This blatant attempt to skew the outcome is typical of school administrators and boards. Never mind that Auburn's taxpayers are stressed already, you have to remember that, "its for the children,"
What you need to remember is that for the amount of time spent the teachers are extremely well paid. Many are only poor substitutes for teachers and many are not even teachers but get to do the work that the teachers are paid for.
Our education system is broken and way too expensive. Time to rein it in!
Sam Colt said it best, "Be not afraid of any man, no matter what his size, when danger threatens call on me and I will equalize."
In these tough economic times and with a President that has brought back the race issue, people are more afraid and cautious now. Many are fearful of anti gun rhetoric of the administration and fear if they get a second term an attempt will be made to ban guns. Therefore they want to get them now and be prepared for what they see as chaos ahead. There is much more pessimism today than 5 years ago and that is a factor in the increase in gun sales. I'll make us safer too!
These tax cheats are no worse than those who never finish their home construction knowning full well that the tax assessors will not value their home the same as one that is finished and neat. They too are cheating the rest of the taxpayers in any town.
I had been reassured repeatedly by town officials that those homes that look like a pig pen are not getting a tax break. However the assessor who does the assessing for the town said it is common knowledge that such rundown and unfinished buildings are assessed at a lesser amount, thereby making the rest of us pay more. Is that fair?
Could it possibly be that many of these now needful seniors did not lift a hand to provide for their senior years? They spent it all on the fun things and had a ball knowing that the benevolent government would step in and help them out. To those who did not plan for their senior years I say too bad, let your relatives help you out because the reason you are now in need is of your own doing.
Just think how much we spend on people who are greedily bellying up to the welfare bar. 50 years ago, before our Congress Critters opened the trough the number on welfare was significantly smaller. Them main reason that welfare and DHHS budget have grown so large is the entitlement mentality that was fostered by politicians who knew and understood that loafers vote for a living while workers work for a living. Show me where it says that I owe you a living if you do not earn it yourself. Don't quote the Bible, that refers to helping the truly needy, not providing those who choose not to work a living. There is a whale of a difference!
It's a matter of choices, we chose to live quietly or with a great deal of drinking and partying. These kids made the wrong choice and now their families have to pay the penalty of great sadness and loss.
It is sorrowful that this happens all to often. Choices, when will we teach that such choices can have great consequences?
Yes there are people who have degrees and good resumes that are out of work. However, many will not work at a lessor job until one of their liking comes along. Many of todays young are poorly trained and liberal arts degree is worthless in todays technical society. The young, who have had much handed to them in the past, don't want to be patient and work their way to the top.
We have been spoiled and now the tight economy is making things much tougher than in past generations. Many of Maine's youth would do better as tradespeople than as college grads. The world has changed and not for the better. Face that fact and make the choices that will pay off down the road.
I did not say that more than 50% were lay-a-bouts. I said it was approaching that. Go look at http://www.wealthwire.com/news/economy/1992 hwrw it states that " Americans are more dependent than ever on government assistance programs. According to the 2010 Census data, 48.5 percent of the entire population relies on government benefits for survival." That was an Oct. 2011 article.
My guess is that those most bothered by such are probably those who are on the dole.
Welfare fraud is rampant but the liberals won't do anything about it as those are their voter base. Nations fail when the lay-a-bout outnumber the workers and we are very close to that mark now.
It makes no sense to bring foreigner here who have a different culture and refuse to assimilate. There are way to many who would welcome the chance to become American and would work hard to become one, to allow the influx of those who will not. It does nothing for our nation to allow this but it is being jammed down our throats anyway.
You can kiss the American way good bye and say hello to Sharia law and culture in the future if you don't wake up and say enough.
With the track record of AARP, it would seem that having them pick L/A as a good retirement area would turn off many would be retirees. In my opinion an AARP endorsement in the kiss of death. What they are is a liberal older folk abuser organization.
If one takes the amounts that SS takes from your pay and the amount that your employer has to kick in as well and if you do a compound interest tabulation for the years that you have worked you will find that you could now be getting nearly twice as much retirement money as the government is giving you. SS is a huge Ponzi scheme that has been foisted on the stupid public and we have been bought off cheaply. Wake the heck up and stop putting these scoundrels back in office term after term. An honest politician would have stopped this fleecing of the working people any time in the last 60-70 years it has been in effect.
Whether it is GOP or Dem. the harm that has been delt to our nation was done by all, including we the voters who sat on our hands and put most of them back in Washington year after year. Wake up America. a Republic cannot survive without God fearing, honest participation by the masses. Not those on the dole or beholding to nanny government for their existence; but rather honest hard working patriots who truly love what America stands for.
Most have gotten into trouble with their homes by buying more than they could afford. Most got greedy when the market was climbing expotentially and wanted some of that quick money and status. I have owned two homes although moving 5 times for the company. Now the current small conservative ranch is all paid for and debt free. No I would like a fancy multibedroom and bath house but that requires more money than I thought wise. Now it is I that is setting fat and happy and I don't think it fair that I have to help out those who are either too lazy or not motivated. If they had all worked as hard and long as I then they would be in better shape. It seems strange that it is always those who didn't work for it, that want the rich to pay.
At the risk of offending you let me say this. I am one who did it on my own. Born a poor farmers son, that’s all, I could have been. However I decided to go back to school after marriage, no help or benefactor, to a tech school and get an Associate Degree. It was not easy, barely enough money, to pay the rent and cover the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or the cheese and macaroni suppers. The wife worked and got enough to pay the rent. Worked at part time jobs and was failing math the 1st half semester. But I did it and graduated 1st in my class by hard work and long hours.
After graduation I got employed by a leading communications company and moved out of Maine with everything I owned in one small trailer. Drove down the main street of a Western Mass town and asked the pastor of a church if he knew of any apartments for rent. After 32 years and 5 moves I retired as a manager quite comfortably because I worked hard, took risks and kept my nose to the grindstone.
Most are poor because they did not take chances or risk, lack education and motive. You cannot wait for it come to you. You have to go after it, swallow fear, pride or shyness and make your own breaks. So many of Maine’s poor are limited by their own inhabitations and lack of education, it was not easy and I was scared witless many times but I did it anyway. I am convinced that any and all could do it if I could.
Ms. Field is blaming the wrong people. There will always be rich and poor but our esteemed politicians are who created Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid; programs that have driven our nation toward bankruptcy.
All that these programs do is create a dependency that grows and grows and people forget how to prepare for their own retirement and sickness.
By creating a nanny state the poor are lulled into dependency and do not prepare for their own welfare. All such poor folk could have become rich had they applied themselves as did the rich. All are born the same yet those who work hard and take the risk almost always become rich while those that are lazy and look to others for gifts wind up poor and looking to the nanny state for assistance.
Governments social engineering has been a disaster and has made more poor than there should be.
Power is shown most when the constituents fail to show their own power in numbers. The apathy of the voters in most of Maine is obvious and because of it we are at their mercy. As Pogo said, "We have met the enemy and it is us!"
We are a nation of takers and makers. The takers are those on welfare etc while the makers are those with jobs or running companies. Unfortunately the numbers of takers is quickly overtaking the makers. Common sense should indicate that we cannot have as many takers as makers or the system fails.
Maine has been inviting takers for a long time and there are many more being invited into the LA area. That is a disaster in the making.
Few people have any idea or perspective of what a trillion of anything is. Our deficit is what $14 trillion? Here is a way to view how large that is: The average life span of a 75 year old person is 2.3 billion seconds and puts them back to 1936. A TRILLION seconds ago was 29,000 BC. A trillion dollars is huge, yet our Congress treats it as if it were chump change. We are the chumps and we are not going to like the change as this all comes due.
Well Kris; Here are a few from the New Testament. John 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. - Romans 13:10 Love does no wrong to neighbor;therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. - Romans 14:1 As for the man who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not for disputes over opinions. I Corinthians 13:4-8 & 13 Love is patient and Kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things 8 Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away, .......
13 So faith, hope, love abide , these three ; but the greatest of these is love. ! Corinthians 16: 14 Let all that you do be done in in love.
There are others that are quite lengthy so you can look them up your self. I John 4: 7-16 tells us what love is. Be well!
Isn't it a teaching in the Muslim Koran that all unbelievers are to be killed? Isn't it a teaching in the Christian Bible that all unbelievers are to be loved? If Al-Jazeera is a Muslim media outlet than the question is do they want all nonbelievers killed? Doesn't this rather odd Muslim religious belief fly in the face of American values?
Most all such congressional laws can be interpretative two ways. This law also known as the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999. was signed into law by Clinton, so he shares the blame you put on the GOP, Ron. My point was the people who wanted to get rich off of the then expanding real estate market and bought homes that they knew were beyond their capability to handle. This was allowed by the Dems pushing banks to loan to people who were poor risks. Bush tried to stop it but Barney and the Dems had a fit!
By now the people in Washington should know that any law they create can be taken apart and used to enrich some ones pocket. Mans inequity to man!
Ron this is my last post to you. I will not play ball with a flat lander from out of state who delights in tearing apart the opinions of natives. I refuse to play that game! We must have done something right that you wanted to come here and live. Possibly to expensive and corrupt to stay in NY.
