Arkady Renko Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 No to mention, the "government employees" are not the ones that people think. They aren't the lackeys in the office or the morons who caused this problem. They are regular people, people who now are jobless in an area where there are already a bunch of jobless people in Western NY. I think a tiny tax increase would have been a better move than laying off employees. Or how about paycuts for the BIG government employees? I'd like to see Giambra take one... I'd also like to see that !@#$ing moron mayor of Rochester take the !@#$ing Fast Ferry the hell out of here before it causes any more problems. !@#$ing Johnson! :I starred in Brokeback Mountain: 240362[/snapback] Yeah, I think most people would be in agreement that the govt employees that should be laid off are the middle managing beauracrats that take up too much of the budget. Raising taxes however, would be a destructive move. The area has lost enough jobs and people already. More taxes will just further the downward spiral. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Darin Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 Not to mention, there are now a lot more people getting laid off because of this. One of the affected was my season ticket partner...not anymore. :I starred in Brokeback Mountain: Anyone who thinks cutting jobs is a good thing... 240354[/snapback] :I starred in Brokeback Mountain: who thinks because they work for a bloated and inefficient bureaucracy that they are immune from criticism/punishment. Move where the food is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike32282 Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 I doubt if any one ever wants to see someone loose their job. But as times change thru the economy and technology, job roles change too. There used to be a lot of manufacturing jobs in WNY. They're gone, and people adapt. And I sympathise because it is never painless. All you can do is try to prepare for it and increase your own personal skill base to make you valuable to a future employer. That can increase your chances of employment 240370[/snapback] This is the part that really got to me.... I am thrilled they refused to raise the sales tax in WNY. But I'm happier there will be deep cuts - why do we need over 10,000 public employees in Erie County? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkyMannn Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 Trash collection shouldn't be a municipal responsibility at all. There's no reason why the private sector can't handle this service. 240366[/snapback] You're right. I believe some local towns do contract that out. And mine contracts out re-cycling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike32282 Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 You're right. I believe some local towns do contract that out. And mine contracts out re-cycling 240378[/snapback] In Rochester, all the towns seem to contract that out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kipers Hair Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 Not to mention, there are now a lot more people getting laid off because of this. One of the affected was my season ticket partner...not anymore. :I starred in Brokeback Mountain: Anyone who thinks cutting jobs is a good thing... 240354[/snapback] Maybe not a good thing, but a necessary thing. If the city and county were responsible in managing their budget and day to day activities, this mess would not happen. A well run company lays people off - it's a hard and necessary activity in the workplace...and yes the city and county function as a workplace. This whole thing is an ugly mess - not a good day. The bond rating change will effectively cost more than the $70MM shortage. The really sad thing is, they will cut thngs, close parks and impact tax payers when in reality, the budget is enough to have all of these things. If managed right, there is no reason for this fiscal mess. Granted there are good people behind the scenes, but I have seen enough waste to justify cutting the staffing in a 1/3 easily. "Fake" jobs to say there are jobs is just fooling yourself...in reality, there is too much overstaffing and waste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
envirojeff Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 The fact of the matter is that the old steel belt is going down like a dinosaur and there is nothing that anyone can do about it. THERE IT HAD TO BE SAID. Most younger people have moved out of the area for a solid future. Are they wrong to do this? I did it and I don't think that it was a wrong decision. Look, It is a very difficult situation to watch, but we can't honestly say that we didn't see this coming? Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KRC Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 You're right. I believe some local towns do contract that out. And mine contracts out re-cycling 240378[/snapback] My town contracts recycling and trash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BILLS02138 Posted February 15, 2005 Author Share Posted February 15, 2005 I have nothing against the folks who work for Erie County - I have a problem with the folks who continue to ELECT those who are to lead Erie County. Giambra has failed to show the bold qualified leadership to lead this county in the right direction. And the Legislature does not help. The voters have to make a statement in the upcoming elections. The problem is: If we continue to ok every tax increase - taxes will just continue to go up - Population will continue to go down - It's a sick cycle... It's time we deal with the problem instead of band-aide our way through another fiscal year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
