[jstoesz]

[quote]Edit: Another good example of privatization is private schools. But I don’t find that they are cheaper than public schools.[/quote]

Public schools spend approximately 10k per pupil on average. That is pretty comparable to private schools. If anything, many private schools are cheaper. And I have a strong feeling the aggregate quality of education in private schools is much much higher.

For the record I think MANY (certainly not all) teachers are even more overpaid than firemen, but that is for another topic I suppose.

[jstoesz]

[quote]Edit: Another good example of privatization is private schools. But I don’t find that they are cheaper than public schools.[/quote]

Public schools spend approximately 10k per pupil on average. That is pretty comparable to private schools. If anything, many private schools are cheaper. And I have a strong feeling the aggregate quality of education in private schools is much much higher.

For the record I think MANY (certainly not all) teachers are even more overpaid than firemen, but that is for another topic I suppose.

[jstoesz]

Why not get a 3.5% down FHA loan, in 2 years when the housing market has settled down, put in your 20% scraping the mortgage insurance. In the meantime you have a cheap hedge against housing deflation. And if it gets really ugly, just stop paying…you may easily get your 3.5% back in missed payments.

This may or may not be “moral,” but it is a contract. You mine as well game the terms to your advantage.

[jstoesz]

Why not get a 3.5% down FHA loan, in 2 years when the housing market has settled down, put in your 20% scraping the mortgage insurance. In the meantime you have a cheap hedge against housing deflation. And if it gets really ugly, just stop paying…you may easily get your 3.5% back in missed payments.

This may or may not be “moral,” but it is a contract. You mine as well game the terms to your advantage.

[jstoesz]

Why not get a 3.5% down FHA loan, in 2 years when the housing market has settled down, put in your 20% scraping the mortgage insurance. In the meantime you have a cheap hedge against housing deflation. And if it gets really ugly, just stop paying…you may easily get your 3.5% back in missed payments.

This may or may not be “moral,” but it is a contract. You mine as well game the terms to your advantage.

[jstoesz]

Why not get a 3.5% down FHA loan, in 2 years when the housing market has settled down, put in your 20% scraping the mortgage insurance. In the meantime you have a cheap hedge against housing deflation. And if it gets really ugly, just stop paying…you may easily get your 3.5% back in missed payments.

This may or may not be “moral,” but it is a contract. You mine as well game the terms to your advantage.

[jstoesz]

Why not get a 3.5% down FHA loan, in 2 years when the housing market has settled down, put in your 20% scraping the mortgage insurance. In the meantime you have a cheap hedge against housing deflation. And if it gets really ugly, just stop paying…you may easily get your 3.5% back in missed payments.

This may or may not be “moral,” but it is a contract. You mine as well game the terms to your advantage.

[jstoesz]

They are essentially millionaires, because to be drawing 50k in pension benefits a year for 30 years, you have to have the equivalent of 1 mil in the bank accruing interest at 5%. Do the math for more or less benefits and interest…

This is of course assuming you are not eating the nest egg.

So those fat pensions are really worth millions. How many private sector employees (forget blue collar workers) can sock away that much money for their retirement?

Most professionals I know, myself included, have to work overtime and are not compensated directly (forget time and a half). It is called salary…

[jstoesz]

They are essentially millionaires, because to be drawing 50k in pension benefits a year for 30 years, you have to have the equivalent of 1 mil in the bank accruing interest at 5%. Do the math for more or less benefits and interest…

This is of course assuming you are not eating the nest egg.

So those fat pensions are really worth millions. How many private sector employees (forget blue collar workers) can sock away that much money for their retirement?

Most professionals I know, myself included, have to work overtime and are not compensated directly (forget time and a half). It is called salary…

[jstoesz]

They are essentially millionaires, because to be drawing 50k in pension benefits a year for 30 years, you have to have the equivalent of 1 mil in the bank accruing interest at 5%. Do the math for more or less benefits and interest…

This is of course assuming you are not eating the nest egg.

So those fat pensions are really worth millions. How many private sector employees (forget blue collar workers) can sock away that much money for their retirement?

Most professionals I know, myself included, have to work overtime and are not compensated directly (forget time and a half). It is called salary…

[jstoesz]

They are essentially millionaires, because to be drawing 50k in pension benefits a year for 30 years, you have to have the equivalent of 1 mil in the bank accruing interest at 5%. Do the math for more or less benefits and interest…

This is of course assuming you are not eating the nest egg.

So those fat pensions are really worth millions. How many private sector employees (forget blue collar workers) can sock away that much money for their retirement?

Most professionals I know, myself included, have to work overtime and are not compensated directly (forget time and a half). It is called salary…

[jstoesz]

They are essentially millionaires, because to be drawing 50k in pension benefits a year for 30 years, you have to have the equivalent of 1 mil in the bank accruing interest at 5%. Do the math for more or less benefits and interest…

This is of course assuming you are not eating the nest egg.