There are way to many with idle time these days. All because of the Democratic party, Obama and the liberal agenda that caused our depression. Common sense tells those with half a brain that you cannot give loans for homes to those who do not qualify and that is just what Fanny and Freddie did at the behest of Barney Frank et al. Then the greed allowed those bad loans to be bundled and hidden until the whole mess imploded on itself.
You cannot put lipstick on a pig and make it kissable, even though Obama, Pelosi and Reid are trying to.
The problem is not that the billionaires are not paying enough taxes. The problem is we have way too many entitlements brought on by stupid ideas in Washington DC. The Great Society was one of them, all it did was put more in the wagon and less pulling it. Most of the rich got that way by working their tails off with some great idea, such as the two guys who started Microsoft. We have way too many lazy people standing around with their hands out. I for one just as soon see them starve if they are unwilling to work. There are jobs out there, go get one and you will be too tired to complain, hopefully.
This is yet another example of Chicago style leadership. The Obama administration is more corrupt as then any we have seen in the past. To attempt to harm American gun ownership by "Fast & Furious" is about as un-American as it gets. His Constitutional law studies seem to have fallen on deaf ears. But, after what we have seen so far no one should be all that surprised.
Wealth distribution is nothing more than more getting into the wagon while those who who have the money pull it. What will happen? Those pulling are going to say enough and stop. Then all will suffer. Since the beginning of time there are those who work and there are those who will not. No amount of enticing will get the lazy to pull their fair share so let them starve. We have strayed so far for the founding fathers goals that it is unlikely that we will ever be a great nation again.
MMA is not a state department. It is only a trade organization, and a self serving one at that. Mostly they lobby in the legislature against the people. They are looking out for towns and cities and not for you the taxpayer. They spend inordinate amounts to influence votes such as their opposition of TABOR 1 and TABOR 2. Bangor has recently dropped their membership as being too costly for what they get back. Too bad the rest of Maine cities and towns wouldn't wake up as well!
Austin Hill has some useful quotes by Obama to remember.
Fast-forward to January 29th of 2009. Despite the economic decline, some of the nation’s largest financial and lending institutions had actually just posted some hefty profits, and had paid their executives bonuses. And once again President Obama chastised the achievement, stating “there will be time for them to make profits, and there will be time for them to get bonuses…now’s not that time, and that’s a message I intend to send directly to them..” Apparently, in Mr. Obama’s view, it is sometimes preferable for companies to be unprofitable – yet unprofitable companies don’t “create jobs.”
And here’s one of my favorites, from May of 2009. Speaking at the commencement exercises at Arizona State University, President Obama advised the new college graduates against private-sector success: “…You’re taught to chase after all the usual brass rings,” the President lamented. “Yah try to be on this ‘who’s who’ list or that ‘top 100 list’…ya chase after the big money, ya figure out how big your corner office is…ya worry about whether or not ya have a fancy enough title, or a fancy enough car…Now you can take that road, and it may work, for some. But at this critical juncture in our nation’s history, at this difficult time, let me suggest that such an approach won’t get you where you want to go. Did you study business? You can go start a company…or, why not go help a struggling not-for-profit find better and more effective ways to help folks in need?” .
How is this Hopey/change thing working out, Jason? 9.2 unemployment rate and even higher with many having given up. $14 trillion debt! Nation on the verge of bankruptcy. Sharia law creeping closer and closer each day to the American way of life. Selling guns to the Mexicans to be used to kill our own border agents. Taking so many trips that we have to supply extra Air Force One crews. Playing golf while millions of Americans are out of work and starving. Million dollar trips to Hawaii. The Soros puppet is doing one heck of a job, isn't he. Give me back Bush any time over this anti American Muslim.
Then if state employees are so bad off why are they paid and benefited so much better than private employees. Why are they able to retire earlier with less time at the job? Why is their pay better than so many other Mainers? Why is their health benefits so much better and less in cost than those in the private field. Good questions all! Lets see some honest answers!
With Aid to Dependent Children, minority women birthed eight to 10, and in one case, one woman birthed 24 children as reported by the Detroit Free Press, all on American taxpayer dollars.
A new child meant a new car payment, new TV, and whatever mom wanted. I
saw Lyndon Baines Johnson's 'Great Society' flourish in Detroit . If you give money for doing no thing, you will get more hands out taking money for doing nothing.
Mayor Coleman Young, perhaps the most corrupt mayor in America , outside of Richard Daley in Chicago, rode Detroit down to its knees... He set the benchmark for cronyism, incompetence, and arrogance.
And Detroit has had Democratic leadership all this while. Hmmmmmm!
A paper written by Congressman Randy Forbes in April of 2008, "The Challenge of Giant Entitlements", states that "Entitlement spending, or government spending that takes place automatically every year without any action from Congress, is currently 62 percent of our overall federal spending."
Federal State and local governments combined spend about 5% of GDP on means tested welfare (for the poor), with over half going to medical care and less than 1/4 going to cash benefits. Total taxes are about 30% of GDP so about 1/6 or 16% of the Federal State and Local taxes you pay goes to welfare.
Projections welfare for YE 2012 are as follows in billions:
Fed. Gov. State Local Total
Welfare 495.6 -35.1 155.2 87.1 702.7
Family and children 107.2 0.0 10.5 9.0 126.7
Unemployment 134.8 -4.8 4.8 0.0 134.9
Housing 69.4 -30.3 7.0 38.2 84.3
Social exclusion 176.6 0.0 52.8 39.8 269.2
Three quarters of a trillion dollars is a lot of money!
I find it strange that Ron seems to blame guns since he made a living behind a gun. Is this the same tired old hypocrisy of it's OK for me but the rest of you aren't good enough to do it?
Common sense is very rare these days and almost never seen used by politicians and bureaucrats. If fact PC is devoid of common sense and much used by our politicians who are scared to death that the media will think they are not PC orientated. Very sad!
Since these school units are a majority of any towns budget, it would seem to me that the elected spokespersons for the citizens have every right to comment on said actions. The remarks, even personal remarks, reflect a careless disregard of the older taxpayers of their town and therefore warrant such criticism.
I hate to use the analogy again but when more in in the wagon than pulling it then the wagon is apt to come to a halt. We are quickly approaching that point and I fear that if the pullers quit there will be a social chaos of extreme danger. Our government has allowed so many to get on the wagon that we are dangerously close to that scenario already. Our entitlement mentality, created by government Great Society, has been the ruination of our once great nation.
See what a wiff of wacky weed will do to the sense of precautions and safety. Pretty much the same as,"Hold my beer and watch this!" This young man learned a very sorry lesson and anothetr paid for it with his life. Stupid youth!
It is obvious that those who are on teh dole should not be allowed to vote. By allowing that they can continue to vote in those who create and continue these costly programs. Only those who pay taxes and contribute to the overall good of the country should be allwed to vote. Those not willing to work should starve.
Statistics show that civilians with guns harm fewer people during a gun altercation than do the police. According to a study by Newsweek magazine, only 2% of civilian shootings involve an innocent person being shot (not killed). The error rate for police is 11%. What this means is that you are more than 5 times more likely to be accidentally shot by a policeman than by an armed citizen. But, when you consider that citizens shoot and kill at least twice as many criminals as do police every year, it means that, per capita, you are more than 11 times more likely to be accidentally shot by a policeman than by an armed citizen. That is as low as I can get that number.
The Kleck study shows that police shoot and kill around 600 criminals each year. Yet the University of Chicago study shows that police killed 330 innocent individuals in 1993. That means that for every two criminals killed by police, one innocent citizen is killed by police. Although I have the greatest respect for the police and how they must respond under pressure, I think that I would much rather trust an armed populace. ( these facts were found at http://actionamerica.org/guns/guns1.shtml)
Now tell me that we only need to rely on police. When seconds count the police are minutes and oftimes hours away.
When seconds count the police are always minutes away! What good is the CCW permit system with all its cost and background checks if even after securing the states blessing to carry we still cannot have that protection in all our travels?
It is my opinion that after securing a CCW permit these people are more trustworthy than some police.
It is obvious that the editorial writer is unfairly biased against gun ownership, the NRA, their fine publications and the better than half of Mainers who own guns. Not only was this piece biased but they have many facts wrong as well.
To start the man they write about did not have a CCW permit; therefore he was breaking the law. Those who apply for such permits, and pass the very detailed background check, do so to obey the law. There is a vast difference don’t you think? Those who have such permits are extremely careful to obey the laws and go out of their way to abide by them.
It is a fact that an infinitely small percentage of persons with CCW permits ever use them in an unlawful manner.
Secondly the bill LD 932 would only allow those who have permits and have gone through these stringent safeguards to carry in the capitol building. Those who don’t have permits would be barred, but how many has that stopped in the other gun free zones in our country?
It is my opinion that since so many LSJ readers are also gun owners and it appears that the paper is anti gun, then we ought not to support them any longer with a subscription. It also appears to me that reading such editorial garbage is worse for society than carrying a gun as the main reason Maine is so crime free is simply because we own so many guns the bad guys are leery. Therefore it appears that this newspaper wants more crime by outlawing guns.
