Greeks Bearing Gifts....

[sobo]

Just posting in this important thread to tag the

[tvashtarkatena]

Census data just issued a report that 1/3 of America is either under or near the poverty line.

 

That is all.

 

 

Edited November 19, 2011 by tvashtarkatena

[tvashtarkatena]

Guess that's not all...

 

We still think we're better than everybody else, apparently, but not so much as before....

 

"According to a report issued on Thursday by the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project, when Americans were asked if they agreed with the statement “our people are not perfect but our culture is superior to others,” only 49 percent agreed. That’s down from 60 percent in 2002, the first time that Pew asked the question."

 

49%? CHEERIST. Try crossing a border every once in a while, folks. Ya might learn something.

[ivan]

Guess that's not all...

 

We still think we're better than everybody else, apparently, but not so much as before....

 

"According to a report issued on Thursday by the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project, when Americans were asked if they agreed with the statement “our people are not perfect but our culture is superior to others,” only 49 percent agreed. That’s down from 60 percent in 2002, the first time that Pew asked the question."

 

49%? CHEERIST. Try crossing a border every once in a while, folks. Ya might learn something.

i feel my culture is currently superior to somali culture - comments?

 

[tvashtarkatena]

Oh, I don't know. When the zombies come, you wanna be driving a Prius or a 78 Datsun pickup?

 

Rule changes tend to flip things around a bit.

 

After we're loooonnng gone, Mexico will still be Mexico.

 

 

[tvashtarkatena]

Plus, I'd wager that the average Somali pirate has a lot more fun at work than the average cube monkey or Denny's server or cube monkey.

[ivan]

Oh, I don't know. When the zombies come, you wanna be driving a Prius or a 78 Datsun pickup?

actually i believe the zombie-survival guide recommends ditching the car for the bike - counter-intuitive mayhap, but maybe easier to combine w/ the shaolin spade for the jousting zombie decapitation?

 

"jesus, you samoans are all the same. you have no faith in the essential decency of the white man's culture!"

[ivan]

Plus, I'd wager that the average Somali pirate has a lot more fun at work than the average cube monkey or Denny's server or cube monkey.

reckon there's something to be said for their job security as well

[ivan]

the best monologue in the history of the english language on the comparing of cultures (and closed captioned too i find, for ye who can't speak scotch? )

[video:youtube]

[sobo]

:a-hem: Didn't you, ah, mean to post this in the, ah, Irishman on the Street thread...? Jus' sayin'...

[ivan]

:a-hem: Didn't you, ah, mean to post this in the, ah, Irishman on the Street thread...? Jus' sayin'...

i did actually consider it, but thought i'd be guilty of sum interwebz breach of etiquette

[sobo]

:a-hem: Didn't you, ah, mean to post this in the, ah, Irishman on the Street thread...? Jus' sayin'...

i did actually consider it, but thought i'd be guilty of sum interwebz breach of etiquette

Ummm, like, ah, you have the least shred of respect for, ah, internet etiquette...?? Or etiquette of any sort?

[ivan]

have the least shred of respect for, ah, internet etiquette...?? Or etiquette of any sort?

it's what makes my culture superior to yours

[prole]

[video:youtube]

[sobo]

OK, that was without a doubt THE most embarrassing 1:18 of my entire life. Oh so precious time that I will never get back...

[Jim]

Meanwhile.

 

SALEM, Ore. — Documents released Monday by the Oregon Public Employees Retirement System show former University of Oregon football coach Mike Bellotti is the state's top public pension beneficiary.

 

Bellotti collects nearly a half million dollars annually in pension checks — more than $41,000 per month. 8D

 

The names of about 100,000 retired public employees in Oregon and how much they receive in pensions are being made public as part of a court settlement between the state retirement system and two newspapers.

 

The Oregonian and The Statesman Journal demanded the records last year to shine a light on state spending.

 

Bellotti told The Oregonian on Monday evening that he simply accepted the package he was offered when he signed on at the university in 1989.

 

Bellotti said the pension was a fraction of his final annual compensation from the university, which he said was between $1.9 million and $2 million.

 

The Statesman Journal says PERS pays out more than $230 million a month to all beneficiaries combined. The Oregonian reported that 837 pensioners get more than $100,000 a year.

 

 

[KaskadskyjKozak]

Meanwhile.

 

SALEM, Ore. — Documents released Monday by the Oregon Public Employees Retirement System show former University of Oregon football coach Mike Bellotti is the state's top public pension beneficiary.

 

Bellotti collects nearly a half million dollars annually in pension checks — more than $41,000 per month. 8D

 

The names of about 100,000 retired public employees in Oregon and how much they receive in pensions are being made public as part of a court settlement between the state retirement system and two newspapers.