So those fat pensions are really worth millions. How many private sector employees (forget blue collar workers) can sock away that much money for their retirement?

Most professionals I know, myself included, have to work overtime and are not compensated directly (forget time and a half). It is called salary…

[jstoesz]

[quote]**VERY FEW PEOPLE ARE QUALIFIED TO DO THEIR JOBS,**[/quote]

I think this is where I and most people on this thread vehemently disagree with you.

I know quite a few firemen. I lived with a helicopter crew in the backwoods Idaho (5 of them died in a helicopter crash), my brother in-law is a SD fireman, another friend is a hotshot in the tahoe area, another good fiend is a firehouse medic in mammoth, my mentor growing up was a CO fireman.

So again I know a lot of firemen. And most of these guys are not some sort of physical or mental phenoms. Some even fail some pretty basic responsibility and common sense tests (for anyone reading who knows me, some are really smart and anal to the point of psychosis). But if you ask them about their work, They will freely admit they are riding the gravy train.

So CAR, I am sorry if you disagree, but your assertion that firemen are hard to come by does not shake out. It is a great job, with lots of rewards, and it is highly compensated. Is it a good job for family men, maybe not. Is it a good job for people who like 9-5 monday through friday, probably not. But are there people who can make it work for their families, and like LARGE chunks of time off…most definitely.

CAR, what is your relation to fire?

Flu,

Fact is, we are spending more per pupil in education then we ever have…and we are giving an arguably teaching our kids less. We should be able to demand more for less, because once upon a time, we got it.

The politicians will hold the firemen and teachers over our heads so they can punish us into giving them more money to delay reforms which make their head hurt. What more can we do, but vote them out and call their bluff.

[jstoesz]

[quote]**VERY FEW PEOPLE ARE QUALIFIED TO DO THEIR JOBS,**[/quote]

I think this is where I and most people on this thread vehemently disagree with you.

I know quite a few firemen. I lived with a helicopter crew in the backwoods Idaho (5 of them died in a helicopter crash), my brother in-law is a SD fireman, another friend is a hotshot in the tahoe area, another good fiend is a firehouse medic in mammoth, my mentor growing up was a CO fireman.

So again I know a lot of firemen. And most of these guys are not some sort of physical or mental phenoms. Some even fail some pretty basic responsibility and common sense tests (for anyone reading who knows me, some are really smart and anal to the point of psychosis). But if you ask them about their work, They will freely admit they are riding the gravy train.

So CAR, I am sorry if you disagree, but your assertion that firemen are hard to come by does not shake out. It is a great job, with lots of rewards, and it is highly compensated. Is it a good job for family men, maybe not. Is it a good job for people who like 9-5 monday through friday, probably not. But are there people who can make it work for their families, and like LARGE chunks of time off…most definitely.

CAR, what is your relation to fire?

Flu,

Fact is, we are spending more per pupil in education then we ever have…and we are giving an arguably teaching our kids less. We should be able to demand more for less, because once upon a time, we got it.

The politicians will hold the firemen and teachers over our heads so they can punish us into giving them more money to delay reforms which make their head hurt. What more can we do, but vote them out and call their bluff.

[jstoesz]

[quote]**VERY FEW PEOPLE ARE QUALIFIED TO DO THEIR JOBS,**[/quote]

I think this is where I and most people on this thread vehemently disagree with you.

I know quite a few firemen. I lived with a helicopter crew in the backwoods Idaho (5 of them died in a helicopter crash), my brother in-law is a SD fireman, another friend is a hotshot in the tahoe area, another good fiend is a firehouse medic in mammoth, my mentor growing up was a CO fireman.

So again I know a lot of firemen. And most of these guys are not some sort of physical or mental phenoms. Some even fail some pretty basic responsibility and common sense tests (for anyone reading who knows me, some are really smart and anal to the point of psychosis). But if you ask them about their work, They will freely admit they are riding the gravy train.

So CAR, I am sorry if you disagree, but your assertion that firemen are hard to come by does not shake out. It is a great job, with lots of rewards, and it is highly compensated. Is it a good job for family men, maybe not. Is it a good job for people who like 9-5 monday through friday, probably not. But are there people who can make it work for their families, and like LARGE chunks of time off…most definitely.

CAR, what is your relation to fire?

Flu,

Fact is, we are spending more per pupil in education then we ever have…and we are giving an arguably teaching our kids less. We should be able to demand more for less, because once upon a time, we got it.

The politicians will hold the firemen and teachers over our heads so they can punish us into giving them more money to delay reforms which make their head hurt. What more can we do, but vote them out and call their bluff.

[Author]

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