Employee retirement system

The New York City Employee Retirement System (NYCERS) provides retirement, disability and loan benefit services to its members. Our Membership is available to all ...

What about under this new health law? I saw this comment posted by someone and thought it was interesting. > Subject: : Judge Kithil of Marble Falls , TX - HB3200 highlighted pages most egregious > > Please read this........ Especially the reference to pages 58 & 59 > > > > JUDGE KITHIL wrote: > > "I have reviewed selected sections of the bill, and find > It unbelievable that our Congress, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, could come up with a bill loaded with so many wrong-headed elements." > > "Both Republicans and Democrats are equally responsible > For the financial mess of both Social Security and Medicare programs." > > "I am opposed to HB 3200 for a number of reasons. > > To start with, it is estimated that a federal bureaucracy of more than 150,000 new employees will be required to administer HB3200. That is an unacceptable expansion of a government that is already too intrusive in our lives. If we are going to hire 150,000 new employees, let's put them to > Work protecting our borders, fighting the massive drug problem and putting more law enforcement/firefighters out there." > > > JUDGE KITHIL continued: "Other problems I have with > This bill include: > > ** Page 50/section 152: The bill will provide insurance > To all non-U.S. Residents, even if they are here illegally. > > ** Page 58 and 59: The government will have > Real-time access to an individual's bank account and will have the authority to make electronic fund transfers from those accounts. > > ** Page 65/section 164: The plan will be subsidized (by > The government) for all union members, union retirees and for community organizations (such as the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now - ACORN). > > ** Page 203/line 14-15: The tax imposed under this > Section will not be treated as a tax. (How could anybody in their right mind come up with that?) > > ** Page 241 and 253: Doctors will all be paid the same > Regardless of specialty, and the government will set all doctors' fees. > > ** Page 272. Section 1145: Cancer hospital will ration > Care according to the patient's age. > > ** Page 317 and 321: The government will impose a > Prohibition on hospital expansion; however, communities may petition for an exception. > > ** Page 425, line 4-12: The government mandates > Advance-care planning consultations. Those on Social Security will be required to attend an "end-of-life planning" seminar every five years. (Death counceling.) > > ** Page 429, line 13-25: The government will specify > Which doctors can write an end-of-life order. > > HAD ENOUGH???? Judge Kithil then goes on: > > "Finally, it is specifically stated that this bill will not > Apply to members of Congress. Members of Congress are already exempt from the Social Security system, and have a well-funded private plan that covers their retirement needs. If they were on our Social Security plan, I believe they would find a very quick 'fix' to make the plan financially sound for their future." > > Honorable David Kithil > Marble Falls , Texas California

I got this email twice early this am. You would think an IT company would have a website. Our company is glad to offer you a job as an Assistant Manager. We believe that your knowledge, skills and experience will be among our most precious assets. Our company is famous for its effective solutions in creating, software integration and its administration. Our chief field of work is Internet. We work for our clients, living in various places all over the world. IT Ltd is mostly concerned with web application development and software development. Also the company pays much attention to more efficient options, fulfilling web design projects for the customers on web design, helps to arrange work with affiliates. Our company is aimed at developing sound, yet easy and effortless solutions for all our clients. The biggest number of customers is represented by USA consumers. Description of the offered position : Promotion support Working out tax reports and reports of internal use Studying and determination of ways of solution Announcement of information to clients Keeping correspondence Estimation, organization, keeping up and exploration of complex data Organization of payoffs straight from clients to employees using money transfer systems Looking after expenses of the company Performing administration work Conference calls arrangement with meeting organization Our Assistant Manager must have brilliant communication skills and being proficient in the following field: Computer skills and typesetting Skilled usage of Microsoft Word, Excel Working hours are 9a.m. to 1p.m. Should you accept this job offer, per company policy you'll be eligible to receive the following beginning on your hire date. Salary: for 2 weeks of training|trial) period - 1800 USD for a full-time position - 4500 USD per month, paid in biweekly installments by direct deposit Benefits package: 401k retirement account Health, dental, life and disability insurance Sick leave Vacation and personal days Income protection plans for employees. To accept this job offer please let us know the following details: 1. Enter your name completely: 2. We need to know your full address: 3. Cell is necessary to contact you: 4. Home phone number: 5. Your e-mail for a quick contact: We at IT Ltd hope that you'll accept this job offer and look forward to welcoming you aboard. IT Ltd is ready to show you the world outside and provide you with unique opportunities to live the way you deserve. Sincerely, Hiring Coordinator, HR Department. IT Ltd.

The Response from FEMA to Katrina The Iraq War Social Security unfunded commitments over $14 TRILLION Medicare has unfunded commitments over $74 TRILLION Medicare Part D has unfunded commitments over $18 TRILLION We have open borders. Many states can't get their state employee retirement funds fully funded. Some are only ~50% funded in some state. The public school system is ranked 30th in science and math compared internationally. No one has any clue what the FED does. The government gave us NAFTA and we now have virtually ZERO manufacturing and an economy that is 70% consumer economy. Can you help me with more reasons why not to trust the government and politicians with more of our lives and wealth?

In 2013, when President Mitch Daniels, former Indiana governor, is counting his blessings, at the top of his list will be the name of his vice president: Paul Ryan. The former congressman from Wisconsin will have come to office with ideas for steering the federal government to solvency. Not that Daniels has ever been bereft of ideas. Under him, Indiana property taxes have been cut 30 percent and for the first time, Standard & Poor's has raised the state's credit rating to AAA. But in January 2010, Ryan released an updated version of his "Roadmap for America's Future," a cure for the most completely predictable major problem that has ever afflicted America. Some calamities -- the 1929 stock market crash, Pearl Harbor, 9/11 -- have come like summer lightning, as bolts from the blue. The looming crisis of America's Ponzi entitlement structure is different. Driven by the demographics of an aging population, its causes, timing and scope are known. Funding entitlements -- especially medical care and pensions for the elderly -- requires reinvigorating the economy. Ryan's map connects three destinations -- economic vitality, diminished public debt, and health and retirement security. To make the economy -- on which all else hinges -- hum, Ryan proposes tax reform. Masochists would be permitted to continue paying income taxes under the current system. Others could use a radically simplified code, filing a form that fits on a postcard. It would have just two rates: 10 percent on incomes up to $100,000 for joint filers and $50,000 for single filers; 25 percent on higher incomes. There would be no deductions, credits or exclusions, other than the health care tax credit (see below). Today's tax system was shaped by sadists who were trying to be nice: Every wrinkle in the code was put there to benefit this or that interest. Since the 1986 tax simplification, the code has been recomplicated more than 14,000 times -- more than once a day. At the 2004 Republican convention, thunderous applause greeted George W. Bush's statement that the code is "a complicated mess" and a "drag on our economy" and his promise to "reform and simplify" it. But his next paragraphs proposed more complications to incentivize this and that behavior for the greater good. Ryan would eliminate taxes on interest, capital gains, dividends and death. The corporate income tax, the world's second highest, would be replaced by an 8.5 percent business consumption tax. Because this would be about half the average tax burden that other nations place on corporations, U.S. companies would instantly become more competitive -- and more able and eager to hire. Medicare and Social Security would be preserved for those currently receiving benefits, or becoming eligible in the next 10 years (those 55 and older today). Both programs would be made permanently solvent. Universal access to affordable health care would be guaranteed by refundable tax credits ($2,300 for individuals, $5,700 for families) for purchasing portable coverage in any state. As persons under 55 became Medicare eligible, they would receive payments averaging $11,000 a year, indexed to inflation and pegged to income, with low-income people receiving more support. Ryan's plan would fund medical savings accounts from which low-income people would pay minor out-of-pocket medical expenses. All Americans, regardless of income, would be allowed to establish MSAs -- tax-preferred accounts for paying such expenses. Ryan's plan would allow workers under 55 the choice of investing more than one-third of their current Social Security taxes in personal retirement accounts similar to the Thrift Savings Plan long available to, and immensely popular with, federal employees. This investment would be inheritable property, guaranteeing that individuals will never lose the ability to dispose every dollar they put into these accounts. Ryan would raise the retirement age. If, when Congress created Social Security in 1935, it had indexed the retirement age (then 65) to life expectancy, today the age would be in the mid-70s. The system was never intended to do what it is doing -- subsidizing retirements that extend from one-third to one-half of retirees' adult lives. Compare Ryan's lucid map to the Democrats' impenetrable labyrinth of health care legislation. Republicans are frequently criticized as "the party of no." But because most new ideas are injurious, rejection is an important function in politics. It is, however, insufficient. Fortunately, Ryan, assisted by Republican representatives Devin Nunes of California and Jeb Hensarling of Texas, has become a think tank, refuting the idea that Republicans lack ideas.

