AMERICAN CONSERVATISM IN 2008 AND BEYOND

@plainoldme,

In a less formal survey, 31% of workers think they can outperform their bosses while 60% think their bosses incapable of doing the work the employees do.

http://www.theworkbuzz.com/fun-stuff/tv-bosses/

The NY Daily News enlarged upon the same study reported by CBS with this:

Job satisfaction in 2009 hit the lowest level ever recorded by the Conference Board research group in the 22 years they have been studying U.S. workers.

That's no surprise to Jacqueline Rosa, 26, who works in accounts payable for a Manhattan business.

"Being stuck in a cubicle all day isn't fun," said Rosa, who lives in Astoria.

"I have to say that 90% of us are doing something that wasn't their first choice. Hopefully I'll find something else someday."

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2010/01/06/2010-01-06_only_45_percent_of_americans_are_happy_with_their_jobs_survey_finds.html#ixzz12fwpZ2va

1 Reply

@plainoldme,

I am not saying anything about your circle of friends and what they make or their jobs.
Lets be honest, your circle of friends is a very small percentage of the people in this country.
And where do you live?
That also has a lot to do with someone being able to make a decent living in retail.
If the cost of living is higher, then it is going to be harder to make a living in any profession, not just retail.

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@mysteryman,

mm, I agree; it depends a great deal on where one lives, and the cost of living. Even in big chain retail stores, the wages can differ a great deal based on location. Not all Walmarts or Safeways pay the same wages. I'm sure that's also true of fast food chain restaurants. The busiest units probably can expect to be paid more - especially for the management staff.

1 Reply

Quote:

Our Health Care System Is Imploding, Your Support Couldn't Be More Important! Just six months have passed since the passage of ObamaCare and our system of private insurance is breaking apart. Employers are dropping health insurance plans; private insurers are leaving the market. ObamaCare threatens to erode quality and restrict your access to care. The time to fight back is now!

Employers Are Dropping Health Insurance. Last week, 3M announced it would terminate its private health insurance plan for retirees. Instead, 3M will send them to an ObamaCare health exchange! 3M isn't alone. McDonald's is considering dropping health care coverage for its 30,000 employees, too. And you can bet the other fast food chains - Wendy's, KFC, Burger King - are all thinking the same way.

Private Health Insurers Are Leaving the Market. Principal Financial announced this week that it was getting out of health insurance altogether, despite 60 years of service and customers in 31 U.S. markets. Principal is not alone. Harvard Pilgrim Health Care dropped 22,000 seniors this week from its Medicare Advantage plans.

Your Private Health Insurance Plan Is at Risk! Just six months into ObamaCare and employers and insurance providers' actions are talking louder than the Obama Administration's words: Whether you get insurance from an employer or buy it on your own, one this is clear: whether you like your plan or not, you are unlikely to be able to keep it.

1 Reply

@ican711nm,

Quote:

Employers Are Dropping Health Insurance. Last week, 3M announced it would terminate its private health insurance plan for retirees. Instead, 3M will send them to an ObamaCare health exchange! 3M isn't alone. McDonald's is considering dropping health care coverage for its 30,000 employees, too. And you can bet the other fast food chains - Wendy's, KFC, Burger King - are all thinking the same way.

This is an excellent thing for those employees! Yaknow, Ican, when you don't look into the facts behind the chain emails you receive, you don't get the whole story.

The McDonald's 'health care' coverage is ****. It's terrible, some of the worst insurance you can buy. Their employees would be able to get FAR better insurance, for comparable or less money, on the exchange than they have currently been paying for. I suspect other fast-food chains are the same way.

What you are describing is a feature, not a bug. It is the intended effect.

Quote:

Private Health Insurers Are Leaving the Market. Principal Financial announced this week that it was getting out of health insurance altogether, despite 60 years of service and customers in 31 U.S. markets. Principal is not alone. Harvard Pilgrim Health Care dropped 22,000 seniors this week from its Medicare Advantage plans.

Once again, this is exactly what we want. Medicare Advantage is a huge giveaway to insurance companies for extremely little return on our part. This isn't going to be the case in the future, so insurers aren't going to continue to offer the plans. What's the problem?

