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DEL.ICIO.USStaving off the employee-compensation train wreck
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
While Congress dawdles in finding solutions to the worsening Social Security crisis —- the baby boomers will bust it, and Medicare, too —- the governor of Georgia is taking the small steps that should help avert the collision of the generations.
With Social Security and Medicare, of course, the problem is that fewer workers are supporting more retirees —- from 16-1 in 1950 to just over 3-1 now and down to 2-1 when today’s young workers reach retirement age. Spending is expected to basically double in the next 20 years, with health care benefits going from 23 percent of total employee compensation to 41 percent. The federal share of spending that pays for Medicare will increase from 13 percent to more than 23.
Failing therefore to get a handle on the built-in future costs of retiree services is shortsighted. The end result will be that one generation will suck up the quality of life of another, of the struggling young families trying to get started.
Gov. Sonny Perdue raised the ire of judges and their supporters last month for vetoing a pay raise. His view is, though, that governments get themselves and their taxpayers in trouble by rolling over small problems. That’s what Congress did with Social Security and Medicare. “Our choices about social investment —- in infrastructure, education, national defense —- are being reduced as mandatory spending crowds out discretionary spending,” said U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt recently in talking about Medicare. “In the last two decades, we’ve gone from half of our national spending being discretionary to only 38 percent. In four years, it is projected to be down to less than one-third.”
Perdue has begun to examine where Georgia is headed, state government in particular. In generations past, workers were hired young and stayed on the job throughout their working years. Now, though, they job-hop.
Under the compensation system that exists now, public employees are paid less than the average of top 20 employers while working, but they make it up after they retire. Young workers want the money upfront, and they want retirement benefits to be portable, something they can carry to their next employer.
A compensation plan created now would take some of that money from the back end and move it forward with higher salaries earlier. Legislation approved this year by the General Assembly would begin that process, creating a new retirement system for employees hired after Jan. 1, 2009. Under it, employees would be eligible for both a defined-benefit plan and a defined-contribution 401(k) plan, too. Benefits in the standard defined-benefit plan would be less, but the 401(k) would give new employees a nest egg they own and can take with them whenever they leave.
Everybody wins —- though future governors and legislators will necessarily have to avoid the temptation to corrupt the plan that takes effect on Jan. 1, as they have done with every retirement system the state has created.
When Perdue vetoed the proposed judicial pay increase bill last month because of the generous backloaded benefits that judges enjoy, he said it was because a study he commissioned revealed that “the judiciary’s retirement benefits are far above market average.” Furthermore, he said, “I have seen no compelling data to the contrary.”
Superior court judges with 16 years of service can retire with two-thirds of their salaries at age 60. That can increase up to 75 percent of state-paid salaries (counties supplement their pay by an average of $35,160 per judge in all but one circuit).
As an example of how backloaded benefits might be moved forward, Perdue had a bill before the General Assembly that would have reduced that for new judges from 66.66 percent to 60 percent at age 60. He made no attempt to move it. It is an example, however, of changes that could be made now that would not exacerbate the state’s financial problems in the future.
A rich salary, whether for judges or other public employees, is not a major concern —- unless it triggers a golden parachute.
Perdue is one of those rare governors who knows that —- and takes the heat today, as he’s done from judges, to avoid trouble tomorrow.
For that taxpayers should be grateful.
