Dress Code

But, unlike the
Gummint, we don't go around pretending to be doing stuff for the
"public good" when, in fact, it's being done to line their pockets and
to perpetuate their own existence.

Air traffic controllers are directing traffic to perpetuate their own
existence in a way that's different from hotel maids? You're not
runninig a hotel to line your own pocket? (not that you don't enjoy
your work, but would you do it if you weren't going to own a prospering
hotel at the end of it?) And don't tell me that your tax deductable
trips in Atlas, for "business purposes", aren't lining your own pocket
at our (taxpayer) expense. Were I to take those same trips, I'd be
paying double or triple, because I couldn't deduct ownership or
operating costs. You do get a sweet deal there.

I'm not saying that's a primary motivation - I know better. But to deny
that it's there, while accusing government employees of "lining their
own pockets" is more than a bit disingenuous.

You, as a citizen, also have a CHOICE as to whether you pay for my
employees salaries (by choosing to stay here), unlike the coercion
perpetuated by a government that makes us pay for their employees (I'm
referring to all gummint employees -- not just ATC) whether we use them
or not.

This is true. And I also don't have a choice as to whether or not I'm
protected by the Armed Forces of the United States of America, which is
out there right now defending our freedoms. I'm coerced into that too,
along with paying for roads I don't drive on, pollution cleanup I didn't
make, libraries I don't visit, schools I don't attend, trips to the moon
I'm not on, and subsidized junk mail I don't want.

Really, when you get right down to it, comparing employees from the
private sector with the public sector is ridiculous. One group is
highly efficient merit-based employment, while the other is
cradle-to-grave employment. There is simply no comparison between the
two.

Uhhh... "highly efficient merit-based employement"??? Private sector
companies don't make mistakes and go bankrupt? There's no corruption in
the private sector?

Yanno, I can see you don't like the impediments the government puts in
front of you as a business trying to do your thing. It can lead to alot
of resentment, because you don't get to do what you want, and what you
"know is right". But I suspect that the rest of the citizens really
appreciate the restraints you are under, because left to their own
devices, businesses do not care a whit about their surroundings, except
inasmuch as it affects their bottom line.

It is =private=business= that is lining their pockets and perpetuating
their own existence.

Jose
--
"Never trust anything that can think for itself, if you can't see where
it keeps its brain." (chapter 10 of book 3 - Harry Potter).
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