Let us ask Joe the Conservative. Joe gets up at 6 a.m. and fills his coffeepot with water to prepare his morning coffee. The water is clean and good because some tree-hugging liberal fought for minimum water-quality standards. With his first swallow of water, he takes his daily medication. His medications are safe to take because some stupid commie liberal fought to ensure their safety and that they work as advertised. All but $10 of his medications are paid for by his employer's medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance - now Joe gets it too. He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs. Joe's bacon is safe to eat because some girly-man liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry. In the morning shower, Joe reaches for his shampoo. His bottle is properly labeled with each ingredient and its amount in the total contents because some crybaby liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained. Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some environmentalist wacko liberal fought for the laws to stop industries from polluting our air.He walks on the government-provided sidewalk to subway station for his government-subsidized ride to work. It saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees because some fancy-pants liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a conributor. Joe begins his work day. He has a good job with excellent pay, medical benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some lazy liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe's employer pays these standards because Joe's employer doesn't want his employees to call the union.If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed, he'll get a worker compensation or unemployment check because some stupid liberal didn't think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune. It is noon time and Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe's deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC because some godless liberal wanted to protect Joe's money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the Great Depression. Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae-underwritten mortgage and his below-market federal student loan because some elitist liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his lifetime. Joe also forgets that his in addition to his federally subsidized student loans, he attended a state funded university. Joe is home from work. He plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive. His car is among the safest in the world because some America-hating liberal fought for car safety standards to go along with the tax-payer funded roads. He arrives at his boyhood home. His was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers' Home Administration because bankers didn't want to make rural loans. The house didn't have electricity until some big-government liberal stuck his nose where it didn't belong and demanded rural electrification. He is happy to see his father, who is now retired. His father lives on Social Security and a union pension because some wine-drinking, cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn't have to. Joe gets back in his car for the ride home, and turns on a radio talk show. The radio host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. He doesn't mention that the beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day. Joe agrees: "We don't need those big-government liberals ruining our lives! After all, I'm a self-made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like. I have."

************Life of Joe the REPUBLICAN************ Joe gets up at 6 am and fills his coffeepot with water to prepare his morning coffee. The water is clean and good because some tree-hugging liberal fought for minimum water-quality standards. With his first swallow of water, he takes his daily medication. His medications are safe to take because some stupid commie liberal fought to ensure their safety and that they work as advertised. All but $10 of his medications are paid for by his employer's medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance - now Joe gets it too. He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs. Joe's bacon is safe to eat because some girly-man liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry. In the morning shower, Joe reaches for his shampoo. His bottle is properly labeled with each ingredient and its amount in the total contents because some crybaby liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained. Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some environmentalist wacko liberal fought for the laws to stop industries from polluting our air. He walks on the government-provided sidewalk to subway station for his government-subsidized ride to work. It saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees because some fancy-pants liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor. Joe begins his work day. He has a good job with excellent pay, medical benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some lazy liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe's employer pays these standards because Joe's employer doesn't want his employees to call the union. If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed, he'll get a worker compensation or unemploy ment check because some stupid liberal didn't think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune. It is noontime and Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe's deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC because some godless liberal wanted to protect Joe's money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the Great Depression. Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae-underwritten mortgage and his below-market federal student loan because some elitist liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his lifetime. Joe also forgets that his in addition to his federally subsidized student loans, he attended a state funded university. Joe is home from work. He plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive. His car is among the safest in the world because some America-hating liberal fought for car safety st andards to go along with the tax-payer funded roads. He arrives at his boyhood home. His was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers' Home Administration because bankers didn't want to make rural loans. The house didn't have electricity until some big-government liberal stuck his nose where it didn't belong and demanded rural electrification. He is happy to see his father, who is now retired. His father lives on Social Security and a union pension because some wine-drinking, cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn't have to. Joe gets back in his car for the ride home, and turns on a radio talk show. The radio host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. He doesn't mention that the beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day. Joe agrees: "We don't neeGET /question/qualityTips?text=Are all republicans like Joe? I believe so, what do you think

Some people think that in countries with high unemployment, the retirement age should be lowered to allow more young people to get jobs. What would be the advantages and disadvantages of doing this? There are people who believe that the age of retirement should be reduced in countries having a high rate of unemployment, thus yielding young people to gain work. In this issue, we have to consider the advantages and disadvantages of it. The benefits of decreasing the retirement age are: firstly, job opportunities to young adults will occur. Secondly, this is the time for them to show their hidden talents due to the high expectations from them when they land a job. And thirdly, retiring employees could early get their pensions and benefits which they can use for many things such as for rest and recreation, investment, or whatever they wanted. Looking now at the opposite, young employees need to prove themselves that they can handle and manage their work closely or the same way as the leaving employees. Moreover, since they are considered amateurs, they get a lower pay at the start, and more often than not they get a higher salary after many years of stay. Lastly, there could be a huge impact on the services of one organization where most of the skilled employees are to be replaced and time is not enough to train replacements. But whatever is to happen, the best thing to do in such situation of booming unemployment is to create more jobs by attracting investors to come on their place, overhaul the education or job training systems if there is a problem on competencies hindering young people to be employed. And also, a country must work on their population if there is a sudden increase because the more the population then more job opportunities must be present.

The following personnel information about the Marshal Fire Department for the fiscal year that begins January 1, 200X, is to be used. Employee Grade__Number in Grade__Salary______ Chief------------------------- 1--------------- $105,000 Shift Commander-------- 3----------------- 70,000 Firefighter 1--------------- 12--------------- 39,000 Firefighter 2--------------- 26--------------- 30,000 Clerical (part-time)------- 3--------------- 15,000 The city is part of the federal Social Security system. For 200X, the city and the employee each pay Social Security payroll taxes of 6.2 percent of all salary paid up to $90,000 per employee to finance federal retirement and disability insurance and 1.45 percent of all salary paid to finance Medicare. The city pays a portion of the cost of health insurance for each full-time employee, an amount equal to $180 per month. Employees on the payroll after June 30, 200X, regardless of hiring date, are part of a new pension system financed by a city payment of 20 percent of the employee’s salary and employee payment of 5 percent of the employee’s salary on pay received after that date. Payments up to that date were made by state appropriations from state tobacco tax revenue. Full-time employees received an allowance for uniforms of $750 per year. Estimate the city’s full cost of the fire department labor during 200X fiscal year, assuming no change in staffing. Separate that cost into salary and fringe benefit components.

OTHER EVENTS AND HEARINGS 08/07/2007 Instrument - Plaintiffs Original Petition (POP) - Conversion 12/07/2007 Instrument - Plaintiffs Original Petition (POP) - Conversion 12/10/2007 Citation - Poster 12/10/2007 Instrument - Plaintiffs Original Petition (POP) - Conversion 12/10/2007 Citation - Poster EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF TX served 12/10/2007 returned 12/24/2007 05/16/2008 Order (No Order Type Code, M) - Conversion 08/18/2008 Instrument - Miscellaneous (MISC) - Conversion 08/21/2008 Order (No Order Type Code, M) - Conversion 10/29/2008 Uncontested (Conversion) (9:30 AM) (Judicial Officer Ferchill, Patrick W.) 06/22/2009 Order Appointing Attorney Ad Litem Doc ID# 1 06/25/2009 Correspondence Doc ID# 2 07/20/2009 Answer Filed Doc ID# 3 07/20/2009 Motion for Security for Cost Doc ID# 4 07/20/2009 Motion to W/D Counsel Doc ID# 5 07/20/2009 Report of Attorney Ad LItem - Guardianships ONLY Doc ID# 6 07/20/2009 Appl for Payment of Fees Doc ID# 7 07/24/2009 Amended Petition Doc ID# 8 08/05/2009 Order for Payment of Appointee Fees - Registry of the Court Doc ID# 9 08/18/2009 Motion for Security for Cost Hearing (1:30 PM) (Judicial Officer Ferchill, Patrick W.) 08/18/2009 Appl to Pay Doc ID# 10 08/18/2009 Order for Payment of Appointee Fees - Registry of the Court Doc ID# 11 08/18/2009 Order for Substitution of Counsel Doc ID# 12 08/18/2009 Order - Miscellaneous Doc ID# 13 08/26/2009 Hearing Setting Letter Doc ID# 14

Accounting Not everyone knows what career choice they would like when they are young. I on the other hand, am pretty sure I know. I want to be an accountant. To many people, this job may be the most tedious ever, but to me it is interesting. There are a lot of jobs out there that are target to help a certain group of people. Accounting is not just targeted at one group, but is capable of helping the entire world. Planning ahead is very important to me. I grew up in house where both of my parents were not very successful. My dad went into the army after he finished high school. My mom did not finish high school and is now taking care of old ladies. They tell me and my siblings to go to college so we can get a good job, settle into a house and then make a family. As I was growing up my interests became different all the time, I finally realized that through everything I have always been good at math and it is quite interesting to me, and accounting fits my interests so it is the perfect job for me. Body paragraph 1 I believe that accounting as a good career choice for me because the basic qualifictations that are required to be an accountant I have. Such as doing basic math like, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and possibly division. To do this job I should also have a good memory, which I have. The reason I would need a good memory is because I need to remember what accounts increase on the debit side, and what accounts decrease on the credit side. I also need to be able to take full responsibility of everything I do. Why? Well because in accounting there are certain steps that I have to take in order to reach the end and If I do not do them in the order they belong then others are going to have a difficult time doing their job. I am learning in my accounting class that in accounting I have to start from the beginning and work till the end. body paragraph 2 In order to be an accountant I need to get atleast a bachelor’s degree either in accounting or a related field such as: a certified public accountant, a system accountant, or a tax accountant. Some jobs may require a master’s degree in business administration. Having the certification or license to be an accountant will certainly give you and advantage for obtaining a job. body paragraph 3 body paragraph 4 Body paragraph 5 Accountants have a wide range in salaries because of the size of firms, the location of the firms, and the level of education. If you have up to one year in experience you are able to make any where from $28,250 to $45,000. With one to three years you can make 33,000 to 52,000, senior accountants make anywhere between 40,750 to 69,750. Financial managers are one of the top employees of accounting and they can make anywhere from 48,000 to 90,000 dollars. Finally the top employees of accounting firms make any where from 64,750 to 200,750. Getting my bachelors degree in accounting will start me off with 43,269 a year, and If I were to get my masters degree I could start with 46,251 which is a good start. The benefits that come with this job are amazing, I would most likely get paid vacation, sick leave, health insurance, profit sharing, and retirement plans. If you have any special skiils you can make double or triple the top salary range. body paragraph 6 body paragraph 7 body paragraph 8 conclusion Body paragraph 4 Many of the activities done in accounting firms all across the world probably do most of the same tasks. In the accounting class I am taking right now we are learning exactly what real accountants do. I think that the job is quite simple but many think it is tough. The basics are keeping track of businesses money, writing check, and making sure that everything adds up correctly. It could be really simple or it could be really tough depending on if I am capable of remembering what accounts do what and being able to know how to add and subtract. I would also need to know how to take full responsibility for the things I do, because if I do something wrong my colleagues could be penalized for it. With being an accountant comes the responsibility of making sure that the nation’s firms are being run correctly, making sure that the public records are accurate and kept that way, and that taxes are paid on time. This is a really tough job because a lot of people during this t Body paragraph 4 Many of the activities done in accounting firms all across the world probably do most of the same tasks. In the accounting class I am taking right now we are learning exactly what real accountants do. I think that the job is quite simple but many think it is tough. The basics are keeping track of businesses money, writing check, and making sure that everything adds up correctly. It could be really simple or it could be really tough depending on if I am capable of remembering what accounts do what and being able to know how to add and subtract. I would also need to know how to take full

