Public Employee Unions Destroying States

To be fair to Texas though, 49 states are facing budget deficits. Which state is not? Which is the ONLY state to have a budget surplus? Why, that would be Socialist North Dakota... yes, North Dakota, home to the country's only govt. run bank:

Economy prompts fresh look at North Dakota's socialist bank

http://www.bismarcktribune.com/news/state-and-regional/article_81b3323e-1b04-11df-af6f-001cc4c03286.html

Gov. Dalrymple: ND 'strong and growing stronger'

Tax collections on oil production have helped to bolster what is expected to be a $1 billion state budget surplus in June.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-04/gov-dalrymple-nd-strong-and-growing-stronger-.html

"The whole [Texas] budget is basically education and healthcare spending." That seems quite unlikely in the death penalty capital of the country. Prisons and police and courts and the rest of the incarceration system are a major part of every state's budget and have grown far faster than education or healthcare in the last several decades.

Ending the failed "war on drugs" at the state level, like ending the failed wars on terror at the Federal level, would do far more to reduce deficits than any amount of forcible redistribution of wealth, whether squeezing unionized labor or tax giveaways to the upper class.

Drugs destroy individuals and families. But that is ok?

Should we also allow our borders to go unprotected against those growing numbers who wish us harm and have the means to do it?

How are tax giveaways given to the upper class when the upper class pay the majority of taxes?

What is the forcible distribution of wealth? Where are the people with the guns? Or are you talking about the DEA and Homeland Security because of their interest in protecting against drugs and terrorists?

all very well said FG

classic moronics from hburg

drugs are a means by which some drug users destroy themselves--best to incarcerate them to protect them from themselves, right??

many things destroy families--adultery destroys way more families than do drugs--we should incarcerate all adulterers, and execute repeat offenders

alcohol and tobacco are harmless to individuals and families, and thus legal

"Should we also allow our borders to go unprotected against those growing numbers who wish us harm and have the means to do it?"

It's actually corporate America that wants open borders so that they have an unlimited amount of cheap labor.

"How are tax giveaways given to the upper class when the upper class pay the majority of taxes?"

Because they make the majority of the income.

I have moronics?

Really? Free drugs for everyone?

Maybe in a velvet and ivory world you don't experience the destruction of drugs to individuals and families, but out in the real world, drugs destroy and should be illegal. No drug promoters should be in a free position to destroy any component of society.

>It's actually corporate America that wants open borders so that they have an unlimited amount of cheap labor.

I'm not sure that migrant laborers or tech workers are the terrorists we are worried about.
But I can agree with you that we need to favor American workers first.

>"How are tax giveaways given to the upper class when the upper class pay the majority of taxes?"
>Because they make the majority of the income.

Right, it is their income, their earnings, their money, their reward for hard work and taking risk. So they are forfeiting their income, earnings, money, for taxes to the government. Would you be happiest if they forfeited it all?

hang the drug users---hang the adulterers---destroyers of families must die!!

let's all drink to that!!!

you are moronic--what you have is another story, tool

Many rich people have ill-gotten gains. It's not their money. If your a rich defense contractor, then chances are you STOLE your money. You did not earn a penny of it.

Is stolen money subject to taxation?

Socialist, why don't we just get to the bottom line.

Under your system, what is the maximum amount that any individual should be allowed to make annually
and/or
what is the maximum amount of money that any individual should be allowed to have at any given point?

can we get rid of this clown. he hasnt posted one RE related thread

This site stopped being a RE forum a long time ago pal. Nobody here is a serious buyer.

there you go again. are you attempting to be clever? not working. twist, obfuscate, simplify without explaining, etc., etc.

we live in a country that has redistributed wealth for decades, recently not nearly as effectively as some other countries which at least provide guaranteed decent benefits within the system. literally decades. you all act as though taxation is something new and novel, as well as reasonable pensions and unions and effective health care plans that lasted until medicare and decent education. all of which we had for many decades, without huge unrest, with reasonable spending, and no real questions as to how it could be funded. ask yourselves why the change?

pal, i closed at the end of september so like I said..beat it! go to a political site you hippie

I'll be here as long as Riversider is here posting his right wing nonsense.

RS has an opinion on manhattan RE and a vested interest in it. so take ur bs elsewhere

You're endorsing riversider?

Really?

all Im saying is this guy hasnt even touched on RE

>"we live in a country that has redistributed wealth for decades,

>"recently not nearly as effectively as some other countries which at least provide guaranteed decent benefits within the system.

>"literally decades. you all act as though taxation is something new and novel,
NO, not in the slightest. Taxation is not something new. No one said it was. But remember, the money doesn't start with our government. It is taken by our government from people who have and earn it. That's fine, but please don't talk about the money as if it started with the government.

>" as well as reasonable pensions and unions and effective health care plans that lasted until medicare and decent education.

I'll go with pensions as a proxy for a fair retirement. But I don't get the "unions" there. Why is that important? I'm ok with unions in the private sector, everyone in the private sector ought to do what is in their best interests. But it is anti-democratic in the public sector because of the trading of votes for economics that occurs.

