Political Posts

[Gregmal]

16 minutes ago, dwy000 said:

We aren't talking about politicians here we are talking about civil servant. 

 

If there's a job to be done, you want it done as efficiently and as well as possible.  That means having the best employees possible - whether serving the public or serving shareholders. Telling people they suck and capping pay and firing them after 10 yrs is not getting the best, most productive output. 

Most government jobs don’t require the highest level services. They’re basically public utilities. Anyone in an administrative role just goes through the motions. Look at local stuff…outside of police officers, who in the municipality building needs to be high level? The people pestering home owners about bs permits? The sewer and trash people? DPW doing 9-4 with two breaks and an hour lunch? The tax collectors who just open envelopes? Parks and rec? BoE? That’s literally the entire local office.
 

What about at State? Education? Please it’s a disaster. Environmental? Treasury? These are mostly rubber stamping jobs. 

[dwy000]

5 minutes ago, Gregmal said:

Most government jobs don’t require the highest level services. They’re basically public utilities. Anyone in an administrative role just goes through the motions. Look at local stuff…outside of police officers, who in the municipality building needs to be high level? The people pestering home owners about bs permits? The sewer and trash people? DPW doing 9-4 with two breaks and an hour lunch? The tax collectors who just open envelopes? Parks and rec? BoE? That’s literally the entire local office.
 

What about at State? Education? Please it’s a disaster. Environmental? Treasury? These are mostly rubber stamping jobs. 

Theres no question it can be done more efficiently. But like in large corporations there are generally a couple of really competent people who make the function work, and a bunch of people just punching the clock. If you want to make it more efficient you need to keep (and attract) those competent people and discourage the clock punchers. Firing whole departments or capping pay is not a route to efficiency. 

[Dinar]

1 hour ago, Gregmal said:

Nah that’s preposterous. Government exists solely to serve the people. It should not be a mechanism for enrichment. For all the hollow whining about Trump basically just managing the family real estate portfolio into a billion dollar business…I hear virtually no pushback or outrage that folks like Biden have waterfront mansions because of “public service”, or guys like McConnell or Paul Ryan are millionaires many times over despite doing nothing but exploit politics.

I agree with you, with one caveat - McConnell's wife is a billionaire from her inheritance.  

[Gregmal]

More generally speaking, government jobs used to largely be reserved for older people or people towards the end of their careers where you wanted a competent person but low stress, highly reliable 9-5.
 

If you were young and inspired there were law enforcement or military options if you sought the “public” employment route. 

 

What it seems is that government jobs have now become careers versus just transitory stops on the way to private sector or retirement. 

[dwy000]

23 minutes ago, Gregmal said:

More generally speaking, government jobs used to largely be reserved for older people or people towards the end of their careers where you wanted a competent person but low stress, highly reliable 9-5.
 

If you were young and inspired there were law enforcement or military options if you sought the “public” employment route. 

 

What it seems is that government jobs have now become careers versus just transitory stops on the way to private sector or retirement. 

Exactly!  So if we want to change that and increase effectiveness and efficiency we need to make the jobs more competitive, pay better and have more opportunity for advancement. That means scrapping pay caps, promotions based on time served and treating the good employees well. 

[Gregmal]

25 minutes ago, dwy000 said:

Exactly!  So if we want to change that and increase effectiveness and efficiency we need to make the jobs more competitive, pay better and have more opportunity for advancement. That means scrapping pay caps, promotions based on time served and treating the good employees well. 

Sure, but to the original point that Blake was aghast at the firing of a 36 year treasury employee…that’s exactly the type of person they should be firing. 

[Blake Hampton]

Lol

[SharperDingaan]

1 hour ago, Gregmal said:

More generally speaking, government jobs used to largely be reserved for older people or people towards the end of their careers where you wanted a competent person but low stress, highly reliable 9-5.
 

If you were young and inspired there were law enforcement or military options if you sought the “public” employment route. 

 

What it seems is that government jobs have now become careers versus just transitory stops on the way to private sector or retirement. 

 

Nah ... it's just that times have moved on, and attitudes have changed.