Greetings, I work for a big oil company. This company is now heading down. It used to give the best salaries in the country and the best benefits regarding retirement and housing assisting. But now the company is going down. The salary ladder remained the same for 15 years regardless of the huge inflation. What used to make someone live like a superstar now barely covers the basic needs. And the benefits are slowly getting trimmed. After the last cut of some benefits a few months ago I was completely frustrated that I made several job applications to several companies that have better benefits. I am not the bragging type but many in my unit argue that I am probably the best in the unit. Last week there was a hint that I might be promoted to a position that I was looking forward for it a few years ago. The very next day I received a call from one of the companies I applied to. They asked me if I was still interested, I said yes and I have an interview with them on Monday. Yesterday I went to see a cousin of mine who works for that company. He told me about their salary ladder, a quick calculation made me realize that I will probably get twice of what I earn right now and that company is giving generous bonuses that sometimes match one extra salary whenever the company makes a big successful deal which they do like 3 times a year ever since the company started. But my cousin warned me that my current company have better job security. Our company have the habit to move an employee around to different units if his performance is not meeting the minimum requirements and that the company my cousin works for simply fire the person. My interview is on Monday. I'm not sure if I stay in my current company and most likely get the position I love to have or go to a new company with bigger salary and more benefits but I need to start from scratch to prove myself and I would probably be stressed because of the job security. They would expect a lot from someone who has 10 years experience in the field I am filling but I am not quite sure because they have a different system than we use.

Joe gets up at 6 a.m. and fills his coffee pot with water to prepare his morning coffee. Joe can afford the coffee because corporate loving rich Republicans exported our jobs overseas with NAFTA and CAFTA. With his first swallow of coffee, he takes his daily medication. His medications work because money-grubbing Republicans refuse to place price controls on drugs, thereby allowing pharmaceutical companies to earn enough money to pay for the extensive R&D and take the risks necessary to create miracle drugs. But the drugs still cost too much because government mandated health insurance has artificially increased the demand for medications with no one to police the prices, but that’s OK since Joe’s Bush-supporting bossman pays all but $10 of Joe's medications. In the morning shower, Joe reaches for his shampoo. His bottle is properly labeled with each ingredient, none of which are damaging to his skin because some animal-hating sadistic corporations paid some scientists to swab the shampoo in some poor rabbit’s eyes. Just for kicks. Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some dollar-worshipping conservative developers built some nice houses with pretty yards 15 miles from the industrial sector of the city, and Joe drives his comfortable and affordable “Japanese” car made in Georgia without the inflated cost of union labor, and Joe can stop on his way home to pick up a package of reasonably priced T-shirts at the evil Wal-Mart, instead of having to park his car and take a filthy subway to pay twice as much downtown. Joe begins his work day. He has a good job with excellent pay, medical benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because his parents instilled in him the value of hard work so he studied when he was in school and learned that he could get by just fine without relying on the government. Joe's employer pays these benefits because Joe's employer knows Joe’s a valuable employee and Joe’s employer doesn’t want him to go work for his competitor. If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed, he'll get another job pretty quick because he’s a self-starting go getter who has a lot of friends at church and from college that he can call to find more work. It's noontime and Joe would need to make a bank deposit but doesn’t need to go to a bank because evil monopolist Bill Gates helped make computers useable to the general public and he can automatically pay bills thanks to the economies of scale of Bank of America or Wachovia installing the expensive equipment to allow Joe this convenience. While Joe's deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC, Joe doesn’t have to worry about Democrats in Congress pulling the rug out from under the real estate market again like they did in the 80s. At least Joe hopes they learned their lesson. Joe pays a low rate mortgage because Americans voted for that war monger Ronald Reagan in 1980 and Bill Clinton had the good sense to reappoint Alan Greenspan. And Joe can afford a nicer home, not only just because of the low mortgage rates, but also because he gets to keep more of his hard earned money because Republican Presidents in the 1980s and in 2001 cut his taxes. After work this evening, Joe plans to visit his father at his farm home in the country that Joe’s dad still owns because his landed-gentry Republican County Commissioners have refused to steal his land in the name of a higher tax base. Joe gets in his car for the drive because the government added additional lanes to the local highways that people actually use instead of throwing money away on a regional rail system that studies project people would little use. Joe gets to his house in record time because death-loving Republicans allow you to go 65 and 70 mph, and you can because pollution loving Republicans don’t make you plug your car in overnight so you can drive for 2 hours at a maximum speed of 20 mph. Joe arrives at his boyhood home. His was the third generation to live in the house, but he doesn’t because when his grandparents moved to the United States they learned to speak English and didn’t spend their time complaining about how the government wasn’t doing enough for them. The house didn't have electricity until some military-industrial power company plopped a big ol’ nuclear power plant over by the river. Joe is happy to see his father, so they go to the local bar and enjoy a beer and a cigar, where Joe’s dad tells him that if the estate tax is repealed, Joe can keep the farm in the family for a fourth generation and won’t have to sell it to pay the taxes. Joe gets back in his car for the ride home, and turns on NPR. The reporters keep telling stories about how bad corporations only care about profit and that higher taxes will allow the government to “invest” in our future. They don’t mention that the beloved Democrats have vilified the very people who have provided us jobs, good and services from their sma

I ignorantly joined the NYC Department of Education Retirement System about 2 years ago. Since I did not work as a sub for more than one year (found another job), I was terminated from the DOE at the start of the 2009-2010 school year (the current school year). While searching though the BERS booklet of rules, I found the following information on page 88 quoted below. I would like someone to explain the quoted paragraph below. I have not contributed to BERS for the simple fact that I am no longer a sub teacher and haven't been subbing in over one year. Here is what page 88 has to say: "If you resign or are terminated, you must contact BERS immediately to make arragements for the repayment of your loan. If no payment is received within 90 days of the last payment, the outstanding loan balance will be reported to the IRS. There may be tax consequences associated with such a loan." Does this mean that even after leaving the DOE I must continue paying BERS? I am no longer a sub teacher. Why should I continue to pay for a retirement system that does not pertain to me as a formwer employee of the DOE. Can someone please explain the above paragraph quoted from page 88 of the BERS booklet? Thank you very much. former_sub

I ignorantly joined the NYC Department of Education Retirement System about 2 years ago. Since I did not work as a sub for more than one year (found another job), I was terminated from the DOE at the start of the 2009-2010 school year (the current school year). While searching though the BERS booklet of rules, I found the following information on page 88 quoted below. I would like someone to explain the quoted paragraph below. I have not contributed to BERS for the simple fact that I am no longer a sub teacher and haven't been subbing in over one year. Here is what page 88 has to say: "If you resign or are terminated, you must contact BERS immediately to make arragements for the repayment of your loan. If no payment is received within 90 days of the last payment, the outstanding loan balance will be reported to the IRS. There may be tax consequences associated with such a loan." Does this mean that even after leaving the DOE I must continue paying BERS? I am no longer a sub teacher. Why should I continue to pay for a retirement system that does not pertain to me as a formwer employee of the DOE. Can someone please explain the above paragraph quoted from page 88 of the BERS booklet? Thank you very much. former_sub

I ignorantly joined the NYC Department of Education Retirement System about 2 years ago. Since I did not work as a sub for more than one year (found another job), I was terminated from the DOE at the start of the 2009-2010 school year (the current school year). While searching though the BERS booklet of rules, I found the following information on page 88 quoted below. I would like someone to explain the quoted paragraph below. I have not contributed to BERS for the simple fact that I am no longer a sub teacher and haven't been subbing in over one year. Here is what page 88 has to say: "If you resign or are terminated, you must contact BERS immediately to make arragements for the repayment of your loan. If no payment is received within 90 days of the last payment, the outstanding loan balance will be reported to the IRS. There may be tax consequences associated with such a loan." Does this mean that even after leaving the DOE I must continue paying BERS? I am no longer a sub teacher. Why should I continue to pay for a retirement system that does not pertain to me as a formwer employee of the DOE. Can someone please explain the above paragraph quoted from page 88 of the BERS booklet? Thank you very much. former_sub

I ignorantly joined the NYC Department of Education Retirement System about 2 years ago. Since I did not work as a sub for more than one year (found another job), I was terminated from the DOE at the start of the 2009-2010 school year (the current school year). While searching though the BERS booklet of rules, I found the following information on page 88 quoted below. I would like someone to explain the quoted paragraph below. I have not contributed to BERS for the simple fact that I am no longer a sub teacher and haven't been subbing in over one year. Here is what page 88 has to say: "If you resign or are terminated, you must contact BERS immediately to make arragements for the repayment of your loan. If no payment is received within 90 days of the last payment, the outstanding loan balance will be reported to the IRS. There may be tax consequences associated with such a loan." Does this mean that even after leaving the DOE I must continue paying BERS? I am no longer a sub teacher. Why should I continue to pay for a retirement system that does not pertain to me as a formwer employee of the DOE. Can someone please explain the above paragraph quoted from page 88 of the BERS booklet? Thank you very much. former_sub

I am a part of OPERS (Ohio Public Employees Retirement System), and am wondering if its legal to setup a Roth IRA through a separate company like Sharebuilder. I've not read that it is legal, nor have I read that it is illegal, to have more than one retirement account.

