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Monday, November 15, 2010

"Slave Labor in Alabama: Why Not?"

The first order of business for the Reddest State Legislature in the Reddest State in the Union will be Raiding the retirement fund and health benefits for teachers, cops, firefighters, and other public servants" because if they don't,  Either the costs will have to be reduced or taxes raised drastically which is unlikely given the current taxpayer mood."

State Senator Hank Sanders, Dr. Paul Hubbert and Dr. Joe Reed, tried to tell y'all.

MONTGOMERY -- Top Republican leaders say they believe state government must curb its rising costs of providing health insurance and retirement coverage for teachers and other public employees and retirees.

"We can't afford to keep doing what we're doing. We cannot sustain the growth in expenses," said state Rep. Mike Hubbard, R-Auburn, the nominee of Republicans in the state House of Representatives to be the next House speaker, or leader.


Read the following letters to the editor of The Huntsville Times to gauge the mood of current taxpayers, republican and democratic. Name and personal information redacted.

Letter to the Editor (#1)
Huntsville Times
October 9, 2010
Huntsville Alabama

My name is XXXXX ZZZZZZZZ. I am a Child Nutrition Professional (CNP or
cafeteria) worker at XXXXXXXXXX School in South Huntsville. I have worked
for the Huntsville City School System full time almost five years. My July,
2010 take home payroll check was $ 685.38. This is not a living wage. It is
not a surviving wage. It is economic slavery.

Between my wife and I, we work four jobs - three part-time and one full
time.
W-2 Statements for 2009 total? $ 20,000. Four thousand dollars less than
minimum for POVERTY level ($ 24,000) for family of four.

This is slavery. Slavery exists in Alabama and across the USA. Economic
slavery is worse than slavery of 160 years ago. It destroys lives and
families and cripples communities and economies. Slavery is not accidental.
It is a simple economic factor.

Slavery is hidden. Economic slaves do not want to tell others that they are
slaves. It is un-American. Being poor is bad. What is wrong with you? Lazy?
Not working hard enough? Working two full time jobs, still not able to put
food on the table?

Slave owners valued their slaves. Slaves cost their owners a lot of money.
If you got sick, the slave owner wanted you well (because when sick you
could not help in harvesting the crops). Today's, workers are not valued.
The bottom line does not value workers. If you don't want to work at a
place, don't like the pay, unsafe working conditions, etc. - go someplace
else.



Letter to the Editor (#2)
Huntsville Times
October 9, 2010
Huntsville Alabama

My name is XXXXX ZZZZZZZZ. I am a Child Nutrition Professional (CNP or
cafeteria) worker at XXXXXXXXXX School in South Huntsville. I have worked
for the Huntsville City School System full time almost five years. My July,
2010 take home payroll check was $ 685.38. This is not a living wage. It is
not a surviving wage. It is economic slavery.

Around Christmas time every year, the school administrators takes up a
collection of money from the students for the lunch room workers and
janitors. Why? Because the support workers don't get paid very much. The
administrators they feel sorry about that fact.

Question: Why don't the lunch room workers or janitors get paid very much?
Because the school system CHOOSES NOT to pay them very much. It is kind of
sick, sad and twisted that the children of the school system donate money to
give to the support workers in their school, when the school system itself
is responsible for the slave labor wages the workers receive.

This apparent show of generosity manipulates the children's views of cooks,
and janitors. Why do we give money to these guys and gals? They don't work
hard enough? What is THEIR problem? Why don't we give money to the teachers
too?

Don't you all think it is time to stop slavery in the South? Again.


Maybe next time instead of attacking Sanders, Reed and Hubbert for speaking up and speaking out, y'all will listen to them. But then again, maybe not.

The teabaggers have won, let the blood bath begin. I truly hope that the new republican House, and the soon to be republican Senate in Washington do the exact same thing to federal employees and their contractors who make millions compared to the state of Alabama employees. Teachers in Alabama, who have to pay every cent of the cost of operating their classrooms for the last few years - can you imagine operating a classroom without having paper, pens, xerox copies of tests, etc?- and who have not had a raise in over three years (federal employees get a cost of living every year!), while having to take uncaring students to higher standards year after year after year are now going to have fewer benefits, no retirement except a 401K (and we see how much those grew during 2000-2009)!! What is the incentive for teaching under pretty hostile conditions with a largely unmotivated population and an angry mob that seems to be against you? NONE! Thanks, teabaggers and ill-informed Alabamians for letting the "haves" gain control of the "have nots" once again!

Back to the "good old days"...here we come. The doctors, lawyers, and indian chiefs will have it all, and the common man will work his/her fingers to the bone.

PS from Redeye; The reddest state legislature from the reddest state in the union voted themselves a 63% pay raise last year. They must have known then they could count on the majority of Alabama's white mainstream voters to care more about keeping those darn teachers, cops, firefighters and other public servents from having health benefits than they did their city, county, state or their country.

Redeye tiptoeing away from the computer humming Look away! Look away! Look away, Dixieland.

"The republican health care plan, don't get sick. If you get sick, die quickly"~Rep. Alan Grayson D. FL

16 comments:

MaxShelby said...

Thanks, teabaggers and ill-informed Alabamians for letting the "haves" gain control of the "have nots" once again!

