Join the conversation [ADD A COMMENT]

View our commenting policy and standards | Commenting FAQ | Report a problem

1. BUD | May 11, 2012 at 9:14 am

   Local school salaries:

   Earlier this week, Salem School superintendent Alan Siebert said the school system was going to save some $39,740 by having some 21 employees take 4 days off…
   OK..crank the numbers..21 emps x 4 days= 84 workdays…divide $39,740 by 84 and one gets a daily salary average of $473…or a weekly salary average of $2,365…how many work weeks in a school year..40?
   So we have 21 employees in the Salem school system with salaries on average over $94,000.

   Roanoke County’s superintendent gets a $20,000 raise on a salary of $150,000. That’s a 13.3% increase but because employees are required to pay 5% into retirement, that is really only a 3% increase…HUH??!!

   Hard times indeed at the local school systems.
2. hokie24 | May 11, 2012 at 11:23 am

   I’m guessing that the number representing the money saved over those 21 days is not coming strictly from salaries. I would guess that there is also the cost of upkeep for the work areas that these folks work in, operational costs for those 21 days, etc that factor in as well.
3. gdad | May 11, 2012 at 11:27 am

   John R assured us on Thursday’s open thread that the stock market would take a 200-point dive this morning all because Obama was was either responsible for JP Morgan’s bad investment decisions or because Obama wouldn’t say something that would MAGICALLY fix the situation. I’m sure he’s disappointed to see that at least as of 11:15 a.m. the market was up 50 points.

   John R, we’ll be waiting for you to come back and congratulate Obama for turning the situation around and solving the problem. After all, if it was his poor leadership that caused the problem (according to you), surely he had a hand in the rise in consumer confidence being touted this morning as the reason for the stock market rise. Right, John R??
4. gdad | May 11, 2012 at 12:29 pm

   #1 I’m sure hokie24 is right, BUD. Salem school employee salaries, in fact, are public record, but I’m not sure exactly where you find them. However, I can tell you that Chesterfield County, a larger and better-off school system, has only about 25 workers making $94,000 or more, so it’s a good bet Salem doesn’t have that many.
5. Scott M. | May 11, 2012 at 1:27 pm

   Holy crap Batman! Is the Republican party actually calling for armed revolution?

   Who among our regressive (and for that matter, progressives) commenters will denounce this type of talk??

   http://freethoughtblogs.com/dispatches/2012/05/11/republican-committee-calls-for-armed-revolution/

   Right Wing Watch reports that the Republican Committee in Greene County, Virginia put out a newsletter in June that included a column declaring that if Obama is reelected in November, “armed revolution” will be the only recourse for faux-patriots like them….

   …The ultimate task for the people is to remain vigilant and aware ~ that the government, their government is out of control, and this moment, this opportunity, must not be forsaken, must not escape us, for we shall not have any coarse but armed revolution should we fail with the power of the vote in November ~ This Republic cannot survive for 4 more years underneath this political socialist ideologue.
6. Scott M. | May 11, 2012 at 4:04 pm

   I was listening to Prof. Wolff today ( http://www.rdwolff.com/ ). He made an interesting point.

   We’ve got ~8% unemployment. Our ‘rate of capacity utilization’ is running about 78%. This means 22% of our ability to produce goods and services ISN’T being used.

   Why do we have an economic system incapable of putting 22% of our productive capacity together with the 8% of the population that is unemployed but want to work?

   Makes one wonder why we continue to stay with capitalism. It’s a bit like sticking with an abusive spouse.
7. Scott M. | May 11, 2012 at 4:18 pm

   I am by NO MEANS an expert on European economics but in the same talk Prof. Wolff is giving (you can listen to it here: http://www.rdwolff.com/content/global-capitalism-may-2012-monthly-update-audio ), he makes the claim the European countries with the lowest unemployment (since it varies widely) are those with the greatest social safety net.

   I’m only half way through the talk so hope I don’t press the SUBMIT button too soon.
8. Chuck | May 11, 2012 at 8:22 pm

   Scott M., we may be sticking with it because all of the other countries that have tried what you advocate have either already failed miserably or are on the verge of failing. The people end up living in the abject poverty of a third world dictatorship because socialism only works in theory.
9. Sandi Saunders | May 11, 2012 at 9:51 pm

   Orrrr, it could be that “people end up living in the abject poverty” BECAUSE “of a third world dictatorship“. There is no “socialist” state that has ended up that way, but plenty of dictatorships, authoritarian regimes, monarchies and theocracies that have. Communist China is a “success” to many people oddly enough.

   Too many people are caught up in the notion that a nation calling itself ‘something something socialist something’ makes it a socialist nation and that is not the reality. The USSR, China, Cuba et al are NOT socialist nations. Most are Communist or Military Dictatorships. The moment civil liberties and rights are taken away, socialism is no more.
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_socialist_countries

   Now the countries that could ACTUALLY be called Socialist on some or many levels are no where near third world poverty levels. Look at Norway, Denmark, Finland, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Canada, Switzerland, Netherlands, the US, et al.

   I think it is clear that capitalist-socialism works as an economic system in a democracy/republic such as those above. If done right (and it can be), it is literally the best of both worlds.

   You can have with “welfare benefits” and capitalism as long as neither crosses the line. Socialism cannot become autocracy, capitalism cannot become the master. As long as civil liberties and rights are protected I think the relationships can be beneficial. Few outright restrictions on capital or labor is the goal. A good regulatory system can achieve that. Achieving that balance is the trick. It always has been.

   We want entrepreneurship and opportunity. We want people motivated by their own self interest to make a profit and we have to account for the safety nets for those who fall through those cracks. That is the best way to protect capitalism IMO.

   The FIRST thing we need to do is learn what benefits us and what does not. Then we support that which works AND that which keeps us whole. There is NO exclusion of socialism in capitalism if we do it right. If we can manage to get better at that, we can truly “have it all”.

   If we can get the money out of politics, we have no dearth of very smart people who can figure this out and get this nation back on track. As long as the money drives the bus, we will move along in this rut.
10. Scott M. | May 12, 2012 at 10:03 am

    @8 Chuck, you say, “Scott M., we may be sticking with it because all of the other countries that have tried what you advocate have either already failed miserably or are on the verge of failing. The people end up living in the abject poverty of a third world dictatorship because socialism only works in theory.”

    And yet, under capitalism we have 50 million uninsured people. I simply point you to this link and ask again, why do we stick with it?

    http://blogs.roanoke.com/medbeat/2012/03/roanokes-annual-free-dental-clinic-underway/