We live in Montana. My mom works at a retirement home and she is retiring from the job over 5 years in two weeks. Couple months ago she filed a work comp because she hurt her back and shoulder and that's where all the problem started. Now, the bosses has been swearing at her and calling her names (That's just wrong for a bosses swearing and calling names at their employee) and just today they are accusing her of stealing their Wii Gaming system (that the elderly plays). The Wii has been missing over 3 months. She's been accused stealing money, bonus bucks. My mom have never ever stolen anything in her life and there are people coming in and out of the building and there are residents that live there, family comes in and out, and there is coworkers that has been in jail and now they are on parole. My mom is so down now and I'm worried. I know this kind of stuff can effect on health, Why are they blaming my mom and no one else? What should we do? Do we have a case? Honest please? Thank you, Kat

I am preparing to file a Complaint in a US district court for wrongful termination. Is it unlawful to terminate an employee for filing a workers compensation case, and if so, what must I say in the Complaint? The employer didn't say that was the reason. The employer will say that I was separated from state service because of being AWOL. They claim they did not receive one of the many doctors notes. The situation is much more complex than this, having started with bullying and then not following established State Personnel Board guidelines for required Notice of Adverse Action. My due process right for a Skelly Hearing were usurped and by that time my head was spinning so fast, my doctor ordered me off work. I later reapplied for reinstatement, interviewing 12 times, and was not rehired. I had over 400 hrs of sick time on the books and a file full of accolades and annual appraisals from previous supervisors indicating I exceeded performance expectations. The EEOC (who has sent me a "right to sue" letter) investigator states that he received written documents indicating the reason I was not reinstated was that I did not get along with management and the public. And the EEOC told me I had no right to see the correspondence. What kind of system is that? No way to rebut evidence if I can't see what they are using to make findings. Oh, what a messed up and world filled with evil doers. At 52, I lost my career and dream of a Calpers retirement, having only served 6 years. ;-/ Sure could use some advice on how to file the Complaint. Once I file the Complain, I want to ask the judge if he or she will appoint counsel, as I realize I would not be able to hold up under taxpayer funded state contact attorneys. It has been three years and the state agency still denies the workers compensation claim. Even though an agreed medical evaluator (ame) gave a 90% apportionment for the injury. Hope to gain some much needed help here, please, so I can get the Complaint filed before the 90 day window on the "right to sue" letter closes. Battered and torn.

I am a retired Central Govt Employee. On retirement I settled my family at Vizag.What is the system to be followed to get On line Registration of Voters ID Card for my family members including my self.

I noticed my old friends in the USA are having a big debate about healthcare, getting a better service for all and at a better price. From some press reports I have read Some of you do not like to look a gift horse in the mouth? maybe you work for insurance companies I suspect! This is why I KNOW that Americans are being scammed and ripped off by the Government, Health insurance and the hospitals. I am from Uk but spent 7 years there in San Diego, Houston and Phoenix and I needed treatment 3 times for various things. On all 3 occasions I was charged a small fortune ($2000) for menial medical work, (a stitch in my lip and check pulse, most of the time I spent waiting to be seen, (hours). When I told them I had no medical insurance they reduced it to $300. Case 2 Blood tests ($940) but if I paid cash $130, Sharps Hospital San diego. Houston local doctors remove a boil on my back $260 but for cash $45. Dentists San diego all treatment less than half price just for having a $50 family discount ticket.(not insurance). I saved thousands off that ticket. Wife had a baby, $10,000, but we had no insurance so we paid $250, (some local tax on tobacco and booze paid the rest. I have heard some say health care in USA is far superior to the free one we have here in uk, WELL IT FRANKLY IS NOT, you have lawsuits over there in USA that prove that healthcare in UK is just as good as USA and its almost free here. True, non urgent things may require an appointment a few weeks forward but anything urgent is dealt with quickly. The ambulance service arrive within minutes of being called and they don't carry invoices or calculators for $2000 taxi ride to hospital! I think you should back your president, get almost free healthcare for all, get better pricing and everyone who works pays a little extra tax just as we do here in Europe, we call it National Insurance contributions, its about 5% of your capped earnings/wages, this covers not only health care but also sickness benefits, retirement pension, dental, optical, unemployment / disability benefit, child and workers tax credits Nobody is ever excluded and there is no CoPay either, They fix you no questions asked, a very comforting thought. Whoever heard of an insurance policy where you go to hospital and have to pay half the f***** bill as well? In the American System the employer pays insurance the employees pay too and then there is copay fees to pay too? who is getting all this money? where the heck is it going? at the prices they charge there should be no copay. For you die hards there is BUPA health insurance that UK has too but that is cheap, a fraction of the USA cost. OK Americans let me know your thoughts do you want an almost free healthcare for all in the USA, similar to UK? if you don't prove to me why your rip off system is better? your system benefits the rich and the scammer hospitals and insurance companies. SUPPORT YOUR PRESIDENT Arctic here is what a working person pays in the UK who earns 30k per year uk pounds Employer's NI 220.60 ($352.96) Employee's NI189.58 ($303.32 Employee Tax330.84 ($529.34) Total All Tax 741.02 Total Net Income1,752.75 ($2804.40) So for $303.00 per month he is covered for all health costs entirely as well as dental, optical. This also covers retirement Pension currently 65 pounds per week ($104), sickness benefit, unemployment benefit, working tax credit and child tax credit, disability benefit. Our NHS get huge discounts off the drug companies and there is an NHS low cost rate for all Health service professionals, this is why health costs are so much cheaper here. Because USA system is dissected based on thousands of insurance company claims it is just a mire of administration and opportunities for these hospitals to overcharge. Why do you think drugs and medical care are so much cheaper elsewhere in the world? your politicians take bribes from these

I noticed my old friends in the USA are having a big debate about healthcare, getting a better service for all and at a better price. From some press reports I have read Some of you do not like to look a gift horse in the mouth? maybe you work for insurance companies I suspect! This is why I KNOW that Americans are being scammed and ripped off by the Government, Health insurance and the hospitals. I am from Uk but spent 7 years there in San Diego, Houston and Phoenix and I needed treatment 3 times for various things. On all 3 occasions I was charged a small fortune ($2000) for menial medical work, (a stitch in my lip and check pulse, most of the time I spent waiting to be seen, (hours). When I told them I had no medical insurance they reduced it to $300. Case 2 Blood tests ($940) but if I paid cash $130, Sharps Hospital San diego. Houston local doctors remove a boil on my back $260 but for cash $45. Dentists San diego all treatment less than half price just for having a $50 family discount ticket.(not insurance). I saved thousands off that ticket. Wife had a baby, $10,000, but we had no insurance so we paid $250, (some local tax on tobacco and booze paid the rest. I have heard some say health care in USA is far superior to the free one we have here in uk, WELL IT FRANKLY IS NOT, you have lawsuits over there in USA that prove that healthcare in UK is just as good as USA and its almost free here. True, non urgent things may require an appointment a few weeks forward but anything urgent is dealt with quickly. The ambulance service arrive within minutes of being called and they don't carry invoices or calculators for $2000 taxi ride to hospital! I think you should back your president, get almost free healthcare for all, get better pricing and everyone who works pays a little extra tax just as we do here in Europe, we call it National Insurance contributions, its about 5% of your capped earnings/wages, this covers not only health care but also sickness benefits, retirement pension, dental, optical, unemployment / disability benefit, child and workers tax credits Nobody is ever excluded and there is no CoPay either, They fix you no questions asked, a very comforting thought. Whoever heard of an insurance policy where you go to hospital and have to pay half the f***** bill as well? In the American System the employer pays insurance the employees pay too and then there is copay fees to pay too? who is getting all this money? where the heck is it going? at the prices they charge there should be no copay. For you die hards there is BUPA health insurance that UK has too but that is cheap, a fraction of the USA cost. OK Americans let me know your thoughts do you want an almost free healthcare for all in the USA, similar to UK? if you don't prove to me why your rip off system is better? your system benefits the rich and the scammer hospitals and insurance companies. SUPPORT YOUR PRESIDENT 1, I have seen the good/bad of both systems, pity your USA system leaves tens of millions of people without health care. 2People do work hard there but the pay is peanuts low income can't afford healthcare. 3 Thats not my point (off topic) 4 Your taxes will not be raised, it will be cheaper as you won't be paying rip off prices to health insurance. 5Medicare is not the quality of Uk Health care and you know it. so don't compare. 6Just go to sharp hospitals in San diego and ask for their form for people with no insurance a look at the price difference, you who pay health insurance are feeding the suckers on the vine that always will ant more and more.. 7Your health is the governments business as its costing the USA taxpayer $billions anyway in medicare etc. 8 UK health care is superior to USA fools fail to learn from forefathers. 9 Brainwash, ? sounds like health insurance and hospital companies paying millions to politicians, that is brainwashing. but you gys just suck it all up here is what a working person pays in the UK who earns 30k per year uk pounds Employer's NI 220.60 ($352.96) Employee's NI189.58 ($303.32 Employee Tax330.84 ($529.34) Total All Tax 741.02 Total Net Income1,752.75 ($2804.40) So for $303.00 per month he is covered for all health costs entirely as well as dental, optical. This also covers retirement Pension currently 65 pounds per week ($104), sickness benefit, unemployment benefit, working tax credit and child tax credit, disability benefit. Our NHS get huge discounts off the drug companies and there is an NHS low cost rate for all Health service professionals, this is why health costs are so much cheaper here. Because USA system is dissected based on thousands of insurance company claims it is just a mire of administration and opportunities for these hospitals to overcharge. Why do you think drugs and medical care are so much cheaper elsewhere in the world? your politicians take bribes from these What happens there does affect me as I am returning to live there permanently next year. Y