>"all of which we had for many decades, without huge unrest, with reasonable spending, and no real questions as to how it could be funded. ask yourselves why the change? "
OK

unions destroy the value of Real Estate. A high school graduate working as a doorman or as sanitation department, earns relatively too much for what they contribute to society. It inflates our taxes as reflected in our maintenance cost and is therefore negatively correlated to the value of our R.E investments.

ive bought and sold plenty of NYC real estate and would prefer that this site be about real estate

given what the site has been allowed to become, i appreciate socialist and ask that he/she please remain. his/her energies spent seeking to balance the foxbeckhannitypalin soundbitery that several (under many names) spew all over this board, are substantial and effective.

hireable or not, riverblatherer, needs a job--given what we know of his world, he ain't paying a whole lotta taxes, on earned or investment income--funny the obsession--who knows, maybe his wife works??--whatever the case his paltry real estate situation doesnt express much success

and marco, if socialist is a "hippie", you're a eurotrash wannabee d-bag!!

dude, i was born in illinois and grew up in Mass. ur real close

like i said, marky, wannabee

Charles Gasparino:

I Have seen the future, and it doesn't work.

Don't get me wrong: New Year's in beautiful Barcelona was a blast. Spain is a great vacation spot, with good food and gorgeous women -- but nobody seems to be working outside the tourist areas.

The reason is pretty simple: The Bernie Madoff-like Ponzi scheme of big government has been squeezing the productive class and redistributing its tax dollars and innovation to everyone else for years -- and is finally reaching its boiling point.

And the way things are going, we're probably not far behind.

Barcelona met the new year with the sort of subdued celebration that only 40 percent unemployment can bring. Once-swanky shops and restaurants along grand boulevards such as the Avinguda Diagonal remain vacant. Aside from the occasional government project, there's little sign of building or expansion.

The problem is that there isn't enough tourism to keep many of these businesses afloat; the natives who still have jobs don't have enough after-tax money to keep the private economy alive.

Spain -- like Portugal, Italy and, of course, Greece -- offers the lofty cradle-to-grave entitlements that only a Ponzi-schemer like Madoff could love: Big government stays big by buying the votes of those who feast off free health care and guaranteed pensions. But the system works only as long as enough productive people can keep working and paying the high taxes to keep the benefits rolling.

What happens when they can't find jobs -- because businesses can't afford to stay open because of high taxes? Well, the most productive move elsewhere to find better-paying jobs (as relatives of mine have left the Mezzogiorno region of southern Italy for generations).

Those who stay can't earn enough because businesses are paying so much in taxes that wages stagnate -- and the married couples among them can't afford to raise the next generation of productive citizens.

It's the same thing that happened when Madoff's customers began yanking money out of his fund: He could no longer maintain his shell game of "guaranteed" 12 percent returns, and his scheme collapsed just as the modern European welfare state is collapsing under the weight of its own guarantees.

Across Europe, private-sector jobs are disappearing, while governments face imploding budgets, debt defaults and social unrest. Unless the new Congress can change things quickly, the same will most certainly happen here in America.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/ponzi_socialism_N5xwI2ZD0bi10DOp9wsARM#ixzz1AGjtpiWa

Spain only has a 25% corporate tax rate. What the heck is Gasparino whining about? Yet another Fox News shill spreading misinformation.

"A high school graduate working as a doorman or as sanitation department, earns relatively too much for what they contribute to society."

Then move into a non doorman building.

As usual, socialist completely misses the point.

What point did I miss? Be specific.

What makes the market function efficiently with regards to, e.g., banker pay, but inefficiently with regards to doorman pay? I'm sure there are vastly more people willing to do a CEO's job for a CEO's pay than there are to do a garbage man's job for a garbage man's pay, so there's a stronger argument that CEO's are overpaid than garbage men.

yeah, but doorman are evil because they belong to UNIONS!

Grounded in fktardedness!!!!!!

Doorman are not evil they are just lazy since their position is secured. They are standing next to a door, occaisnally around in december if you tip them they will open the door. Have you seen their health coverage? their pension in relative terms? (I do not live in a doorman building. Why would I want my monthly fees to support an ever increasing expense for poor service?) Socialist ,try to freez the doorman salaries and see what will happen. Try to freez sanitation department's overtime or salaries and see what will happen. While the general growth of income was 1%, union contracts for teachers and every other union members were 3% (excluding there 60% pension payments). Unions are the leaches on our society and will drive the State to bankrupcy. (sorry it is not only the unions but in addition the politicians who do not stand up to them due to fear of not being elected). Socialists- you are missing the point on the effect of unions ( as well as corporate america/ lobby)on our economy, our real estate and our doomed future.

Yeah, blame the unions for everything. What about subprime loans and credit default swaps? They had nothing to do with the recession?

HINT: Countrywide did more damage than all of the unions combined!

I'm jut curious, do you own a business? Your post sounds like a typical rant by a greedy businessman.

jordyn- do you not recognize that capability is a factor, not just willingness?

the doormen blew up the economy--and the spending in iraq and afg doesn't count--it's not really spending--blackwater wackenhut halliburton carlyle---none of these fine companies hand out cushy pensions--the rich makes all the money and pay all the taxes--cut their taxes not those of the shrinking middle class--blahblahblah

doormen are looting our economy

LICComment - I do recognize that, although I'm pretty skeptical that the capability is either as rare or well recognized as the going rate would require.

Doormen and garbage men are in unions so that they can negotiate more effectively with management to secure reasonable pay. CEOs just team up with other CEOs to set their own pay, so it's hardly a surprise that they get a lot more.

In any case, my original point still stands: why do we think that the market is failing to set salaries for doormen or garbage men effectively? There's perhaps something of an argument to be made about public employees, I think, because governments act irrationally and pay them to avoid negative political consequences. But then again, we keep voting for the schmoes that do that, so we basically get what we deserve.