It is obvious that the editorial writer is unfairly biased against gun ownership, the NRA, their fine publications and the better than half of Mainers who own guns. Not only was this piece biased but they have many facts wrong as well.
To start the man they writes about did not have a CCW permit, therefore he was breaking the law. Those who apply for such permits and pass the very detailed background search do so obeying the law. There is a vast difference don’t you think? Those who have such permits are extremely careful to obey the laws and go out of their way to abide by them.
It is a fact that an infinitely small percentage of persons with CCW permits ever use them in an unlawful manner.
Secondly the bill LD 932 would only allow those who have permits and have gone through these stringent safeguards to carry in the capitol building. Those who don’t have permits would be barred, but how many has the stopped in the other gun free zones in our country?
It is my opinion that since so many LSJ readers are also gun owners and it appears that the paper is anti gun we ought not to support them any longer with a subscription. It also appears to me that reading such editorial garbage is worse for society than carrying a gun as the main reason Maine is so crime is simply because we own so many guns. Therefore it appears that this newspaper wants more crime by outlawing guns.
I would willingly help him move out of state. That was what he emailed me some time ago when I rebutted a LTTR he had written in this newspaper. Good to see he can't hack it! Poor baby! Don't let the door hit you in the behind on the way out Dana!
I am tired of those bureaucrats who accept the norm without trying to change what is wrong. Our schools are failing because they accept mediocrity and teachers who are not doing the job they are paid to do. That is more wrong than failing to approve a budget.
When public schools are forced to change to keep up with charter schools then tell me Sen. Mason is on the wrong track.
At almost 79 let me add that I am tired of being told that I have to "spread the wealth" to people who don't have my work ethic. I am tired of being told by the government that they will take my money, by force, and give it to people too lazy to earn it. I am tired of people with a sense of entitlement, rich or poor. And I am real tired of people who don't take responsibility for their lives and actions. I am tired of hearing them blame the government, discrimination or other reasons for the mess they find themselves in. Don't expect me to feel sorry for you, you made your own bed; now lie in it!
It is all a matter of choices. I was born at home on a dirt Maine farm. Raised to be a farmer. Decided that was not going to hack it and although scared to death of failure I worked my way through a 2 year tech school and joined the worlds largest communications company.
We are all born the same but many make bad choices or no choices at all and that creates what you are all harping about. Why should I, who worked hard to be successful, support those who were not due to their inability to make the correct choices? It is too bad you made bad choices but we all started out equally and it was those with their hands out who, in my opinion, deserve what they get. Where in our Constitution does it say that we should give half the citizens government help paid for by the other half?
Those Maine people who are smart enough to get educated and get decent jobs are able to prepare for their senior years. Those who are so enthralled with the entitlement mentality have not done anything to prepare for growing old. Those who are riding in the wagon are going to be some put out when those pulling it say enough and stop.
Some are truly needy and will be helped, but those who have had their hands out their whole lives better look out because the gravy days are over. As a wagon puller I am glad the riders are being dislodged.
Nearly every Maine town has at least one of these stories, not about the cats, but an elderly person who is on the edge of disaster. Yes, in many cases there are families but they too may be financially hurting and perhaps ostracized by the older person. Yes we as society have grown cold because government supposedly is the nanny. These stories prove that the government can't handle these cases any better than they gather up the feral cats.
MPBN is biased media to the max. If they were truly necessary they could make it on their own without both federal and state assistance.
Their liberal spin on most things has prevented me from donating to them for many many years. When I wrote them to tell them of my opinion they didn't even have the decency of a reply.
That in itself show an arrogance that is unacceptable.
As a senior living on a fixed income of about $12,000 per year a $12-30 increase per month is a big deal. Mr. Griffiths will learn later when he gets as old as many if us now are that the continued tax increases are horrendous news to seniors.
It is way past time to have a use fee so those who have children in schools pay more than those who do not. Most seniors have long ago given their fair share and to make them give up food and heat to make their tax payments is grossly unfair.
Many of the elderly in these 3 towns own their own home free and clear, so these smart educated school people haven't a clue. The problem is that most of these same seniors do live of fixed incomes and all these tax increases mean less food and heat for many of them. Just another case of the liberals fostering class warfare.
A quick check of the three towns elderly will show most on fixed and barely survivable incomes. It appears that those people on the school committee are writing off the seniors of their RSU. Just another example of the divide between the haves and have nots. They should be ashamed!
Since the Maine People's Alliance is so closely aligned with SIEU, I would say that their involvement makes the case that this bill be enacted. The fact that MPA is so liberal and can turn out so many members for a showing at Augusta indicates that most of them do not have real jobs and are most probably entitlement driven.
I have long thought that those on welfare ought not be allowed to vote. To receive welfare and vote seems like a conflict of interest!
Ron: A heck of a lot more than you have I'll bet. If you send me your email address, I'll forward to you email copies of the school board chair and HS Principle trying to make apologies for unethical use of the HS newspaper to influence an election. If our education system is so good why does it cost so much and the results are so poor?
A large part of the problem is that the citizens of Maine are no longer in control of education costs. The MEA, NEA and the bureaucrats in Augusta have gained the upper hand and the costs reflect that. What is worse is the results indicate hardly any improvement and many kids today are being lost by inept teachers and poor curriculum.
One example of greedy unions would be the NEA. They are even thought poorly of by many teachers. They lobby for more and more toward education while the result gets less and less. They are responsible by their lobbying for fat perks that many states now cannot find the money to pay for. Yes most of the members of NEA and SIEU are hardworking honest Americans but the unions are bent on destroying the very nation and states that once was the America we loved. God once bless us but now I am not so sure.
If we continue with the liberal agenda then being serfs will become a reality. We cannot sustain the level of handouts that the liberals want. Then the system with implode and we will all be serfs. We are already a nation of takers instead of makers. Nearly half are takers and the WSJ noted that there are more in government than there are in manufacturing, farming, fishing, forestry, mining and utilities combined. What are you? A taker or maker?
Yesterdays WSJ noted that there are more government workers than in all other manufacturing, in fact nearly twice as many. We have become a nation of Takers , not Makers. It is no wonder we are broke.
I will gladly tell my retirement income if you will Ronald. As a retired telephone company supervisor I get $1800 per month. As a retire LEO from NY, what do you get Ronald?
Does Mr. Tetenmans letter indicate a bias? It should as his wife is a retired teacher who makes $36,000 a year in retirement. That is much more than many Mainers make working two or more jobs. Poor babies! That and they live on a half million property should give you an idea of where he comes from.
When one looks at the amount of money in the retirement funds and the amount that could be taken out by retirees the result is bankruptsy. It is a fact that public employees have put $882,247,785 into the retirement funding system but using actuarial tables the projected pay out is $15,384,314,649. That is a huge disparity and unless something is done the whole thing will collapse and then all the retirees will get zero. The Governor and Treasurer are actually doing the public workers a favor by addressing this now but instead they are being loads of flacK. It is the same old entitlement syndrome at play. Gimme, gimme!
As I understrand it the public workers now pay 7.65% but, and thats a big but, if the bill put forth by the Governor would up that temporarily to 9.1% in an attempt to lower the huge hole in the retirement funds.
This url will show you which party was supported by the MEA amd MSEA Done bya group called Maine People before Politics. It shows that these state unions supplied a ton of money to keep democrats in charge of what the unions wanted. It shows that it was these groups that were the largest contributors to the mess we are now in.
It's even sadder when flatlanders from away come to Maine and criticize us and the way we do things. I am one who has donated to MHPC and am a native. There are many mopre who donate here in Maine to MHPC.
I recognize how much good they have done to bring out in the open the greed the public workers and teachers have.
These people from the Big Apple who retire here on good retirements and try to tell us what to do are what is wrong with Maine. We should have blown up the Kittery bridge back in the 50's and not let so many come here and spoil what attracted them. Most are trying to make Maine into what they escaped from. Go figure!
To show you how much better teachers have it; take Mike True, who posted here. State data says he get $30,006 per year plus the $200/month from SS. That is with 28 years as a teacher and he retired ion 2002. I on the other hand retired as a manager from the old AT&T with 32 years and get $22,000/year and no COLA or raise in 20 years. The difference is obvious to me. I should have been a teacher.
Well Mr. Dumas lets look at a real example. I looked at a retiree of RSU43 who retired in 1991 with 34 years of teaching. Her final ave. pay was $54,000/year and she had contributed into the state retirement system $44,500 (an ave. $1,310/year contribution) and has received already $758,760 since 1991 (which is almost $45,000/year) and is projected to receive another $758,760 if she lives as long as actuarial tables predict.
Those who have already retired at RSU #43 have paid in $4,538,076 to the retirement fund but expected payout is a whopping $79,767,265.
Use any compound interest formula and you will see that is a great payout. I retired as a manager from the old AT&T with 32 years and only get $22,000/year and no COLA.
Do I see a conflict of interest here. Don't do away with my job! What if doing away with that job made it cheaper for the rest of us to live. With the cost of gasoline now the idea of continued dragging of empty bottles to the redemption centers is a cost that has not been identified as part of the problem.