Joe gets up at 6:00am to prepare his morning coffee. He fills his pot full of good clean drinking water because some liberal fought for minimum water quality standards. He takes his daily medication with his first swallow of coffee. His medications are safe to take because some liberal fought to insure their safety and work as advertised. All but $10.00 of his medications are paid for by his employers medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance, now Joe gets it too. He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs this day. Joe’s bacon is safe to eat because some liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry. Joe takes his morning shower reaching for his shampoo; His bottle is properly labeled with every ingredient and the amount of its contents because some liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained. Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some tree hugging liberal fought for laws to stop industries from polluting our air. He walks to the subway station for his government subsidized ride to work; it saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees. You see, some liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor. Joe begins his work day; he has a good job with excellent pay, medicals benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe’s employer pays these standards because Joe’s employer doesn’t want his employees to call the union. If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed he’ll get a worker compensation or unemployment check because some liberal didn’t think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune. Its noon time, Joe needs to make a Bank Deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe’s deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC because some liberal wanted to protect Joe’s money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the depression. Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae underwritten Mortgage and his below market federal student loan because some stupid liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his life-time. Joe is home from work, he plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive to dads; his car is among the safest in the world because some liberal fought for car safety standards. He arrives at his boyhood home. He was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers Home Administration because bankers didn’t want to make rural loans. The house didn’t have electric until some big government liberal stuck his nose where it didn’t belong and demanded rural electrification. (Those rural Republican’s would still be sitting in the dark) He is happy to see his dad who is now retired. His dad lives on Social Security and his union pension because some liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn’t have to. After his visit with dad he gets back in his car for the ride home. He turns on a radio talk show, the host’s keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. (He doesn’t tell Joe that his beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day.) Joe agrees, “We don’t need those big government liberals ruining our lives, and trying to push socialism on me through health care; after all, I’m a self made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have..”.

(COLA is cost of living adjustment it's a yearly raise for Social Security beneficiaries to account for inflation and expecting bills to go up for the new year as well.) This is the worst time of the economy to do this.....the bills in 2010 and 2011 will still go up but now their income won't. They claim that they make up with it with a one-time $250.00 payment in 2009 (2010 for some). How about suspending the COLA for members of Congress (who by the way vote yes every year to give themselves substantial raises in salary) or the COLA for federal employees who receive substantial salaries (I used to be a federal employee so I know they make good money)? Rather than the people who need it the most. If you oppose this, send a simple email to your Senators and Representatives or you can write a letter in more detail asking them to oppose the no cost of living adjustment for 2010-2011 for SSA recipients. Here is a template that will help if you need ideas or guidelines for your letter or email: http://www.ncpssm.org/pdf/cola_senate_20… and if you need assistance in locating the Representatives and Senators for your state and districts go to http://www.congress.gov. Please write to all your Reps and Senators despite their or your political affiliation. Please don't comment or answer if nothing like this has ever happened to you and all you want to do is complain about people on SSA or the system itself because no one cares. Speak from experience only if you have been on SSA or are currently on SSA. I don't want to hear from those who have no experience in dealing with SSA or have never had to use it. SSA is NOT a scam I used to work there, I know every detail how it works. The problem is there isn't enough money for the generation after the baby boomers. However this decision not to pay the COLA HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE SSA SYSTEM or its debt! They are trying to save money but instead could be taking the COLA from the rich congressmen and representatives or take the COLA from federal employees who make good money anyway. SSA was created to help the people not to hurt them. I wouldn't want to live in a country where we didn't take care of our sick, poor, or aged. This is mostly regarding the disabled which is unexpected. Most elderly did save for retirement but its not enough or recent invest scams or IRA that isn't worth anything due to economy plummeting. Get involved against taking the COLA from SSA and SSI recipients by emailing or writing your Representative or Senator with the info above. you can also email CREDO at info@credo action.com to ask them to get involved against taking the only raise from SSA beneficiaries when our bills will still go up. GET INVOLVED ESPECIALLY those who are on the program. This effects you so I hope you decide to get involved and do what you can to get this decision reversed!!!!! Focus on the issue of taking the only raise from SSA recipients. They are doing this to pay for health care reform and the national debt and they are not put it back in to the SSA system. That wouldn't even make a dent. Instead of talking about the SSA system itself, lets talk specifically about taking the COLA from the people who need it the most on SSA.

Pension is paid to Govt servants after they retire, good. But it is paid to ex governent employees out of state tax revenue to which even those contribute who do not work in goverment. Even the politicians ex MLA MP who just serve for a few years are given pension in India . There could be many government retired employees who had raised huge estates / capital reserves during their service days even when they were always demanding increase in dearness allownace. Dearness allowance is paid for easing survival and not for raising reserves. Hence from where do the reserves come ? Government employees feel it below dignity to send their children to Government schools and even attending government hospitals for health cover. Are they very rich? Even a Director School Education or Secretary School education living in cities does not send his children to government schools, do they deserve to remain in service and get pension on retirement , they are like that Halwaee who preferred to eat sweets from some other shop and not from his own. After VI th pay commission it has been noted that some ex employees who retired about 15 years back are getting pension nearly 2.5 times the salary they were getting at the time of retirement. Some cases are there where pesioners have got pension for about 40 years where as they served for only 30 years. The concept behind pension to governemt servants who are debarred from any private enterprise / business participation during service was very very sacred but now since the government machinery is not delivering and the social services ( education,health, security, law& order, revenue records,) provided by government through government servant too are not yielding, the life of people has become difficult. These days many government servants who held non yielding senior positions are getting pension may be Rs.30000 to Rs.40000 pm which is like some one getting interest income from a fixed deposit in bank as large as Rs.40 to 50 Lac. Think over. There are many senior citizens who retire from private jobs and live miserable life without pension. Their savings too are meagre in most of the cases. So they have to keep on working till they finally "collapse". So government must come up with a security system for payment of pension to those who work in the private sector and have this way or that way contributed to tax revenue during their active days. The pension to every senior citizen should not be less than Rs.10000 per month at todays norms with growing material and health needs as is being particularly kept in view by the Pay Commissions while deciding the matters regarding governemnt servants. The position of those retiring from government public sector PSU too is bad. The provision of contributory provident fund is too meagre before the provision of Pension being paid to Governemnt employees and incase it is to match the magnitude of pension benefits that government servants have CPF by employer has to be not less than 25% to 30 % of the salary. Further in the private sector the part of wage amount qualifying for the CPF( 10%) is small and hence the CPF provides even lesser security to tose in private sector than it provides to PSU ex employess. Daya Sagar , social activist

This piece of writing has circulated the Internet for several years. It can be found at many different websites. However, I want to know who FIRST wrote it. Wherever I've found it posted the originial author is never mentioned. Please cite your sources. A Day in the Life of Joe Republican: Joe gets up at 6 a.m. and fills his coffeepot with water to prepare his morning coffee. The water is clean and good because some tree-hugging liberal fought for minimum water-quality standards. With his first swallow of water, he takes his daily medication. His medications are safe to take because some stupid commie liberal fought to ensure their safety and that they work as advertised. All but $10 of his medications are paid for by his employer's medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance - now Joe gets it too. He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs. Joe's bacon is safe to eat because some girly-man liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry. In the morning shower, Joe reaches for his shampoo. His bottle is properly labeled with each ingredient and its amount in the total contents because some crybaby liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained. Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some environmentalist wacko liberal fought for the laws to stop industries from polluting our air. He walks on the government-provided sidewalk to subway station for his government-subsidized ride to work. It saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees because some fancy-pants liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor. Joe begins his work day. He has a good job with excellent pay, medical benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some lazy liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe's employer pays these standards because Joe's employer doesn't want his employees to call the union. If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed, he'll get a worker compensation or unemployment check because some stupid liberal didn't think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune. It is noontime and Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe's deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC because some godless liberal wanted to protect Joe's money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the Great Depression. Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae-underwritten mortgage and his below-market federal student loan because some elitist liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his lifetime. Joe also forgets that his in addition to his federally subsidized student loans, he attended a state funded university. Joe is home from work. He plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive. His car is among the safest in the world because some America-hating liberal fought for car safety standards to go along with the tax-payer funded roads. He arrives at his boyhood home. His was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers' Home Administration because bankers didn't want to make rural loans. The house didn't have electricity until some big-government liberal stuck his nose where it didn't belong and demanded rural electrification. He is happy to see his father, who is now retired. His father lives on Social Security and a union pension because some wine-drinking, cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn't have to. Joe gets back in his car for the ride home, and turns on a radio talk show. The radio host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. He doesn't mention that the beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day. Joe agrees: "We don't need those big-government liberals ruining our lives! After all, I'm a self-made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have."