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Comments
By Lisa
June 3, 2008 9:39 AM | Link to this
Fat pensions spell doom for many cities Vallejo, Calif., took the extreme step of filing for bankruptcy to get out of generous obligations to public employees. Other cities and states are watching. (Money Magazine) — The jig is up. For years, politicians have been playing what amounts to a multi-trillion-dollar shell game with state and local pensions. They’ve doled out lush retiree benefits to their heavily unionized workforces, knowing that they could shove the cost for those benefits onto future generations of taxpayers. But a recent financial bombshell dropped by a San Francisco suburb shows why that shell game is now starting to unravel in a nasty way. And it’s a cautionary tale that you can’t afford to ignore. Here’s the skinny: In late May, Vallejo, Calif., became the largest city in California history to declare bankruptcy. Its financial demise was brought about partly by the real estate crash, which decimated home prices in the area and put a major dent in the city’s tax revenues. But the real nail in Vallejo’s coffin was the city’s labor costs. Under the current labor agreement, the average police officer walking the beat in Vallejo will be paid $122,000 this year before overtime, according to city documents. An average sergeant will make $151,000; a captain, $231,000. The average firefighter, meanwhile, will bring in $130,000 before overtime. That’s just the salaries, though. The final budget-crusher was the city’s pension plan. Thanks to retroactive benefit enhancements approved by the city council in 2000, police officers and firefighters can now retire at age 50 and receive an annual pension equal to 90% of their final pay (assuming 30 years on the job), an amount that gets increased every year to help keep pace with inflation. The old plan had given the workers a pension equal to 60% of their final pay at age 50. So a Vallejo police sergeant making $150,000 a year can now retire at age 50 and receive an annual pension of $135,000, increased each year for inflation. To put that amount in context, you would need to amass a retirement nest egg equal to about $3.5 million to produce a similar retirement income on your own. It wasn’t just police and firefighters who benefited from the city’s largess. The annual pensions for rank-and-file city employees were jacked up from 60% of final pay at age 55 (after a 30-year career) to a whopping 80% of pay, increased each year for inflation. Other towns in trouble Here’s the scary part: What’s going on Vallejo isn’t unique. Back at the turn of this century, when the stock market was still booming, public pension plans across the country were suddenly overflowing with surplus money. Politicians responded by handing out heavily sweetened pensions. Then, even though the stock market collapsed, politicians couldn’t stop the trend. In 2001 alone, pension benefits were increased in at least 17 state plans, as well as some major cities. For a while, inflated housing prices came to the rescue, handing many municipalities a windfall in increased property tax revenues. Now that bubble has collapsed and the stock market is floundering. State pension plans alone are about $360 billion short of the assets they should ideally hold for future retirees, according to a recent report by the Pew Center on the States. And that’s not including city plans. Cities and states that enriched their benefits in the past few years are especially at risk. That’s because no matter how badly a pension plan’s investments perform, the enhanced pension benefits promised to state and local employees back in the boom times can’t be taken away, or even modified - they are locked in by constitutional and legal guarantees. There is, however, one potential option for cutting back on public pension benefits: bankruptcy. And that’s what it has now come to in Vallejo. Elected officials in other struggling areas will surely be watching. Of course, nobody wins in a bankruptcy. Vallejo must now slash services and lay off workers to make ends meet - a sad outcome for both the city workers and residents. Bankruptcy will also wreak havoc on the city’s credit rating, making it much more expensive to borrow money for building roads and schools and maintaining the city’s infrastructure. So what’s the lesson here? I’m certainly not suggesting that state and local workers be deprived of the pensions they were promised when they started their careers. That was part of the deal they signed up for and it should be honored. The police and firefighters of Vallejo, for example, were told they’d get a pension equal to 60% of their pay at age 50, and so they should. But the practice of retroactively boosting public sector pensions without any serious debate or approval by taxpayers has got to stop. As the Vallejo debacle illustrates, the stakes are simply too high. Historically, the justification for these types of pension enhancements has been that public sector workers are forgoing the salaries they would have otherwise received in the private sector, in exchange for better retirement benefits. But that no longer seems to hold true. According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, the hourly salary (before benefits) of public-sector professionals (including teachers and lawyers) was $31.51 in December 2007, virtually identical to the $31.75 for private-sector professionals. Public-sector service employees (including many blue-collar jobs) averaged $16.72 an hour in salary, compared to $9.87 for private-sector employees. This is an election year. As such, many states and municipalities are under heavy pressure to sweeten the pension plans for their workers - Massachusetts, South Carolina and Pennsylvania are but three high-profile examples. And ironically, just a few hours south of Vallejo, the city of Rialto, Calif., recently approved a similar retroactive pension increase that will give police officers a pension equal to 90% of their salaries at age 50. The bottom line: If similar changes are being considered in your city or state, the Vallejo disaster tells you that it’s well worth your while to get the facts. Maybe you’ll discover that your local pension fund is flush with money and that elected officials in your area have out laid out a sound, fiscally responsible plan for funding any pension improvements. But I wouldn’t bank on it.
Questions or comments about retirement? Send e-mails to jrevell@moneymail.com.
By George Washington
June 3, 2008 9:53 AM | Link to this
Guv workers are all deadbeat scum…let them all ride bicycles…speaking of which, here is a happy story about bicycling in Mexico…Mexico border, killing one and injuring 10 others.
Police investigator Jose Alfredo Rodriguez says the 28-year-old driver was apparently drunk and fell asleep when he crashed into the race.