envirojeff Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 I have nothing against the folks who work for Erie County - I have a problem with the folks who continue to ELECT those who are to lead Erie County. Giambra has failed to show the bold qualified leadership to lead this county in the right direction. And the Legislature does not help. The voters have to make a statement in the upcoming elections. The problem is: If we continue to ok every tax increase - taxes will just continue to go up - Population will continue to go down - It's a sick cycle... It's time we deal with the problem instead of band-aide our way through another fiscal year. 240386[/snapback] I agree 110%. That's what your vote can do. Vote these fat cats out and make a diffrence. Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BILLS02138 Posted February 15, 2005 Author Share Posted February 15, 2005 The fact of the matter is that the old steel belt is going down like a dinosaur and there is nothing that anyone can do about it. THERE IT HAD TO BE SAID. Most younger people have moved out of the area for a solid future. Are they wrong to do this? I did it and I don't think that it was a wrong decision. Look, It is a very difficult situation to watch, but we can't honestly say that we didn't see this coming? Jeff 240383[/snapback] Jeff: Needless to say, I'm not sad that people like you left. With or without a choice - Buffalo Niagara has so much potential. The Rust Belt image is just an image - there is a lot of good here. We just need leaders in place to affect change. Enjoy Orlando - I "imagine" you feel a great sense of community, pride, and connection to the Orlando community. I know the grass is not greener. Later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverNRed Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 This is the part that really got to me.... I am thrilled they refused to raise the sales tax in WNY. But I'm happier there will be deep cuts - why do we need over 10,000 public employees in Erie County? 240375[/snapback] In a perfect world, everyone would have a nice job. In the real world, a shrinking county can't afford to keep employing over 10,000 people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkady Renko Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 The fact of the matter is that the old steel belt is going down like a dinosaur and there is nothing that anyone can do about it. THERE IT HAD TO BE SAID. Most younger people have moved out of the area for a solid future. Are they wrong to do this? I did it and I don't think that it was a wrong decision. Look, It is a very difficult situation to watch, but we can't honestly say that we didn't see this coming? Jeff 240383[/snapback] Except that many other rust belt cities are handling the industrial transition much better than Buffalo. What makes Buffalo different? Worst fiscal policy on the local and state side. Raising taxes and more spending has been tried plenty before. How about something new for a change? You yourself are saying that you left Buffalo b/c of the problems there yet you don't want them to try anything different in order to solve them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammered a Lot Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 And the fact that of the 10,000 employees on the payroll, 7,864 of them are held by people with the last name Giambra. Cronieism at its best ladies and gentlemen, Mr Giambra. WOW, what a dumb statement. And when Gorski was in office how many people were named Gorski, And what about when Eddie R was in office how many...... Listening to WBEN 930am for the last couple of weeks. It's kind of sad how finally some "Hard Working County Workers" want to NOW point out/blow the whistle on the "Lazy work a hour, sleep 7 hours workers." If they would have spoke up earlier they might not be sweating about their job now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 You're right. I believe some local towns do contract that out. And mine contracts out re-cycling 240378[/snapback] It's just one example of course, but it shows how these municipal governments get so out of hand. Under the guise of providing "services" to the citizenry, they hire an absurd number of people to do a job (poorly and inefficiently), and then when they are short of money, they raise taxes. And around and around it goes. To break this cycle, they need to outsource as many of these services to the private sector as possible. Much better to have a private citizen funding the government via taxes than to have him draining from the government by drawing a paycheck from it. And as a citizen, the forces of competitive markets means that paying for my trash pick up directly is going to save me money v. paying