Pension is paid to Govt servants after they retire, good. But it is paid to ex governent employees out of state tax revenue to which even those contribute who do not work in goverment. Even the politicians ex MLA MP who just serve for a few years are given pension. There could be many government retired employees who had raised huge estates / capital reserves during their service days even when they were always demanding increase in dearness allownace. Dearness allowance is paid for easing survival and not for raising reserves. Hence from where do the reserves come ? Government employees feel it below dignity to send their children to Government schools and even attending government hospitals for health cover. Are they very rich? Even a Director School Education or Secretary School education living in cities does not send his children to government schools, do they deserve to remain in service and get pension on retirement , they are like that Halwaee who preferred to eat sweets from some other shop and not from his own. After VIth pay commission it has noted that some ex employees who retired about 15 years back are getting pension nearly 2.5 times the salary they were getting at the time of retirement. Some cases are there where pesioners have got pension for about 40 years where as they served for only 30 years. The concept behind pension to governemt servants who are debarred from any private enterprise / business participation during service was very very sacred but now since the government machinery is not delivering and the social services ( education,health, security, law& order, revenue records,) provided by government through government servant too are not yielding, the life of people has become difficult. These days many government servants who held non yielding senior positions are getting pension may be Rs.30000 to Rs.40000 pm which is like some one getting interest income from a fixed deposit in bank as large as Rs.40 to 50 Lac. Think over. There are many senior citizens who retire from private jobs and live miserable life without pension. Their savings too are meagre in most of the cases. So they have to keep on working till they finally "collapse". So government must come up with a security system for payment of pension to those who work in the private sector and have this way or that way contributed to tax revenue during their active days. The pension to every senior citizen should not be less than Rs.10000 per month at todays norms with growing material and health needs as is being particularly kept in view by the Pay Commissions while deciding the matters regarding governemnt servants. The position of those retiring from government public sector PSU too is bad. The provision of contributory provident fund is too meagre before the provision of Pension being paid to Governemnt employees and incase it is to match the magnitude of pension benefits that government servants have CPF by employer has to be not less than 25% to 30 % of the salary. Further in the private sector the part of wage amount qualifying for the CPF( 10%) is small and hence the CPF provides even lesser security to tose in private sector than it provides to PSU ex employess. Daya Sagar , social activist

My mother is a retired (NYS) teacher, and she also has medicare. What one does not pick up the other does. This is the scenario for millions of people. Why are those who already have insurance upon retirement allowed into the medicare system?

Extravagant retirement benefits, teachers paid to do nothing, employees pumping up their pensions with overtime... it is bankrupting states. Unions ruined our auto industry. Now, they are destroying our school systems and making it impossible to balance government budgets. Sure, these people are important and deserve a REASONABLE retirement plan. But reasonable is not what they have. They get much more than anyone else. They always trot out the police and fire as examples of why they deserve rich benefits but the reality is those jobs are a small fraction of all those under the public employees umbrella. They negotiate rich benefits for all of them and their numbers are huge. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090622/ap_on_re_us/us_rubber_rooms

I was interested in finding out if the PERS (Public Employee Retirement System), allows for an individual to borrow against, or pull out money from retirement, if you are presently an active public employee.

Councilman Parks on $265,000 pension: I earned it As The Times' Rich Connell reports, pension spending is a growing concern for city budget planners. The city could face a $1-billion budget shortfall in 2010-2011, and an even larger deficit the year after, chiefly because of pension investment losses, according to the city’s top budget analyst. Connell's review of city records found that Los Angeles Councilman Bernard Parks, City Hall’s budget committee chief, who is warning that soaring payroll and pension costs threaten the city’s financial stability, receives $22,000 a month in city retirement benefits in addition to his $178,789 a year salary. Some critics contend that packages such as Parks’ underscore the need for broader reform, particularly given the current financial stress on taxpayers and public agencies. “I don’t discuss my salary or my pension and I earn both of them,” Parks said in a brief phone conversation. In all, nearly 600 people receive city pensions in excess of $100,000 a year, according to figures obtained by The Times. What do you think should be done to fix the pension system? How big is big enough for retired city employees? http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/comments_blog/2009/05/parks-on-265000-pension-i-earned-it.html

Not many people know about whom The Supreme Court is and what they do and why they rule in the ways they do. Or even what branch they belong to. The Supreme Court is the court of ‘last resort’. They’re the highest judicial body in the United States of America and are the leader of the United States’ Federal Government. The ruling of The Supreme Court can’t be changed or taken to another court. But the United Sates isn’t the only country who has a Supreme Court many other countries have one too. Like Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Israel, New Zealand, and many others. The Supreme Court usually functions as an appellate court or meaning they hear from lower courts. They also have the option to not use any thing they hear from the lower courts. And go just based on what they hear at the hearing. There are nine Justices make up the Court; the Chief Justice is John G. Roberts Jr. he is the head of the Federal court system. He also appoints the Director of Administrative Office of the United States’ Courts. The Eight Associate Justices make up the rest of the Court; they are nominated by the President and confirmed with the majority vote of the Senate. The Eight Justices are in office till retirement, death, resignation, or conviction. Breed v. Jones is a case in 1970 where Gary Jones (17) was charged with armed robbery. He went to the Juvenile court and was an adjudicated delinquent on the original charged with two other robberies. At the dispositional hearing the Judge waived jurisdiction over the case to criminal court. Conical for Jones argued that waiver to the criminal court violated the 5th amendment. It was denied saying Jones had not been tried twice ‘cause juvenile adjudication’s not a “trial” and isn’t in Jeopardy.’ The appeal went to the Supreme Court and ruled that adjudication in juvenile court in which a Juvenile has violated a criminal statue is the same as a trial in criminal court Jones had been placed in double jeopardy. Inre Winship 1970 case Samuel Winship (12) was charged with stealing $112 from a women’s purse in a store. A store employee clamed to have seen Winship running from the scene when the women found her money missing. Other people in the store said that the “employee couldn’t see the money being taken from the position he was standing in.” Samuel was adjudicated delinquent and committed to training school Winship’s guilt based ruling on preponderance and the court agreed that there was reasonable doubt. They appealed to the Supreme Court the issue in the case weather proof beyond reasonable doubt should be considered among the “essentials of the due process and fair treatment.” The Supreme Court rejected the lower court arguments that juvenile courts were not required to operate on the same standards as adult courts. Reasoning is juvenile courts were designed to “save rather than to ‘punish’ children.” Court ruled, “‘reasonable doubt’ standard should be required in all delinquency adjudications.” The Supreme Court is a very important part of our Federal Government. They have power to bring things in to law or to overthrow any ruling from any court. They decided if a president is impeached or weather abortion is legal or not. The Supreme Court is a very important part of our judicial system.

I did elven years in the Army and I am now a GS employee with have the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS). I am checking into buying back my time for retirement. Anybody here ever done this of know how they charge? I have gotten the statement back that says how much I have earned form base pay and have sent it out. Just curious to know if anybody knows how they figure it or has ever been through it. Thanks, I am/was CHEM. I am a DA employee still doing CHEM

SFERS follows a specific formula to determine monthly retirement benefits. What is that formula?

I am very much against protecting people from the consequences of their own choices (good or bad) I don't want the government or workplace to dictate my financial choices or personal choices BUT I do believe that there are some exceptions to this, and retirement planning is one of those exceptions. Do you think it would be a good idea for employers or government to create an opt-out retirement program for young Americans as they enter the work force? Are there moral obligations for employers or government in this matter? I am very much in favor of an automatic enrollment system (on an employer level not so much government) and feel that it is crucial for young employees and their retirement well being . I am curious to see what other people think on this matter.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF JOE REPUBLICAN Joe gets up at 6 a.m. and fills his coffeepot with water to prepare his morning coffee. The water is clean and good because some tree-hugging liberal fought for minimum water-quality standards. With his first swallow of water, he takes his daily medication. His medications are safe to take because some stupid commie liberal fought to insure their safety and that they work as advertised. All but $10 of his medications are paid for by his employer's medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance - now Joe gets it too. He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs. Joe's bacon is safe to eat because some girly-man liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry. In the morning shower, Joe reaches for his shampoo. His bottle is properly labeled with each ingredient and its amount in the total contents because some crybaby liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained. Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some environmentalist wacko liberal fought for laws to stop industries from polluting our air. He walks to the subway station for his government-subsidized ride to work. It saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees because some fancy-pants liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor. Joe begins his work day. He has a good job with excellent pay, medical benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some lazy liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe's employer pays these standards because Joe's employer doesn't want his employees to call the union. If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed, he'll get a worker compensation or unemployment check because some stupid liberal didn't think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune. It's noontime and Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe's deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC because some godless liberal wanted to protect Joe's money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the Great Depression. Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae-underwritten mortgage and his below-market federal student loan because some elitist liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his lifetime. Joe is home from work. He plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive. His car is among the safest in the world because some America-hating liberal fought for car safety standards. He arrives at his boyhood home. His was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers' Home Administration because bankers didn't want to make rural loans. The house didn't have electricity until some big-government liberal stuck his nose where it didn't belong and demanded rural electrification. He is happy to see his father, who is now retired. His father lives on Social Security and a union pension because some wine-drinking, cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn't have to. Joe gets back in his car for the ride home, and turns on a radio talk show. The radio host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. He doesn't mention that the beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day. Joe agrees: "We don't need those big-government liberals ruining our lives! After all, I'm a self-made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have." Good night everyone.

wanting to take over private industries?? One of the nation's largest labor unions, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), is promoting a plan that will centralize all retirement plans for American workers, including private 401(k) plans, under one new "retirement system" for the United States. In effect, government pensions for everyone, not unlike the European system and regardless of personal choice http://moneynews.com/streettalk/unions_401k_pensions/2009/03/17/192771.html?s=al&promo_code=7C61-1 Do you want the freakin labor unions to control your retirement. I guess you also want everyone to be unionized!