Mr. Dumas needs to look at an honest comparison between the teachers retirement plan and those of the private sector. He also needs to be realistic about how easy it would be to get a private sector job that pays as well as does their teaching jobs do.
Why isn't it fair that the teachers pay as much as do private sector workers for retirement . The teachers only work a fraction of the time that private sector workers do. They should get less, they work less.
MHPC is indeed credible. The liberals would have seen to it that they were shut down long ago if what the put out was false. It isn't and all the liberals can do is whine and fuss. Go look at Maine PERS and you will see that what public employees pay into retirement is less than what the rest of us pay into social security.
Look at the fact that retired Lewiston School Supt. Leon Levesque retired in 2006 with an annual retirement pay of $107,935. He contributed over those 38 years $137,317 but had an average final pay of $132,813. The estimated retirement pay out will be $3,323,146.
It is no wonder the state is broke, we have been giving away the farm, yet teachers pay more toward their retirement than many other state workers. The numbers don't lie!
What makes MHPC an unreliable source? Their Maine Open Gov. only takes the numbers available to the public and shares them with the taxpayer. Do as I have done and call the school departments and state agencies. They must share that data due to FOA rules. The data that is in the MHPC site is only a reflection of what the government has for records. Those records show that greedy unions have public employees being paid better and with better benefits that most private employees. That is the facts!
That borrowed money from the retirement funds is part of the 4.3 billion dollars that is owed to the teachers. If you look at the retirement benefits a teacher at top salary would get after 40 years you would see why the system is broke. Many have paid in less than $80,000 yet will be paid out millions under their retirement plan. Common sense will tell you that this cannot continue. Any simple compound interest formula will show you that it takes way more that $5,000/year put into a retirement fund to give back what teachers get now. Doubt it, go look at MHPC website and look at what retirees are getting.
Very good advice! It is obvious to anyone with common sense that we cannot keep adding people to the wagon and less pulling it. What is needed is tough love and I believe that this new Governor has that. We are spending way too much on welfare and those on the dole who are not sick or aged should be gotten off it asap. Tough love, gotta like it.
Just the fact that Obamacare has allowed over 200 unions and large corporations to opt out and a huge tax on home sales is enough to tell me that it is a terrible idea gone bad. Hopefully if our Washington idiots use some common sense they can correct all this. Baring that it ought to be repealed.
As I recall social security was never created to be a retirement plan but rather an insurance to help you if you ran into problems with your own retirement plans and how much they contained. It is to bad that the society has misunderstood the whole concept and not planned for their own retirement properly. Those that did are doing OK. Those that relied on government are now learning just how fickle it truly is.
Mr. David seems to overlook many points in his letter and his many comments. THe 2nd Amendment has been amended over 2000 times already ssince it was pout into our Constitution. What has that done for stopping the acts of a crazy man. It appears ro me that both law enforce ment and others in Tuczon should have recognized this young mans actions and done something to reign him in. Trying to stop gun violence by more laws is futile. There is no way to change the SA without doing serious damage to our freedoms. I nfor one do not want to rely on the police to protect me. They always show up after the fact and oversee the cleanup. What Mr. David needs to do is read just how and why the SA was out into our Constitution.
There uis aomething wrong with that story. The state does pay for foster children. It appears that this person is taking advantage of the food pantry and therefore depriving some one in real need.
Two things come to mind; one, the food pantry is not screening well enough and two, the states DHHS is not doing its job.
All people have the same start in life. Those who apply themselves with a little self reliance and self responsibility do well. Those who are slackers wind up living off of those who work for a living. Government is not a vast source of infinite money. What they have is taken from those with the moxie to work and distributed to the ones who have figured out how to beat the system. How sad it all is!
Hooray for the MHPC! They must be doing something right when the rats begin to squeal. I am so tired of being a wagon puller while so many wagon riders are loafing.
The so called Muslim religion is not a religion of peace. It is very nearly an arm of Satan. The manner in which they treat women and non-believers ought to indicate to us that it is as evil and wrong as can be. To those who believe we can co-exist I say open your eyes ans see what they do to those who we honor and treat as equals. Just their treatment of there own should be an indication of something less than a religion.
Stop all welfare and cut teaching salaries in half for starters. I also think that it would be no great harm to renege on retiree promises. Only an idiot would not have seen this being built as the legislature capitulated to every union lobbyist regarding state workers and teachers salaries and retirement benefits. You cannot work for 30-40 years and then take out off for 20 years without running out of the equity put in. It is financial suicide yet our lawmakers did it and didn't look back. How stupid was that?
This is an example of why our nation is collapsing around us. The citizens are not taking their responsibility to sustain and lead their governments. We have met the enemy and it is us. Don't blame the President, the Congress or even down to our selectmen, the problem is citizen participation. When our republic is over the excuse of I was too busy won't hack it.
The Bill is LD 1737 and now has an amendment to allow carry by those with CCW. The bill was brought out of the Criminal Justice Committee with a divided vote so will go before the general Legislature. All this can be looked up at the Legislatures web site unless you are too lazy to do that kind of research.
Any location that bas guns becomes a victim disarmament zone. The recent pentagon shooter was a liberal and registered democrat. All of the recent mass murder areas such as Ft Hood were off limits to gun, and that is why the killers were so unafraid to commit their crimes there. This National Parks law change would not have been such a big deal if the liberal anti-gun wussies had not raised the evil specter. One wonders who has the evil thinking after all. Gersofsky is a moon bat representing a moon bat town and is a transplanted Vermont liberal.
If this department was so great and the chief was really doing his job, then why did my son have a very expensive target rifle stolen from his home several years ago and even though the police said they knew where it was in Mass. both the Auburn police and BATF have never retrieved it. A case of "not my job!" This was not a rifle that any gang-banger would use. It was a very special target rifle with a collector target scope on it and now it probably rests on the bottom of some river because said police and BATF are so inept that they dare not retrieve it. Keystone cops is a better description!
Typical of todays lay-a-bouts. Scamming the system instead of trying to do an honest days work. And our system lets them get away with it. The police should nail him for driving w/o a licence and the IRS for not reporting his money from donations.
We have let our system create a mess where there are more in the wagon than pulling it. How long do you think that will last?
The AARP is looking out for itself, always has and probably always will. They are a huge business that is ripping off seniors and has made some awful choices over the years that show their liberal self indulgent agenda.
Just where does it say in any written document that we have a right to healthcare? We are the masters of our own bodies; live a unhealthy lifestyle and expect to reap the rewards. Why should i have to pay for your recklessness, or you for mine. Life is not fair and if I cannot afford to buy the best in healthcare, so be it. I do not expect you to have to kick in to save my sorry backsides.
We have become so used to the nanny state we expect more than we can afford. Stop this foolishness. We are all going to die and no amount of healthcare expense is going to prevent that eventual event. You should not expect others to pay to put it off. The next thing you know, people will expect others to pay for your funerals. Sheesh!
As a young man i had no health insurance as well but I worked hard, put myself through college and got a good job that provided it. That took tremendous effort and great cost in addition to money. I do not feel that those who sit on their duffs and hold out their hands for government aid deserve healthcare. No effort no benefits. It is that simple.
Go back to school pay the piper and get a job with benefits, that is the American way. If i could do it anyone can. To sit and complain while doing drugs, drinking and smoking away your life is your choice, live or die with it.
Why would anyone believe what a politician writes. The only time we taxpayers are safe is when the Legislature is not in session. Watson has been a turncoat on several issues over the years. Why are they so adamant about this tax repeal attempt? Are they worried that we taxpayers will take control?
Recent Comments
Typical conflict of interest!
This blatant attempt to skew the outcome is typical of school administrators and boards. Never mind that Auburn's taxpayers are stressed already, you have to remember that, "its for the children,"
What you need to remember is that for the amount of time spent the teachers are extremely well paid. Many are only poor substitutes for teachers and many are not even teachers but get to do the work that the teachers are paid for.
Our education system is broken and way too expensive. Time to rein it in!
Sam Colt said it best!
Sam Colt said it best, "Be not afraid of any man, no matter what his size, when danger threatens call on me and I will equalize."
In these tough economic times and with a President that has brought back the race issue, people are more afraid and cautious now. Many are fearful of anti gun rhetoric of the administration and fear if they get a second term an attempt will be made to ban guns. Therefore they want to get them now and be prepared for what they see as chaos ahead. There is much more pessimism today than 5 years ago and that is a factor in the increase in gun sales. I'll make us safer too!
Tree Growth cheats not the only ones!
These tax cheats are no worse than those who never finish their home construction knowning full well that the tax assessors will not value their home the same as one that is finished and neat. They too are cheating the rest of the taxpayers in any town.
I had been reassured repeatedly by town officials that those homes that look like a pig pen are not getting a tax break. However the assessor who does the assessing for the town said it is common knowledge that such rundown and unfinished buildings are assessed at a lesser amount, thereby making the rest of us pay more. Is that fair?