A car collides into cyclists participating in a race in Mexico’s northern border city of Matamoros.
A photograph taken by a city official shows bicyclists and equipment being hurled high in to the air by the collision.
Rodriguez says Juan Campos was charged with killing Alejandro Alvarez, 37, of Monterrey.
Authorities say the wreck happened 15 minutes into the race along a highway between Playa Bagdad and Matamoros.
Campos says he is an American citizen living in Brownsville, Texas. U.S. consulate spokesman Todd Huizinga said officials were looking into whether Americans were involved.
LET THIS BE A WARNING TO YOU BIKE FREAKS IN ATLANTA: OBEY ALL TRAFFIC LAWS OR YOU MAY BE SQUASHED LIKE THE BUGS YOUR ARE….TRY PASSING ME ON THE RIGHT AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT, AND WATCH ME NAIL YOUR BIKE WITH MY FRONT BUMPER, LEGALLY TOO….
By Aquagirl
June 3, 2008 9:55 AM | Link to this
Lisa, buy a paragraph.
Also, that e-mail better not be to a paid financial planner, since pimping one’s business on these boards is prohibited.
By George Washington
June 3, 2008 10:00 AM | Link to this
IS LISA A PIMP???? LISA, CALL GEORGE IMMEDIATELY….THE WIFE IS AT WORK….
By Stand up
June 3, 2008 10:08 AM | Link to this
So Bush can just declare National Bankruptcy and not pay social security? it…..could…..WORK!
They say pensioned entitlements was what kilt Rome. at the very end, Rome was simply a name on a map of Persia, say, and the Persians who were employed as Roman guards simply abandoned their posts and went to work for their Persian uncles in their bazaars. There was no reason to man the post anymore, and there was no one to stop him from deserting. The guard was the authority and army and police, and he became a ridiculous living relic of a non-truth that was the “Roman Empire”. . The money was deemed worthless, (and who were these Romans anyway, I’ve never seen one)?
That’s what happened to the GOP and conservatism. They were living on the pension of lies repeated so often that they had a birth, a middle life, and now, an end.
Cheney is reduced to inbreeding jokes about the American People. There is no more GOP, and the damage they’ve done to our institutions is as profound as when the Persians realized that there was no Roman Empire in Persia except for themselves, and they weren’t in Rome, and no longer would they do what Romans do.
Ditto America. 08? Obama landslide. People are THAT fed up. The American People. There is no longer a link between conservativism, the GOP, and the American People.
I mean, who cast McCain as our Caesar? Oh! He’s strong on defense, dont you know. Oh brother.
When the people of France no longer believed in royalty’s entitlements to authority, power, or divine right, then they simply walked into the palace and said: Enough, p-hole!
By Dannick
June 3, 2008 10:17 AM | Link to this
I think we can get a look at the future Wooten and his supporters propose by glancing at the pension plans for federal employees.
Before Newt Gingrich and his Contract on America took control of Congress, federal employees had a relatively generous pension plan, one that allowed them to pass on the temptation to leave federal employment in order to take positions with better pay.
Then came the GOP’s Federal Employees Retirement System, which combined a traditional pension plan with a 401k-like plan called the Thrift Savings Plan. Under this new plan, a federal employee who worked in a federal position could have an average annual pension amounting to 1% of the annual average compensation of the highest three years times the number of years of employment. In short, work 30 years with the “high-three” of $50,000 and get an annual pension of $15,000 plus whatever you were able to save in the Thrift Savings Plan. Work under the old pension plan and you stood to take in an annual pension of $38,000 to $40,000.
Not surprisingly, practically all existing federal employees declined the opportunity to switch from the old plan to the new plan—which also did away with being able to cash in sick leave or to credit it toward service for pension purposes. Not many people can afford to go from $50,000 annually to $15,000.
Employers, including the federal government, can afford to use such a niggling approach to retirement benefits because they can, given a tight job market. Such an approach is, however, extremely short-sighted. Sooner or later, employment is going to open up again, and those employees who labor under Scrooge-like pension plans are going to be moving to jobs that offer better retirement benefits. State government employees, including judges, will be no exception. Think twice before you squeeze that orange too hard, employers. You may find yourself going to the tremendous expense of training flocks of new workers and losing the experience base you have. And Georgians may want to think about the implications of bringing in third-string lawyers to sit on the bench.
By Get Real
June 3, 2008 10:18 AM | Link to this
Whats up with this long sonnet at the beginning of the comments section? You could’ve just linked the article instead of copying the entire thing. As to Wooten’s praise of Sonny for failing to approve pay increases for the judges, I hope he doesn’t plan on increasing his own salary being that he has the best pension package in the state. And I bet he won’t be changing the terms of that anytime soon. When is Wootie going to get on the Gov about all this traffic? Seems like he’s only trying to find the minute things Republicans do, while forgetting EVERYTHING else. I bet if Clayton Co. schools were Gwinnett Co. schools he would’ve stepped in by now and done something.
By Just Nasty and Mean
June 3, 2008 10:19 AM | Link to this
G’mornin’ Jim, et al.
This is a complicated subject. But it has long-been-known government jobs pay on the ‘back-end”. Now, government workers want it both ways!
And when it comes to taxpayer money— who cares? The source is some huge money tree that services all the needs of all people!
Sonny Perdue deserves credit for standing against loading future taxpayers with an untenable burden.
By jct
June 3, 2008 10:26 AM | Link to this
Hey Jim,
Did you look at the acturial methodology the State has used to come up with this plan. It assumes that employees will receive an average of 3.75% increase in salary per year. As a former state employee, I can tell you that only once in the past 8 years have state employees received 3%, the rest of the time is less than 3% and in two of those years the increase was ZERO.
Agreed ERS needed some overhauling but this is funny math. It also assumes that employees will contribut 5% per year. Unless the salaries are offered at market, then this does not really add up.
On the ERS page www.ersga.org it states that current employees may change after 1/1/09. There is nothing that states current employees will be brought up to market wages.
The is a Classification and Compensation nightmare for folks who work in HR. Who gets the market wage and who lags? Where is the equity?
By Redneck Convert
June 3, 2008 10:43 AM | Link to this
Well, when it comes to the state it’s like WalMart to me. I want it cheap and I want it fast and I want it good. I don’t want to stand in line for a driver liscence and I want any problem I have dealt with lickety-split. Far as I’m concerned these state workers can stand on a corner with a tin cup and a monkey if they get too old to work. Bunch of worthless leeches. They ought to be made to lug cases of beer into a store for a day so they can know what real work is.
So get rid of pensions. Do with judges and other state workers what jbmlaw wants to do with Social Security people. Round them all up and put them in the Old Folks Army. If God had of wanted them to be retired they would of been borned with a little annuity contract in their hand.
I see the libruls in Congress want to pass a commie plan that would limit how much greenhouse gas people could put out in a year. If that passes Sister Dusty will be hurting big-time, specially after one of her hot dog and chile lunches. She would be buying credits from everybody.
Have a good day everybody.
By Stand up
June 3, 2008 10:45 AM | Link to this
Litmus test for suspected sleeper cell al queda guy in the US. Ask him about this: How many stooges R there? Larry, Moe and Curly Curly Joe, Shemp, and that lame one in the 60’s movies. (His big line was, “I hope that witch goes to Hades!” and then the camera shows a high tech special effects of a witch riding a broom into the ground). What a movie.
Six stooges, right?
No Al Queda guy will know the correct answer, it’s impossible. Sleeper Cells. My wife slept with a sleeper cell guy. I’m not jealous because She’s getting old and gravity is really changed her body. I only suggested she “support those droops”
Nyuck nyuck.
morons.
By George Washington
June 3, 2008 10:56 AM | Link to this
Lisa, George is waiting…do I have to call Barb?
By Thor
June 3, 2008 11:15 AM | Link to this
The Baby Boomers are going to kick this issue down the road until they retire and start pulling thier funds. Then they will cut my benefits and their childrens so THEY can live in retirement.
The Baby Boomers are in control but they do nothing. If you are 55 and older, your generation is the worst in American history. “Gimme it all - its mine!”