Example: A Day in the Life of Joe the Conservative Joe gets up at 6 a.m. and fills his coffeepot with water to prepare his morning coffee. The water is clean and good because some liberal fought for minimum water-quality standards. With his first swallow of water, he takes his daily medication. His medications are safe to take because some liberal fought to ensure their safety and that they work as advertised. All but $10 of his medications are paid for by his employer’s medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance - now Joe gets it too. He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs. Joe’s bacon is safe to eat because some liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry. In the morning shower, Joe reaches for his shampoo. His bottle is properly labeled with each ingredient and its amount in the total contents because some liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained. Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some liberal environmentalist fought for the laws to stop industries from polluting our air. He walks on the government-provided sidewalk to subway station for his government-subsidized ride to work. It saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees because some liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor. Joe begins his work day. He has a good job with excellent pay, medical benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe’s employer pays these standards because Joe’s employer doesn’t want his employees to call the union. If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed, he’ll get a worker compensation or unemployment check because some liberal didn’t think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune. It is noontime and Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe’s deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC because some liberal wanted to protect Joe’s money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the Great Depression. Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae-underwritten mortgage and his below-market federal student loan because some liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his lifetime. Joe also forgets that in addition to his federally subsidized student loans, he attended a state funded university. Joe is home from work. He plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive. His car is among the safest in the world because some liberal fought for car safety standards to go along with the tax-payer funded roads. He arrives at his boyhood home. His was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers’ Home Administration because bankers didn’t want to make rural loans. The house didn’t have electricity until some liberal stuck his nose where it didn’t belong and demanded rural electrification. He is happy to see his father, who is now retired. His father lives on Social Security and a union pension because some liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn’t have to. Joe gets back in his car for the ride home, and turns on a radio talk show. The radio host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. He doesn’t mention that the beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day. Joe agrees: “We don’t need those big-government liberals ruining our lives! After all, I’m a self-made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have.”

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF JOE REPUBLICAN Joe gets up at 6 a.m. and fills his coffeepot with water to prepare his morning coffee. The water is clean and good because some tree-hugging liberal fought for minimum water-quality standards. With his first swallow of water, he takes his daily medication. His medications are safe to take because some stupid commie liberal fought to insure their safety and that they work as advertised. All but $10 of his medications are paid for by his employer's medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance - now Joe gets it too. He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs. Joe's bacon is safe to eat because some girly-man liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry. In the morning shower, Joe reaches for his shampoo. His bottle is properly labeled with each ingredient and its amount in the total contents because some crybaby liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained. Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some environmentalist wacko liberal fought for laws to stop industries from polluting our air. He walks to the subway station for his government-subsidized ride to work. It saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees because some fancy-pants liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor. Joe begins his work day. He has a good job with excellent pay, medical benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some lazy liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe's employer pays these standards because Joe's employer doesn't want his employees to call the union. If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed, he'll get a worker compensation or unemployment check because some stupid liberal didn't think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune. It's noontime and Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe's deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC because some godless liberal wanted to protect Joe's money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the Great Depression. Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae-underwritten mortgage and his below-market federal student loan because some elitist liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his lifetime. Joe is home from work. He plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive. His car is among the safest in the world because some America-hating liberal fought for car safety standards. He arrives at his boyhood home. His was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers' Home Administration because bankers didn't want to make rural loans. The house didn't have electricity until some big-government liberal stuck his nose where it didn't belong and demanded rural electrification. He is happy to see his father, who is now retired. His father lives on Social Security and a union pension because some wine-drinking, cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn't have to. Joe gets back in his car for the ride home, and turns on a radio talk show. The radio host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. He doesn't mention that the beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day. Joe agrees: "We don't need those big-government liberals ruining our lives! After all, I'm a self-made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have."

here in oregon, we have a thing called P.E.R.S. Public Employees Retirement System. people's wages are taxed, and it goes into a retirement fund for public employees ONLY. all people who work here are taxed, so all people pay for the public's retirement. i have been against it from the first time i heard about it. i was in Alaska logging when i came to vote and has been in effect for quite a few years now. nobody has ever paid fore any of my retirement. my step mom works for the school district and my dad is a retired deputy sheriff. they receive the benefit, and i have told them it's wrong, nobody should have to pay for another's retirement you are right misaligned, but THEY made the choice to do those jobs. dad was the youngest person ever to be a police chief here in the state. mom is the superintendent's secretary. the school district boss makes more than the governor here. he out to be able to pay his own way as i have had to do. so can mom and dad. i pay mine, and every other public employee here. NOT one of them pay into mine, and i used to risk my life everyday under a helicopter to posters 4 and 5...they can pay into their own retirement, just like i have to. they make a heck of a lot more money than me, and i mean A LOT MORE. why shouldn't they have tp pay into mine, when i'm the one making less money? i'm not for taking money from anyone that works hard and makes less than those who are going to recieve it. total bullshot, no matter who it is, parents or not

MEMORANDUM As a result of the reduction of money for departmental areas, we are forced to cut down on our number of personnel. Under the plan, older employees will be asked to go on early retirement thus permitting the retention of younger people who represent our future plans. Therefore, a programme to phase out older personnel by the end of the current fiscal year, via retirement, will be placed into effect immediately. The programme will be known as 'RAPE' (Retired Aged People Early). Employees who are RAPED will be given the opportunity to look for other jobs outside the company. Provided they are being RAPED they can't request a review of their employment records before actual retirement takes place. This phase of the operation is called 'SCREW' (Survey of Capabilities of Retired Early Workers). All employees who have been RAPED or SCREWED may file an appeal with upper management. This will be called 'SHAFT' (Study by Higher Authority Following Termination). Under terms of the new policy employees may be RAPED once, SCREWED twice, but be SHAFTED as many times as the company deems appropriate. If the employee follows the above procedures he or she will be entitled to get 'HERPES' (Half Earning for Retired Personnel's Early Severance). As HERPES is considered a benefit plan, any employee who has received HERPES will no longer be RAPED or SCREWED by the company. Management wishes to assure the younger employees who remain on board that the company will continue to ensure that employees are well trained through our SHIT system (Special High Intensity Training). The company takes pride in the amount of SHIT our employees receive. We have given our loyal employees more SHIT than any other company in the area. If any employee feels he or she does not receive enough SHIT on the job, see your immediate supervisor. Your supervisor is trained to make sure that you receive all the SHIT you can stand. Actually my dad was looking through his files the other day and he found some old jokes that to relieve the boredom, him and his friends would send each other through email. I don't know where they got it from.

My uncle asked me this question but I told him to get the answer at his Social Security Office...unless you can help me. Maybe there's an expert out there! My 62 year old uncle worked for a non-governmental company and retired with an adequate pension after 35 years. During these work years he was not in the Social Security system (the company offered employees the choice of having it or not in the Seventies when my Uncle went to work there) so he was not earning credits. Since he did not have enough Social Security quarters to qualify for Medicare he went back to work after retirement and he has now accrued the minimum 40 Social Security credits for Medicare (according to his SS statement). He knows he doesn't deserve a Social Security retirement on top of his wonderful pension, but he wanted to work in order to become Medicare eligible at 65, which he will be. When he turns 65 he will enroll in Medicare and also find a supplemental plan he will pay for because he needs medical coverage. His question: will Medicare pay for their part (not the supplemental part) now that he has his quarters in, or will he have to incur all costs since he has his own pension? I'm at a loss for this one!!! If there are any subject matter experts out there, thanks!!! To Bostonia: thank you so much for your answer. There is nothing "fishy" about my Uncle's previous employer. Out of respect for his privacy is why I kept the info in the question general, but I will say he worked for a University and those campuses (up until the mid to late Seventies) gave new employees the choice of contribributing to Social Security or not in terms of contributing to their retirement system. Those that did not obviously forfeited a Social Security retirement and got their pension instead. Employees that began employment after the mid to late Seventies (estimating) no longer had that choice. But for the older employees who were non-Social Security, they had to remain that way throughout their tenure. My uncle feels absolutely no entitlement to a Social Security retirement; but he is concerned about medical coverage and as such, went to work to be able to be covered by Medicare.

