OT: Public employees: mistreated and misunderstood OR leeches to productivity ?

[bearishgurl]

The short answer is . . . most currently-employed public servants in CA at the State, County and municipal level are hopelessly overloaded. Retirees have NOT been replaced in recent years and mandatory furloughs (to help eat up workers’ leave balances) have NOT helped them plow thru their workload. For instance, I recently had a civil “client” who had pled guilty to a “wet reckless” (in lieu of a DUI) six months prior and their annual auto insurance premium was about to come due. When they checked with the DMV, they found out the local branch court who took their plea had NOT YET reported the lesser wet reckless charge to the DMV and so their insurance company would be pricing their new premium on a DUI arrest shown on her record. When I accompanied her to the courthouse and waited in a 45 min line to talk to a clerk, we found out that this particular section was 9+ months behind in DMV reporting. After a lengthy discussion with a supervisor (and their searching for and finding her convelope pkg while we waited), they agreed to report it to the DMV within a day and actually did so.

This is deplorable service considering all the fines she paid and proof of classes she had to submit to the court to have her lesser plea accepted. It may even be against the law but I can’t cite the actual “failure to perform their ministerial duty” code at the present time. It currently takes close to a year in this county to get either a civil or domestic trial date (provided all previous hgs were attended by all parties).

Due to massive retirements, CA public agencies need WORKERS now! Piggs, get out there and apply!!

[quote=FormerSanDiegan (from “Another crash in 2012?” thread)]I haven’t read this entire thread (frankly, I can’t bear to read the longer posts, so I skim them and read responses).

But, what I want to knwo it, how the heck did we go from the question of whether the stock markket will crash in 2012 to a pissing contest about public employees.

Maybe we should creat a separate thread for that subject ?[/quote]

I agree. There are MANY “separate threads” dealing with public pensions here, FSD. The same small group of Piggs keep complaining about public pensions but have little understanding of how they are actually funded. When push comes to shove, they won’t apply for these “teat-sucking gravy-train” jobs. Could the reason be that they know they can’t pass the stringent pre-employment “background check” or don’t want to lose their “constitutional rights” or “common freedoms” while on duty (which they undoubtedly enjoy with their current employer)?

It’s the same tired old story that rears its head on here several times per month.

Safety workers (who are NOT eligible for SS) are NOT affected by the $106,800 FICA deduction cap. They typically pay a higher contribution rate on a higher salary (often due to overtime). I apologize for any confusion my previous post WRT this may have caused. There are NO caps on these members’ retirement contributions as their pensions are usually calculated based upon their highest year’s (or combination of their highest 3 years’) salary.

Every public retirement system has their own nuances, depending on each employee-group’s collective bargaining agreement.

Also, I didn’t mention the “SS offset” which affects all SS-eligible public servants from all levels of government. It represents +/- 5% of the worker’s pension. For example, for a worker who receives a public pension of $800 month, they will have approx $40 deducted from their monthly SS benefits when they become eligible for them.

I believe it is important for the general (oft-complaining) public to understand the effect a public pension deduction has on a worker’s pay instead of (ignorantly) repeatedly stumping about how “unfair” it all is. This doesn’t even take into account the working conditions and voluminous rules and regulations the typical public worker has to abide by (if they want to remain free of disciplinary action).

“Boring” as my “informational posts” might be, FSD, I believe that if someone can’t competently discuss the “nitty-gritty” of reality here re: public pensions, then STFU.

These public jobs are for the taking, Piggs. I urge you to apply and go thru the “selection process.” It will be an “eye-opening” experience even if you don’t get hired :=]

[(former)FormerSanDiegan]

Thanks BG. But some people may not want to apply for a public job for all sorts of reasons, other than trying to prove their point on a blog.

Take me, for example. I worked for the federal government for about 5 years as a permanent civil servant employee. I left that cushy job for multiple reasons: 1) didn’t like dealing with the bureucracy (or becoming part of it); 2) wanted the challenge of being an entepreneur.

SO, been there, done that. Still not impressed with your information-to-word count ratio.

[Anonymous]

If 100 words are good, 1000 words are better!

