PUBLIC PAYROLL SOARS (wealth transfer gone from citizens to people in Govt)

LA Daily News ^ | 3./22/04 | Troy Anderson

[Joe Hadenuf]

I work for Homeland Security. And I happen to believe that's a rather important job at the moment.

If it's so important, why is our country being literally over run with people here illegally? You know, the million man conga-line of people entering illegally from God knows where?

We now have about 10 *million* in this country that are here illegally, we have not a clue who they are, what they are doing here, or what their agenda may be, as hundreds of thousands continue to pour in every month or so.

It's creating epic economic chaos, fraud, choking off our hospitals, jails, classrooms, etc. Not mention the titanic, real, terrorist security threat caused by these open bleeding borders.

So what is *your* government agency, Homeland Security, doing about this?

[Hostage]

Hi Sandy,

Greetings from a fellow denizen of liberal Seattle. I think Homeland Security is an important job. It ranks with the military in my view.

Bu the key thing is that the Department of Homeland Security is a non-unionized part of the federal government like the military. Am I correct?

In the mid 1980s I was offered a GM-15 position working to support the DOD. As you know that's a high position and the reason I was offered was because I had been in some DARPA programs where I had done some good things that caught the eyes of my superiors.

But when I was offered the GM position it was through a person that was retiring from that position. He knew me for years and we had interacted in many capacities in our travels around the country and around the world. However, some of my colleagues told me that although he had earned his laurels in the 1950's fledgling space program, he was leaving behind quite a mess and that I would have to deal with cleaning it up. We are talking about organization, mission, budget, duties, etc.

I found out why he was in a mess. His staff was totally unionized and deadwood. Let me put it this way: his secretary was one of the dimmest bulbs I have ever seen in government. He had tried to have her fired four times! Each time he had to go through an elaborate procedure of hearings, warnings, goal setting, evaluations and re-evaluations. Then after a third hearing and evaluation process he had to recommend her firing but was always told by the union office that she had requested a further review. He told me that he had spent so much time on just trying to get rid of her that after five years he gave up trying.

This pattern was repeated for several other persons in his office. At first I thought he may be a poor manager but then I saw the incompetencies of his staff. When I discussed this with friends in my own sphere, they said that was par for government support. I declined the offer.

Over the years I have come to the conclusion that government unions have nearly destroyed the effectiveness of our government.

I can tell you volumes of experiences regarding extremely competent government employees and agents that were from the old school of government, before all the unionization and civil rights restrictions.

But instead I will just point out that the democrats obstructed the creation of the DHS because they wanted it unionized. The Republicans to their credit knew that meant the DHS would have been destined to be another ineffective bureaucracy, serving very little purpose.

I am glad you're in the right part of government. I hope you never have to see the deadwood, banalities and demoralization of the unionized part. Those posters that show hatred for government are correct. Many parts of government are a drag on the productivity of the population. Many government agencies take alot in fees and taxes and give very very very little in return if anything.

To understand this, try building a normal home in a city someday where you have to deal with city building departments. You will pay exhorbitant fees to hear someone behind a counter tell you that it will take six months to review your plans. They will give you a list of impractical to-do's that you must comply with or no permit. You will pay thousands of dollars for the priviledge of having them treat you like you are the enemy and they represent all residents of the city against you.

As you live in your house that you own on the land that says you a property owner, they will treat you as if you are a tenant on their land because landowners will come and go but the City is forever and you will pay rent in the form of property tax.

Government in many many cases is unnecessary, intrusive, condescending, impractical, impossible to deal with, nonsensical, hamstrung by its own workplace and above all disrespectful of a person's time and hard earned cash.

Government often works well as a Soldier, as a Cop, as a Bailiff. Wherever authorized force is needed, government can excel. In most other things, government can be and often is a troublemaker.

[Joe Hadenuf]

Greetings from a fellow denizen of liberal Seattle. I think Homeland Security is an important job.

Greetings! I think she's went off in a huff. But feel free to take a crack at 241. I am a little confused why we are spending billions on HLS, yet we've left our doors and windows to our country wide open to the point where large tracts of our country have been literally over run by this epic lawlessness.