Cycloptichorn

1 Reply

@plainoldme,

It has been my experience in a fairly wide variety of work situations that the most energetic workers and those who demonstrate a willingness to consider other points of view and learn from the experience are those most likely to grow both in their abilities and responsibilities, while those who - for any reason - are chronically dissatisfied and resentful of anyone in a management position, don't. There is, of course a self-fulfilling element in this, but the old saying to the effect that, "at age 16 I discovered my father was an old fool, but I noticed that the old gent got a lot smarter over the succeeding years" comes to mind here.

I assume that most of the folks who work for me are a lot better at their jobs than I would be - that's why I hired them. I also assume that after enough experience they usually have a perspective on their roles and those of those with whom they interact that is useful and worth considering seriously in almost any situation. Further I believe that I am generally better off letting them define the details of their work activity, as long as I am confident of their goals and my ability to measure the output. Their sense of ownership of their roles in the organization is a valuable asset that should not be wasted. Finally, I have learned many times that no one is right about everything all the time: a questioning attitude and a willingness to listen and take good ideas from wherever they arise is a necessary quality of any organization that aspires to suceed over time.

I don't think I am unusual in any of this. These are all rather basic concepts in managing groups of people in organizations ranging from companies large and small to Marine Corps battalions or combat aviation squadrons.

I don't know where you get your data or experience, but it doesn't sound like anything I know .... or would tolerate.

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Quote:

http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=19864&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DPD
Rising Welfare Costs

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released Congressional testimony last week looking at Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). TANF, which replaced unrestricted welfare in 1996, has reduced welfare rolls and encouraged recipients to obtain work. Unfortunately, TANF's goals have been undermined, says Tad DeHaven, a budget analyst with the Cato Institute.

The GAO notes that "work participation rates...do not appear to be achieving the intended purpose of encouraging states to engage specified proportions of TANF adults in work activities."

States are required to have at least 50 percent of eligible TANF recipients from single parent families participating in work activities.

However, states are given various credits and exemptions that significantly reduce the number of recipients required to work.

As a result, only about 30 percent of TANF recipients engage in "work activities," which is often liberally defined.

Moreover, while TANF has successfully reduced the budgetary cost of cash welfare, overall federal spending on antipoverty programs has increased dramatically -- 89 percent over the present decade, after adjusting for inflation.

With so many Americans currently in need of assistance, now is actually a good time to discuss the role of government in taking care of the less fortunate, says DeHaven.

Source: Tad DeHaven, "Rising Welfare Costs," Cato-at-Liberty.org, September 22, 2010.

1 Reply

@ican711nm,

As Massagato you used to spam but you cut and paste. You can't argue anymore.

0 Replies

@georgeob1,

georgeob, I agree 100%. I have also looked for employees who have worked themselves through college, because I know they will work harder than those who were provided free education. I have always looked for employees who I believed were able to take over my job; that meant their performance and work ethics were beyond the average.

I barely finished high school, but managed to have a pretty good professional career, because I knew working harder and performing above the crowd would benefit me in my career.

I also did consulting work that was not only rewarding, but paid very well.

Going that extra mile was my goal, and it paid off.

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AGAIN!

Quote:

http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=19864&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=DPD
Rising Welfare Costs
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released Congressional testimony last week looking at Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). TANF, which replaced unrestricted welfare in 1996, has reduced welfare rolls and encouraged recipients to obtain work. Unfortunately, TANF's goals have been undermined, says Tad DeHaven, a budget analyst with the Cato Institute.

The GAO notes that "work participation rates...do not appear to be achieving the intended purpose of encouraging states to engage specified proportions of TANF adults in work activities."

States are required to have at least 50 percent of eligible TANF recipients from single parent families participating in work activities.
However, states are given various credits and exemptions that significantly reduce the number of recipients required to work.

As a result, only about 30 percent of TANF recipients engage in "work activities," which is often liberally defined.

Moreover, while TANF has successfully reduced the budgetary cost of cash welfare, overall federal spending on antipoverty programs has increased dramatically -- 89 percent over the present decade, after adjusting for inflation.

With so many Americans currently in need of assistance, now is actually a good time to discuss the role of government in taking care of the less fortunate, says DeHaven.

0 Replies

@Cycloptichorn,

Cycloptichorn wrote:

What's the problem?

Cycloptichorn

The problem is that Obamacare will be a gigantic failure and economic disaster.