[ucodegen]

[quote bearishgurl]The short answer is . . . most currently-employed public servants in CA at the State, County and municipal level are hopelessly overloaded. … For instance, I recently had a civil “client” who had pled guilty to a “wet reckless” (in lieu of a DUI) six months prior and their annual auto insurance premium was about to come due. When they checked with the DMV, they found out the local branch court who took their plea had NOT YET reported the lesser wet reckless charge to the DMV … When I accompanied her to the courthouse and waited in a 45 min line to talk to a clerk, we found out that this particular section was 9+ months behind in DMV reporting.[/quote]Holy freaking crap.. haven’t they heard of computer systems? How manual is their record keeping? How about a little automation? Setting up the requirements for any installed systems so that they integrate instead of duplicate, replicate and multiply the paperwork? I can do a $100K+ stock purchase and it gets cleared within 3 days (money transferred, stock transferred.. etc). In one day on the market, billions of shares are transferred between millions of accounts (just looking at NASDAQ). I don’t think asking the court system to be able to update their record keeping within 1 week is too much. More people is not the solution. Better approach is.

[quote bearishgurl]Also, I didn’t mention the “SS offset” which affects all SS-eligible public servants from all levels of government. It represents +/- 5% of the worker’s pension. For example, for a worker who receives a public pension of $800 month, they will have approx $40 deducted from their monthly SS benefits when they become eligible for them.[/quote]Um.. +800, -40 is not much of an offset.

[quote bearishgurl]This doesn’t even take into account the working conditions and voluminous rules and regulations the typical public worker has to abide by (if they want to remain free of disciplinary action).[/quote]All aspects have rules to abide by.

[sdrealtor]

I havent seen one of her posts in weeks but found myself ROTFLMAO when I saw saw the quoted passage “the short answer is….” because without even having access to the rest of the answer I am certain it was follwed by a thousand words or more that failed to make a point short or otherwise.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=ucodegen][quote bearishgurl]These public jobs are for the taking, Piggs. I urge you to apply and go thru the “selection process.” It will be an “eye-opening” experience even if you don’t get hired.[/quote]How many of these ‘selection process’ rules/procedures/requirements are actually required and how many of them are rote, because that is the way it is always done or to fulfill some political agenda?[/quote]

Why don’t you apply for work with your favorite agency and find out, uco? Or better yet, get yourself “hired on” as a “consultant” to the SD Superior Court and set them up on a reliable electronic multi-agency reporting system! I’m sure since the wheel has not been invented yet, they would embrace the ideas of a genius like you who likely has the contacts and rights to get them up properly for the 21st century :=P

[bearishgurl]

[quote=sdrealtor]I havent seen one of her posts in weeks but found myself ROTFLMAO when I saw saw the quoted passage “the short answer is….” because without even having access to the rest of the answer I am certain it was follwed by a thousand words or more that failed to make a point short or otherwise.[/quote]

Why don’t you pull yourself up from the floor (that is, if you can), change your current refreshment to soda water or black coffee and jog your impaired memory. Firstly, think about every question you put out there where you demand an answer and get one, from me. If its not something you want to hear (or, more likely, you are in no condition to respond to it), you’ve simply ignored it and drowned yourself in your grape juice and/or insulted me with various and sundry epithets, etc ;=}

If you could possibly endeavor to understand the WHOLE answer, you might learn something.

I’m still waiting to hear the travails of your “comfortable and secure” six-figure public-worker household who wanted to explore a “short sale” possibility (of their residence?) :=D

Piggs, do you hear violins playing in the background??

[markmax33]

[quote=bearishgurl][quote=ucodegen][quote bearishgurl]These public jobs are for the taking, Piggs. I urge you to apply and go thru the “selection process.” It will be an “eye-opening” experience even if you don’t get hired.[/quote]How many of these ‘selection process’ rules/procedures/requirements are actually required and how many of them are rote, because that is the way it is always done or to fulfill some political agenda?[/quote]

Why don’t you apply for work with your favorite agency and find out, uco? Or better yet, get yourself “hired on” as a “consultant” to the SD Superior Court and set them up on a reliable electronic multi-agency reporting system! I’m sure since the wheel has not been invented yet, they would embrace the ideas of a genius like you who likely has the contacts and rights to get them up properly for the 21st century :=P[/quote]

Do you think the GOV should cut some of the non-critical services to an appropriate level for the employees employed? Maybe some of the spending during the fat housing bubble years should be reevaluated, or reevaluated quicker.

