Transportation

Re: Taxes

meaver46 — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 23:50:30 GMT

Point taken.

Re: Taxes

nittanygirl — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 23:34:12 GMT

First, in my state I am not allowed to "strike". I get paid by the government and therefore a lot less then the unionized teachers up north. Before you generalize, I do not agree with everything that the teachers get up north due to their contract. Some of it is just petty BUT you have to realize that there are teachers out there that are not part of a union -- so again -- please do not generalize.

Second, look at the previous posts. PAT workers were called uneducated, lazy, and rude. Please do not generalize. Some of these workers may be these things but not all.

Let's talk about the issues without name calling. The issues are taxes, the corruption in Port Authority itself, fare hikes, and unions. Everyone that belongs to a union is not an evil creature.

Re: Taxes

meaver46 — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 22:31:35 GMT

And one more thing, Nittany Girl, you state, "people that serve the public are not respected." I think you have it backwards. The public you serve is not respected, neither by teachers nor transit workers.

Re: Taxes

meaver46 — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 22:26:50 GMT

Hopefully, PA will become the 40th state to have laws in place to make it illegal for both Teachers' Unions and Transit Unions to strike, thereby stopping both Unions from having the ability to hold the public you both SERVE hostage, while you ask for wages and benefits that FAR exceed what most everyone else receives.

We people in the private sector struggle every day to make a decent living as well. We all have our hardships and dangers, no matter what we do for a living. Transit workers and teachers ned to realize that and both need to stop whining about how difficult their jobs are. You make me and everyone else sick. You should be thankful you even have jobs, given the economy today. Both groups need to stop asking that more and more of our tax dollars that WE earn should go to them, because they have self-inflated egos and believe they have the most important jobs in the world, more important than anyone else's.

Both of you groups of workers need to realize that doctors, nurses, and a myriad of other jobs exist that are harder than yours and that also serve the public.

If it was illegal for you to strike, we wouldn't have to go through this every 3 years with PAT while they hold the public hostage and we would not ever have teachers holding our children's right to an education hostage.

You all should be ashamed of yourselves.

Re: Taxes

nittanygirl — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 21:55:18 GMT

I am sorry but some things just have to be addressed. The Port Authority votes today on their contract. Hopefully it will pass and this whole issue will be dropped until it comes up again in three years. People that serve the public are not respected. It is evident in the comments by the prior posts. We,the peasants,should bow at the feet of the gainfully employed that work for a paycheck. Please forgive us for trying to serve the public and trying to make a decent living.

Re: Taxes

meaver46 — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 21:50:45 GMT

Nittany Girl and Philly Tom- Why don't you take your more "personal" argument and begin emailing each other directly? Philly Tom can attack Nittany Girl for being a teacher and Nittany Girl, you can defend yourself and discuss your teaching experience. You are both beginning to veer off of the point of this blog. Please setop wasting everyone's time.

Re: Taxes

nittanygirl — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 20:57:03 GMT

Let me fix one word:

First of all, it was a typo. I know how to spell aggressive -- In my spare time I had to coach cheerleading -- believe me I know how to spell aggressive after hearing it hundreds of times.

Second, I use to be in the business world. I agree with you that our math and science scores are horrible. That is why I chose to get my masters and teach math. I too blamed the teachers before I actually stepped into a classroom. Since I have been in the classroom, I have realized that, yes, some of the teachers out there are in it for the time off BUT not ALL of the teachers. I took a pay cut to teach BUT I am making a difference every day. I would LOVE to be paid based on my performance. My students score above and beyond the state average. How do my students perform so well? I buy and create all of my own materials. What the government (schools in my state are funded from the state and local government) provides as materials for my students is a sin. My students sit in desks that are broken, chairs that fall apart as my students sit in them, and materials from decades ago. We do not even have enough paper in the building. Teachers are buying it on their own to fulfill their duties as teachers. Great teachers are leaving the profession because they cannot afford to spend the money to provide good instruction. So we are left with teachers who are trying to make a difference and teachers that are awful but keep their jobs because there are no qualified canidates to take their place. My school and co-workers spend countless hours working together to provide a learning environment while dealing with behavior problems, mental disabilities, socioeconomic problems (our population of parents are increasingly losing their jobs), and apathy from the parents. All the while, even though we are a very poor school with little to no resources, our scores in math and science are at the top of our district and state.I have seen, just over the past week, teachers buying winter coats for the students because they are standing out in the cold for the bus. Teachers buy snacks to share with the students who do not have enough to eat. Teachers working at the local food bank so that our families will have something to eat.