By State Retiree II
June 3, 2008 11:17 AM | Link to this
With Gov Perdue, getting it in the back end for state retirees as members of ERS is what is meant! Literally and figuratively! Yes, many of my friends, and I, served this state and its citizens FAITHFULLY for 3+ decades believing that in retirement we could count on the future and current administrations to try to at least help us a little bit on inflation as we began to live on a fixed income. How much did a gallon of gas cost in 2000 when I retired? How much did a gallon of milk, a dozen eggs, or a loaf of bread cost? Not near as much as the soon to be $5 gallon of gas or, the never ending prices of food to put on our tables. Is 1.5% twice a year (COLA) too much to ask for a lifetime of service to the citizens of this state? I don’t think so! Gov. Perdue is going to ruin the entire morale of all state workers very soon if it has not already happened. There might be some TRS (teachers), legislative or judiciary retirees that are happy with the Governor, but I don’t believe you will find many happy members in the ERS. As soon as new state employees get some very valuable training, paid for by the citizens of this state, they go looking to the feds or the private sector where the retirement and salaries make much more sense. Who can blame them for doing it…they have to put gas in their cars and food on their tables also. Maybe the AJC should look into how many vacancies there are in state government; how many state offices have been shut down; and, by the way, as WSB TV reported recently that the state is paying for the college education of Egyptians citizens who come to Georgia for an education, but those who have lived here and paid taxes here their whole lives are struggling to put our kids through Georgia colleges and universities. Go to WSB TV website and look under investigations for an eye full! I’ve loved this state for as long as I can remember but the current administration is burdening me personally, my family and all Georgia citizens with little ideas from little people. Should I get into our DYSFUNCTIONAL state senate and house of reps? By the way Jim…I don’t believe any of those retired judges will have any problem with inflation…why don’t you publish their entire compensation package instead of just how much the counties kick in? I believe I could live well off of two thirds of that, or more, in my retirement days.
By Sonny
June 3, 2008 11:25 AM | Link to this
Nice job, Jim. Check’s in the mail.
By Stand up
June 3, 2008 11:33 AM | Link to this
Lies my mother USA told me: Global warming is not man made. Canada’s cheaper drugs are dangerous, but China’s drugs (and toys) are good for you. Nookyoolar material can be gleaned by using rocket tubes.
Think about education in the USA. A prez who mispronounces “nuclear” and instead of getting laughed out of office, the mispronunication gets into the lexicon. Then, a sec. of state shows claims rocket tubes can be used to enrich uranium. And nobody fires her for being a dumb-as.
The children who failed all those standardized tests should fit right in and make great politicians.
Yanni is the modern Mozart. Rove is the new Geobels. Oh yeah, right,
By Stand up
June 3, 2008 11:33 AM | Link to this
Lies my mother USA told me: Global warming is not man made. Canada’s cheaper drugs are dangerous, but China’s drugs (and toys) are good for you. Nookyoolar material can be gleaned by using rocket tubes.
Think about education in the USA. A prez who mispronounces “nuclear” and instead of getting laughed out of office, the mispronunication gets into the lexicon. Then, a sec. of state shows claims rocket tubes can be used to enrich uranium. And nobody fires her for being a dumb-as.
The children who failed all those standardized tests should fit right in and make great politicians.
Yanni is the modern Mozart. Rove is the new Geobels. Oh yeah, right,
By Me
June 3, 2008 11:59 AM | Link to this
Whatever happened to a deal’s a deal? Companies have employees work for them for decades under a set of promises and years later change the rules. If I buy a house from you should I be able to some day say, “You know what, even though I made this deal with you I can’t afford it anymore so I’m not gonna pay you.”?
By Taxpayer
June 3, 2008 12:04 PM | Link to this
Why should people who live off of the taxpayer be treated differently than the taxpayer. I say promise them whatever it takes to make them happy now and screw them later in life. After all, instant gratification is what it’s all about. Just wait til Perdue and others try to collect their government pensions — HaHa Ha Ha Haaaaaa. Suckers.
By jbmlaw
June 3, 2008 12:06 PM | Link to this
Good afternoon all. Thus we learn the full meaning of the Endangered Specie Act. The “defined benefit plan” has ceased exist in the private economy, maintained by the overlords only for the overlords and their direct reports. Nevertheless, the Guv deserves a couple of cheers for acting like a conservative here; my compliments. Perhaps he will inspire similar backbone throughout his adopted party
By jbmlaw
June 3, 2008 12:15 PM | Link to this
I’d like to see the Libertarian Party – I don’t say they should quit being a party – I’d like to see them, I’d like to see the conservatives, I’d like to see some of these other parties maybe come to this remnant of the Republican Party which is basically conservative in its thinking and … I’d like to see them all come in (and this would include a large segment of the Democratic Party in this country, that certainly proved in 1972 that they do not follow the leadership of the Democratic Party any longer) and be able to say to them, OK we’re not saying to you give up what you’re doing, but, can’t we find a common meeting ground in order at least to defeat first of all those who are doing what they’re doing to us (and this present Congress is an example)? I think this is the most irresponsible and most dangerous Congress, in my experience, that this country has ever had. I think we’re seeing it in the crumbling now of our position worldwide, their attitude in Indochina. Maybe many of the young people that you write for, with their hatred of war and disillusionment with what went on, don’t feel this way and any thought of Indochina is going to be a red flag to them; but, for the first time in 200 years, the United States has violated its word, has abandoned an ally that it pledged to help and we’re seeing the result. Mr. Kissinger came home from the Middle East empty handed because even the Israelis said, “What? Give up the passes on the basis of your word that you will help us? We now see evidence that maybe you won’t help us. You can’t guarantee your promise.” So the dominos fall. To me this is what’s most important.