[briansd1]

[quote=ucodegen]Holy freaking crap.. haven’t they heard of computer systems? How manual is their record keeping? How about a little automation? Setting up the requirements for any installed systems so that they integrate instead of duplicate, replicate and multiply the paperwork? I can do a $100K+ stock purchase and it gets cleared within 3 days (money transferred, stock transferred.. etc). In one day on the market, billions of shares are transferred between millions of accounts (just looking at NASDAQ). I don’t think asking the court system to be able to update their record keeping within 1 week is too much. More people is not the solution. Better approach is.
[/quote]

I believe that certain things are inexcusable.

I’ve encounted some situations, dealing with government agencies, when computer systems and fax machines are turned off when people are not working.

Want to incorporate a business in CA? The current wait is 5 weeks at the Secretary of State unless you pay a service to hand deliver the paperwork. FedEx does not work.

The current budget crunch is resulting in higher fees and fines of all kinds.

I believe that the cutbacks in library and school hours is to pressure parents to relent and vote for higher taxes.

[ucodegen]

[quote bearishgurl]Why don’t you apply for work with your favorite agency and find out, uco? Or better yet, get yourself “hired on” as a “consultant” to the SD Superior Court and set them up on a reliable electronic multi-agency reporting system! I’m sure since the wheel has not been invented yet, they would embrace the ideas of a genius like you who likely has the contacts and rights to get them up properly for the 21st century :=P[/quote]Cute.. actually, I am trying to push the ‘modernization’ with respect to DoD procurement at where I am working.. And yes, I am hired as a Consultant. The whole manual invoice/payment thing is disgusting. I am also spending my efforts on another direction that is critical right now. I only have two hands, two eyes, one brain (yes two halves, but I would like to keep the together. Splitting them is not good for the corpus callosum as well keeping your sanity and single personality) and want to spend up to 10hrs/day except weekends working.. so I can only accomplish so much.

Jousting against the windmills of ignorance like Don Quixote can be interesting but ends up being frustrating in the end. If there is a way I can push/demonstrate modernization of the court without spending 2 or 3 years to get through the politics, I would! Right now, I don’t see any desire on their part to change. There has to be a ‘mind-shift’ in methodologies. Too often, computerization has only meant using computers to generate the paperwork that was once done by hand, and not automation. The end result is even more paperwork. Xerox was afraid of the electronic word processing systems the invented at PARC Place(Palo Alto Research Center) {and Email, Ethernet, GUIs and the mouse}. They felt that these systems would kill their income because of the potential to automate. They shouldn’t have worried. People used them to generate event larger reams of paper while preserving the same methodology they have always used.

[The-Shoveler]

Gee I think everyone seems to be missing the point, it really does not matter what is fair or not fair.
Unsustainable is Unsustainable.
If self funded fix income retirements worked I think someone would have come up with a plan to provide this product to all. Maybe that’s the answer. (if the NY banks don’t steal it all first that is).
Whatever you do, don’t let them put the SS funds where the banks can get to it. (gee you think people would learn).

Anyone still think they won’t monetize these issues away ?
Just wondering.

[ucodegen]

[quote briansd1]I believe that the cutbacks in library and school hours is to pressure parents to relent and vote for higher taxes.[/quote]Add to that fees for just parking along the road in a National Park (wilderness passes).. etc etc. It used to be that everything functioned w/o needing the money from all of these fees.. so why are these fees now needed?

[briansd1]

[quote=Allan from Fallbrook] SDR: I know! I was thinking the same thing. WTF happened to Brian?

Brian: You sorta are running against the grain of the Democratic Party as it pertains to Big Labor. Labor has traditionally been not only a strong voting bloc for the Dems, but also provides valuable organizing and “get-out-the-vote” muscle.

I think we’re getting to the end of Labor vote buying by the Dems, because its become fiscally unsustainable.

On the GOP side, we’re already seeing the first meaningful cuts on Defense. If we can move to entitlements and serious tax reform, we might be able to actually make some progress.[/quote]

Nothing happened to me. I just didn’t like the irrational hatred directed at Obama.

I agree with you on the subject of big labor and the military. We could make some progress. BTW, defense is not being cut. It’s just not growing as fast.

[CDMA ENG]

[quote=sdrealtor]I havent seen one of her posts in weeks but found myself ROTFLMAO when I saw saw the quoted passage “the short answer is….” because without even having access to the rest of the answer I am certain it was follwed by a thousand words or more that failed to make a point short or otherwise.[/quote]

Without her quoting… 661.

CE

[urbanrealtor]

The questions I have is this:
If a shark became a zombie, would you ever really know?

Or would it just seem the same with a slightly different skin tone?

[Author]

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