[Sloth]

well yes, all those government employees are having yummy lunches at the tax payers expense!

So, if those gov't employees go to church and drop $50 in the collection plate, I suppose you think that's government funding of religion. Wanna call the ACLU to whine for you?

[Joe Hadenuf]

So, if those gov't employees go to church and drop $50 in the collection plate, I suppose you think that's government funding of religion. Wanna call the ACLU to whine for you?

You're spin is making the planets rotation speed up. Please stop.

[Sloth]

If the taxpayers are paying for the public employee's lunch, then they are also contributing to his church. If you don't buy the latter, drop your foolish insistence on the former.

[Joe Hadenuf]

If the taxpayers are paying for the public employee's lunch, then they are also contributing to his church.

So if they go to a mosque and contribute it's OK with you? I don't want people taking my hard earned money to contribute to anything.

I already give money to charities of my choosing, not what some government employee chooses.

How about the money they contribute to the political socialist screw worms that want more government agencies and more government taxes? Nice huh?

So, maybe we should hire several million more government employees, so they can put a buck in the plate on Sunday?

What is you're point? Are we lucky to have 23,000,000 government employees?

So the more government employees we have, the better our economy?

What about the private sector that's footing the bill for all this?

[Not A Snowbird]

You make some excellent points. There is no doubt there is dead wood in the government, one of them works in my office and I'm sorely tempted to push her down an elevator shaft one of these days.

Is it hard to get rid of these people? You bet... because of the unions. It's unions, more than government itself, that is causing the bulk of the problems in my view. Can it be done? Yes, I see it happen but it takes effort.

We are heavily unionized, unfortunately, even in Homeland Security. The Department inherited four or five different unions when it was created, all of them competing with each other to be the one calling the shots. Different working rules, different overtime systems, different leave accrual and classification systems. It's been a nightmare trying to come to some accord.

All of our inspectors and border patrol are union, as are some of the people in the field office. My position is bargaining (union) although I flatly refuse to join. I am so behind President Bush for wanting more control and flexibility over assignments and working conditions, and I'm sick to death of the union whining.

Sorry, I'm in a bad mood. Just got back from mailing my federal taxes. Grr.

[Not A Snowbird]

I'm breaking my pledge not to respond to you, I'll give it just one more try.

If you expected Homeland Security to immediately fix all the problems of immigration overnight, you are delusional. I can tell you we intercept alot of people and things that shouldn't be here, it just doesn't get in the press. Most of what we have accomplished is under the radar and doesn't get in the press.

Do you think that 10 million people just entered in the past year since Homeland Security was created? Again, you are delusional. You blame us for the past umpteen years of neglect, but don't give us any credit for what we have been able to accomplish.

We have much more to do, and we need agencies like the California Coastal Commission to step up to the plate and let us physically secure that border. We also need policy set by the executive branch to support getting tough on the border.

You just want to rant and rave. I would like to know, since you have such a hatred for all things government and the employees thereof, how the hell you would keep any illegals out if you fired us all? Station citizens on the border with shotguns, firing at will? Sorry, I don't want to live in your world.

Out for good this time. I'm finished trying to talk to you.

[Joe Hadenuf]

You didn't answer the simple question Sandy, all you did was avoid the question.

Since you work for Home Land Security, I'll ask the question one more time.

What is *your* government agency, Homeland Security, doing about this epic invasion of millions that continue to pour into our country?

Since you work for Homeland Security, why can't you answer this?

[Hostage]

Wow, I had no idea that Homeland Security was unionized!

Thanks for filling me in.

How did it get unionized? I thought a good part of the battle in the 2002 elections was over the issue of how democrats obstructed the creation of Homeland Security by insisting it be under union control.

What am I missing here?

[Not A Snowbird]

How did it get unionized?

The individual agencies that were reorganized to make up Homeland Security are unionized. I can't speak for the other agencies that merged into it, but I know Customs, Immigration, and Agriculture have unions.

I think the union flap was primarily with TSA, since I believe they were created from scratch rather than reorganized from somewhere else. (Somebody correct me here, if I'm wrong.)