 

The Oregonian and The Statesman Journal demanded the records last year to shine a light on state spending.

 

Bellotti told The Oregonian on Monday evening that he simply accepted the package he was offered when he signed on at the university in 1989.

 

Bellotti said the pension was a fraction of his final annual compensation from the university, which he said was between $1.9 million and $2 million.

 

The Statesman Journal says PERS pays out more than $230 million a month to all beneficiaries combined. The Oregonian reported that 837 pensioners get more than $100,000 a year.

 

 

I'm sure j_bot will manufacture some ridiculous justification for this nonsense.

 

[ivan]

The Oregonian reported that 837 pensioners get more than $100,000 a year.

 

i'm gonna go out on a limb and assume none of these hated 837 were teachers or busdrivers

[Jim]

We'll find out soon enough when the data are coughed up.

 

Doubtful any folks who are humping their butts - such as teachers - are in the group - likely candidates from the District Office, however.

[j_b]

 

I'm sure j_bot will manufacture some ridiculous justification for this nonsense.

 

I don't need to make up jackshit. There are abuses and they should be rescinded but 800 people out of 100k is less than 1%, which is a far cry from pro-austerity types claiming that "public employees" make too much money and are responsible for state deficits.

[j_b]

Meanwhile.

 

SALEM, Ore. — Documents released Monday by the Oregon Public Employees Retirement System show former University of Oregon football coach Mike Bellotti is the state's top public pension beneficiary.

 

Bellotti collects nearly a half million dollars annually in pension checks — more than $41,000 per month. 8D

 

The names of about 100,000 retired public employees in Oregon and how much they receive in pensions are being made public as part of a court settlement between the state retirement system and two newspapers.

 

The Oregonian and The Statesman Journal demanded the records last year to shine a light on state spending.

 

Bellotti told The Oregonian on Monday evening that he simply accepted the package he was offered when he signed on at the university in 1989.

 

Bellotti said the pension was a fraction of his final annual compensation from the university, which he said was between $1.9 million and $2 million.

 

The Statesman Journal says PERS pays out more than $230 million a month to all beneficiaries combined. The Oregonian reported that 837 pensioners get more than $100,000 a year.

 

You should have gone into the public sector if you think most people in it make that much money. It's disingenuous to use the extreme compensations to portray what public employees get. It's something I'd expect from JayB and the regressive media but not from a "liberal".

[Jim]

You should have gone into the public sector if you think most people in it make that much money. It's disingenuous to use the extreme compensations to portray what public employees get. It's something I'd expect from JayB and the regressive media but not from a "liberal".

 

Thanks. I have had about 5 years in federal employment and went running from it. It had a pretty good pay program, yearly boosts no matter how you performed, promotions on top of that, great benefits, and excellent pension. And it friggin' drove me crazy watching the deadwood get paid the same or better than me for just putting in time. Plus, it became obvious the crew I was working with just wasn't nimble enough or had the needed technical skills to do the sophisticated science the agency needed. So rather than manage consulting scientists I jumped at the chance to actually design and implement ecological studies.

 

I just think some tweaks are necessary for the system, particularly with pensions and benefits.

[KaskadskyjKozak]

 

I'm sure j_bot will manufacture some ridiculous justification for this nonsense.

 

I don't need to make up jackshit. There are abuses and they should be rescinded but 800 people out of 100k is less than 1%, which is a far cry from pro-austerity types claiming that "public employees" make too much money and are responsible for state debt.

 

Right on cue!

[j_b]

Thanks. I have had about 5 years in federal employment and went running from it. It had a pretty good pay program, yearly boosts no matter how you performed, promotions on top of that, great benefits, and excellent pension. And it friggin' drove me crazy watching the deadwood get paid the same or better than me for just putting in time. Plus, it became obvious the crew I was working with just wasn't nimble enough or had the needed technical skills to do the sophisticated science the agency needed. So rather than manage consulting scientists I jumped at the chance to actually design and implement ecological studies.

 

I just think some tweaks are necessary for the system, particularly with pensions and benefits.

 

You talk out of both corners of your mouth. In one sentence, you describe public employee compensations as a fundamental cause of sovereign debt and in another you just want tweaks (inferring they are minor).

[j_b]

I'm sure j_bot will manufacture some ridiculous justification for this nonsense.

I don't need to make up jackshit. There are abuses and they should be rescinded but 800 people out of 100k is less than 1%, which is a far cry from pro-austerity types claiming that "public employees" make too much money and are responsible for state debt.

 

Right on cue!

 

right on cue to point out that you don't have an argument.