Could it possibly be that
Could it possibly be that many of these now needful seniors did not lift a hand to provide for their senior years? They spent it all on the fun things and had a ball knowing that the benevolent government would step in and help them out. To those who did not plan for their senior years I say too bad, let your relatives help you out because the reason you are now in need is of your own doing.
Just think how much we spend
Just think how much we spend on people who are greedily bellying up to the welfare bar. 50 years ago, before our Congress Critters opened the trough the number on welfare was significantly smaller. Them main reason that welfare and DHHS budget have grown so large is the entitlement mentality that was fostered by politicians who knew and understood that loafers vote for a living while workers work for a living. Show me where it says that I owe you a living if you do not earn it yourself. Don't quote the Bible, that refers to helping the truly needy, not providing those who choose not to work a living. There is a whale of a difference!
It's a matter of choices, we
It's a matter of choices, we chose to live quietly or with a great deal of drinking and partying. These kids made the wrong choice and now their families have to pay the penalty of great sadness and loss.
It is sorrowful that this happens all to often. Choices, when will we teach that such choices can have great consequences?
No empathy for laziness!
Yes there are people who have degrees and good resumes that are out of work. However, many will not work at a lessor job until one of their liking comes along. Many of todays young are poorly trained and liberal arts degree is worthless in todays technical society. The young, who have had much handed to them in the past, don't want to be patient and work their way to the top.
We have been spoiled and now the tight economy is making things much tougher than in past generations. Many of Maine's youth would do better as tradespeople than as college grads. The world has changed and not for the better. Face that fact and make the choices that will pay off down the road.
Often, my son lives there and
Often, my son lives there and sees the mess created by the dependency on the welfare state.
Graduated Lewiston High
Graduated Lewiston High School, Class of 1951.
Pay attention to what I said!
I did not say that more than 50% were lay-a-bouts. I said it was approaching that. Go look at http://www.wealthwire.com/news/economy/1992 hwrw it states that " Americans are more dependent than ever on government assistance programs. According to the 2010 Census data, 48.5 percent of the entire population relies on government benefits for survival." That was an Oct. 2011 article.
My guess is that those most bothered by such are probably those who are on the dole.
Right on Reggie!
Welfare fraud is rampant but the liberals won't do anything about it as those are their voter base. Nations fail when the lay-a-bout outnumber the workers and we are very close to that mark now.
It makes no sense to bring foreigner here who have a different culture and refuse to assimilate. There are way to many who would welcome the chance to become American and would work hard to become one, to allow the influx of those who will not. It does nothing for our nation to allow this but it is being jammed down our throats anyway.
You can kiss the American way good bye and say hello to Sharia law and culture in the future if you don't wake up and say enough.
AARP pick bad choice!
With the track record of AARP, it would seem that having them pick L/A as a good retirement area would turn off many would be retirees. In my opinion an AARP endorsement in the kiss of death. What they are is a liberal older folk abuser organization.
Do the math!
If one takes the amounts that SS takes from your pay and the amount that your employer has to kick in as well and if you do a compound interest tabulation for the years that you have worked you will find that you could now be getting nearly twice as much retirement money as the government is giving you. SS is a huge Ponzi scheme that has been foisted on the stupid public and we have been bought off cheaply. Wake the heck up and stop putting these scoundrels back in office term after term. An honest politician would have stopped this fleecing of the working people any time in the last 60-70 years it has been in effect.
Nearly all politicians are corrupt
Whether it is GOP or Dem. the harm that has been delt to our nation was done by all, including we the voters who sat on our hands and put most of them back in Washington year after year. Wake up America. a Republic cannot survive without God fearing, honest participation by the masses. Not those on the dole or beholding to nanny government for their existence; but rather honest hard working patriots who truly love what America stands for.
Wrong again:
Most have gotten into trouble with their homes by buying more than they could afford. Most got greedy when the market was climbing expotentially and wanted some of that quick money and status. I have owned two homes although moving 5 times for the company. Now the current small conservative ranch is all paid for and debt free. No I would like a fancy multibedroom and bath house but that requires more money than I thought wise. Now it is I that is setting fat and happy and I don't think it fair that I have to help out those who are either too lazy or not motivated. If they had all worked as hard and long as I then they would be in better shape. It seems strange that it is always those who didn't work for it, that want the rich to pay.
Jason you are wrong;
At the risk of offending you let me say this. I am one who did it on my own. Born a poor farmers son, that’s all, I could have been. However I decided to go back to school after marriage, no help or benefactor, to a tech school and get an Associate Degree. It was not easy, barely enough money, to pay the rent and cover the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or the cheese and macaroni suppers. The wife worked and got enough to pay the rent. Worked at part time jobs and was failing math the 1st half semester. But I did it and graduated 1st in my class by hard work and long hours.
After graduation I got employed by a leading communications company and moved out of Maine with everything I owned in one small trailer. Drove down the main street of a Western Mass town and asked the pastor of a church if he knew of any apartments for rent. After 32 years and 5 moves I retired as a manager quite comfortably because I worked hard, took risks and kept my nose to the grindstone.
Most are poor because they did not take chances or risk, lack education and motive. You cannot wait for it come to you. You have to go after it, swallow fear, pride or shyness and make your own breaks. So many of Maine’s poor are limited by their own inhabitations and lack of education, it was not easy and I was scared witless many times but I did it anyway. I am convinced that any and all could do it if I could.
Ms. Field is blaming the
Ms. Field is blaming the wrong people. There will always be rich and poor but our esteemed politicians are who created Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid; programs that have driven our nation toward bankruptcy.
All that these programs do is create a dependency that grows and grows and people forget how to prepare for their own retirement and sickness.
By creating a nanny state the poor are lulled into dependency and do not prepare for their own welfare. All such poor folk could have become rich had they applied themselves as did the rich. All are born the same yet those who work hard and take the risk almost always become rich while those that are lazy and look to others for gifts wind up poor and looking to the nanny state for assistance.
Governments social engineering has been a disaster and has made more poor than there should be.
Power is shown most when the
Power is shown most when the constituents fail to show their own power in numbers. The apathy of the voters in most of Maine is obvious and because of it we are at their mercy. As Pogo said, "We have met the enemy and it is us!"
We are a nation of takers and
We are a nation of takers and makers. The takers are those on welfare etc while the makers are those with jobs or running companies. Unfortunately the numbers of takers is quickly overtaking the makers. Common sense should indicate that we cannot have as many takers as makers or the system fails.
Maine has been inviting takers for a long time and there are many more being invited into the LA area. That is a disaster in the making.
How to see a trillion in perspective.
Few people have any idea or perspective of what a trillion of anything is. Our deficit is what $14 trillion? Here is a way to view how large that is: The average life span of a 75 year old person is 2.3 billion seconds and puts them back to 1936. A TRILLION seconds ago was 29,000 BC. A trillion dollars is huge, yet our Congress treats it as if it were chump change. We are the chumps and we are not going to like the change as this all comes due.
Words of wisdom!
The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those
who are willing to work and give to those who would not.Thomas Jefferson
Here are a few !
Well Kris; Here are a few from the New Testament. John 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. - Romans 13:10 Love does no wrong to neighbor;therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. - Romans 14:1 As for the man who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not for disputes over opinions. I Corinthians 13:4-8 & 13 Love is patient and Kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things 8 Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away, .......
13 So faith, hope, love abide , these three ; but the greatest of these is love. ! Corinthians 16: 14 Let all that you do be done in in love.
There are others that are quite lengthy so you can look them up your self. I John 4: 7-16 tells us what love is. Be well!
A questions?
Isn't it a teaching in the Muslim Koran that all unbelievers are to be killed? Isn't it a teaching in the Christian Bible that all unbelievers are to be loved? If Al-Jazeera is a Muslim media outlet than the question is do they want all nonbelievers killed? Doesn't this rather odd Muslim religious belief fly in the face of American values?
Most all such congressional
Most all such congressional laws can be interpretative two ways. This law also known as the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999. was signed into law by Clinton, so he shares the blame you put on the GOP, Ron. My point was the people who wanted to get rich off of the then expanding real estate market and bought homes that they knew were beyond their capability to handle. This was allowed by the Dems pushing banks to loan to people who were poor risks. Bush tried to stop it but Barney and the Dems had a fit!
By now the people in Washington should know that any law they create can be taken apart and used to enrich some ones pocket. Mans inequity to man!
Ron this is my last post to you. I will not play ball with a flat lander from out of state who delights in tearing apart the opinions of natives. I refuse to play that game! We must have done something right that you wanted to come here and live. Possibly to expensive and corrupt to stay in NY.
There are way to many with
There are way to many with idle time these days. All because of the Democratic party, Obama and the liberal agenda that caused our depression. Common sense tells those with half a brain that you cannot give loans for homes to those who do not qualify and that is just what Fanny and Freddie did at the behest of Barney Frank et al. Then the greed allowed those bad loans to be bundled and hidden until the whole mess imploded on itself.
You cannot put lipstick on a pig and make it kissable, even though Obama, Pelosi and Reid are trying to.