Where can I find out more information about the FERS retirement system. I am a new federal employee and I feel that much of this info is cloudy/hidden? I know that federal employees also get TSP and social security, but also how much from pension? Thanks! Also, is the basic annuity taxed?

Please help... I was using turbo tax. I live in colorado, but i get a form from CALPERS (california Public employees retirement system) because my father passed. When i started to file on turbo tax it says in federal taxes i would get 370 dollars back, but then it says in CO state taxes that i owed 743 dollars. I DONT PAY STATE TAX What do i do PLEASE HELP

lack the capacity to care about their job? I am sorry but I feel many public school teachers are in the job for the retirement and other benefits of a state employee. As a former student that went through the public school system, many teachers I noticed seemed to be very snobby and got all mad when students raised their hands to ask questions. No wonder so many students in my local area drop out of high school. No positive people to encourage them and thats really sad.

I live in the United States and am a manager for a company that employs about one hundred legal filipino workers. We have found that 75% of filipino workers are very unreliable. The will work for a couple days to get some money, then they won't show up for a few days until their money runs out. They will then come back to work and beg for their jobs back until they get a little more money then they don't show up again. I'm not kidding, this happens with 3 out of 4 new hire employees, and the percentage is higher for workers that have just arrived from the Philippines. They have a real attitude of "entitlement", like they have gotten to the US, now they are going to take advantage of the system of unemployment and welfare. I have dozens and dozens of examples, but one stands out more than the others...A sister of one of the workers made it to the US from the Philippines. We had her work side by side with her sister but she didn't like the job so she quit after two hours. When she quit she stated to the manager that she would just go sign up for unemployment and welfare and not work at all. Obviously, she was shocked when she didn't get either unemployment or welfare. She thought that when she got to the US she'd get a free ride I guess. Where does her mentality come from? This isn't an isolated example, I get the feeling that most of the filipinos we employ are ungrateful for their jobs. We also employ workers from Mexico and some Eastern European countries but we don't have the same issues with them. We've also found that filipino workers don't like to go through training sessions, even the workers who speak fairly fluent English. We've set up a great training program with videos, slides, etc., but every time we have a training session the filipino workers are combative and say it is disrespectful to them to have training. I couldn't believe this, how is it disrespectful to train someone on how to do their jobs properly and on safety? We've even had some of the training material translated into Tagalog so it is easier for them to understand. Our other workers a very receptive and cooperative during training sessions. This isn't a bad job, workers are paid more than minimum wage and they receive free medical and retirement benefits. So, someone please tell me where this filipino worker mentality comes from, and how do I break they cycle?

No retirement worries. You get X % of what you earned in your lifetime. No freaking out if you picked the right stocks so you could retire with dignity and not have to bag groceries because the market crashed? One MONTH off work every year; youryearly vacation....just like the Europeans. (Yes..those Repubs who haven't been out of your own state...they take off for a MONTH and travel.....a paid vacation) Millions of Americans lost entire retirement money/benefits by (oft crooked) companies going out of business...or laying off a 25 year employee 6 months or year before they were eligible for benefits It wasn't long ago, if you worked for a company that had 10 or more employees, they were REQUIRED BY LAW to furnish health insurance. All these laws vanished under the Great Bush Train Robbery. Oh, and this new plan includes total dental....not the discount BS these insurance companies offer. If you got sick...cancer, etc. You wouldn't get wiped out. If Hedge fund manager makes 100 million...he pays 20%. If you make 20,000 a year..you pay 20%. If Mick Jaggger makes 200,000 a show in the US...he pays 20%. If Google makes 2 billion...they pay 20% {Maybe it needs to be 25%, but you get a higher quality of life} Along with this...THE SBA gets expanded. If you have the ability, you can open your own small business. Right...you can actually get rich if you are smart enough under this 'social support system' plan. *******Would you take a trade off like this? There would be more social support systems in place with such a plan, too numerous to mention (even Warren Buffet says his secretary pays a higher tax rate than he does....Buffet was very vocal about the stupidity of the original Bush tax cuts years ago) ...Let all the accountants go get retrained. They can all go built new roads, bridges and schools.. wind turbines...(ha)

This is what I would do: - Pardon all tax evaders and fture tax evaders, drug offenders, and gun offenders. - Issue an executive order to have employees from the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Education, Department of Energy, IRS, etc - Bring all troops from overseas home except special forces units seeking to capture OBL - Build a missile defense system - Veto appropiation bills for Department of Homeland Security, Department of Education, Department of Energy, IRS, etc - Issue an executive order to go back on the Gold Standard Have a huge 4th of July Celebration! Then enjoy the final 4-8 years in both the White House and Camp David as retirement homes! Catcher, I didn't ask it before. Someone else did! Marko, gold standard is ending the FED. Marko, gold standard is ending the FED.

Wikipedia… In the Japanese health care system, healthcare services, including free screening examinations for particular diseases, prenatal care, and infectious disease control, are provided by national and local governments. Payment for personal medical services is offered through a universal health care insurance system that provides relative equality of access, with fees set by a government committee. People without insurance through employers can participate in a national health insurance program administered by local governments. Since 1973, all elderly persons have been covered by government-sponsored insurance. Patients are free to select physicians or facilities of their choice. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_Japan Likewise the Japanese on Average have 18.0 days of paid Vacation. However, government found that the Japanese workers were not utilizing their time off, because of the workaholic nature of the work place. Much of this was contributing to the high suicide rate and other decease issues, including the use of cigarettes and the high cancer rates. Japanese workers are now required to take 15 of those days off. FULL ARTICLE: http://www.usatoday.com/careers/news/news004.htm So what about retirement? Well, Japan has a social security system, mismanaged as it is, it still pays benefits. http://abcnews.go.com/International/comments?type=story&id=3551120 Then it is the unions?... Well the actual pay and benefits to build an automobile of the UAW employees equals 10 percent of the sale price. Some other Myths about American Automobiles... Very interesting... http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008811170379 Narrow it all down and maybe... just maybe its you America.. Maybe you don't want to supports Americans... but want to blame it on everyone else... buy American.

Michelle Rhee, the hard-charging chancellor of the Washington public schools, thinks teacher tenure may be great for adults, those who go into teaching to get summer vacations and great health insurance, for instance. But it hurtschildren, she says, by making incompetent instructors harder to fire. So Ms. Rhee has proposed spectacular raises of as much as $40,000, financed by private foundations, for teachers willing to give up tenure. Policy makers and educators nationwide are watching to see what happens to Ms. Rhee’s bold proposal. The 4,000-member Washington Teachers’ Union has divided over whether to embrace it, with many union members calling tenure a crucial protection against arbitrary firing. “If Michelle Rhee were to get what she is demanding,” said Allan R. Odden, a professor at the University of Wisconsin who studies teacher compensation, “it would raise eyebrows everywhere, because that would be a gargantuan change.” Last month, Ms. Rhee said she could no longer wait for a union response to her proposal, first outlined last summer, and announced an effort to identify and fire ineffective teachers, including those with tenure. The union is mobilizing to protect members, and the nation’s capital is bracing for what could be a wrenching labor struggle. Ms. Rhee has not proposed abolishing tenure outright. Under her proposal, each teacher would choose between two compensation plans, one called green and the other red. Pay for teachers in the green plan would rise spectacularly, nearly doubling by 2010. But they would need to give up tenure for a year, after which they would need a principal’s recommendation or face dismissal. Teachers who choose the red plan would also get big pay increases but would lose seniority rights that allow them to bump more-junior teachers if their school closes or undergoes an overhaul. If they were not hired by another school, their only options would be early retirement, a buyout or eventual dismissal. In an interview, Ms. Rhee said she considered tenure outmoded. “Tenure is the holy grail of teacher unions,” she said, “but has no educational value for kids; it only benefits adults. If we can put veteran teachers who have tenure in a position where they don’t have it, that would help us to radically increase our teacher quality. And maybe other districts would try it, too.” Ms. Rhee has significant public backing for her efforts to improve this district of 46,000 students, one of the nation’s worst-performing. Both presidential candidates lined up behind her in their final debate last month, with Senator Barack Obama calling her Washington’s “wonderful new superintendent.” Ms. Rhee, 38, has convinced Washington that she means business since Mayor Adrian M. Fenty plucked her out of a nonprofit organization based in New York City, the New Teacher Project, and installed her in the chancellorship 17 months ago. She has fired or forced out hundreds of central office employees, principals and paraprofessionals, as well as 216 teachers who lacked licenses, her aides said. “Fire all incompetent teachers — that makes a good sound bite,” said George Parker, the president of the Washington Teachers’ Union. “But remember that not only teachers are to blame for the problems in this district.” Mr. Parker cited a chaotic administration that has had seven superintendents in a decade and has paid little attention to problems like truancy and student discipline. “You can’t fire your way into a successful school system,” he said. Mr. Parker said he had kept an open mind about Ms. Rhee’s proposals, which would raise star teachers’ salaries to $130,000, with bonuses, by 2010, and the two went together before several mass gatherings of teachers in July to explain them. But an August poll commissioned by the union found that teachers opposed Ms. Rhee’s proposal by three to one. In the interview, Ms. Rhee said the raises would be financed largely by foundations that had given her commitments of $75 million a year for five years, of which a “significant portion” would go for teacher compensation. “The foundations want to fund things that are innovative and will have national ramifications,” she said. Ms. Rhee has declined to name the foundations, however, raising worries among some teachers about the foundations’ motives and about whether their commitments would remain solid if the nation’s financial crisis were to be prolonged. The talks have made little progress in recent weeks.