A plaintive plea on a chilly October morning
I have just one thought:
Will Nov. 6 just hurry up and get here already? Seriously.
– Jay Bookman
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226 comments Add your comment
Brosephus™
October 31st, 2012
10:37 am
The postal workers pension obligations are a prime reason as to why the postal svc is in trouble.
Not entirely complete, and not entirely true. Congress, in their infinitely microscopic wisdom, legislated that the postal service PREPAY billions into their pension fund. Those prepayments is what’s causing the USPS monetary issues.
Oscar
October 31st, 2012
10:38 am
The postal workers pension obligations are a prime reason as to why the postal svc is in trouble.
_
That is true. And also true about government in general.
As for the post office, it charges a lot less to mail a letter. Fed Ex is about 15 dollars. Stamps are 45 cents.
Inexpensive mail delivery is seen as a public service, and saying it should run at a profit may be a mistake.
I believe mail is something the govt. should subsidize, like the public school, the police, fire department and court system.
Thulsa Doom
October 31st, 2012
10:39 am
Jhm,
The semantics tap dance king pining for some attention again. For an encore he will probably try to disprove another non existent claim.
Mighty Righty
October 31st, 2012
10:41 am
That still doesn’t address the pay disparity. Public sector employees are typically paid less with the promise of better retirement benefits. If you take away the better retirement without addressing the pay, you’re not going to get many qualified people to take those public sector jobs.
A recent study which I don’t have handy to cite showed that public employees make on averge 30% more than private employees.
Thulsa Doom
October 31st, 2012
10:42 am
Bro,
And if you don’t prepay to meet generous pension obligations you could end up like Prichard, Alabama.
Look before I leap...
October 31st, 2012
10:42 am
@MR
“Further we should be very wary of expensive mass transit systems which put all of our eggs in one basket. A little thinking could go a long way.”
And your idea for an alternative to the subway system in Manhattan would be…?
As for a disaster-proof infrastructure, there simply is no such thing. You build for a 10 foot storm surge, mother nature throws a storm at you with a 13 foot storm surge. You design buildings to withstand an 8.4, oops a 9.1 smacks you down. There is a saying, :Man plans, God laughs”.
Joe Hussein Mama
October 31st, 2012
10:43 am
Righty — “Rasmussen asks very pointed questions of each person he polls to determine how likely that voter will vote in the election. He determnes whether the voter voted in the previous election and how vested they are in voting in the present election and other similar questions to eliminate fake answers.”
You are mistaken. That is how he determines “likely voters.” That’s *not* how he determines turnout percentages by party.
“He does not guess”
Yes, he does. He guesses regarding what turnout will be *by party.*
“which is why his polls have historicly been the most accurate.”
No, they haven’t. He was off by 41 percent on one poll last cycle.
JKL2
October 31st, 2012
10:44 am
oscar- Liberals don’t hide what they believe in. It’s Romney that did that in the GOP primaries. Or was that what he believed in and he’s hiding it now.
If he gets elected we will, maybe find out. Half the people that voted him will be really surprised.
Translation: I can’t figure out why the Democrat propaganda didn’t match what he personally said in the debates.
Do you really think Massachusetts is the flagship state for conservatism?
Thulsa Doom
October 31st, 2012
10:44 am
At least liberals are starting to realize that politicians don’t have “infinite wisdom”. It’s a start.
tiredofIT
October 31st, 2012
10:45 am
Why won’t Willard discuss FEMA?
Joe Hussein Mama
October 31st, 2012
10:45 am
Doom — “The semantics tap dance king pining for some attention again.”
Not at all. Just pointing out your hypocrisy this morning, Doom. Fortunately, there’s documentary evidence of it.
“For an encore he will probably try to disprove another non existent claim.”
I can’t do that until after you’ve failed to read my mind again, Doom.
Look before I leap...
October 31st, 2012
10:48 am
@MR
“The postal workers pension obligations are a prime reason as to why the postal svc is in trouble.”
2 words, internet and e-mail.
Oscar
October 31st, 2012
10:48 am
A recent study which I don’t have handy to cite showed that public employees make on averge 30% more than private employees.
____
The rest of that sentence should read “for doing the same job or identical work.” Not having that included makes the study meaningless.
Lawyers in public employ make a lot less then the average lawyer in private practice. The trade off is, the hours, benefits and pensions are better.
Chances of making big money also exists in the private sector, but not as a public employee. That is another one of the trade offs.