2 Replies

@okie,

okie wrote:

Cycloptichorn wrote:
What's the problem?

Cycloptichorn

The problem is that Obamacare will be a gigantic failure and economic disaster.

Why? I can't help but notice two things:

1, the old system was a gigantic failure, and
2, the old system was a economic disaster.

So, why and how are the new system going to be worse? My guess is that you aren't sure.

Cycloptichorn

2 Replies

@Cycloptichorn,

Do you expect okie to answer you questions? rofl

0 Replies

@Cycloptichorn,

Cycloptichorn wrote:

So, why and how are the new system going to be worse? My guess is that you aren't sure.

Cycloptichorn

I would rather not get into a shouting match over this now, cyclops, as it is only your opinion vs my opinion about how this will all play out. I have an embedded belief that government is by definition more inefficient in delivering any service, so I am not optimistic about more government intervention, cyclops. Apparently you do not believe that way?

How about we just agree to disagree for now, and see how all of this plays out? There isn't much of anything that can be done to change it anyway, unless the Republicans can somehow manage to overturn the whole shootin match and start over, which I would be in favor of.

2 Replies

@okie,

Fine with me. I think the odds of HC reform being overturned are close to zero, for a variety of reasons; not the least of which being that people LIKE the elements of reform that are in the bill!

Cycloptichorn

1 Reply

@Cycloptichorn,

I hate to agree with you, but I also think the odds are not very good, but it doesn't hurt to hope for it anyway. Some Republicans say they would like to repeal the whole thing, and I agree.

We needed common sense reforms to what was already the best health care system in the world. Instead what we got was throwing the baby out with the bath water. All that was needed was to make it more affordable and accessible for all responsible citizens of the country. We also already had health care for those that could not afford their own, and if that needed reform, we could have done that too. But instead Obama wants single payer system and so he sets about to obtain it by destroying the system we have.

2 Replies

@okie,

Republicans have all voted "no," and have not provided any detailed solution for a universal health care system. All they talk about is lower taxes with no idea how that will impact our economy. What we know for sure is that our national debt is getting larger as we speak, and leaving this debt to our children and grandchildren. How do you justify more tax cuts in this environment? If recent history is any clue, GW Bush's tax cuts have resulted in loss of jobs and the Great Recession.

2 Replies

@cicerone imposter,

Republicans are Obstructionists.

0 Replies

@okie,

okie wrote:

I hate to agree with you, but I also think the odds are not very good, but it doesn't hurt to hope for it anyway. Some Republicans say they would like to repeal the whole thing, and I agree.

That doesn't work politically, because you can't run on things like FOR pre-existing conditions, or being FOR people getting dropped when it turns out that they have expensive cancer. You can't be FOR wasting more taxpayer money on Medicare Advantage. You can't advertise that you want the Insurance companies to be able to screw people over time and time again in the name of profits, with unlimited rises in their rates.

That's not a winner politically. But if you get rid of the other parts that people aren't so big on - such as the mandate - you can't afford the other stuff. The idea of Repealing HC reform is a trap, and I've been a little disappointed that more top Republicans haven't fallen into it.

Quote:

We needed common sense reforms to what was already the best health care system in the world.

We needed reforms to some other countries' health care system? Because, Okie: ours is not the best in the world, man. I know you're ecstatic about your doctor, I've heard before how quick and cheap your service is. But the numbers don't lie: HC in America sucks compared to other countries. We pay more, and have more problems due to it, for less results.

Quote:

Instead what we got was throwing the baby out with the bath water. All that was needed was to make it more affordable and accessible for all responsible citizens of the country.

Yeah, we did exactly that. Did you even pay attention?

Quote:

We also already had health care for those that could not afford their own, and if that needed reform, we could have done that too. But instead Obama wants single payer system and so he sets about to obtain it by destroying the system we have.

No, I want a single-payer system - the one passed by the Dems has no relation to that, however. If you thought about it, you would want one, too....

Cycloptichorn

0 Replies

@cicerone imposter,

We had universal health care, just not government run. And the Repubs had plenty of ideas to reform the industry, but no, the party of no, the Democrats, they said no to any reasonable reform. One being tort reform, the answer was no because they protect their own. One example was John Edwards himself the ambulance chaser.

2 Replies

AMERICAN CONSERVATISM IN 2008 AND BEYOND

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