 

If you are female, and planning to start a family, there are very few better jobs than a government one. Shorter work week, done at the end of the day, generous benefits, and flexible work hours so that you can get the kids to/from day care. It is also much more common to take paid paternity leave to spend time with your new kid, and for fathers to be more involved in the child rearing. Different priorities, and there are many ways in beyond law enforcement or the military.

 

It is also a very good gig to 'retire' to, after retirement age. There are few better jobs that will both fund and give you the time off to get your bucket list items crossed off the list. Administration is the same everywhere, and competition is thin for experienced people looking to do rolling gigs. Changing times, different approaches.

 

Of course the private sector remains as open as it ever was, and power to everyone who pursues it. But the reality is that at start, it's the better option for 1/4 to 1/3 of the population at best; and maybe 1/2 will drop out along the way as child-rearing and parent-care come to bear. Most of those people at close to minimum wage, are there because of economic necessity, not 'cause they want to be. Labour calling the bluff.

 

'Bigger is better' has also lost its halo; been there, done that, not doing it again. Within our little craft brewery we have partners with extensive global brewing experience; we do our thing for the fun of it, were we to scale up we would have failed, as we would be back to where we were. Staff benefits bench-marked against the provincial government.  

 

It's not the same world that it used to be,

I'd like to think that it's better!

 

SD

 

 

 

Edited April 27, 2025 by SharperDingaan

[Ulti]

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2025/04/american-panopticon/682616/?gift=TGgP34XZPBAppowZPOH7p5jzNMySnN_SHwGvcTM4tv4&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share

 

Data surveillance under DOGE… pooling of data in citizens and the dream of the everything app 

[SharperDingaan]

8 hours ago, Blake Hampton said:

I would say that one of the biggest red flags I’ve seen throughout all this chaos is the near-constant resignation of career civil servants. My jaw was on the floor for nearly 30 minutes when I read about what happened at the Treasury with Musk — forcing themselves in like that, and then forcing out a 36-year official who was trying to keep them out as acting Treasury Secretary. That is fucking insane.

 

I read multiple newspapers every day, and there is story after story after story of the same things happening all over government. It’s honestly quite scary.

 

 

 

It isn't great .... but those forced out are now free to be as predatory as they wish to be ... with few/any constraints. It doesn't take many predators, and if many also have a clear information advantage ......  It also doesn't go well if DOGE ultimately has to hire them back 'cause of an oops .... 

 

SD

 

 

[Gregmal]

Think the tipping point really is we live in an age where insurance coverage and income are super highly valued. And enough folks have become privy to the fact that these government jobs, while on the surface mediocre pay wise, offer tremendous insurance and benefits, and carry a fat pension that kicks in after minimal service and that’s something private sector isn’t offering. 

[Blake Hampton]

I've seen far more madness in private sector management compensation than I could ever imagine seeing in government. There are so many CEOs with insane, multi-million-dollar pay packages, who do nothing but harm the businesses that they manage.

I think it's far worse with smaller companies. A lot of those guys get away with murder.

[Blake Hampton]

Cool infographic from the NYT:
 

 

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/04/27/world/asia/china-products-us-tariffs-trump.html

 

Edited April 27, 2025 by Blake Hampton

[Hektor]

3 hours ago, Blake Hampton said:

There are so many CEOs with insane, multi-million-dollar pay packages, who do nothing but harm the businesses that they manage.

[james22]

Let's be real, much of government work is a make-work jobs program for Democrats.

 

For example, what fraction of black female college graduates work for the government?

 

3 hours ago, Blake Hampton said:

I've seen far more madness in private sector management compensation than I could ever imagine seeing in government.

 

In all your years of management experience in both sectors?

 

Tell us more.

 

 

[changegonnacome]

 

Poor Scott - trying to side step the White Lies from the White House re: negotiations......seems to me like China is calling Trumps bluff on this......and Captain Chaos is going to fold first (already has to a certain extent).....China must know they have him where they want him when Trump feels the need to effectively makeup bilateral contact between the two sides on the negotiation when there's been it seems basically none.

 

I know there's an asymmetry on the % of the economy exports make up for each side and on the pure math side the USA 'wins'- but I think what we are seeing now is that you can measure economic pain and come up with the wrong answer......the question is rather pain thresholds......and the pain threshold for the American population/leadership is just so much lower as compared to what the Chinese population/leadership will endure these are folks working 9-6-6 in a surveillance state. Xi has 99 problems but getting forced to roll over isnt one.

 

@Spekulatius posted this from Apollo along with a bunch of other charts - https://www.apolloacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/042625-ConsumerandFirms_v2.pdf

 

 

[Hektor]

15 minutes ago, changegonnacome said:

the pain threshold for the American population/leadership is just so much lower as compared to what the Chinese population/leadership will endure

On the flip side, blinking or rolling over might cost this US administration at max a few seats in the next election. What will even a perception of blinking or rolling over cost this Chinese administration?

[changegonnacome]

8 minutes ago, Hektor said:

On the flip side, blinking or rolling over might cost this US administration at max a few seats in the next election.

 

On the contrary - rolling over saves this administration a bloodbath at the midterms.....the tolerance for economic pain in the USA is basically zero.....its why the debt & the deficit is so bad....one can view it as the cumulative deferral of pain over time

 

8 minutes ago, Hektor said:

What will even a perception of blinking or rolling over cost this Chinese administration?

 

Not much at all.......the information bubble in China is all encompassing.....Captain Chaos can cast a reality distortion field around maybe 25% of the US population.......Xi manufacturers reality in China his algebra is much much different.

[SharperDingaan]

The great hope is that other countries come back to the table soon, and continue to honor their signatures. Of course the other view is that those other countries simply delay, let the US experience a world of pain for a time; then talk .... and tear up the agreement as soon as it no longer suits. After all, if it's OK for the US to tear things up, we can too.

 

Wholly out of the WH control, no matter how much the WH wants to deal. 

 

SD

Edited April 28, 2025 by SharperDingaan

[Dinar]

1 hour ago, SharperDingaan said:

The great hope is that other countries come back to the table soon, and continue to honor their signatures. Of course the other view is that those other countries simply delay, let the US experience a world of pain for a time; then talk .... and tear up the agreement as soon as it no longer suits. After all, if it's OK for the US to tear things up, we can too.

 

Wholly out of the WH control, no matter how much the WH wants to deal. 

 

SD

Oh yes, how will I survive without my Hermes bag, Cartier necklace, Ferrari and champagne?    No vacation in Barcelona where tourists are attacked by locals?  Does spending by Spaniards on water pistols count as spending on defense for NATO purposes?  No shoe imports from China?  Well, I guess I will have to settle for leather shoes from Brazil!   

[Duke In Shadows]

21 hours ago, Haryana said:

How well Watsa understood Trump 7 years ago 

 

http://youtu.be/8_yqpBGCmbo

Just posted a tweet based on your comment. Thanks for sharing. 

 

[Gregmal]

Imagine this? 6 dimensional level gaslighting 

 

https://nypost.com/2025/04/28/us-news/60-minutes-host-scott-pelley-calls-out-paramount-in-shocking-on-air-attack-on-cbs-parent-company/

 

The audience he assumes is so brainwashed they will eat up the narrative that the editor resigned because “fair and accurate independent coverage” was no longer possible? When what happened is a supervisor basically told him “hey, the show should have a little more content diversity than simply being your pissy anti Trump obsession outlet”…so no shows were blocked and nothing was altered(except Kamala content) but this career hack was told to stop obsessing over Trump and making it the networks problem(which by the way, his 60 minutes piece was the reason the network is in the pickle it currently is in!) and this asshole tries to tell the American people that journalistic “integrity”(HAH!) is under attack! 

[Cigarbutt]

On 4/26/2025 at 1:51 PM, Blake Hampton said:

i did look into this after your post and the idea behind the theme is interesting. Thank you

Heard along the way in this debate: "Don't let the government put its hands on my Medicare"

Some of this is related to population aging but there are other variables in the equation...

[Blake Hampton]

If I ever found myself on the same side as Shari Redstone, I would seriously reexamine why I thought I was right.

[Gregmal]

Haha it’s hard to get a place where one thinks for themselves, independent of the appeals to authority and urge to “pick sides” or even see “who’s side” you’re on. One day Blake. One day.