Republican Government employees. Hypocrites of the year.

[johncoby2]

I had a heated discussion in a bar after I had 4 beers with a Tom DeLay fan club member.

He started into the "liberals and their social programs". Then I found out he is a GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE WORKING FOR NASA! And they are getting a 4.5% pay increase next year.

So here you have someone who has his mouth on the tit of the government, his hand protecting the other one, and complaining about social programs! When he himself is a social program sucking the life out of our tax dollars.

Needless to say, he didn't like me saying that.

But it chaps my ass when these right wing anti-government anti-taxing government employees or contractors working off of tax dollars start bitchin and moaning about cutting taxes and spending on welfare.

Government employment is white collar welfare. It is a social program! ESPECIALLY NASA!

[Demit]

1. How is NASA a social program?

[rzemanfl]

3. I thought it was clear in the OP, a white collar welfare program. n/t

[DBoon]

13. Meaning if he was any good

He'd work for the private sector, instead of being a lazy government employee sucking the blood of hard working tax payers

:sarcasm:

Federal defense contracts are the welfare suporting the right wing

[Demit]

19. But NASA is not a social program.

[rzemanfl]

24. See above. n/t

[eleny]

2. Absolutely

I worked in social services with many wingnuts. They made their living suckling on the teat of the Democratic Party programs and then bitched about the poor and the Dems. And when I pointed this out, they agreed. But they still voted Repuke.

[HawkerHurricane]

4. As a government employee, I object

And as the son of a government employee, I object twice.

I am a white collar worker... a librarian. But the people I work with, who use the materials I provide... are blue collar. Fixing aircraft is dirty, greasy, sweaty work... and needed. Or shall we just throw the planes away rather than repairing/updating them?

NASA also has it's share of blue collar work... spacecraft building/maintanance is just as dirty greasy sweaty as aircraft maintanance.

Now, a lot of government work is unneeded... but that's more of the 'let's build another hundred C-130's in my district that the Air Force doesn't want or need in order to keep employment up so I can get re-elected'.

If you want to cut 'welfare', start looking at the subsidies. Don't go targeting the workers.

(Dear old Dad works for many months of the year at Yellowstone Nat'l Park as a ranger/naturalist... I wouldn't call that white collar, welfare, or a social program either...)

[hfojvt]

10. my dad did that also

Finding water in SD was useful work, to its farmers and residents, but Carter did not think so. He shut down a bunch of the proposed water projects. In 1976 Carter almost won the state of SD, he did better than McGovern, a SD senator, did in 1972. In 1980, SD went overwhelmingly for Reagan, and McGovern lost too. Thune narrowly defeated Daschle there, and part of his campaign was that he would be better able to save Ellsworth AFB from base closure.

[hfojvt]

5. it could be worse

I used to work for DoD as a mathematician/computer programmer. They always said that tech people, like me, could make way more money in the private sector. So I quit, in 1986, and went searching for jobs in the private sector. In 1988, I went to graduate school and got an MA. I only went to graduate school because I could not find a job. In 1993 I finally got a job in a factory, making $5.10 an hour, less than half of what I made in 1986. Of course, my mistake was that I went back to the midwest instead of going to California. I read some article about a super rich guy who had made his money writing accounting software in the late 1980s. I smacked myself on the forehead saying "that's what I used to do for DoD."

[Bonhomme Richard]

6. I wrote the same samething to a postal worker on another site.

A real freeper. He never replied.

[Jara sang]

7. No, the government's social program is the U.S. military.

Nobody can deny that.

[HawkerHurricane]

8. I can.

Don't bang on the troops.

[Jara sang]

9. Why? I thought this was a free country.

I should be able to "bang" on anybody I want. Oh, oh, what you want is my unquestionable loyalty to American killbots. Well, you ain't gonna get it. I'll "bang" on anybody I want.

[wildwww2]

15. As a veteran I agree with you. The US military is one of the most

ill managed and wasteful organizations I have ever been a part of. Blind patriotism is not a good thing. And should be banged upon frequently by those who care to use our dwindling freedom of speech rights. And I am glad you still think this is a free country. I am beginning to seriously wonder about that.
Peace
Wildman
Al Gore is My President

[MODemocrat]

18. Wildwww2, I agree with every word you wrote

You've been there, done that, so you have every reason to have your opinion. We can't have blind patriotism. That's Bush wants; but the fact is nothing or no one is perfect, and that includes our military. I respect them, but don't put them up on a pedastal. 7 members (3 of whom were my brothers)of my family served in the army, air force, and marines, so don't think I'm anti-military. I worked fifteen
years for the Department of the Army at Fort Leavenworth in a civilian capacity, there were good and bad among them as well. :patriot: :patriot:

[HawkerHurricane]

20. Don't shovel words into my mouth

I ain't gonna let you bang on the troops like a mindless robot.

Making mock of uniforms is cheap.

So, go ahead, mock the men. Don't expect me to approve of your CRAP. And don't be putting words into my mouth.

[Lars39]

11. The US "defense" budget is going to equal the *entire* world next year.

[carpetbagger]

12. Well, I'd comment more, but I need to go to work...

To my federal government job, on Christmas Eve, on my day off. If I work enough today, I'll only have to go in for 2 hours tomorrow. (Funny how it seems that every day is a day off, huh?)

[DBoon]

14. but *we* believe social programs can be good

the right wing thinks they are all evil, while they mindlessly collect their checks

[cassiepriam]

16. They have the best benefits around, on my tax dollar.

They have health and retirement benefits I will never be able to afford. I am paying for it. Makes it a social program in my eyes.

[alarimer]

21. The benefits are pretty the only thing going for some of those

in government employ. They don't pay shit, that's for sure. I have worked for the state of Texas for 8 YEARS and make approximately $30K. That's it. I have a degree and nearly a Masters. If we are very lucky we get a 3% raise once in a while (which does not keep pace with the cost of things). I work over 40 hours a week routinely. The benefits are really what keep me there. I could never get as good a health insurance plan in the private sector, though I would probably make more.

[tularetom]

17. I've experienced the same thing

I'm a retired government employee (local level) and I've maintained my membership in a professional organization of people with similar jobs. Most of these folks have never had a single paycheck from anywhere else except the government and if you go to a meeting all you hear is bitching about government waste and people on welfare. Now I don't mean to imply that these people (my peers) don't perform a service and earn their salaries but for a group that constantly criticizes government waste they sure aren't shy about begging for more for themselves.

Another example - my uncle is 80 years old or so. He is a WWII vet and an extreme libertarian who doesn't even believe the government should repair the roads or enforce laws. Of course he's retired but you know what he did for 30 or 40 years? He was a contractor working almost exclusively for school districts.

[johncoby2]

22. Oh....and by the way....I am a government employee

But.....I know where my milk comes from and I do not advocate for more spending on the space program because I consider it unethical.

And I don't call for tax cuts, cuz I know where my money comes from: TAXES!

And we do have the best benefits. 5 weeks of vacation after 15 years. A very liberal sick leave policy where we get 2 weeks a year with roll over (I have about 400 hours saved). We have a GREAT 401K program with 5% matching. We can take off work for our kids school. Use sick leave for our sick children. Health care subsidized by the government.

It is an absolutley GREAT place to work. So why can't everyone else have what we have?

I tell every government employee who wants a tax cut to QUIT and get that tax cut they want so bad.

[proud2BlibKansan]

23. Now wait a minute

I am a govt employee. But I don't see my business - education - as white collar welfare.

I also see some value in NASA programs.

I hate these idiots as much as the rest of DU does, but not all govt jobs are social programs sucking the life out of your tax dollars. Some, probably. All, no.