Brosephus™
October 31st, 2012
10:52 am
And if you don’t prepay to meet generous pension obligations you could end up like Prichard, Alabama.
That’s a possibility. You don’t, however, force a prepayment and then complain that they can’t meet financial obligations because of actions you required. That’s just like telling Saban to play defense with 5 players and then complaining to him that he got beat by not playing defense.
Oscar
October 31st, 2012
10:53 am
JKL2
October 31st, 2012
10:44 am
____
The problem is what Romney is saying now does not match what he said in the debates.
And it does not match what he said and did as a liberal governor of Massachusetts,
cc
October 31st, 2012
10:53 am
USinUK – not very ladylike (and former Girl Scout):
“um. yeah. I don’t think “overly sentimental” is the word you’re looking for here … ”
That was exactly the word I meant to use . . . and, unlike you, I didn’t need to look up its meaning.
Mighty Righty
October 31st, 2012
11:12 am
Belwo is a copy of an announcment on Bloomberg Financial
Fiat SpA (F), majority owner of Chrysler Group LLC, plans to return Jeep output to China and may eventually make all of its models in that country, according to the head of both automakers’ operations in the region.
Fiat is in “very detailed conversations” with its Chinese partner, Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. (2238), about making Jeeps in the world’s largest auto market, said Mike Manley, chief operating officer of Fiat and Chrysler in Asia. Chrysler hasn’t built Jeeps there since before Fiat took control in 2009.
Fiat Says China May Build All Jeep Models as SUV Demand Climbs Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
.“The volume opportunity for us is very significant,” Manley, who is also president of the Jeep brand, said in an interview at Chrysler’s Auburn Hills, Michigan, headquarters. “We’re reviewing the opportunities within existing capacity” as well as “should we be localizing the entire Jeep portfolio or some of the Jeep portfolio.”
Please note they are discussing moving ALL of their production tion China.
Mighty Righty
October 31st, 2012
11:15 am
Oscar
The problem is what Romney is saying now does not match what he said in the debates.
And it does not match what he said and did as a liberal governor of Massachusetts,
Please favor us with quotes otherwise all you have is opinion.
Mighty Righty
October 31st, 2012
11:23 am
Joe:
Engage thought process. In as much as Rassmussen knows the political party of the people being interviwed and the likelyhood they will vote he has a very good idea not based on guesswork what the turn out will be by political party. BTW, no one thinks the Democrats will turn out in higher numbers than Republicans tiselection.
Mighty Righty
October 31st, 2012
11:32 am
Has anyone noticed the photo op of Obama in the “Situation Room” trying to appear presidential while watching hurricane Sandy. This is the same room he claims he was not in during the Benghazi terrorist attack by Al Qaeda on our embassy killing four americans and wounding untold others. On that day, September 11, 2012 he could have BEEN presidential. He chose to be not present when our nation needed him most
Joe Hussein Mama
October 31st, 2012
11:40 am
Righty — “Engage thought process.”
You first.
“In as much as Rassmussen knows the political party of the people being interviwed and the likelyhood they will vote he has a very good idea not based on guesswork what the turn out will be by political party.”
Then why doesn’t he SAY that’s how he’s determining it? He’s clearly said in the past that he’s projecting what 2012 turnout will be based on past turnout, not on what his poll results are telling him.
I appreciate your willingness to discuss this, Righty, but the plain fact is that you simply don’t know what you’re talking about.
“BTW, no one thinks the Democrats will turn out in higher numbers than Republicans tiselection.”
Your prediction is no more valid than Rasmussen’s on that score.
Brosephus™
October 31st, 2012
11:53 am
“We’re reviewing the opportunities within existing capacity” as well as “should we be localizing the entire Jeep portfolio or some of the Jeep portfolio.”
Anybody with reading comprehension would understand that describes manufacturing all of the MODELS in China vs importing some of them. That is not talking about moving ALL of their manufacturing to China.
ld
October 31st, 2012
4:37 pm
Second that, PLUS: not just “get here” but also get GONE.
Vast Right Wing Conspiracy (aka "Knuckle-Dragger")
October 31st, 2012
7:07 pm
When you are pushing a miscreant like emperor nero, it has got to be tough.
Tellie B
October 31st, 2012
10:12 pm
Oh Jay, I’ve been saying that for the last several weeks. Unfortunately, Nov. 7 begins the 2016 race for the presidency…
icons download
November 4th, 2012
3:01 pm
It was and with me. We can communicate on this theme.