more in taxes for the county to provide the same service. The ONLY people who win with the current system are the politicians who want to maintain a large government because bigger means more power. Someone in this thread already mentioned the convoy of 'highway department' trucks at Tim Horton’s every morning and I'm sure you could fill the Library of Congress with such stories. Here's one I remember: last winter, the NY Post followed around a highway crew in NYC whose job it was to fill potholes. They followed a 3 man crew for an entire shift. Guess how many potholes they filled? Six. Nothing like municipal employees pumping out the work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkyMannn Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 WOW, what a dumb statement. And when Gorski was in office how many people were named Gorski, And what about when Eddie R was in office how many...... 240396[/snapback] Eddie Rutkowski for a long time has been second in charge of the NYS Parks dept. What the hell does he know about parks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike32282 Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 Here's what annoys me....this state is in such bad state...especially Buffalo and Rochester and Western NY. Yet, they have a half billion dollars to use to build a brand new stadium for the Jets?!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kipers Hair Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 Jeff: Needless to say, I'm not sad that people like you left. With or without a choice - Buffalo Niagara has so much potential. The Rust Belt image is just an image - there is a lot of good here. We just need leaders in place to affect change. Enjoy Orlando - I "imagine" you feel a great sense of community, pride, and connection to the Orlando community. I know the grass is not greener. Later. 240393[/snapback] This here is the response I was looking for...A WNY'er bubbling with civic pride...What are you feeling pride in? Fiscal disaster? Corrupt government? Waste? I agree WNY is a BEAUTIFUL place with much to offer...however at what cost? Taking a job paying 35% less to have it? Don't fool yourselves with the cheap housing - your taxes offset the mortgage save and in the end, your return on investment is less. If you are in it for the beauty and georgraphy, there are other Great Lakes cities that offer the same and will pay you better for equal work...sorry it's the truth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkyMannn Posted February 15, 2005 Share Posted February 15, 2005 It's just one example of course, but it shows how these municipal governments get so out of hand. Under the guise of providing "services" to the citizenry, they hire an absurd number of people to do a job (poorly and inefficiently), and then when they are short of money, they raise taxes. And around and around it goes. To break this cycle, they need to outsource as many of these services to the private sector as possible. Much better to have a private citizen funding the government via taxes than to have him draining from the government by drawing a paycheck from it. And as a citizen, the forces of competitive markets means that paying for my trash pick up directly is going to save me money v. paying more in taxes for the county to provide the same service. The ONLY people who win with the current system are the politicians who want to maintain a large government because bigger means more power. Someone in this thread already mentioned the convoy of 'highway department' trucks at Tim Horton’s every morning and I'm sure you could fill the Library of Congress with such stories. Here's one I remember: last winter, the NY Post followed around a highway crew in NYC whose job it was to fill potholes. They followed a 3 man crew for an entire shift. Guess how many potholes they filled? Six. Nothing like municipal employees pumping out the work! 240397[/snapback] In my 30 years of working, one year was on a temporary county job. I was lost. There was like no incentive, mission, purpose, whatever you want to call it. Just come in, do it, and leave. In the private sector there is so much drive. I guess it is called profitability and competition. Maybe that one movie had it right, Wall Street, "greed is good" I also worked for Tyco, greed is not good in their case Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BILLS02138 Posted February 15, 2005 Author Share Posted February 15, 2005 This here is the response I was looking for...A WNY'er bubbling with civic pride...What are you feeling pride in? Fiscal disaster? Corrupt government? Waste? I agree WNY is a BEAUTIFUL place with much to offer...however at what cost? Taking a job paying 35% less to have it? Don't fool yourselves with the cheap housing - your taxes offset the mortgage save and in the end, your return on investment is less. If you are in it for the beauty and georgraphy, there are other Great Lakes cities that offer the same and will pay you better for equal work...sorry it's the truth. 240403[/snapback] Yah, but Buffalo is home. I could give a sh-- about all the other "Great Lake Cities." You pick on Buffalo - You pick on me. Sorry your family and roots mean so little to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts