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| Re: Oh L - Robotrains have a mind of their own (973553) | |||
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Re: Oh L - Robotrains have a mind of their own |
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Posted by SilverFox on Tue Aug 31 22:52:53 2010, in response to Re: Oh L - Robotrains have a mind of their own, posted by SelkirkTMO on Tue Aug 31 20:49:38 2010. Unca Kev, you know I think you're a good guy despite our disagreements, so I will be nice and spell it out for you in as unemotional a manner as possible, so that maybe you can see what your bretheren are up against. I, myself, am not doing that badly in the grand scheme of things, you could say. In my own world, however, I feel I'm behind the curve with regard to where I thought I'd be by now in several measures, and feel resentful that I either made some incorrect decisions based on faulty research, or that the goal posts have been moved after the ball has been kicked. I complain to my (unemployed, maritally separated, bankrupt, unhealthy) friends about my situation, and all they can do is growl at me for even COUNTENANCING upset, given the state of our world nowadays. I can only apologize to them and think in my head that "everybody has their own problems and feel that theirs are the worst in the world. I shouldn't have to apologize, but under the circumstances . . ." It's like being out in a sea without a ripple in a sailboat with a broken sail complaining you're not going anywhere while back on land a tsunami destroys everything up to 50 miles inland and thousands of people are being killed. You didn't even KNOW about the tsunami because the wave fleeted under you, and you're concentrating on getting your craft moving again. Does that make you a beast for complaining so loudly about your lot under the circumstances? Suppose the next day the sailboat got struck by a wave and killed the crew because the boat couldn't get out of the way? Same exposure to danger; different realization of same. Well here's the deal: MTA hourlies are in that broken sailboat, unaware that around them the very people they rely on for their livelihoods are suffering. Interminably. At least when compared to their situation. Yes, it is tough not to take a luxury vacation when things are tight. It makes you unhappy, and yes, you have every right to be. But others are unable to eat, or otherwise keep up the lifestyle to which THEY are accustomed, while those at the MTA are looking to maintain their lifestyle, or worse, INCREASE their standard of living, despite everybody else's receding, I wouldn't give a shit if it was Goldman Sachs or WalMart for that matter whose employees were looking for more money. I choose to give or not give my money to them. I can't choose not to give money to the government, and feel that your asking for more money, perqs, benefits, time off . . . whatever during what should be austere times, at my expense, is just wrong, especially when I am suffering worse than you are. For example: - Our base pay (hourly rate) is comparable. - I only get three weeks vacation per year. Not the worst, but not as good as your 4 after some ridiculously low seniority (I won't get four weeks until about twelve years). And I had to go twelve months without a break other than a normal calendar holiday because of my company's vacation policy. I can't bank it, and I don't get paid for the days I don't use. - I pay approximately $2,000.00 per year into my health insurance. That's a week's vacation right there, with first-class airfare if you do it right. I also pay $50.00 for each script and a $20.00 copay for an office visit. - I do NOT get a pension I don't pay into. I contribute nearly $7,500.00 per year into my 401(k) for a retirement that I may work and rant myself to death before. My company pays about another $3,000.00. Combined, that money can be the difference between a down payment on a decent lifelong investment in a home and just getting by making someone else wealthy renting their hovel. Should you feel bad for me? You be the judge: By my estimates at a 10% annual compound rate of return at my current level of contribution, I predict a $5 million nest egg at age 70 1/2, when I will have to start taking required minimum distributions on all this tax-deferred accumulated wealth. But I don't want my life to begin at 70 when I need the money NOW to live as a member of this so-called "middle class" that is slowly withering away in the private sector. And can I hang my hat on a ten percent annual return in the market? Of course not. Hell, I'd be lucky if I didn't LOSE money this year at the rate we're going. Hardly an American dream. - In addition to your non-contributory pension (or ridiculously 1% low, I forget . . . correct me if I am wrong), you can do what I can do (and have been doing, more or less at various periods) and invest in BOTH a 403(b) (similar to my 401(k)) using your own money up to $15,000.00 AND an IRA of up to $5,000.00 for your retirement. Shit, $7,500.00 is already sunk into my 401(k) . . . where am I going to get $5,000.00 more for my Roth IRA, or another $7,500.00 to round out the K? And those income streams would be in ADDITION to your free money pension that escalates with the cost of living. But you will get a check 'til the day you die, and don't HAVE to save a cent. So go buy that house, that Cadillac, that boat, and that summer house wherever. 'Market down fifty percent this year? Pshaw! Father Knickerbocker has your back. All for doing what, that anybody with decent eye-hand coordination and a few days of getting used to the equipment can do if they put their mind to it? - My birthday is not a paid day off in addition to all others. - My job involves a four-year college degree and having to pass a battery of stringent, substantive, esoteric, licensing and regulatory exams, all while knowing that most of the jobs surrounding me, as well as my own job, can either be moved to India or computerized. If I slip up, I could be responsible for millions of dollars in losses. Is that a bit of hyperbole? Maybe, but it can happen in theory. And it is just about as hyperbolic as your slipping up and putting 2,000 lives in the lurch. For every Union Square or Malbone Street, I could name an instance (such as just a few months ago, when some jerkoff caused the Market to fall 1000 points because of a typo) where inattention at my position can cause just as much suffering. Thankfully, in both cases, the instances are few, but they are profound. Okay, back to the issue at hand: Different education requirements, different degree of qualification hurdles to jump over, stress of similar order but different torsion . . . comparable pay. Something's wrong here. Either I worked too hard in school, or I shouldn't have bought the line bandied about my circles that working for the government was a dead-end for dead-enders. - I can't retire after 20 years with full benefits 'til I drop dead. Nevermind 25. Fuck, no company wants to see their employees much after five anymore. They just become too expensive and don't produce any more than they had five years ago. Sound familiar? And these are just the major issues. Sometimes I, as the "banker," feel like sheet compared to this sweetheart deal y'all get. |
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