Ronald Reagan, 1975 interview with Reason magazine, quoted in WSJ
By Leftist Pete
June 3, 2008 12:22 PM | Link to this
Conservatism is flotsam. Counter-intuitive counter-clockwise flotsam. McCain jiggled that handle to stop the leaks, and Cheney got a golden shower.
buwaaa!
By ron
June 3, 2008 12:29 PM | Link to this
Afternoon y’all,Be good to social security,we retirees need it.
Jbmlaw,I tend to stay away from conservatives for a number of reasons,just as I tend to stay away from liberals.There are things about the Republican party I like and there are things about the Democrats I like.I don't care for George bush and I certainly don't like either Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid.John McCain and Olympia Snowe and other centrists are more to my liking.I agree that this is a dangerous Congress.Just think what it would be like if Obama were elected President.Mull it over.By Explaining the World
June 3, 2008 12:44 PM | Link to this
See, Lisa was alerted to today’s topic via a Google news alert, and then she, as is her job, cruises on over, posts the canned tripe on pensions and includes the company e-mail at the end. Scamming the blog world at its best, which is actually at its worst.
By Mrs. RepubLady
June 3, 2008 12:52 PM | Link to this
It’s okay to lie to your employees. They don’t really think you’re telling the truth. They already know you only care about your own bottom line and you are using them and lying. All is fair in business! It’s the American way.
By Leftist Pete
June 3, 2008 1:14 PM | Link to this
Every word that Cheney has said for seven years has been a lie. that’s kind of a new record. It sure beats all the lies in the bill of rights and the constitution.
Dont you just love the way the Right believes in science concerning rocket tube enriched uranium, but the same geniuses dont believe in data concerning mean temperatures around the globe.
That’s another reason conservatism is jetsam, with sen craig hoping the statue of liberty is a transvestite.
buwaaa!
By Blind Homer
June 3, 2008 1:42 PM | Link to this
Thoron- We Baby Boomers have made the world safe for democracy and paid social security our entire lives for our parents and grandparents and now you want to kick us to the curb with nothing?
By Leftist Pete
June 3, 2008 1:56 PM | Link to this
CNN just reported that a cycling bear, (escaped from the circus?) who was apparently relying on his right of way in the bicycle lane on I-75 that wasn’t there, was struck and killed by a motorist. the bear refused to yield to faster, larger vehicles and adhered to his path near the center divide just a few inches from the HOV lane.
The motorist did not stop. Folks, we need a bicycle lane. Save the bears.
By Dusty
June 3, 2008 2:11 PM | Link to this
Fire all the comedians here because they are not funny. Or should I say HE is not funny. Remove his pension. Throw him out on the street. Let him sell pencils. Remove his gaffs from the blog…. So there… and with your trademark….buwaaa!!
Now! Let us ongratulate the governor for being a true conservative. He can handle liberals and judges. He’s a vetinarian.
By Political Foreskin
June 3, 2008 2:12 PM | Link to this
CNN just reported that a bear was found dead on I-75 in Cobb County, his unicycle smashed all to pieces. Witnesses claim the bear was relying on his right of way in the bicycle lane that wasnt’ there.
The motorist did not stop.
Gas is expensive, people. Save the bears. Yield to cycles in I-75.
By Moderator Maude
June 3, 2008 2:13 PM | Link to this
We’re well on our way to the biggest dropoff in posts in Thinking Right history. Thank you for partici … er, not participating in this grand occasion.
By Political Foreskin
June 3, 2008 2:21 PM | Link to this
Save the bears. Lets build a bike lane on the x-ways.
Sometimes nothing gets done until there’s a tragedy, you know?
By oracle
June 3, 2008 2:23 PM | Link to this
Hillary camp: she will not concede tonight.
I’ll bet she has something up her sleeve against the Obama camp and will reveal it soon.
