Jim

i would argue that we all contribute to ceo pay packages, as surely as we contribute to the terribly overpaid ticket taker's pay package, through things like cost of services, inflationary pressures, lack of equitable taxation etc etc and many other externalities (ie percentaqge of income spent on necessities). Not a good analogy. I don't use Verizon. I have no choice in paying taxes.

I would generally agree with this - yes, we're in a pickle. But because the skills necessary to make, say $75k or more a year have shifted to a greater need for advanced education and technology skills, we should prop up those who don't have those skills with jobs they could never get in the public sector; with tax money? That doesn't make sense. Yes invest more in education, have a more progressive tax structure, trim the military budget in half. But - that doesn't aleviate state level politicians from making sustainable economic decisions that needed to happen years ago when the good times veiled the problems. It's here now and we have to deal.

Oh dear. Irony meter clogged with eggnog.

Well, seems WA tried to come up with some tax programs, some that I voted for - but these were voted down. So now what? What, specifically is your solution for dealing with unfunded obligations for pensions? Reasonable measures to make the state more solvent will allow for a greater delivery of social and environmental programs, for instance. What do you think the state is going to do, exactly, to tax the CEO of Verizon? That is a federal tax issues - yep, Congress should not have given more tax breaks to the uber-rich, they have had more than enough over the past two decades. Sustainable practices on the state end is something different. How does responsible economics on the state site translate into opression in your view?

While I think it's a generous pay scale, if you read my post I didn't say anything about reducing it, but dealing with what is clearly unsustainable policies - topped by unfunded pesions. So what would be your solution? Ignore it as has been done for the past 20 years? With or without a financial crisis this was eventually going to be a problem - and it will, and is affecting delivery of social services and environmental programs. Raise taxes? Good luck on that one in WA. Just give me a solution here on how you would tackle the unfunded obligations?

While I agree that no one is worth what the CEO of Verizon gets - he isn't getting paid with my tax dollars.

$50k base salary for taking tickets and making change - really - you could only get that in the public sector. But I would not want to have a race to the bottom, there are reasonable changes that could be made to public sector contracts: increase the amount of contribution to health care, get rid of pensions for current employees and go to 401ks, lay off some staff already. The pensions are especialy unsustainable - the sooner we deal with it the better. There's likely some other places - a friend who works at UW in a similar job as mine get 100% match on his 401k - I mean, really? funded by taxpayers. The recent spate of cuts by the state are just unavoidable - and rather than do something such as eliminate automatic year-in-grade step increases (not COLA) the govenor decided to go witht he plan to reduce employee hours by 3 hrs a week. Just for this year. This is just pushing out the invitable changes a bit more.

Ascarani, Apalobamba, Bolivia Chaupi Orco valley, Apalobamba, Bolivia Porcupine Rim, Moab, UT

....once!

Whew! I'm glad we cleared that up because your whole argument concerning gays in the military was hanging by a thread there.

No one is defending subsidies and tarriffs here - and I've made clear before the need to deal with unsustainable policies on the local government scale. The difference, however, is that the local governments are beginning to make some steps towards structural change - while the party continues in the financial gaming system - including a lack of transparency, any meaningful oversight, or God forbid - actual penalties for those at the head of the fraud - rating agencies, AIG, and the NINJA loan backers. As usual no pain in the upper brackets, no lessons to be learned. Steady as she goes mate.

This is not some aberration of the market system, just the latest manifestation. Private industry has a strong background in bailouts: http://www.propublica.org/special/government-bailouts There will be another emerging trend soon enough where the Masters of the Universe figure out a way to game the system, make a ton of cash, and then ask for public money. All the while the Wall Street Journal will be full of Op-Eds on how this doesn't represent the true market system. My guess is that the next trend will make use of Ouija Boards.

I spoke to my friend's son recently, who was on leave with the Navy. It was interesting to get his view of things. He spend the last year on ships with hundreds of Marines in the Gulf. His take was that basically nobody cares except the politicians and the upper brass who need to be politically sensitive. The guys on the ships have had it figured out for decades. The saying is "Queer on the pier but no one is gay when we're underway" - which of course they all just laugh at. And the marines were lining up to go see "Tina" - a Navy guy who loved to sing Tina Turner songs, as he had a side business keeping the troops in good morale. As always in regard to social change, Congress was behind the curve in public opinion and saw the changes coming.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/19/magazine/19Urban_West-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&sq=geoffrey%20west&st=cse&scp=1

Does this mean that spring training will be in, say, Arcata, in 25 years or so?

Pretty dismal. The figgin' Repubs just kept fighting this from reaching the floor during this past year and the Dems were too chickeship to fight for it. Thanks everyone. Amazing how when things get balled up the upper 2% still, somehow, manage to come out ahead.

Anxiously awaiting the helmet cam video - all 20 minutes.

Oopsie. Need to be careful who you sleep with. Sorry about that one, we'll move on now.

Huh? Do you know what Hooverism is? Ever read a Dickens' novel? How fucking "shrill" are they? That's the point. Dickens is not shrill. He makes a point quite well with good writing, irony, and logic. Give it a spin sometime.

wtf does this have to do with this discussion? My interpretation is - really, if you travel around a bit, you, me, we're quite privileged. Doesn't say we couldn't do much better as a country, but the constant pegging-the-meter hyperbole hides whatever message you're trying to get across while everyone winces. Ya know, like fingernails on a blackboard.

I think she has a spine, however.

I'd happily embrace compromise - but this is just more cowtowing to successful class warfare - and the elites are winning, hands down. What Bernie doesn't mention in his speech is the tag-along of the significant raising of the threshold for the estate tax along with the continued tax break for the wealthy. A compromise would have been to continue tax cuts for the middle class, who would be more likely to spend it, rather than to those who are buying Congress. WTF?

I'm glad Obama is taking a strong stand on these issues. Can I change my vote to Hillary?

Good concept, tried that in WA, crashed and burned. Next up, tilting at windmills I suppose?