The problem is not that the
The problem is not that the billionaires are not paying enough taxes. The problem is we have way too many entitlements brought on by stupid ideas in Washington DC. The Great Society was one of them, all it did was put more in the wagon and less pulling it. Most of the rich got that way by working their tails off with some great idea, such as the two guys who started Microsoft. We have way too many lazy people standing around with their hands out. I for one just as soon see them starve if they are unwilling to work. There are jobs out there, go get one and you will be too tired to complain, hopefully.
This is yet another example
This is yet another example of Chicago style leadership. The Obama administration is more corrupt as then any we have seen in the past. To attempt to harm American gun ownership by "Fast & Furious" is about as un-American as it gets. His Constitutional law studies seem to have fallen on deaf ears. But, after what we have seen so far no one should be all that surprised.
A truism !
The problems we face today are there because the people who work for a living are outnumbered by those who vote for a living.
Wealth Redistribution will fail!
Wealth distribution is nothing more than more getting into the wagon while those who who have the money pull it. What will happen? Those pulling are going to say enough and stop. Then all will suffer. Since the beginning of time there are those who work and there are those who will not. No amount of enticing will get the lazy to pull their fair share so let them starve. We have strayed so far for the founding fathers goals that it is unlikely that we will ever be a great nation again.
When did MMA become a state department?
MMA is not a state department. It is only a trade organization, and a self serving one at that. Mostly they lobby in the legislature against the people. They are looking out for towns and cities and not for you the taxpayer. They spend inordinate amounts to influence votes such as their opposition of TABOR 1 and TABOR 2. Bangor has recently dropped their membership as being too costly for what they get back. Too bad the rest of Maine cities and towns wouldn't wake up as well!
Quotes from anti-business Obama
Austin Hill has some useful quotes by Obama to remember.
Fast-forward to January 29th of 2009. Despite the economic decline, some of the nation’s largest financial and lending institutions had actually just posted some hefty profits, and had paid their executives bonuses. And once again President Obama chastised the achievement, stating “there will be time for them to make profits, and there will be time for them to get bonuses…now’s not that time, and that’s a message I intend to send directly to them..” Apparently, in Mr. Obama’s view, it is sometimes preferable for companies to be unprofitable – yet unprofitable companies don’t “create jobs.”
And here’s one of my favorites, from May of 2009. Speaking at the commencement exercises at Arizona State University, President Obama advised the new college graduates against private-sector success: “…You’re taught to chase after all the usual brass rings,” the President lamented. “Yah try to be on this ‘who’s who’ list or that ‘top 100 list’…ya chase after the big money, ya figure out how big your corner office is…ya worry about whether or not ya have a fancy enough title, or a fancy enough car…Now you can take that road, and it may work, for some. But at this critical juncture in our nation’s history, at this difficult time, let me suggest that such an approach won’t get you where you want to go. Did you study business? You can go start a company…or, why not go help a struggling not-for-profit find better and more effective ways to help folks in need?” .
Hows the Hope and Change working out?
How is this Hopey/change thing working out, Jason? 9.2 unemployment rate and even higher with many having given up. $14 trillion debt! Nation on the verge of bankruptcy. Sharia law creeping closer and closer each day to the American way of life. Selling guns to the Mexicans to be used to kill our own border agents. Taking so many trips that we have to supply extra Air Force One crews. Playing golf while millions of Americans are out of work and starving. Million dollar trips to Hawaii. The Soros puppet is doing one heck of a job, isn't he. Give me back Bush any time over this anti American Muslim.
Answer this Mr. Smith.
Then if state employees are so bad off why are they paid and benefited so much better than private employees. Why are they able to retire earlier with less time at the job? Why is their pay better than so many other Mainers? Why is their health benefits so much better and less in cost than those in the private field. Good questions all! Lets see some honest answers!
This is the Detriot that I wrote about.
With Aid to Dependent Children, minority women birthed eight to 10, and in one case, one woman birthed 24 children as reported by the Detroit Free Press, all on American taxpayer dollars.
A new child meant a new car payment, new TV, and whatever mom wanted. I
saw Lyndon Baines Johnson's 'Great Society' flourish in Detroit . If you give money for doing no thing, you will get more hands out taking money for doing nothing.
Mayor Coleman Young, perhaps the most corrupt mayor in America , outside of Richard Daley in Chicago, rode Detroit down to its knees... He set the benchmark for cronyism, incompetence, and arrogance.
And Detroit has had Democratic leadership all this while. Hmmmmmm!
Lets look at some numbers!
A paper written by Congressman Randy Forbes in April of 2008, "The Challenge of Giant Entitlements", states that "Entitlement spending, or government spending that takes place automatically every year without any action from Congress, is currently 62 percent of our overall federal spending."
Federal State and local governments combined spend about 5% of GDP on means tested welfare (for the poor), with over half going to medical care and less than 1/4 going to cash benefits. Total taxes are about 30% of GDP so about 1/6 or 16% of the Federal State and Local taxes you pay goes to welfare.
Projections welfare for YE 2012 are as follows in billions:
Fed. Gov. State Local Total
Welfare 495.6 -35.1 155.2 87.1 702.7
Family and children 107.2 0.0 10.5 9.0 126.7
Unemployment 134.8 -4.8 4.8 0.0 134.9
Housing 69.4 -30.3 7.0 38.2 84.3
Social exclusion 176.6 0.0 52.8 39.8 269.2
Three quarters of a trillion dollars is a lot of money!
Is it hypocritical?
I find it strange that Ron seems to blame guns since he made a living behind a gun. Is this the same tired old hypocrisy of it's OK for me but the rest of you aren't good enough to do it?
Common sense is very rare
Common sense is very rare these days and almost never seen used by politicians and bureaucrats. If fact PC is devoid of common sense and much used by our politicians who are scared to death that the media will think they are not PC orientated. Very sad!
Since these school units are
Since these school units are a majority of any towns budget, it would seem to me that the elected spokespersons for the citizens have every right to comment on said actions. The remarks, even personal remarks, reflect a careless disregard of the older taxpayers of their town and therefore warrant such criticism.
I hate to use the analogy
I hate to use the analogy again but when more in in the wagon than pulling it then the wagon is apt to come to a halt. We are quickly approaching that point and I fear that if the pullers quit there will be a social chaos of extreme danger. Our government has allowed so many to get on the wagon that we are dangerously close to that scenario already. Our entitlement mentality, created by government Great Society, has been the ruination of our once great nation.
See what a wiff of wacky weed
See what a wiff of wacky weed will do to the sense of precautions and safety. Pretty much the same as,"Hold my beer and watch this!" This young man learned a very sorry lesson and anothetr paid for it with his life. Stupid youth!
Those who accept welfare should not get to vote
It is obvious that those who are on teh dole should not be allowed to vote. By allowing that they can continue to vote in those who create and continue these costly programs. Only those who pay taxes and contribute to the overall good of the country should be allwed to vote. Those not willing to work should starve.
Well Gary look at this!!
Statistics show that civilians with guns harm fewer people during a gun altercation than do the police. According to a study by Newsweek magazine, only 2% of civilian shootings involve an innocent person being shot (not killed). The error rate for police is 11%. What this means is that you are more than 5 times more likely to be accidentally shot by a policeman than by an armed citizen. But, when you consider that citizens shoot and kill at least twice as many criminals as do police every year, it means that, per capita, you are more than 11 times more likely to be accidentally shot by a policeman than by an armed citizen. That is as low as I can get that number.
The Kleck study shows that police shoot and kill around 600 criminals each year. Yet the University of Chicago study shows that police killed 330 innocent individuals in 1993. That means that for every two criminals killed by police, one innocent citizen is killed by police. Although I have the greatest respect for the police and how they must respond under pressure, I think that I would much rather trust an armed populace. ( these facts were found at http://actionamerica.org/guns/guns1.shtml)
Now tell me that we only need to rely on police. When seconds count the police are minutes and oftimes hours away.
Remember
When seconds count the police are always minutes away! What good is the CCW permit system with all its cost and background checks if even after securing the states blessing to carry we still cannot have that protection in all our travels?
It is my opinion that after securing a CCW permit these people are more trustworthy than some police.
Let me try again as I lost some words in the previous comment
It is obvious that the editorial writer is unfairly biased against gun ownership, the NRA, their fine publications and the better than half of Mainers who own guns. Not only was this piece biased but they have many facts wrong as well.
To start the man they write about did not have a CCW permit; therefore he was breaking the law. Those who apply for such permits, and pass the very detailed background check, do so to obey the law. There is a vast difference don’t you think? Those who have such permits are extremely careful to obey the laws and go out of their way to abide by them.
It is a fact that an infinitely small percentage of persons with CCW permits ever use them in an unlawful manner.
Secondly the bill LD 932 would only allow those who have permits and have gone through these stringent safeguards to carry in the capitol building. Those who don’t have permits would be barred, but how many has that stopped in the other gun free zones in our country?
It is my opinion that since so many LSJ readers are also gun owners and it appears that the paper is anti gun, then we ought not to support them any longer with a subscription. It also appears to me that reading such editorial garbage is worse for society than carrying a gun as the main reason Maine is so crime free is simply because we own so many guns the bad guys are leery. Therefore it appears that this newspaper wants more crime by outlawing guns.