Excellent.

Redeye said...

Well, we must also thank the media for enabling teabaggers and ill-informed Alabamians for letting the "haves' gain control of the "have nots" once again. They couldn't have done it without them!

Anonymous said...

Well said...

I hate to say you told them so, but then again you did sound the alarm on what would be happening in Alabama.

I have one question, however. Why should we have sympaty on the AEA when it was Paul Hubbert who said there wasn't a difference, as far as he could see, between Bentley and Sparks. Atleast if we had a Democrat in the Governor's office state employees, educators, and our retirees would have had a chance to have someone in office who would have been able to veto the BS coming down the pipeline.

Redeye said...

I have sympathy for the members of the Alabama Education Association, not the Association. There is a difference. As for Paul Hubberts statment, I have no idea why he said there wasn't a difference as far as he could see between Bentley and Sparks..unless Bentley gave him the impression there was a difference then flip flopped after he won. Mind you, I've heard lots of real democrats say Bentley is really a nice guy, he's just a member of the wrong party, but you know the gop, unlike democrats it's party first.

What gets me about this whole situation is the gop acts like ALL the members of the Alabama Education Association are democrats, when I know for a fact that's not true. So while they believe they will be hurting Democrats, especially African American democrats, they will be hurting republicans too. And that's what's so stoopid about this whole war on the AEA. They are biting off their nose to spite their face. Stoopid is as stoopid does.

Dale Jackson said...

More Redeye stupidity...

The pay raise was in 07, not last year. It was rammed through by Democrats in the Democratically controlled legislature by a Democrat Lt. Governor.

Redeye said...

I stand corrected... the republicans didn't say a mumbling word when the pay raise was rammed through by Democrats in the Democratically controlled legislature by a Democratic Lt. Governer and a republican Governor.

BTW, did you know red states like Sweet Home Alabama was one of them there big gubbermint Welfare States? Po Mo is going to have a hard time bringing home the bacon.

http://www.progressiveelectorate.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3144

Corporatists who call themselves "conservatives" really just want a free lunch. They LOVE government services, they just don't want to pay for them. It's like having your cake and eating it too, then sh@##ing on mine.
To them, Conservativism means they get to keep their money while spending yours, they get tax cuts, you get austerity, they get states rights and the 10th Amendment and you get to subsidize their incompetent Republican tax free style of governance.

Dale Jackson said...

By the way, you inability to get well known facts right is what did you in at Left in Alabama.

Redeye said...

DaleJackson, repeat after me..the Alabama State Legislature, republicans and democrats voted themselves a pay raise in 2007, FACT.

I will be the first to admit I am human and I occassionaly make a mistake or get something wrong. When I find out I'm wrong I acknowlege and correct the mistake because that's what tolerant, mature human beings do. I am not always right (no pun), nor am I always wrong. I know you and yours like to jump on one mistake in order to discredit the substance of my post but that dog won't hunt in this sandbox.

BTW, you made a typo in your comment, it should read; YOUR, not you, inability to get well known facts right iw what did you in at Left in Alabama.

See how easy it is to get a well known fact wrong? :)

The substance of this post is about the gop bringing slavery back to Alabama, not by Executive Order but by raiding the Teachers Retirement Account.

I can't wait to see what jobs Governor Bentley creates, oh wait, he really doesn't have to create any jobs because he's not taking a salary until and unless there is full employment in Alabama. And, he doesn't need a salary because he's well...one of the haves.

Please excuse and forgive any typo's or other errors, they are not intentional or done with any malicious intent.

Redeye said...

Ooops! I hate it when I have a typo in a slam! Should read, BTW, you made a typo in your comment, it should read; YOUR, not You, inability to get well known facts right IS what did you in at Left in Alabama.

BTW, that's not what did me in at Left in Alabama. That's their story and they are sticking by it.:)

Dale Jackson said...

You can say your substance is whatever you think it is but here is the reality. You got most of the facts wrong on the payraise.

Redeye said...

The only fact I got wrong about the pay raise was the time frame.

The Alabama State Legislature voted themselves a pay raise in 2007.

The End.

Dale Jackson said...

Sadly I think you believe you got it all figure out. Your stupidity is embarrassing, I just pointed out a number of errors.

Redeye said...

Dale Jackson, sadly I think you believe you have to resort to name calling, personal attacks and insults when the substance of your arguments fail.

Dale Jackson said...

Great response. You pointed out I called you dumb, congrats Eddgra. If you would just give opinions it would be one thing, but you just make up facts.

Example...

"The African American vote is a powerful voting block. Both parties realize they can't win elections without the African American vote, so is their plan to neutralize it's block voting strength?

Really, the GOP did pretty good without them last election.

Fsct: The 90+% Dem vote for blacks regardless of behavior has rendered that block feckless. You get lip-service and nothing more. The GOP won't get you and the Dems got ya.

Redeye said...

DaleJackson,
I am tired of your verbal abuse calling and your attempts to bully me. If you can't respond to the substance of the post without attacking me I would prefer you not post comments to this blog.

Tolerant,mature people can agree to disagree without resorting to name calling, personal attacks and insults.

Redeye said...

PS, your opinions are welcome here, your bullying is not.