Please do not remind me that the US is behind in science and math. I am fully aware of this point BUT until people like you that have a math and science background enter the teaching field or at least mentor a child, it is not going to get better. I am doing my part -- How about you?

Re: Taxes

nittanygirl — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 20:55:16 GMT

First of all, it was a typo. I know how to spell aggressive -- In my spare time I had to coach cheerleading -- believe me I know how to spell aggressive after hearing it hundreds of times.

Re: What do you think of the proposed transit contract?

beauty — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 20:35:06 GMT

what the public does not realize is how the port authority got to where it is. it was through abuse of all taxes involved, fraud, and kickbacks . that is it in a nutshell. truthfully, the port authority needs to be federally investigated. (how) could this public agency have gotten away with all that they have done and continue to be allowed to do?

Re: Taxes

PhillyTom — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 19:03:36 GMT

I don't mind paying for roads, parks, police, fire, ambulance. I do mind being taxed to pay for teachers who are so good at their jobs that among industrialized nations, America ranks last or near last in the education level of its children. Last in math and science. GREAT job, teach. I do mind being taxed to pay for people who are atrocious at their job. I do mind being taxed to pay for retired teachers to do nothing.

Far from providing a benefit to me, you are a huge part of the problem. You and your colleagues are so lousy at your jobs that we are falling way behind other countries in terms of education level.

You have a master's degree and you can't spell 'aggressive'. Impressive, really. Well done.

Re: Port Authority Driver shot in East Liberty

1US1 — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 18:25:51 GMT

Pizza delivery can be even more dangerous -- remember the collar bomb case in Erie? http://www.pizzamarketplace.com/article_printable.php?id=3434&page=148

The pizza delivery driver comparison is instructive because they face the same risks and perform pretty much the same work, except the routes are not the same day after day. The big difference is that pizza delivery drivers do not have a powerful union to threaten strikes in order to extort more money from companies and governments . Let's call unions what they are -- legal extortion.

Taxes

nittanygirl — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 18:03:50 GMT

Without taxes we would not have libraries, parks, or a road system among other things. So I think your beef is with the fact that your tax dollars are spent to pay other people's salaries that provide benifits to you -- Maybe you should move to your own island and then you wouldn't have to put up with us peasants that work for you.

Re: What do you think of the proposed transit contract?

Burghman — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 17:54:45 GMT

PhillyTom:

And your second question: I wear blue jeans, I drink beer, I walk my dogs, take out the trash, cook, do dishes...so no, I don't think I'm high and mighty. Not for my salary or for any other reason. I would simply never dream of thinking I was entitled to have someone else's wealth redistributed to me, in the form of taxes, for the work I do. But you don't mind living off of someone else's wages. That's the difference between us.

Taxes by their very nature "redistribute wealth"

Port Authority Driver shot in East Liberty

nittanygirl — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 17:46:15 GMT

I thought their jobs were not dangerous? Hmmm . . .

Re: What do you think of the proposed transit contract?

PhillyTom — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 03:38:08 GMT

I don't have to decide whether or not I'm worth my salary. My boss, and my boss's boss, do that for me. And yes, they think I'm worth my salary. I know that because I still have a job. And since their name is on the line if I don't perform, I know that they're tough evaluators. Can you and your boss say the same? What incentive do you have to make kids pass whatever class it is you teach? You have none. Nothing happens to you if you're terrible at your job. And maybe you, personally, are one of the good ones. I have no way of knowing that. But that means you're one out of twenty.

(By the way, 'aggressive' is spelled with two g's, teach.)

And your second question: I wear blue jeans, I drink beer, I walk my dogs, take out the trash, cook, do dishes...so no, I don't think I'm high and mighty. Not for my salary or for any other reason. I would simply never dream of thinking I was entitled to have someone else's wealth redistributed to me, in the form of taxes, for the work I do. But you don't mind living off of someone else's wages. That's the difference between us.

And drop the 'don't hit me, I'm a girl' bit. You entered the debate, and rather self-righteously if I must say. You offered your own strong opinion; if you can't handle a strong opinion that differs with yours, maybe you should stay out of the conversation.