Like a tape of Michelle Obama saying “Whitey” perhaps?
McCain doesn’t need to do anything. Just let these two characters destroy the Democrat hopes for the White House. Only Obama has a shot at the White House, but let’s not tell Hillary that. Let her think she can Clinton her way all the way to the nomination, if you will.
By Taxpayer
June 3, 2008 2:30 PM | Link to this
Dang Bears. Got in my garbage — AGAIN. I was out in the woods picking up after them for several hours. The least they could do is not scatter the garbage all over the place — just sit down in front of the can and pig, I mean, bear out. I got back at them though. I went out and picked all of their ripe blueberries this morning and then I went to the store and bought a brand new jar of honey — sourwood honey. They love sourwood honey.
By Dusty
June 3, 2008 2:36 PM | Link to this
Oh goody…hang in there, Hillary!
I love it when the Democrats get all hot and bothered and yell at each other. It is more fun than watching Barbara Boxer in Congress act like the biggest nut ever produced in California (except for Pelosi of course).
Whoopee! Call on the courts, Hillary, and give those Democrats a dose of their own medicine. Just say “that should be investigated” everytime they decide something. It is the liberal way. Stick with it and take your time.
McCain is waiting patiently in his responsible and presidential manner.
By Political Foreskin
June 3, 2008 3:07 PM | Link to this
I’ll tell you what. People like to camp out in the parks, or even in their own back yard just for fun, and of course they bring food in their tents with them. Big mistake if a bear happens by. You probably wont have time to react.
Bears are making a big time comeback in numbers, and so are coy pups.
It’s not safe to camp out anymore.
By Political Foreskin
June 3, 2008 3:21 PM | Link to this
Another dead bear? CNN just reported that a cycling bear, (escaped from the circus?) who was apparently relying on his right of way in the bicycle lane that wasn’t there on I-75, was struck and killed by a motorist. The bear refused to yield to faster, larger vehicles and adhered to his path near the center divide just a few inches from the HOV lane. Witnesses say the bear was ill tempered and reminded everyone of Dusty.
The motorist did not stop.
By Taxpayer
June 3, 2008 3:30 PM | Link to this
I don’t need to go camping to find bears. One walked right past the window on his way to the garbage can. He wasn’t five feet away. Dang bears. I have to go on vacation to get away from them. I have yet to see a bear walking down Myrtle Beach or Panama City Beach. The only thing peskier than a bear is a politician during an election cycle. Too bad politician rugs are not in favor. Bear rugs are comfortable.
By GaLiberal
June 3, 2008 3:35 PM | Link to this
Moron Jim quoted “Our choices about social investment —- in infrastructure, education, national defense —- are being reduced as mandatory spending crowds out discretionary spending,” said U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt.
While that’s true, it’s not the ‘entitlement’ spending that causing the problem. It’s the unnecessary and reckless Iraq war that’s the root of all the ills. This war, which was supposed to cost us nothing and we would be welcomed as liberators, will cost over $2.5 TRILLION. That doesn’t cover all the costs with replacing equipment destroyed or left behind as junk. Just think what could be done with all that money. Instead, it is being wasted on ‘national defense’ to pay off Bush and Rethuglicon political donors. Blackwater is a perfect example. These people opened fire on a group of Iraqi civilians for no reason killing many including a 9 yo boy. Now these people are sitting at home drinking a beer when they should be in prison. But it’s ok because the people they killed would have become suicide bombers. So when the US government had the chance to tell Blackwater to take a hike, instead they renewed their contract non-competitively for several BILLION dollars. That’s the way the Rethuglicons waste your money. They make sure the rich get richer while everyone else pays the bills. Your salary doesn’t keep up with inflation, you’re paying $4.00/gal for gas, food costs have gone up by 10%, and all the Rethuglicons tell you is it’s your fault for not working hard enough. I’ll remember in November. Will you?
When you vote Rethuglicon, you veto against your own best interests. And the economy is living proof.
By dirty harry
June 3, 2008 3:48 PM | Link to this
I really feel for you campers who are so threatened by bears…Ask yourselves who was here first you? I don’t think so…Or the Bear? As most animals all of their habitat is being encroached upon by humans. They have no place to go….Talk about a crying shame!
By colonel nathan r. jessup
June 3, 2008 3:57 PM | Link to this
Dusty I have seen a few of your posts.
Nothing substanial..a few silly poems that a corporal in my platoon could write. And, a bunch of right wing propaganda!
