Obama to freeze spending!

[IDBillzFan]

Hey... Many in the private sector could have took public sector jobs... Yet, they want to go for the high salary, low risk job security. Sorry, I prioritized 20 years ago a lower hourly wage vs. higher job security.

Many people prefer to be challenged by something that takes up a majority of their hours in younger years. Many prefer to have the opportunity for greater advancement and income based on their own efforts; opportunities that aren't available as part of a very strict chart of growth, but rather where they can jump upwards at any height and at any time, just for their effort and commitment. And most importantly...something that I suspect you will never likely understand...many people prefer to be responsible for their own lives and simply don't consider it an option to slum it at a mindless job on the backs of taxpayers everywhere.

 

Hey, we're glad you're safe in a low salary, low risk job. The world needs folks like you to do that mindless ice-chipping. But just because you're too afraid to have career ambitions doesn't mean it's a good idea for everyone.

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

It's called a "token gesture". All I can think to compare it to is my wife agreeing to be fiscally responsible and save a dollar every day by walking to the metro rather than taking the bus. And then going out and buying a new BMW anyway.

 

 

Actually it's like me trading my car in for something cheaper and then my wife going out and buying yet another pair of shoes.

[DC Tom]

Dude, you may have some deep wifey issues there. Sure you should be posting on the board? I hope she isn't insisting on you making homemade wood stain. Screw that! If she can have a BMW, you should be able to spring for a can of Minwax.

 

 

I didn't say she actually did that...I said that's what Obama's "spending cuts" are analogous to.

 

And I make my own wood stain so I can control the color. Every try to match the color on an antique repair with Minwax?

[IDBillzFan]

Actually it's like me trading my car in for something cheaper and then my wife going out and buying yet another pair of shoes.

I heard Newt Gingrich yesterday comment that "It's like my daughter spending her first year of college running up a $50,000 credit card bill, and coming home to tell him 'Okay, Dad, that's as high as I'll go. I won't charge more than $50,000 next year.' "

[DC Tom]

I heard Newt Gingrich yesterday comment that "It's like my daughter spending her first year of college running up a $50,000 credit card bill, and coming home to tell him 'Okay, Dad, that's as high as I'll go. I won't charge more than $50,000 next year.' "

 

Newt's dead-on in this case...but Obama understands that people worry about the federal budget deficit, not the federal debt.

 

Because they're told to, mostly. If the deficit wasn't reported on so frequently, most people wouldn't worry about it to begin with.

[pBills]

From what I have heard, the freeze does not mean that much in the grand scheme of things. Small percentage. I do love the hoopla it's receiving though.

[keepthefaith]

Wow, what a bunch of cynics.

This administration finally takes a little shuffle in the right direction and everybody's all over them. I'm sure all the negative backlash will encourage them to move farther in the direction many of us have been begging them to go.

After struggling through a bad slump the guy finally slapped a seeing eye single to right; give him a little pat on the ass and tell him to go steal second, eh?

 

Seriously, a spending "freeze" simply protects his ability to continue spending at the current elevated rate. If he were serious about addressing our deficit, he'd realize that he needs to dramatically slash spending. A freeze is not a positive step as it will generate more deficits and more debt.

 

The only way to get rid of the deficit is to cut spending. Big cuts. He can't raise taxes enough to cover the problem and that would the economy. Historical data shows that tax revenues are closely tied to GDP regardless of the rate of taxation and raising taxes generally reduces GDP. He and his agenda are fukked. As a nation we can afford the nannie state that he wants, although I expect him and Congress to keep pushing that.

 

By looking at the numbers, it is painfully obvious that we have to dramatically cut the size of government and work to grow the economy. Obama does not have a Clinton economy to work with to fund his agenda.

[ExiledInIllinois]

Many people prefer to be challenged by something that takes up a majority of their hours in younger years. Many prefer to have the opportunity for greater advancement and income based on their own efforts; opportunities that aren't available as part of a very strict chart of growth, but rather where they can jump upwards at any height and at any time, just for their effort and commitment. And most importantly...something that I suspect you will never likely understand...many people prefer to be responsible for their own lives and simply don't consider it an option to slum it at a mindless job on the backs of taxpayers everywhere.

 

Hey, we're glad you're safe in a low salary, low risk job. The world needs folks like you to do that mindless ice-chipping. But just because you're too afraid to have career ambitions doesn't mean it's a good idea for everyone.

