is bad fiscal policy for any private or government enterprise.

so at what age is it good fiscal policy? who determines what an appropriate age for retirement is? what's wrong with free medical care? GE and other large corporations regularly give golden parachutes to executives which amount to fully paid early retirement, is GE a socialist organization? sounds like sour grapes to me.
your arguments are, as usual, poorly thought out, and full of resentment for anyone who gets something you can't have

Originally posted by uzless
speaking of tax money.....how many BILLIONS were announced by the Fed to infuse money into the credit market due to stupid lending practices by your banks?

The amount of money spent on pensions for a few WORKERS is tiny compared to the money you guys happily use to bail out the super-rich. Wouldn't want that hedge fund to go bankrupt now would we? No, no ...[text shortened]... f a mole hill everytime someone gets a benefit that you don't. You put the "I" in American.

How can you be so right about unions and be such an obnoxious hateful bully?

Originally posted by der schwarze Ritter
This is patently false. Public employees get a tremendous wage premium vs. private sector employees when you factor in the amount of benefits they receive. Here is some interesting reading on the matter:

http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=15536

http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=15646

that doesn't even count featherbedding.

Originally posted by duecer
so at what age is it good fiscal policy? who determines what an appropriate age for retirement is? what's wrong with free medical care? GE and other large corporations regularly give golden parachutes to executives which amount to fully paid early retirement, is GE a socialist organization? sounds like sour grapes to me.
your arguments are, as usual, poorly thought out, and full of resentment for anyone who gets something you can't have

I'm guessing you're a state employee. That would explain your resistance to common sense regarding the inevitable collapse of the state employee benefit metric outlined above.