Biased editorial
It is obvious that the editorial writer is unfairly biased against gun ownership, the NRA, their fine publications and the better than half of Mainers who own guns. Not only was this piece biased but they have many facts wrong as well.
To start the man they writes about did not have a CCW permit, therefore he was breaking the law. Those who apply for such permits and pass the very detailed background search do so obeying the law. There is a vast difference don’t you think? Those who have such permits are extremely careful to obey the laws and go out of their way to abide by them.
It is a fact that an infinitely small percentage of persons with CCW permits ever use them in an unlawful manner.
Secondly the bill LD 932 would only allow those who have permits and have gone through these stringent safeguards to carry in the capitol building. Those who don’t have permits would be barred, but how many has the stopped in the other gun free zones in our country?
It is my opinion that since so many LSJ readers are also gun owners and it appears that the paper is anti gun we ought not to support them any longer with a subscription. It also appears to me that reading such editorial garbage is worse for society than carrying a gun as the main reason Maine is so crime is simply because we own so many guns. Therefore it appears that this newspaper wants more crime by outlawing guns.
I would willingly help him
I would willingly help him move out of state. That was what he emailed me some time ago when I rebutted a LTTR he had written in this newspaper. Good to see he can't hack it! Poor baby! Don't let the door hit you in the behind on the way out Dana!
The biased media would not have noted it
The media is so biased against the Governor they probably would not have attended and if they did they would nit pick something to make him look bad.
I am tired of those
I am tired of those bureaucrats who accept the norm without trying to change what is wrong. Our schools are failing because they accept mediocrity and teachers who are not doing the job they are paid to do. That is more wrong than failing to approve a budget.
When public schools are forced to change to keep up with charter schools then tell me Sen. Mason is on the wrong track.
Let me add...-
At almost 79 let me add that I am tired of being told that I have to "spread the wealth" to people who don't have my work ethic. I am tired of being told by the government that they will take my money, by force, and give it to people too lazy to earn it. I am tired of people with a sense of entitlement, rich or poor. And I am real tired of people who don't take responsibility for their lives and actions. I am tired of hearing them blame the government, discrimination or other reasons for the mess they find themselves in. Don't expect me to feel sorry for you, you made your own bed; now lie in it!
I was born poor as well but made good choices!
It is all a matter of choices. I was born at home on a dirt Maine farm. Raised to be a farmer. Decided that was not going to hack it and although scared to death of failure I worked my way through a 2 year tech school and joined the worlds largest communications company.
We are all born the same but many make bad choices or no choices at all and that creates what you are all harping about. Why should I, who worked hard to be successful, support those who were not due to their inability to make the correct choices? It is too bad you made bad choices but we all started out equally and it was those with their hands out who, in my opinion, deserve what they get. Where in our Constitution does it say that we should give half the citizens government help paid for by the other half?
Those Maine people who are
Those Maine people who are smart enough to get educated and get decent jobs are able to prepare for their senior years. Those who are so enthralled with the entitlement mentality have not done anything to prepare for growing old. Those who are riding in the wagon are going to be some put out when those pulling it say enough and stop.
Some are truly needy and will be helped, but those who have had their hands out their whole lives better look out because the gravy days are over. As a wagon puller I am glad the riders are being dislodged.
Nearly every Maine town has
Nearly every Maine town has at least one of these stories, not about the cats, but an elderly person who is on the edge of disaster. Yes, in many cases there are families but they too may be financially hurting and perhaps ostracized by the older person. Yes we as society have grown cold because government supposedly is the nanny. These stories prove that the government can't handle these cases any better than they gather up the feral cats.
MPBN is biased media to the
MPBN is biased media to the max. If they were truly necessary they could make it on their own without both federal and state assistance.
Their liberal spin on most things has prevented me from donating to them for many many years. When I wrote them to tell them of my opinion they didn't even have the decency of a reply.
That in itself show an arrogance that is unacceptable.
As a senior living on a fixed
As a senior living on a fixed income of about $12,000 per year a $12-30 increase per month is a big deal. Mr. Griffiths will learn later when he gets as old as many if us now are that the continued tax increases are horrendous news to seniors.
It is way past time to have a use fee so those who have children in schools pay more than those who do not. Most seniors have long ago given their fair share and to make them give up food and heat to make their tax payments is grossly unfair.
Many of the elderly in these
Many of the elderly in these 3 towns own their own home free and clear, so these smart educated school people haven't a clue. The problem is that most of these same seniors do live of fixed incomes and all these tax increases mean less food and heat for many of them. Just another case of the liberals fostering class warfare.
A quick check of the three
A quick check of the three towns elderly will show most on fixed and barely survivable incomes. It appears that those people on the school committee are writing off the seniors of their RSU. Just another example of the divide between the haves and have nots. They should be ashamed!
Since the Maine People's
Since the Maine People's Alliance is so closely aligned with SIEU, I would say that their involvement makes the case that this bill be enacted. The fact that MPA is so liberal and can turn out so many members for a showing at Augusta indicates that most of them do not have real jobs and are most probably entitlement driven.
I have long thought that those on welfare ought not be allowed to vote. To receive welfare and vote seems like a conflict of interest!
Ron: A heck of a lot more
Ron: A heck of a lot more than you have I'll bet. If you send me your email address, I'll forward to you email copies of the school board chair and HS Principle trying to make apologies for unethical use of the HS newspaper to influence an election. If our education system is so good why does it cost so much and the results are so poor?
Way to,Judy! Let the man
Way to,Judy! Let the man correct the terrible financial mess the liberals have created over the past several decades. I too am tired of their whining.
A large part of the problem
A large part of the problem is that the citizens of Maine are no longer in control of education costs. The MEA, NEA and the bureaucrats in Augusta have gained the upper hand and the costs reflect that. What is worse is the results indicate hardly any improvement and many kids today are being lost by inept teachers and poor curriculum.
One example of greedy unions
One example of greedy unions would be the NEA. They are even thought poorly of by many teachers. They lobby for more and more toward education while the result gets less and less. They are responsible by their lobbying for fat perks that many states now cannot find the money to pay for. Yes most of the members of NEA and SIEU are hardworking honest Americans but the unions are bent on destroying the very nation and states that once was the America we loved. God once bless us but now I am not so sure.
If we continue with the
If we continue with the liberal agenda then being serfs will become a reality. We cannot sustain the level of handouts that the liberals want. Then the system with implode and we will all be serfs. We are already a nation of takers instead of makers. Nearly half are takers and the WSJ noted that there are more in government than there are in manufacturing, farming, fishing, forestry, mining and utilities combined. What are you? A taker or maker?
Yesterdays WSJ noted that
Yesterdays WSJ noted that there are more government workers than in all other manufacturing, in fact nearly twice as many. We have become a nation of Takers , not Makers. It is no wonder we are broke.
Increasing the minimum wage
Increasing the minimum wage is like standing in a bucket and trying to lift yourself by the handle.
I will gladly tell my
I will gladly tell my retirement income if you will Ronald. As a retired telephone company supervisor I get $1800 per month. As a retire LEO from NY, what do you get Ronald?
Does Mr. Tetenmans letter
Does Mr. Tetenmans letter indicate a bias? It should as his wife is a retired teacher who makes $36,000 a year in retirement. That is much more than many Mainers make working two or more jobs. Poor babies! That and they live on a half million property should give you an idea of where he comes from.
When one looks at the amount
When one looks at the amount of money in the retirement funds and the amount that could be taken out by retirees the result is bankruptsy. It is a fact that public employees have put $882,247,785 into the retirement funding system but using actuarial tables the projected pay out is $15,384,314,649. That is a huge disparity and unless something is done the whole thing will collapse and then all the retirees will get zero. The Governor and Treasurer are actually doing the public workers a favor by addressing this now but instead they are being loads of flacK. It is the same old entitlement syndrome at play. Gimme, gimme!
The difference between 7.65 and 9.1
As I understrand it the public workers now pay 7.65% but, and thats a big but, if the bill put forth by the Governor would up that temporarily to 9.1% in an attempt to lower the huge hole in the retirement funds.
This url will show you which
This url will show you which party was supported by the MEA amd MSEA Done bya group called Maine People before Politics. It shows that these state unions supplied a ton of money to keep democrats in charge of what the unions wanted. It shows that it was these groups that were the largest contributors to the mess we are now in.
MPBP_msea_mea_analysis
It's even sadder when
It's even sadder when flatlanders from away come to Maine and criticize us and the way we do things. I am one who has donated to MHPC and am a native. There are many mopre who donate here in Maine to MHPC.
I recognize how much good they have done to bring out in the open the greed the public workers and teachers have.
These people from the Big Apple who retire here on good retirements and try to tell us what to do are what is wrong with Maine. We should have blown up the Kittery bridge back in the 50's and not let so many come here and spoil what attracted them. Most are trying to make Maine into what they escaped from. Go figure!
To show you how much better
To show you how much better teachers have it; take Mike True, who posted here. State data says he get $30,006 per year plus the $200/month from SS. That is with 28 years as a teacher and he retired ion 2002. I on the other hand retired as a manager from the old AT&T with 32 years and get $22,000/year and no COLA or raise in 20 years. The difference is obvious to me. I should have been a teacher.
