Much like you do what you do, we do what we do. Listen to the hue and cry from the politicians how we are making too much money as it is and they want it back, no matter the cost to those who chose to work for government. You may have chosen to not belong to a Union or were forbidden due to your position in the company. I chose my career and have educated myself to perfom 2 jobs within it. I feel I have earned the money I have recieved and resent those that feel I am overpaid or have more benefits than I deserve. I notice that when people advise we must all sacrifice they are talking about the government employee must make that sacrifice. I notice not very many companies are interested in not increasing the cost of their products at this time, to ensure their stockholders get their dividend, I notice the banks gave raises and auto companies gave raises, but because we are government employees we can do without. No matter we have bills to pay, just like you. We have hopes and dreams for the future, just like you, we have kids who we want to go to college and be and do better than ourselves. Not everyone is cut out for the corporate world or management, there have to be ditch diggers, secretaries, cops, soldiers and the like. We pay taxes too.
I think this is what bothers me the most about the whole situation. That the ultra-conservative wing of our political world seems to have contempt for the public employee.
There is no respect for the people who chose to serve in government as the staff members and workers who hold up the safety net of our society.
What has happened to the idea that to be a public servant is a positive thing? What has happened to the respect given to school teachers, to firefighters, to policemen/women and those who work in the offices or who maintain our roads and bridges or wear the uniform of the military..?
it seems lately that all the statesmen/women have fled to some other world, and the Congress and Legislatures around the country are occupied by irrational ones who have no idea of sacrifice... and hold the idea that the ones who work for our state or country are to be looked down upon.. with distain...
that now the only goal to achieve is the one of $$profit making.
No teacher has ever gone into the profession to become a millionaire...yet, all of our children have benefited from their passion to teach.
If our house is on fire we want a qualified fire fighter to come and save it...
if we are being attacked or robbed we want a qualified law enforcement officer to come to our aid and quickly...
when we have a hurricane or an earthquake we expect the government to come and save people from the disaster...when the snow storms come we expect the men and women to be out at all hours of day and night to clear the roads and runways.
..and when our country needs defending (or sometimes even when it doesn't) we expect the men and women who wear the uniform to step up to the plate and take care of us....
people who vote for "tea party" candidates expect
their social security checks to continue;
their medicare to cover their medical needs;
their retirement checks to continue; they expect to be able to visit a national park when they want to; to drive on roads that are open; to be protected.... yet, in their world,
we can only find one way to reduce the deficit caused by the ones on Wall Street:
cut the pensions of those who chose to serve our country in jobs that pay less and ask for more and more and more...while both the compensation and respect is less and less and less.
It is a sad state of affairs IMO.
If I were working for the state, I would be pushing for full payment up front, so that workers receive full salary and have complete control over money that is rightfully theirs.