The term of art now in common usage appears to be "Going Dark". It would appear that I am in good company.
This is a very, very challenging time in the markets. Careful out there.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This Blog is a forum for an ongoing discussion of energy and politics. All political commentary is admittedly Libertarian AND Pacifist in its leanings in the extreme. If you have a particular bias to believe what you read in the Mainstream Media... this is not the Blog for you. If you are willing to question everything... read on!
22 comments:
Careful using Ayn Rand. She was a bit of a loon. :) Harper's Magazine recently had a profile of a book about her.
Socialism Rules! (from Agora 5 minute report) ..
"As menacing as this all ought to sound, here’s an interesting twist: Some of the best-performing stock markets in the world this year are in socialist-leaning nations. Denmark’s OMX 20 (like our Dow) is up 22% so far this year, the best-performing index in the developed world. Incredibly, Hugo Chavez’s IBVC index of Venezuelan’s stocks is close behind.
Compared to the S&P 500, it’s no contest… 2010 is the year of the socialist investor."
And since I'm on a roll ...
"John Berry, OPM's director, released this letter on Aug 16:
"Recent press stories regarding pay for Federal employees compared to private sector workers are unfair and untrue. Simply put, these stories have compared apples to oranges. Federal workers are not paid double the private sector. The Cato Institute and USA Todays tories quoting Cato staff (and similar statements from the Heritage Foundation) look only at gross averages, including retail and restaurant service workers and other entry-level positions that reduce private sector average pay in comparison to the Federal average, which does not include many of these categories in its workforce.
The Federal workforce today is highly specialized. Thirty years ago, over 22% of our workforce was in blue collar jobs. Now that percentage has dropped by half while the percentage of IT and Health professionals has doubled. Data clearly show that many of these highly specialized workers - doctors, nurses, cybersecurity professionals - are paid less than their private sector counterparts and are making a significant sacrifice in pay to serve their neighbors."
Excuse me but sacrifice my a..
I'm sorry. That was rude of me and unnecessary. I had just heard the new jobless numbers and as I have a kid who is one of them, I took it personally. He would be delighted to be making the sacrifice.
You were right to voice your opinion Kathy.
For one thing that BS claim of government workers not having low end jobs is misleading anyway. They do have low end jobs but they pay them at high end wages for the type anyway. Warehouse workers, teaching assistants, janitors, clerks galore. How many high school diploma employees do they have making more than a private sector individual with a degree? Alot.
Government jobs seem to have alot more entry positions which make less than the average for that professional career around here anyway. Yet after a few years they catch up by leaps and bounds.
We cannot afford our current level of government, whether it be local, state or federal. Anyone who thinks that they will be able to retire on a steady government pension for the next few decades is smoking some pretty good stuff.
We are headed for a civil war of sorts--between current and former government workers on one side and the dwindling number of taxpayers on the other side.
Preppy, Preppy, you aren't reading the article I posted. :) And you must not work for a government agency as I can tell you personally that "contracting out" of low-end government jobs (Federally, anyway) has been occurring since Clinton-Gore and "Reinventing Government" in the 1990s.
Remember the phrase they pushed: "steer rather than row"? Well they dumped the building custodians and security officer jobs on the low bid companies (from what I see). What is left in government is the high-end, college-educated people (I'm kinda high-end, but not really), who have to understand and remember the laws to oversee these contractor companies. Obviously, we also have a lot of doctors, lawyers, air traffic controllers, agents, etc. who are going to have to make $100,000/yr+ due to the nature of their training and jobs. Just plain well paid also? Yes.
We would very much like to bring everyone up to our level vs. bring everyone down to serf level like Mr. Shedlock (Mish) thinks we are headed for. Part of the problem is all the money Americans borrowed that they should not have (360%+ debt to GDP is unprecedented), and part of the problem is all the middle-class work that has been offshored (greatly benefitting the top 10% who own the shares in companies that produce stuff for reduced cost) to China and India.
If the dummies don't correct this pretty soon, history is pretty clear: the French Revolution left the rich with no heads.
P.S. most of our clerks are gone too. :)
Bur, spin it however you want.
The average tax paying citizen is increasingly fed up. and just like Westexas says, there is going to be a war (of some kind.) The productive, taxpaying citizens of this society perceive government to be overpaid at the taxpayers' expense and it's that perception that is going to precipitate the fight. At a certain point, not so far in the future, the rebellion will become open for all to see.