Well Mr. Dumas lets look at a
Well Mr. Dumas lets look at a real example. I looked at a retiree of RSU43 who retired in 1991 with 34 years of teaching. Her final ave. pay was $54,000/year and she had contributed into the state retirement system $44,500 (an ave. $1,310/year contribution) and has received already $758,760 since 1991 (which is almost $45,000/year) and is projected to receive another $758,760 if she lives as long as actuarial tables predict.
Those who have already retired at RSU #43 have paid in $4,538,076 to the retirement fund but expected payout is a whopping $79,767,265.
Use any compound interest formula and you will see that is a great payout. I retired as a manager from the old AT&T with 32 years and only get $22,000/year and no COLA.
Do I see a conflict of
Do I see a conflict of interest here. Don't do away with my job! What if doing away with that job made it cheaper for the rest of us to live. With the cost of gasoline now the idea of continued dragging of empty bottles to the redemption centers is a cost that has not been identified as part of the problem.
Mr. Dumas needs to look at an
Mr. Dumas needs to look at an honest comparison between the teachers retirement plan and those of the private sector. He also needs to be realistic about how easy it would be to get a private sector job that pays as well as does their teaching jobs do.
Why isn't it fair that the teachers pay as much as do private sector workers for retirement . The teachers only work a fraction of the time that private sector workers do. They should get less, they work less.
MHPC is indeed credible. The
MHPC is indeed credible. The liberals would have seen to it that they were shut down long ago if what the put out was false. It isn't and all the liberals can do is whine and fuss. Go look at Maine PERS and you will see that what public employees pay into retirement is less than what the rest of us pay into social security.
Look at the fact that retired Lewiston School Supt. Leon Levesque retired in 2006 with an annual retirement pay of $107,935. He contributed over those 38 years $137,317 but had an average final pay of $132,813. The estimated retirement pay out will be $3,323,146.
It is no wonder the state is broke, we have been giving away the farm, yet teachers pay more toward their retirement than many other state workers. The numbers don't lie!
What makes MHPC an unreliable
What makes MHPC an unreliable source? Their Maine Open Gov. only takes the numbers available to the public and shares them with the taxpayer. Do as I have done and call the school departments and state agencies. They must share that data due to FOA rules. The data that is in the MHPC site is only a reflection of what the government has for records. Those records show that greedy unions have public employees being paid better and with better benefits that most private employees. That is the facts!
That borrowed money from the
That borrowed money from the retirement funds is part of the 4.3 billion dollars that is owed to the teachers. If you look at the retirement benefits a teacher at top salary would get after 40 years you would see why the system is broke. Many have paid in less than $80,000 yet will be paid out millions under their retirement plan. Common sense will tell you that this cannot continue. Any simple compound interest formula will show you that it takes way more that $5,000/year put into a retirement fund to give back what teachers get now. Doubt it, go look at MHPC website and look at what retirees are getting.
Very good advice! It is
Very good advice! It is obvious to anyone with common sense that we cannot keep adding people to the wagon and less pulling it. What is needed is tough love and I believe that this new Governor has that. We are spending way too much on welfare and those on the dole who are not sick or aged should be gotten off it asap. Tough love, gotta like it.
Just the fact that Obamacare
Just the fact that Obamacare has allowed over 200 unions and large corporations to opt out and a huge tax on home sales is enough to tell me that it is a terrible idea gone bad. Hopefully if our Washington idiots use some common sense they can correct all this. Baring that it ought to be repealed.
As I recall social security
As I recall social security was never created to be a retirement plan but rather an insurance to help you if you ran into problems with your own retirement plans and how much they contained. It is to bad that the society has misunderstood the whole concept and not planned for their own retirement properly. Those that did are doing OK. Those that relied on government are now learning just how fickle it truly is.
Mr. David seems to overlook
Mr. David seems to overlook many points in his letter and his many comments. THe 2nd Amendment has been amended over 2000 times already ssince it was pout into our Constitution. What has that done for stopping the acts of a crazy man. It appears ro me that both law enforce ment and others in Tuczon should have recognized this young mans actions and done something to reign him in. Trying to stop gun violence by more laws is futile. There is no way to change the SA without doing serious damage to our freedoms. I nfor one do not want to rely on the police to protect me. They always show up after the fact and oversee the cleanup. What Mr. David needs to do is read just how and why the SA was out into our Constitution.
There uis aomething wrong
There uis aomething wrong with that story. The state does pay for foster children. It appears that this person is taking advantage of the food pantry and therefore depriving some one in real need.
Two things come to mind; one, the food pantry is not screening well enough and two, the states DHHS is not doing its job.
All people have the same start in life. Those who apply themselves with a little self reliance and self responsibility do well. Those who are slackers wind up living off of those who work for a living. Government is not a vast source of infinite money. What they have is taken from those with the moxie to work and distributed to the ones who have figured out how to beat the system. How sad it all is!
Hooray for the MHPC! They
Hooray for the MHPC! They must be doing something right when the rats begin to squeal. I am so tired of being a wagon puller while so many wagon riders are loafing.
The so called Muslim religion
The so called Muslim religion is not a religion of peace. It is very nearly an arm of Satan. The manner in which they treat women and non-believers ought to indicate to us that it is as evil and wrong as can be. To those who believe we can co-exist I say open your eyes ans see what they do to those who we honor and treat as equals. Just their treatment of there own should be an indication of something less than a religion.
Stop all welfare and cut
Stop all welfare and cut teaching salaries in half for starters. I also think that it would be no great harm to renege on retiree promises. Only an idiot would not have seen this being built as the legislature capitulated to every union lobbyist regarding state workers and teachers salaries and retirement benefits. You cannot work for 30-40 years and then take out off for 20 years without running out of the equity put in. It is financial suicide yet our lawmakers did it and didn't look back. How stupid was that?
This is an example of why our
This is an example of why our nation is collapsing around us. The citizens are not taking their responsibility to sustain and lead their governments. We have met the enemy and it is us. Don't blame the President, the Congress or even down to our selectmen, the problem is citizen participation. When our republic is over the excuse of I was too busy won't hack it.
The Bill is LD 1737 and now
The Bill is LD 1737 and now has an amendment to allow carry by those with CCW. The bill was brought out of the Criminal Justice Committee with a divided vote so will go before the general Legislature. All this can be looked up at the Legislatures web site unless you are too lazy to do that kind of research.
Any location that bas guns
Any location that bas guns becomes a victim disarmament zone. The recent pentagon shooter was a liberal and registered democrat. All of the recent mass murder areas such as Ft Hood were off limits to gun, and that is why the killers were so unafraid to commit their crimes there. This National Parks law change would not have been such a big deal if the liberal anti-gun wussies had not raised the evil specter. One wonders who has the evil thinking after all. Gersofsky is a moon bat representing a moon bat town and is a transplanted Vermont liberal.
If this department was so
If this department was so great and the chief was really doing his job, then why did my son have a very expensive target rifle stolen from his home several years ago and even though the police said they knew where it was in Mass. both the Auburn police and BATF have never retrieved it. A case of "not my job!" This was not a rifle that any gang-banger would use. It was a very special target rifle with a collector target scope on it and now it probably rests on the bottom of some river because said police and BATF are so inept that they dare not retrieve it. Keystone cops is a better description!
Typical of todays
Typical of todays lay-a-bouts. Scamming the system instead of trying to do an honest days work. And our system lets them get away with it. The police should nail him for driving w/o a licence and the IRS for not reporting his money from donations.
We have let our system create a mess where there are more in the wagon than pulling it. How long do you think that will last?
The AARP is looking out for
The AARP is looking out for itself, always has and probably always will. They are a huge business that is ripping off seniors and has made some awful choices over the years that show their liberal self indulgent agenda.
Just where does it say in
Just where does it say in any written document that we have a right to healthcare? We are the masters of our own bodies; live a unhealthy lifestyle and expect to reap the rewards. Why should i have to pay for your recklessness, or you for mine. Life is not fair and if I cannot afford to buy the best in healthcare, so be it. I do not expect you to have to kick in to save my sorry backsides.
We have become so used to the nanny state we expect more than we can afford. Stop this foolishness. We are all going to die and no amount of healthcare expense is going to prevent that eventual event. You should not expect others to pay to put it off. The next thing you know, people will expect others to pay for your funerals. Sheesh!
As a young man i had no
As a young man i had no health insurance as well but I worked hard, put myself through college and got a good job that provided it. That took tremendous effort and great cost in addition to money. I do not feel that those who sit on their duffs and hold out their hands for government aid deserve healthcare. No effort no benefits. It is that simple.
Go back to school pay the piper and get a job with benefits, that is the American way. If i could do it anyone can. To sit and complain while doing drugs, drinking and smoking away your life is your choice, live or die with it.
Why would anyone believe
Why would anyone believe what a politician writes. The only time we taxpayers are safe is when the Legislature is not in session. Watson has been a turncoat on several issues over the years. Why are they so adamant about this tax repeal attempt? Are they worried that we taxpayers will take control?