 

Here goes:

 

I really don't know how to respond to this post, you are wrong in so many ways... I don't even know where to begin. Partially I am to blame because of how I portray things. I will try my best. True, I started off low pay and secure. Now I am antyhing but low pay, yet still very secure. And there is lots of room for advancement... True, things may be slow... But the climb is there. Sure there are shifts that I don't necessarily like or prefer. When I am a bit older and running the whole joint there is no reason to think that I won't be making over 6 figures... Heck, I am almost there right now. True there are mindless aspects of the job... Yet, they have to be done to keep things running... From every one of the 13 team members. 24/7/365. In the last 50 years there has never been a moment where the site was not staffed and operational. There was a brief moment when we had to evacuate the site because of a bomb threat right after 911. A 60 day closure even because of one of the lowest guy's mistake still costs the local/national economy 18 million dollars +. It might not seem glamourous, but without the site being operational, industry is crippled and the surrounding community is at flood risk potentially putting 100,000's of people in harms way. These are the things you don't hear because we fly under the public radar acting not too glamourously. That is probably the reason the pay climbs with experience and seems so much for what seems very unglamorous work. Steadily increasing through the years learning the trade and every little thing about what makes the place tick operationally and mechanically. Sure a person can walk in off the street and learn certain SOP's, but when it stops working and that closure clock starts ticking up into the millions of dollars, there is nobody else on the planet who will be able to know how to get it back up running except the few that are in the trade. Experience is everyting and that is the ladder one climbs in my job. I'd get further into the various jobs and positions with all the X's, O's and numbers... But I don't want to make you look like a fool... You do that well enough... Your head would spin from what needs to be done. I do admit, the site is a very well oiled machine, with everybody knowing their parts. One field site alone would rival many multi-million dollar businesses. Managing that business somebday is what I aspire to... I just don't say it too often and go the unsung route. Yet, the hard thing for you to accept is that I will still be chipping ice mindlessly at times when needed, as will everybody else till the day we retire. It is just the nature of the business.

 

I hope this adds incite into what I do... Not just the grunt work that I glorify. And yes, I believe the grunt work by everyone should be glorified. IMO, it is the boots on the ground that make the world tick. Not the suits in the office.

[pBills]

I hope this adds incite into what I do... Not just the grunt work that I glorify. And yes, I believe the grunt work by everyone should be glorified. IMO, It is the boots on the ground that make the world tick. Not the suits in the office.

 

 

[IDBillzFan]

I hope this adds incite into what I do... Not just the grunt work that I glorify. And yes, I believe the grunt work by everyone should be glorified. IMO, it is the boots on the ground that make the world tick. Not the suits in the office.

The world doesn't tick properly without suits in the office. No suits in the office means fewer boots on the ground. It's the same dynamic you have between salespeople and engineering. Engineering will tell you that without them, you don't need salespeople. But if you eliminate sales people, there won't be as big a market for whatever the engineers are making.

 

There needs to be a mutual respect for both sides. You can't demonize one for the sake of the other.

[ExiledInIllinois]

 

Thanks. LA is totally off his rocker when he spills crap like he does. I am not much to toot my own horn, I would rather go the unassuming root. Yet, each one of these lock and dams along the inland waterways are multi-million dollar business that operate on the public's trust. Multi-million dollar businesses each with 10's of millions of dollars of overhead. One doesn't just walk in off the street to be lockmaster... You earn it through experience and years of sifting through the minutia. Smartasses like LA wouldn't last a day in the field before they get washed out. You know why? Because they wouldn't want to work, some of the work would be "beneath them" or they would feel their intelligence (whatever little they have) would be insulted. That is hard for a hotshot like him to understand. Think about it... Take all the inland combined, there are millions of people at risk. There billions of dollars in business that are at stake. One of them is the bread basket of the world. All being linked directly to the busiest port in the country (NOLA). Where do you think that economy shifts if we fail to provide industry that service, enviromental stability, and security? Some people will never get the big picture and what makes certain things tick. Sorry, like I said... I'd rather go the unassuming route... But certain dickheads push me to fire back.

[IDBillzFan]

Thanks. LA is totally off his rocker when he spills crap like he does. I am not much to toot my own horn, I would rather go the unassuming root. Yet, each one of these lock and dams along the inland waterways are multi-million dollar business that operate on the public's trust. Multi-million dollar businesses each with 10's of millions of dollars of overhead. One doesn't just walk in off the street to be lockmaster... You earn it through experience and years of sifting through the minutia. Smartasses like LA wouldn't last a day in the field before they get washed out. You know why? Because they wouldn't want to work, some of the work would be "beneath them" or they would feel their intelligence (whatever little they have) would be insulted. That is hard for a hotshot like him to understand. Think about it... Take all the inland combined, there are millions of people at risk. There billions of dollars in business that are at stake. One of them is the bread basket of the world. All being linked directly to the busiest port in the country (NOLA). Where do you think that economy shifts if we fail to provide industry that service, enviromental stability, and security? Some people will never get the big picture and what makes certain things tick. Sorry, like I said... I'd rather go the unassuming route... But certain dickheads push me to fire back.

