vt.Buzz ~ a political blog

Political notes from Free Press staff writers Terri Hallenbeck, Sam Hemingway and Nancy Remsen

1.30.2009

Ralliers online

Advocates of programs that face state budget cuts will be holding rallies around the state Monday.

Don't know whether they will still have the same fire after hearing that legislators plan save VPharm for now and that 600 layoffs won't happen, but the group has a blog with the list of sites for the rallies. Here it is:

http://www.sos-vt.blogspot.com/

- Terri Hallenbeck

posted by vt.Buzz | 1:14 PM |

Comments:

Don't any of these "protesters" have jobs?

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 3:45 PM, January 30, 2009

Yes. People with jobs acutally depend on state services.

In fact, we all do.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 4:18 PM, January 30, 2009

Some people need state services and some people just WANT services. A lot of people have become use to dependancy on the state.
Let's have a rally for downsizing a state government that is too big!

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 9:16 AM, January 31, 2009

They have time and energy to use off the job but not on the job.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 9:43 AM, January 31, 2009

All of us depend on the state.

Roads. Libraries. Prisons.

We all need them.

The state government will be reduced in size. There is no argument there -- Shap Smith, Susan Bartlett and Peter Shumlin all agree on that. It's a question of what is cut, by how much and when.

Cutting 600 state jobs next month isn't responsible and won't help pull us out of this recession.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 9:45 AM, January 31, 2009

What these tax-cutting maniacs refuse to see is that for most peoople who are not superich every single tax cut means an extra burden of expense, expenses that are far greater than the taxes they would have to pay even at rates that far exceed the "national average". It is simply not true that "the best government is the least government", that government never does anything right or that 'tax cuts" are the best economic stimulus. Those are ideas that got us into this mess in the first place. It's time t put the selfish, greedy policies and 'trickle-down" economic theories of the past OUT TO PASTURE.

# Posted by:

johnshaplin | 10:04 AM, January 31, 2009

Hear! Hear!

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 11:25 AM, January 31, 2009

I work for the State, and believe me, there is still plenty of fat to cut.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 12:06 PM, January 31, 2009

With far fewer state employees per capita, just HOW does New Hampshire survive?

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 12:17 PM, January 31, 2009

How can eliminating jobs that have been vacant for months effect services?

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 12:33 PM, January 31, 2009

NEK, Nobody is arguing about a hiring freeze and that isn't what the Governor is proposing.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 1:09 PM, January 31, 2009

I wasn't talking about a hiring freeze either- the way the Legislature is going to get to 600 jobs is to include those that are currently vacant.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 2:03 PM, January 31, 2009

Markowitz for Governor
Racine for Lt. Gov

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 8:50 PM, January 31, 2009

Bubba - NH has a large # of county employees. VT and NH are comparable in terms of public employees.

NEK - the 400 position reduction exercise was achieved largely by vacancies. There are now very few vacancies remaining. Virtually all of the 660 cuts the Governor proposes will be layoffs.

The private sector is laying people off due to lack of business. The state layoffs make little sense given that people will be needing services more than ever. And putting 660 more people on the unemployment line won't help get us out of this recession.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 9:17 PM, February 01, 2009

Let's see . . . We can't afford the 600 state jobs, but cutting them isn't "responsible," so we'll keep 'em even though we can't afford 'em.

I can't afford to continue employing the cleaning lady who comes to my house. But dropping her would be "irresponsible," so I'll borrow money from the bank so I can continue to hire the cleaning lady.

???

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 10:39 PM, February 01, 2009

And with our economic problems, WHY does the state need to pay millions to staff the Governors Commission on the Status of Women and the Human Rights Commission? Vermont seemed to have survived well for hundreds of years WITHOUT them! Guess these are more political payoffs that have survived from the Kunin and Dean years.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 6:51 AM, February 02, 2009

You can clean your own toilet.

Are you going to process your own tax return? Licence registration?

Are you going to patrol the highways for safety?

Respond to crime? Try to prevent crime?

Fix the roads?

Rebuild the bridges?

State workers are not "cleaning ladies". They provide essential services.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 9:37 AM, February 02, 2009

Yes, Bubba, we all know that rights are only for white males.

If we don't need these organizations why is it that is was necessary recently to pass legislation to ensure that women get the same pay for the same work? Other discrimination doesn't exist?

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 10:31 AM, February 02, 2009

As any one with half a brain knows, legislation to ensure women get equal pay is all about politics and nothing else. I have NEVER seen a woman treated any different than a man when it came to equal pay in my life! In fact, with affirmative action, women often are hired OVER equal or more-qualified men.Women often leave the workplace to raise families, or start later in life. This is what causes the difference in pay between men and women, not some imagined prejudice! Why would ANY business owner or manager NOT want to pay the most qualified person and the best worker the most?

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 11:41 AM, February 02, 2009

Yea ... everyone knows how good the broads have it.

They get all the breaks. Heck, I always give a little extra to the girl that works at the local diner and brings me my coffee.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 11:53 AM, February 02, 2009

Do you also give a little extra to the guy sweating behind the cookstove to fry your eggs?

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 12:22 PM, February 02, 2009

He already gets more.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 12:25 PM, February 02, 2009

I don't know what bubble you've been living in Bubba. Discrepancy in pay has been historically rampant and continues to be, hence the necessity to change it.

Further, think we all know that "hundreds of years without these Commissions" resulted in slavery, no voting rights for women, glass ceilings, discrimination against anyone who was not white and male in getting, retaining and being paid appropriately for jobs as well as jobs that were considered historically "women's work" and thus paid at a much lower salary scale regardless of who performed the work. Education also was historically restricted to white males. These are facts whether you want to acknowledge them or not. Laws have been necessary and still are to rectify these injustices.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 12:32 PM, February 02, 2009

Gee, and I always thought slavery was abolished before Vermont started their "Human Rights" commissions and that women were given the vote before the "Governor's Commission on the Status of (liberal) Women" was invented. We've just GOT to update our Vermont school books or our kids will grow up ignorant!

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 1:06 PM, February 02, 2009

Bubba's right ... the babes where I work do just fine. They get my coffee and they get paid.

What's the problem?

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 1:29 PM, February 02, 2009

As usual, a stupid liberal solution looking for a problem.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 1:45 PM, February 02, 2009

"Our kids will grow up ignorant.."
If they read your comments, a
certainty.

You said that we went for hundreds of years without organizations LIKE the Commission on Women and the Human Rights Commission. And we didn't get along well without them because the problem still exists.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 1:59 PM, February 02, 2009

As usual a stupid conservative assessment ignoring the problem.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 2:00 PM, February 02, 2009

Wow, Coops been busy posting as Bubba today.

Do you suppose he fooled anyone but himself?

NAW!!!

Couldn't be. No one would be that stupid 'cept for ol' JWCoop.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 10:14 PM, February 02, 2009

jw is attending the layoff rally and will be back shortly.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 12:00 PM, February 03, 2009

" bubba said...

jw is attending the layoff rally and will be back shortly."

What ever you say Coop

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 1:40 PM, February 03, 2009

Just vote for Markowitz in 2010

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 10:19 PM, February 03, 2009

Oh, sure...right after I have myself commited to a mental hospital

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 10:20 PM, February 03, 2009

"State workers are not "cleaning ladies". They provide essential services."

Ah, so in a state government of 8,000 people (for 600,000 residents), there's no fat, eh?

That would explain why NH, with more than twice our population and the same # of government employees, has a lower standard of living than we do and more crime per capita and why all their bridges are crumbling, eh?

Jesus. Get a clue.

# Posted by:

Anonymous | 11:39 PM, February 03, 2009