Money for Nothing

Now that Acorn has finally been destroyed, the Right Wing has moved on to a new target, Planned Parenthood.  The U.S. House of Representatives focused on defunding Planned Parenthood because it performed abortions and many state governments sought to also control or abolish some sort of privacy rights, funding, or legally enforce a massive moral guilt trip when it came to a woman's right to choose.

Now, not only will women be harassed outside the clinics the visit by protestors, they will now potentially be harassed inside as well with images and sounds of heartbeats in what is no doubt an already difficult decision to be make. 

The voracity of the attacks, and the free use of the bully pulpit by politicians and churches, enable far too many to enact their will of what is right and moral on others with little to no repercussions.  In Tiff's blog Blue Oasis in a Big Red State she discusses the act of one CapMetro employee that refused to do his job based on his own religious beliefs and was rewarded for it!

Needless to say, I was just as disgusted when I read this in the paper as she was.  The argument that dropping two women at an "abortion" clinic somehow violated his freedom of religion is a flimsy argument at best.  His job was to drop them off at the curb, not worship at the altar of aborted fetuses or else lose his job.  What went on inside the clinic was none of his concern and would have in no way affected his job status with his employer if  he had just done his job as required. 

Mr. Graning took advantage of the fact that CapMetro is experiencing budget woes, audits, and other financial problems and knew CapMetro's board would find it too expensive to engage in extremely expensive litigation.  The attorney costs alone would be more than the settlement price of 21,000.  However, CapMetro has just given other employees the green light to say ok this is an avenue to fast cash.  They will be employing attorneys no matter what to either fight more litigation or to rewrite policies to prevent future lawsuits. 

In return, what Mr. Graning did was violate two women's right to privacy, because they had to file a complaint with his employer.  If any one had a suit to file it was the two women who were refused bus service to their intended location because of Mr. Graning's holier than thou actions.  

Management Material

As many of you may have heard, there was a significant data breach at the Comptroller's office that was discovered March 31, 2011.  3.5 million Texans were affected, a majority being former or current public employees.  The public is rightfully outraged over such a massive security breach, but, even more outlandish then the size of the breach was the behavior by Mrs. Combs. 

From the onset, it appeared that Mrs. Combs did not want her name associated with the breach, even though it was taking place in the agency she is responsible for.  The letters sent to Texans affected by the breach were signed by the now former Technology Officer Victor Gonzalez.  The letter was insincere and almost seemed to shift blame onto the public. It offered a "reduced priced" credit monitoring service, who just happened to be a campaign contributor to Mrs. Combs.  Nothing reeks of corruption more than using a campaign donor as your vendor.

 It is no secret that the Republican political machine considers her a top contender for Lt. Governor, and she spends more time raising her public profile than actually attending to the corroding agency in which she presides.  Employees throughout the agency were not surprised by the lax in security protocol, but they were surprised by the lack of leadership she displayed to her employees.  Employees found out about the breach after the story broke in the press, confirmation was sent from internal communications, not from Mrs. Combs herself. 

 It took a threat of a lawsuit for the Comptroller to do the right thing and offer free credit monitoring, but, the damage had already been done.  No doubt the media will once again harp on the fact that the company chosen to offer the free service is a donor to the Comptroller.  Additionally, the Comptroller is using campaign funds to pay for the free credit monitoring services.  The use of campaign funds is legal according to § 253.035 in The TEXAS ETHICS COMMISSION TITLE 15, ELECTION CODE, REGULATING POLITICAL FUNDS AND CAMPAIGNs.  So, while it may appear unethical it is actually within the boundaries of the law.   

Appearing unethical can be just as bad as being unethical.  At this point, Mrs. Combs has lost the respect of the public and her employees.  The extra steps taken to appease the public will not stem a lawsuit, nor will it help her fight off an opponent in an reelection campaign, or election into another office. She will need to partake in extensive damage control to repair her reputation.  Ultimately, only time will tell if the public will forgive and forget at the polls next election. 

About that Metrorail.