Bur,
Also, the relative goodness in Denmark and Venezuela is probably more dependent on oil $$$ than anything else
Regards,
Coal Guy
I'd like to have more faith in the average person that they would get all the facts before they decide to "go crazy." :) But you may be right. My financials are all set up for anti-S&P 500 growth. Most people vote their stomachs. And if we are the next empire to die, well, so be it. I myself predict a 20-year debt-driven malaise (flatline, with no collapse) where the Red, White and Blue looks a lot more like Italy on fumes for awhile. In the meantime, stock up on those Ramen noodles ... cheap, and full of carbohydrates! :)
Bur
I did read it. Not that I have alot of experience with federal employees here but I see it with State employees and just like with educational spending it is all just more of the same.
As for the rest, well the other posters seem to have handled those very well no need for me to repeat :)
Bur,
The government employees do nothing to increase GDP and by definition are a drain on the taxpayers in this nation.
I got one word for you bur "greece"
Obviously you don't see all the mean things jerks and illnesses were doing to the people before the government came along and got in the way ... bad food, bad drugs, bad doctors, bad hospitals, tinpot world dictators, bad home ripoffs, no unemployment, no food stamps, no world peace, bad environment, bad gasoline & bad tires (two of the most regulated things on Earth), animal abuse .. shall I go on? :)
Almost every Federal department and agency was created and/or expanded because of someone ripping off the public or some bug killing people. But that's ok. We know what is best for you anyway, no matter how much you hate us. :)
Almost every Federal department and agency was created and/or expanded because of someone ripping off the public or some bug killing people. But that's ok. We know what is best for you anyway, no matter how much you hate us. :)
That depends on your point of view. To me some of them were simply created or subverted to promote some group or other.
VAWA, Dept. of Women's health, Dept of education.
There are more and some are simply lobby groups given a government seal.
We have to distinguish between Federal and state of course. There is no "Department of Womens' Health" I'm aware of, even at the state level. I don't know what "VAWA" is. And if you are talking about the U.S. Dept of Education, almost all that money goes to pay off defaulted student loans.
Everyone knows that, today, the absolute BEST business to be in in America is the for-profit college business (University of Phoenix, DeVey, Westwood College, IIT, Everest College, etc). Find a few gullible teenagers, get them to sign the Federal loan agreements and give these "institutions" $50-100,000 for a dubious education. And when they can't pay the money back (and, of course, you cannot bankrupt yourself out of a college loan), the Feds agree to pay the balance.
Sounds like a case where we need MORE government regulation. :)
There is a dept. of Women's health or a sub department inside the health department anyway. There was actually a bill to make a men's department earlier this year not sure where it went.
VAWA is the Violence against women act that brought with it a large number of employees not to mention money for DV clinics and of course is getting ready to grow with the new INTERNATIONAL VAWA in the works.
My views on government using tax money to finance education is well known around here.
Funny we are discussing this on "cost of government day" Which takes place 8 days further in the year for 2010.
Not to mention I just read a post over at Gateway Pundit that listed out the number of welfare bureaucrats to population which was very enlightening. Like for every 100K people in New York they pay 256 welfare workers. Thats alot of welfare workers.
HEH maybe we have finally reached peak government employees? Nah they still have four and a half months worth of days to raid for taxes.
Bur,
As far as John Q Public is concerned the prototypical federal employee is some fathead at TSA. As for the student loans, without government “assistance” most people whom wanted to attend to learn wouldn’t need a student loan and those whom didn’t wouldn’t need a degree to get an job that used to be filled by high school grads.
In the UK we have one or two problems too. In Northern ireland 30% of jobs are directly Gov't, and 30% more are considered Gov't dependant. In the Midlands in the last 10 years (the period of the last Labout Gov't) ALL the net jobs created were Gov't jobs!
Now with the new Gov't we have cuts; the new Coalition Gov't has asked all Gov't departments to identify 40% possible cuts with the intention of implementing at least 25% for each department. The new Budget comes out in October and it won't be pretty.
Why does 'fan' and 'shit' come to mind?
I'm still waiting for someone to mention a sizeable program in Federal (or even state) spending that they would want cut.
Donal,
Our day of reckoning is not too far off either. Government paying its workers to tax its workers to pay its workers is the proverbial snake eating its tail.
Regards,
Coal Guy
Post a Comment