Uhhh, you're the one who painted yourself as someone who "prioritized 20 years ago a lower hourly wage vs. higher job security." I wasn't painting you as a low wager...I was repeating your description of yourself. Unfortunately, you hold this holier-than-thou "you suits couldn't do my job because it's beneath you" mentality that is so far from being the truth, it's laughable. Most people in suits worked their way up from working in the field, and did so because they needed to be challenged because doing the same thing all the time simply gets monotonous. That's not a dig at the "boots on the ground" people, but rather a nod to those who work hard to climb the ladder.

 

Again, you need both. Demonizing each other does nothing but slow down progress. But you don't see it that way, so pissing on the suits makes good sense to you. No surprise there.

[ExiledInIllinois]

The world doesn't tick properly without suits in the office. No suits in the office means fewer boots on the ground. It's the same dynamic you have between salespeople and engineering. Engineering will tell you that without them, you don't need salespeople. But if you eliminate sales people, there won't be as big a market for whatever the engineers are making.

 

There needs to be a mutual respect for both sides. You can't demonize one for the sake of the other.

 

Or yes you can.

 

You know one thing you learn in my line. DO NOT GET ENGINEERING INNVOLVED! If you must, be it at last resort. After 50 years we need a new HVAC system installed, we can get the contract and what we need for 50k... Engineering gets innvolved, it is going to be almost 250k. That's your gov't.

 

The nice thin about certain occupations? Remember the movie Say Anything? Remember Loyd Dobler's (John Cusack) spiel?

 

"I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that."

 

[DC Tom]

You know one thing you learn in my line. DO NOT GET ENGINEERING INNVOLVED!

 

So how those locks working out for you?

[VABills]

It's called a "token gesture". All I can think to compare it to is my wife agreeing to be fiscally responsible and save a dollar every day by walking to the metro rather than taking the bus. And then going out and buying a new BMW anyway.

It's like Seattle interviewing a "black" coordinator before hiring Carroll. Wink, wink, nod, nod.

[ExiledInIllinois]

Uhhh, you're the one who painted yourself as someone who "prioritized 20 years ago a lower hourly wage vs. higher job security." I wasn't painting you as a low wager...I was repeating your description of yourself. Unfortunately, you hold this holier-than-thou "you suits couldn't do my job because it's beneath you" mentality that is so far from being the truth, it's laughable. Most people in suits worked their way up from working in the field, and did so because they needed to be challenged because doing the same thing all the time simply gets monotonous. That's not a dig at the "boots on the ground" people, but rather a nod to those who work hard to climb the ladder.

 

Again, you need both. Demonizing each other does nothing but slow down progress. But you don't see it that way, so pissing on the suits makes good sense to you. No surprise there.

 

I apologize and said I was partially to blame for being unassuming. 20 years ago I did start off low... But I knew where I was going. You know I started with the Corps for 6.72 and hour... The only thing that kept me going was TDY (travel) and the per diem I got. I actually moved across the country making slightly above that (7.35 and hour)... Now I am almost making 5 times that.

 

Pissing on the suits makes good sense... They will talk you right out of a job (usually not knowing anything about the job). The will cost you 6 times as much. In many instances all some businesses are doing is paying for somebody elses education.

 

We greatly went astray in this country. We have become a nation of "project managers."

[ExiledInIllinois]

So how those locks working out for you?

 

Great! And it is singular: lock. What are you from Chicago. One chamber, one lock. Dual chamber=locks.

 

 

We actually had some suits come down (with all the news) and take a look at the place... So they could have a clue about what they will be talking about.

 

This whole discussion reminds me of the WKRP episode where Herb tries to get Les all worked up about the "suits" and "dungarees."

[John Adams]

Obama is taking a page out of the Republican playbook all right. Fiscal verbiage without fiscal responsibility. It worked for Bush.

[KD in CA]

Obama is taking a page out of the Republican playbook all right. Fiscal verbiage without fiscal responsibility. It worked for Bush.

 

A page? I'd say it's more like he's decided to write the sequel.

[DC Tom]

A page? I'd say it's more like he's decided to write the sequel.

 

Albiet a crappy one, starring Jar Jar Frank and Obi-wan Pelosi.