I say yes, you say no, OR People are Strange

Erica - why do you have such a problem with teachers?

It's so refreshing seeing teenagers with a social conscious and supporting their teachers.  All too often you hear of kids and teachers carrying guns and being little terrors.

Shirley, surely you're not anti teacher, too. Or are you just anti union? Isn't your SIL a teacher?

Union Boss John Gage Calls Those Who Believe in Cutting Spending "Mentally Retarded"

On February 8th members of the American Federation of Government Employees picketed outside the Capitol demanding more taxpayer dollars for their already bloated salary and benefits. We caught up with AFGE President John Gage who told us those who say federal pay should be cut are "mentally retarded".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yr54UdXPpsA 

These workers should be happy they have jobs! The greed of the woman in this video is disgusting. Private sector employees are taking pay cuts.

I ran into this looking around at one of Notself's links and found it very interesting -

Federal Taxes Paid vs. Federal Spending Received by State, 1981-2005

http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/22685.html

.....ansd that the cut in home heating assistance was cynically parlayed in public to stop accusations that Obama is a socialist.....

The truth probably lies NOT Somewhere in between, but squarely in both camps at the same time. Excuse the disjointed multi-posting. My phone's connection times out very quickly.

I can't find the article, but I think I read that the home heating bill was originally based on oil being over $100 per barrel.  Since oil is now at around $85 per barrel, perhaps the cut is not so steep as it looks.  I also agree that a political component(s) could also be involved.

Political posturing will always be with us and it is up to us as voters to find out as many facts as we can.  I am always surprised at the shear number of people that have their opinions spoon fed to them by pundits rather than doing the most simple and basic research for themselves.  There used to be an excuse when one had to rely on newspapers but with the Internet fact check sites, that excuse is fading fast.

River_Rat,

Thanks for the link.  I was surprise to find that California is actually paying more in taxes than it receives in federal spending.  It appears that the East and West coasts are supporting the rest of the nation.  Perhaps the way to balance the budget is to pass a law that States can only get as much federal spending as they pay in taxes.  My State would be in real trouble. 

If you look closely at those taxes-out-federal-spending-in charts you will discover the most interesting correlation. States that tend to send more money to the feds than they get back in federal spending tend to vote Democratic rather than Republican. Could be cause we're suckers, could be cause we're socialists and happy to do our part, could be cause these states tend to have strong, diverse economies with lots of well educated workers. And the well educated tend to vote Democratic.

(Please note the use of "tend". These are correlations not causal statments!) 

If we can find the money to support two wars, then we should find the money to care for our injured veterans.

Dave update - He failed the swallow test so he had an NG tube put back in. He is starving but due to swelling  around his trachea (from the infection and also the ventilator) he can't swallow well yet. He is also going stir crazy. Plus he seems loopy. The nurse yesterday asked if he was mentally challenged. Well, he is way smarter than I am so I told her that. Maybe it is the cumulative effects of the sedation. Maybe it is aphasia from being on the ventilator for so long. Fingers crossed. I really don't need another brother incapable of taking care of himself. Geez, that sounds so selfish. I guess I am just exhausted from all this running around. Thanks all for asking

RiverRat, interesting link. FL usually votes red but surprises everyone from time to time and we are in the black as far as $ collected vs. paid.

I am an idiot when it comes to links so I am cutting and pasting. I hope this is not tooo long. The sale of GM stock was in November. If more was sold now , the price woulld go way down and that would not be good for taxpayers. Also, financial institutions got government help with no government ownership and their bonuses are  much higher, as is their pay. GM has done a good job its workers made sacrifices.  Can we say the same about bankers?

New York Times

Updated: Jan. 5, 2011

Overview

For most of the 20th century, General Motors was the biggest company in the most important industry in the world. It not only led in automotive innovations, but helped define the new breed of massive, bureaucratic multinational corporations that shaped the post-war economy. It was the world’s largest car maker from 1931 to 2008, when it was surpassed by Toyota.

By the time it lost that distinction, such figures were the least of its worries — in the fall of 2008, despite two years of steep cutbacks, G.M. found itself on the brink, reduced to begging the federal government for the cash it needed to stay afloat. That December it received $9 billion in federal aid at the order of President George W. Bush. In March 2009, President Obama forced out G.M.'s chief executive, Rick Wagoner, rejected the company's restructuring plan and forced it into bankruptcy court after its creditors balked at deep write-downs.

The bankruptcy process was completed on July 10, when G.M. sold its good assets to a new, government-owned company. Brands like Chevrolet, Cadillac and GMC were folded into the new company, renamed the General Motors Company. The federal government holds nearly 61 percent of the new company, with the Canadian government, a health care trust for the United Auto Workers union and bondholders owning the balance.

But after one of the biggest corporate collapses in history, the new company made one of the biggest rebounds ever.

The new G.M. is far smaller and leaner. Brands like Saturn, Hummer and Pontiac were shut down or sold. Hourly labor costs were cut by more than two-thirds, to $5 billion from $16 billion in 2005.

In its new incarnation, it is proving that it can be profitable at a lower sales volume. The automaker said total sales in 2011 could reach 13.5 million. G.M.’s sales rose 6.7 percent for all of 2010, punctuating a year in which it completed the largest public stock offering in history.

In that public offering on November 18, 2010, it raised $23.1 billion with an opening stock price of $35 per share. The sale cut the Treasury Department’s ownership stake to 26 percent, from nearly 61 percent.

Good article Rosemary - Hope the federal gov can do some of the same before we all go belly up!

Barbara,

When my Dad was in ICU after his colon resection, he altered badly after being given ativan. There is also an "ICU" psychosis that many experience.  Once we got him home and off of all the meds, he went back to his normal self until the last couple of months when the kidney infection and Alzheimers have taken over.  Hopefully your brother will progress quickly once he can be weaned off all of the tubes.  Take care of you.

Thanks for that explanation IJBCA. I feel better now. Off to check in on him now.