Total recall - The Cheesehead Edition

[Stitch]

9/11 was the most profitable thing in the world for the rest of the country's firemen.

I'd agree and expand to include almost anyone connected with security. The emergence Top Secret America sure made a lot of people well off.

 

[YankeeFan]

I stand second to no one in my admiration and respect for firefighters. They've been my heroes since I was a little kid.

They deserve to be fairly compensated for their jobs, and the risks they take.

But, let me ask you something about cops, firefighters, and teachers. If these jobs are so critically underpaid, and so terrible, how come no one ever quits?

Do you no any cops, firefighters, or teachers who ever leave the profession? These jobs, and their benefits can't be that bad if no one ever leaves.

The firefighters I know all love their jobs. And, everyone of them would rather work at a busy house vs. a slow one. They like the action.

And, it's a good job. (In fact, the only cops I know who leave the police force, do it to become firefighters, and it rarely works the other way around.) They're paid well, and they have great schedules. Nearly all of them are able to hold down 2nd jobs to supplement their income.

And, there is still a demand for these jobs. Folks take and pass the firefighters exam years before they finally get hired and admitted to the academy.

 

[poindexter]

Teachers quit. A lot of them.

And though I sound like the biggest fireman basher here, my oldest son finished top in his (school) fire academy last year, and has spent the last year trying to hook up (not many hiring in the West). God I hope he gets one of those jobs - he'll be set for life at 25.

 

[YankeeFan]

Teachers quit. A lot of them.

For other jobs, or to raise families?

From my experience, some young teachers do quit. Hell, Bill O'Reilly taught. So did Roland Betts. But, they were always the type who wanted to do it for a period of time, to "give back".

And, programs like Teach for America seek to bring in high achieves to teach for a couple of years.

But, once they're in it for a few years, and either are on a tenure track, or get tenure, very few teachers leave the profession for other careers.

 

[cranberry]

But, let me ask you something about cops, firefighters, and teachers. If these jobs are so critically underpaid, and so terrible, how come no one ever quits?

I think the discussion has been about firefighters and cops (public safety unions) being overcompensated in some places, how that came to be and whether our elected officials have the political courage to demand concessions from them.

 

[YankeeFan]

But, let me ask you something about cops, firefighters, and teachers. If these jobs are so critically underpaid, and so terrible, how come no one ever quits?

I think the discussion has been about firefighters and cops (public safety unions) being overcompensated in some places, how that came to be and whether our elected officials have the political courage to demand concessions from them.

They were treated differently. They had greater public support and sympathies, and were better at the PR game than other public unions.

And, politicians did prize their endorsement above other public sector unions. Politicians of all stripes.

 

[old_tony]

I stand second to no one in my admiration and respect for firefighters. They've been my heroes since I was a little kid.

They deserve to be fairly compensated for their jobs, and the risks they take.

But, let me ask you something about cops, firefighters, and teachers. If these jobs are so critically underpaid, and so terrible, how come no one ever quits?

Do you no any cops, firefighters, or teachers who ever leave the profession? These jobs, and their benefits can't be that bad if no one ever leaves.

The firefighters I know all love their jobs. And, everyone of them would rather work at a busy house vs. a slow one. They like the action.

And, it's a good job. (In fact, the only cops I know who leave the police force, do it to become firefighters, and it rarely works the other way around.) They're paid well, and they have great schedules. Nearly all of them are able to hold down 2nd jobs to supplement their income.

And, there is still a demand for these jobs. Folks take and pass the firefighters exam years before they finally get hired and admitted to the academy.

Actually, I know a whole lot in all three that quit ... with a full pension in their early 50s. Then they get another job in another department or district and get a paycheck for work and a pension paycheck.

 

[Stitch]

For the record, there's nothing illegal about being a public servant and then getting another job after you start collecting your pension.

It depends on the state and how closely related a new job is to the old one.

 

[Stitch]

For the record, there's nothing illegal about being a public servant and then getting another job after you start collecting your pension.

It depends on the state and how closely related a new job is to the old one.

Perhaps. I was more talking about being a paper-pusher for the government and then delivering pizza, or something like that.

Still, for example, retiring from active-duty military service and becoming a defense contractor is not illegal. Nor is it really a cause for "concern," if you ask me.

That's not considered double-dipping by most rational people.