Recently, I've begun to use CapMetro as an alternative route to my commute from Cedar Park to downtown.  Originally I had intended to use the metro rail as I had been accustomed to rail systems in other cities that ran quickly with a nice variant in time schedules.  If you missed a train, another would be along in a few minutes to get you to your destination without much if a delay.  That was not what I found with the schedules for the metro rail in Austin.  The length of time it took to ride the train was longer then taking an express bus from the same station to the Capital Complex.  The wait time between trains was extremely long so if you missed a train you might as well call and let your boss know you're going to be at least 30-40 minutes late.  It's also very limited to the locations it can go. A large portion of Austin does not receive rail service.

I, however, was pleased to read Surid Kaphle's blog "A Great Citizen" who offered positive news about the rail service.  It's usage during SXSW increased attendance and revenue to the areas along the rail line and allowed many locals the opportunity to avoid the downtown traffic that week.

A point that I feel would have been pertinent to the "boom" of Metrorail usage that was not mentioned was the state of the economy.  Gas prices are still rising, commutes are still long, many people are out of work or looking for work , budgets are stretched to the max so many including myself just can't afford the extra gas.  In addition, students like myself at ACC can get a free bus pass for the semester allowing me to ride the bus OR the rail for free which has made riding Capmetro much more appealing.  Honestly, if it wasn't for the economy, I'm not sure the Metrorail would have the riders that it does.   

And Then You Really Might Know What its Like...

Due to the Great Recession, states across the nation are facing tremendous budget shortages. Executives & legislators of their states, including Texas, have used the crisis to take aim at public employees & their unions, using them as scapegoats for state budget woes.  While public employees are a large expense; they are not the sole reason for the budget crisis, especially for the crisis affecting Texas. 

In Texas, employees are allowed to unionize, but there are several restrictions placed on unions.  Unions are not allowed to prevent a person who is not a union member from working in a certain position or employer.  For example, a non-union welder can still work for a union run shop without having to join the union.  A union cannot charge excessive fees, dues or fines.  A union cannot mass picket or picket a business in which it does not have a direct labor dispute with. 

State employees have the option to join the Texas State Employee Union or the Texas Public Employees Association (not a union but performs very similar activities).  An employee is not required to join either organization, but both the union and the association fight for each and EVERY employee, union member or not. 

Talking points & sound bites tend to demonize state employees as lazy, selfish, worthless, unintelligent oafs soaking up wonderful benefits on the taxpayers dime while not doing any real work or providing any benefit to the state.  This is simply untrue.   

What many do not realize is that, on average, state employees are underpaid compared to the private sector.  The pay disparity certainly increases with education level.  It seems the more highly educated the individual is, the more that individual could make in the private sector.

The benefits are no longer the gold standard of the workforce.  The state does pay for the employees' medical insurance and half of the dependents coverage for now, the medical insurance has a high deductible, it does not cover x-rays, blood work, certain immunizations, & specialist office procedures.  The prescription insurance isn't insurance but a generic discount card. While employees in the private sector are paying  $10.00-25.00 co-pays, state employees are paying "discounted" rates of the same medication.  For example, my migraine medication costs $189.49 out of pocket; with my state employee plan, my discount would be $87.00; my partner's copayment with private sector insurance for the same medication is $10.00.  Sure I get a discount, & it's better than paying full price but it's not the "Cadillac" plan I've been accused of holding. 

My retirement pension may not be around by the time I reach retirement age.  I'm required to participate in the pension plan and a 401k with a mandatory 1% contribution which I know is next to nothing.  However, I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place.  I HAVE to contribute 6% of my upper 20k salary to the pension, but to make the 401k a prudent fail-safe, I also would need to contribute another 6% to the 401k.  I am well aware that the intelligent thing is to save for your future and pay yourself first; this is the standard advice that every money smart article will advise. However, this is easier said than done.  12% of your salary is a large amount of money for such a small salary.  Not to mention the fact that the administrators of the 401k literally gouge the participants with excessive quarterly and monthly fees.  Someone is getting rich off state retirement & it's not public employees!

The only benefit that can compete with the private sector is the holiday time off, but that can be ignored if there is a staff shortage or if legislature is in session.  We also receive longevity pay which is a very small retention bonus that an employee is eligible for after two straight years of service.  After two years you qualify for an extra $20.00 a month, after 10 years it's $80.00 a month.  The dollar amounts do not become significantly larger until you have been with the state past retirement qualification. Raises are dependent on the agency and the legislature; the last raise for my agency was in 2008.  Overall, the compensation of a state employee is less than a comparable private sector employee. 

 The facilities and equipment of the state agency I work for is in as much disarray as the compensation.  The computer systems & business functions are completely outdated by decades.   Many processes are still completed by manual counting (my line of work is in accounting, scary).  Newer technology currently available has not been fully utilized to its fullest capability due to budget restrictions or lack of training.  The building is filthy, mold grows in the bathrooms and along baseboards.  The walls are in need of painting & the carpet is threadbare & un-padded; tears & runs in the carpet are repaired by ductape.  An entire floor has been closed for almost two years for asbestos contamination.   There are leaky pipes, broken exhaust fans, lights that do not work, the list goes on and on. 

Now I'm sure you are wondering why in the world would you work for the state if it is so terrible?  The reality is that I've worked for the private sector with two major banks.   I've done the fancy Christmas parties, the team outings, catered luncheons;  honestly, there are times I miss the corporate bribery, but working for the state I can actually sleep at night.

I don't stay up all night worrying about what angry jerk is filling my voicemail with death threats, sexual harassment, etc.  I don't have to worry about competing against my peers to squeeze out a bonus for a month.  I don't have to worry about whether or not I am going to meet this month's metrics & whether or not I'll meet next month's metrics after they raise the new minimum standard again.  I won't be losing any sleep over whether the rumors of outsourcing my job to India are true & wondering if my managers are lying to me or are they just as clueless as I am.  I certainly don't have to worry about whether I am doing the right thing for society.  I won't be asked to lie, to commit fraud or forgery, or be asked to do whatever it took to make the bank come out ahead.  I'll never have to choose between doing what's best for a person or doing what's best for the bottom line of a big business again.   

That makes all the difference in the world to me. 

Critique of a Blogger Piece

Well, it's finally happened.  I have found a topic that a conservative blogger and I can agree on!  It is so shocking that I'm certain that the Devil is ice skating in hell right now. Yesterday, David Jennings at Big Jolly Politics proclaimed that the Tea Party, particularly the Texas Tea Party, is full of it.  Now this is something every progressive has known for the past two years, but the fact that conservatives are finally taking notice that the Tea Party offers no real solutions (and never did) just makes me smile.

The author, David Jennings, is obviously writing from a conservative perspective. He is critical of the fact that the points laid out in the Tea Party's press release is all rhetoric with no details.  He points out that if the Texas Tea Party Advisory Committee was serious about cost savings it would have figured out how much their suggestions would have saved the state.  As Mr. Jennings points out, you can't really figure out the cost of banning citizens from other nations and states from using Texas parks and facilities, the over-all cost to society if we do not fund state parks, or the difficulty in not accepting federal funds with "strings attached". So many of the suggested ideas from the Tea Party are unrealistic, impractical or just have no clue what they are talking about, which are points that I and Mr. Jennings happen to agree upon.  For example, the Tea Party suggest going after state benefits including longevity pay.  The longevity pay for state employees doesn't even kick in until after you've been employed for two years and it starts at 20.00 a month.  Yes, it eventually gets bigger the longer you work there but it's meant to help with inflation. Pay raises are actually few and far between, especially when the state budget is in crisis, so the piddly amount of longevity pay is to help with inflation and to keep workers actually there; instead of going to the private sector for more money.  I won't even get into the pension, it's way too long and complicated for this post, but just know employees pay for their pension, it's not a glorious freebie, and newer employees like myself are required to pay for the pension and a 401k without a match, as a fail safe in case the pension disappears before reaching retirement age.

The author, Mr. Jennings, seems fairly credible.  While I disagree with his opinions in his other posts, he has issued corrections and apologies when he has made mistakes, or given false information.  Fairly impressive for a blogger since he has no real liability to do so, heck the real press neglects to correct mistakes it makes, and they're professionals.  So kudos to Mr. Jennings for being a responsible blogger.

Slightly off topic but still relevant to Texas politics.  Has anyone else noticed that the wackiest stuff seems to keep coming from Tyler?  First it was Leo Berman, now the press release from The Texas Tea Party Advisory Committee.  Could there be something in the water?  Radioactive waste?  Secret Government experiment gone wrong?  Whatever it is, every time I see Tyler, TX in the press, I prepare myself for the potential loss of active brain cells.  

Critique of an Editorial Piece

I choose to critique this editorial article in the Saturday January 22, 2011 in the Austin Statesman, written by the staff of the Statesman.  While I agree whole-heartedly with what the piece was saying, I disagree with the way it was being communicated. 

You see ,it was written no differently than a normal news piece found in the Statesman, filled with technical jargon and no real details about the impact the state budget would have on life for your average Texans, even for Texans on the upper income spectrum.  This lack of communication left an otherwise good article open to attack to "right-wing trolls" who dismissed it at just more liberal whining. 

When the author said your taxes will rise at a local level, he meant local sales tax rates, court fees,  ticket fines, library fines, and any other way your local city can think of to cover a revenue short fall.  It is possible that state and county agencies will have to increase fees for registrations, drivers licenses, permits, etc. 

The budget woes in the school districts will mean there will be less teachers, larger class rooms, more paper work back log, more need for parental volunteers to cover the shortage in staff in the class room as aides, cafeteria, the office, and as crossing guards.  Disciplinary actions may become more broad and less individualized as the school just doesn't have the time to deal with students one on one any more, causing swift one size fits all punishment leading to deeper student/parental dissatisfaction.

In addition, college students will take a very large hit.  The state of Texas offers 16 different types of student financial aid including waivers, loans and grants.  The article mentions a 41% reduction in funding which would more than likely affect loans and grants before waivers.  With more and more students enrolling in higher education due to the recession, options for school funding will become more and more limited.  This is an issue of great concern to me, as I received a grant this semester, as I'm sure many of the students in this course did as well.  It made a big difference in my financial aid package and it was one less worry since I did not have to pay it back.  Next semester that amount may have be filled with a loan instead. 

Decreased funding in Medicaid providers will push the already scarce amount of doctors and clinics to close their doors to needy patients forcing more and more patients to overworked, under-staffed emergency rooms who are not equipped to provide the long term care many of these patients require.  In addition, elderly patients on Medicaid living in nursing homes may find themselves forced to either find alternate ways to pay for their care or be taken in by relatives.   Working families are already struggling to find ways to make ends meet, adding additional medical expenses for relatives is just another burden residents will have to shoulder. 

The article itself does speak the truth.  The budget bill currently being considered by the house will cripple the state for many years to come.  Now, I realize that the opinion writer(s) probably did not have the space to go into as much detail to cover all the topics as needed, but if I'm reading the opinion section I actually want an opinion, not repeated numbers and factoids found in the normal news stories. It appears the staff at the Statesman who wrote this opinion article did not get into "opinion" mode before publishing.  When I look for an opinion on a subject, I want an analysis on how certain news could affect my life and  it's opposing views so that I may consider the whole picture.  This article , in my opinion, lacked this kind of coverage. 

Texas Budget Crisis

The great state of Texas is in serious financial trouble.  No, this is not solely a great recession problem; it’s a great fiscal responsibility problem.  We do not have enough incoming revenue to cover our very basic expenses now, nor in the future.  

            The shortfall stems from court mandated school finance reform which led to severely flawed legislation.  The asinine idea that tax cuts somehow pay for themselves and create revenue, has once again been proven fictitious.  To make matters worse, legislators have been adamant about not "raising" taxes even when our constitution requires a balanced budget every biennium.

            I'll be writing more about this subject in the future, as well as any updates related to the pending bills in the house and senate related to the franchise (also known as margin) tax.  In the mean time, please read this article dated January 31, 2011, in the Austin Statesman.  It underscores the serious nature of our current budget crisis, and the fact that we will continue to have this problem until our incoming revenue is increased.  

            It also never hurts to contact your state representative and tell them to fix our revenue stream by either raising taxes or "correcting" the under-performing margin tax.  

Travis County: Mark Strama (512) 463-0821  

Williamson County: Charles Schwertner (512) 463-0309