You are a chucklehead!
Either say something worth saying or head back to the barracks….Are we clear?
By Dusty
June 3, 2008 4:32 PM | Link to this
Dearest colonel n.r.messup, 3:57
My heart bleeds that you, above all other nincompoops, should not find my beautiferous accolades to your tilifphonious taste. How I tried to equate the liberal greatness to the ephiphany of perpetualism but alas!! It sank like a rock.
The excruciating pomposity of liberalism cannot be saved in the aquatic cleansing of pure truth. The symphonic sludge of simians is sinking, sinking!!
Avast, dear colonic colonel, tomorrow never comes for the DemDemDoodlers. Alas, their licentiousness is passe’. I bid you adieu, old Demo. You go the way of the DoDo…EXTINCT!
By GayGrayGeek
June 3, 2008 4:37 PM | Link to this
Colonel @ 3:57 - The DustBuster has consumed such an inordinate amount of the Republikkkan Kool-Aid that she bursts thru walls and fences with an inbred idiot’s grin on her pitcher, er, face.
Dusty @ today - AFEES is still waiting. Put up, or shut up.
WHY DO YOU HATE AMERICA, DUSTY?
By Taxpayer
June 3, 2008 4:39 PM | Link to this
I gave the dirty bear a fighting chance, the hairy critter. I looked him square in the eye and said, “Go ahead, make my day”. He just grabbed my bags of garbage and took off into the woods without even acknowledging me. Dirty bear. Dirty hairy bear.
By colonel nathan r. jessup
June 3, 2008 4:44 PM | Link to this
my dearest Dusty…
I do not have the time or the inclination to wade thru the manure that you write.
You would not make a good private in my beloved corp.
By the way private my last name starts with a J not an M.
Are we clear?
By Dusty
June 3, 2008 5:05 PM | Link to this
Dear colonel nathan r. messup.
Are we clear?
Crystal,dear sir, crystal! The preponderance of evidence is against you and your gang at Guantanamo! What we need is a Few Brave Men, not to mention Women. Take him away, men boys and children. He’s a LIBERAL!!
By ron
June 3, 2008 5:11 PM | Link to this
Clear as mud,Kernal,clear as mud.
By GayGrayGeek
June 3, 2008 5:23 PM | Link to this
Dusty: AFEES. NOW.
Since you won’t shut up, it’s time to put up. Either enlist and truly “Support Your Country”, or quit with your KeyboardKommandoKrap. It’s about as tired as your insistence of Santo Buito for Shrub and his minions.
WHY DO YOU HATE AMERICA, DUSTY?
By Political Foreskin
June 3, 2008 5:45 PM | Link to this
Now hold on a doggone minute. Lay off Dusty, sure she’s a dim bulb, but she’s our brightest dim bulb and she’s on this board 24/7 365 on the job representin’.
It’s mental deviants like Dusty what lets folks know who the conservatives are and what they are. Now look you guys, I’m playing Dusty like an old fisherman landing an old catfish, I know just how much line to give her, and shes flaps and flops and wiggles and in general makes a total conservative jackass out of herself, and THAT’S why conservatism is dead.
Americans finally got a good look at them. thanks to people like me who know how to expose them for what they are.
I’m still sad about that bear that got struck and killed cycling on I-75 thinking that the HOV lane was a bike lane. The sheriff said that weren’t the first bear what done got confused on his unicycle. Folks are sayin’ maybe we needs to built a bike lane on I-75, on account of the bear being so close kin to Dusty and all. Dusty got bear on both sides of her famiy. (Cheney reference)
buwaaa!
By ron
June 3, 2008 5:59 PM | Link to this
And thus ends another day in Blogville.Tune in tomorrow ,folks,And hear why Dusty doesn’t hate America.
By Political Foreskin
June 3, 2008 6:12 PM | Link to this
CNN just reported that a unicycling bear (escapee from a circus?), was struck and killed on I-75 in Cobb County by passing motorists. Witnesses describe a very ill tempered bear who must have mistaken the HOV lane for a bike path, and who kept refusing to yield to faster traffic. There are reports that the bear made several obscene gestures at horn blowers.
The motorist did not stop.
By rc
June 4, 2008 8:58 AM | Link to this
Mr. Wooten:
You write a lot about pensions and that is fair game. But in the interest of full disclosure…what type of pension plan to you participate in both work/military related? Do you consider them fair or not? Thanks