 

[armageddon]

When James Florio raised state income taxes in New Jersey in 1990, he increased taxes on people making $35,000 (which was a good income back then) or more by one percent to close a budget gap handed to him by Republicans. A radio show host raised cain about it, and people were angry.

At the same time, Florio took action so that auto insurance companies , couldn't just dump people in assigned risk pools - at the time, there were about 50 percent of drivers in the assigned risk pool. Florio's action saved me $200 on insurance.

When I would ask people angry with Florio (who had his flaws) how much Florio's action would cost them, most didn't know and nobody I knew gave me a figure of more than $200.

So I ask you, old tony, how much did Scott Walker save you in taxes. You can argue all the philosophy and emotion you want, but how did you benefit?

My property taxes stayed about the same as opposed to going up every year. But even more important, I don't care what the number is as far as how much I saved. i care that he did the right things -- things that are eventually going to bring all kinds of jobs to Wisconsin, things that balanced the budget from a $3.6-billion deficit, things that gave counties, cities, school districts and other local governmental units the ability to control their spending, including busting the monopoly that the teacher's union insurance company had. Because of what Walker did, we have since learned that the teacher's union insurance company has basically stolen hundreds of millions of dollars from the taxpayers over the last 30-plus years. It's all going to benefit me -- some directly and also very much indirectly.

Since Walker has been Governor job growth in Wisconsin has been close to the worst in the country. Why?

Because my boy was a screw-up at Marquette U., a screw-up as Milwaukee County Executive and he is continuing his fine work as Gov.

 

[LanceyHoward]

I stand second to no one in my admiration and respect for firefighters. They've been my heroes since I was a little kid.

They deserve to be fairly compensated for their jobs, and the risks they take.

But, let me ask you something about cops, firefighters, and teachers. If these jobs are so critically underpaid, and so terrible, how come no one ever quits?

Do you no any cops, firefighters, or teachers who ever leave the profession? These jobs, and their benefits can't be that bad if no one ever leaves.

The firefighters I know all love their jobs. And, everyone of them would rather work at a busy house vs. a slow one. They like the action.

And, it's a good job. (In fact, the only cops I know who leave the police force, do it to become firefighters, and it rarely works the other way around.) They're paid well, and they have great schedules. Nearly all of them are able to hold down 2nd jobs to supplement their income.

And, there is still a demand for these jobs. Folks take and pass the firefighters exam years before they finally get hired and admitted to the academy.

The link below says half of all teachers leave within five years of entering the profession. That is consistent with other things I have read. I read an op-ed by the a former superintendent, I think Klein of New York City, who said that teacher compensation is flawed in two ways.

One, the current pension plan and compensation scale with annual salary increases means that after 15 years people do not leave, even the burnouts. But that entry level salaries were such that schools lost a lot of younger people that he wanted to keep.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/08/AR2006050801344.html

 

[LongTimeListener]

There are quite a few cases of people retiring from a job, starting pension payments, and then immediately doing the exact same job for the same government entity.

Also, I posted a double-dipping case in LA where cops and firefighters would somehow be classified as retired to start the pension benefit but continue to work for the next five years.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

There are quite a few cases of people retiring from a job, starting pension payments, and then immediately doing the exact same job for the same government entity.

Also, I posted a double-dipping case in LA where cops and firefighters would somehow be classified as retired to start the pension benefit but continue to work for the next five years.

Double-dipping is a problem in a lot of areas. Gov. Rick Perry took advantage of a loophole in Texas law to retire, start drawing his $7,700 per month pension and remain in office.

But good luck getting politicians to rewrite the laws to prevent such double-dipping.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

There are quite a few cases of people retiring from a job, starting pension payments, and then immediately doing the exact same job for the same government entity.

Also, I posted a double-dipping case in LA where cops and firefighters would somehow be classified as retired to start the pension benefit but continue to work for the next five years.

Double-dipping is a problem in a lot of areas. Gov. Rick Perry took advantage of a loophole in Texas law to retire, start drawing his $7,700 per month pension and remain in office.

But good luck getting politicians to rewrite the laws to prevent such double-dipping.

I think people are so fed up and aware of it now that you may start to see some laws to prevent people from milking the system the way they have for so many years.

Hell, my uncle was a cop in California. He retired in his early 50s and started working private security. He always joked that he had to retire to finally become rich...