Tax Paid Road Crews

[coda]

:lol:

Today, I passed a road crew of five painting a new "one way" arrow on the pavement. One guy poured the gray paint on the pavement.. one rolled it out, one was leaning on another paint roller taking a break and the other were two squatting in front of it watching the paint dry.

I don't know, man. Nobody can say State or town jobs are very oppressive.

[lennonist-leninist]

Originally posted by [email protected] 8 2005, 08:21 PM
:lol:

Today, I passed a road crew of five painting a new "one way" arrow on the pavement. One guy poured the gray paint on the pavement.. one rolled it out, one was leaning on another paint roller taking a break and the other were two squatting in front of it watching the paint dry.

I don't know, man. Nobody can say State or town jobs are very oppressive.
i think your right some town jobs are not as oppresive but i have seen state workers having to do the worst kind of work.

[coda]

yeah, there's nothing worse than the State workers at the Dept. of Motor Vehicle standing there all day pissing people off.

Take note next time you pass a road construction crew. There are always five people. And always one guy whose exclusive job is to hold the orange flag and always one guy whose job is to lean on the shovel while smoking a ciggarette and generally one person that sits in the truck looking out the side-view mirror.

I'd rather see that money put to good use: teacher's wages, updated school text books, or toward an inner city park. SOMETHING!!!!!

[El_Revolucionario]

Originally posted by [email protected] 8 2005, 08:21 PM
:lol:

Today, I passed a road crew of five painting a new "one way" arrow on the pavement. One guy poured the gray paint on the pavement.. one rolled it out, one was leaning on another paint roller taking a break and the other were two squatting in front of it watching the paint dry.

I don't know, man. Nobody can say State or town jobs are very oppressive.
Don't you have anything better to do than complain about road crews?

[coda]

Oh yes! to be specific, how the state of New York wants to build a 2006 West side Olympic stadium when the kids are having classes in boiler rooms.

how they're skimming off the social security trust to pay for the unpopular criminal war in Iraq.

using the taxpayers money to fund christian oriented chastity programs such as "The Ring Thing" and taking it away from Planned Parenthood.

My complaints of the state's and government's use of tax money is long and never ending.

[Colombia]

Honestly, it seems many of you have never been on a horrible road before. If they weren't fixing those roads, accidents would occur...rapidly.

[coda]

I'll clarify.. you're all apparently missing the subtlety. It's the not the road crew itself or the repair of the roads that's the problem. It's the SURPLUS of road crew for simple tasks,-- it doesn't take 5 people to fill a pothole or six weeks to do it. The big road construction jobs are subcontracted out. Rather reshuffle those extraneous workers and their pay to areas where it's needed. Public school teachers, social workers, Public health clinic which rely on volunteer workers. Open and staff homeless shelters. Many shortages and better ways to expend tax money than five guys painting an arrow on the street.

[El_Revolucionario]

Originally posted by [email protected] 9 2005, 08:07 PM
I'll clarify.. you're all apparently missing the subtlety. It's the not the road crew itself or the repair of the roads that's the problem. It's the SURPLUS of road crew for simple tasks,-- it doesn't take 5 people to fill a pothole or six weeks to do it. The big road construction jobs are subcontracted out. Rather reshuffle those extraneous workers and their pay to areas where it's needed. Public school teachers, social workers, Public health clinic which rely on volunteer workers. Open and staff homeless shelters. Many shortages and better ways to expend tax money than five guys painting an arrow on the street.
I'm sure these workers work much harder than you, and they don't only "paint something on the road". How about having respect for them, instead of lambasting them and treating them like they're some kind of "expendable resource".

[kurt]

Originally posted by [email protected] 9 2005, 05:50 AM
yeah, there's nothing worse than the State workers at the Dept. of Motor Vehicle standing there all day pissing people off.

Take note next time you pass a road construction crew. There are always five people. And always one guy whose exclusive job is to hold the orange flag and always one guy whose job is to lean on the shovel while smoking a ciggarette and generally one person that sits in the truck looking out the side-view mirror.

I'd rather see that money put to good use: teacher's wages, updated school text books, or toward an inner city park. SOMETHING!!!!!
Seems like an easy job. Oh wait, it's nothing like that at all.

[coda]

Yeah, READ. I said there was five people re-painting a one-arrow onto the pavement of a one-way lane entering into a shopping plaza. One person poured the paint onto the pavement. One person rolled it out. the three others were in various positions watching.

*YOU* can respect and support the mis-management of tax dollars, La Rev. I feel it is my revolutionary duty not to. In the particular place where I live the money sure as hell could be used for way more important things like the things I stated above. In the state where I live there is 8 million citizens living in a city of 309 sq. miles and about 36,248 documented homeless people living on the streets and in the sewer system-- 15,000 of those children and kids in overcrowded schools having classes in boiler rooms and taking the subways to school, and hospital emergency rooms you have to wait hours and hours before you see someone. Don't tell me that those three people standing around watching the paint dry job's are not expendable. If you are happy with the way the US operates domestically you can fuck off to their side.

[CrazyModerate]

Originally posted by El_Revolucionario+Jun 9 2005, 09:50 PM--> (El_Revolucionario @ Jun 9 2005, 09:50 PM)
[email protected] 9 2005, 08:07 PM
I'll clarify.. you're all apparently missing the subtlety. It's the not the road crew itself or the repair of the roads that's the problem. It's the SURPLUS of road crew for simple tasks,-- it doesn't take 5 people to fill a pothole or six weeks to do it. The big road construction jobs are subcontracted out. Rather reshuffle those extraneous workers and their pay to areas where it's needed. Public school teachers, social workers, Public health clinic which rely on volunteer workers. Open and staff homeless shelters. Many shortages and better ways to expend tax money than five guys painting an arrow on the street.
I'm sure these workers work much harder than you, and they don't only "paint something on the road". How about having respect for them, instead of lambasting them and treating them like they're some kind of "expendable resource". [/b]
He isn't. The problem is with management that sends 5 or 6 workers to do something 1 or 2 people could do.

[praxis1966]

The whole reason that things like this happen is because the various departments of city government are independently managed, sort of like beaurocracies at the federal level to give a macrocosmic example.

Basically, the reason why it takes 5 people to fill a pot hole or paint an arrow is that the various departments (waste management, parks & recreation, public safety etc.)are allotted a certain budget by the city council. At the end of the year, each department has to petition the city for money. If there is a surplus of cash, then in all likelyhood the budget for the next year gets cut and the surplus spent elsewhere. Essentially the beaurocracy is at fault, not the workers.

The problem is, however, if the tax dollars get spent more wisely jobs are then cut. When this happens, management of the various departments simply leaves people out in the cold instead of transferring them to other departments within city government.

[coda]

Right! It's the system!! It could transfer the surplus workers to different departments --- but it doesn't.. It could allocate the surplus paychecks of those workers to other public resources or even to higher salaries of entry level state workers--- but it doesn't! The things that should be done are not.. and the things that are done should not be! The whole thing needs to be dismantled and restructured. That much we know.
It's enraging as hell when you start making an itemized lists --- and the five workers filling a pothole for 6 weeks is not even the worst of it. But that's the pubic face-- that's what we get to see daily. And they don't even care that we know they mismanage the funds. Who is to call them on it. It is a vast multi-level beauracracy, even at the local levels.

And what a hard time they give you for using the public services that people are entitled. Did you ever try to get ID or a birth certificate or a new social security card or renew a driver's license and go through that red-tape with documentation. They know who the hell we are! They keep files on everything.. but hard time you will have anyway. Don't ask the State for nothing.. that's the motto. ERRRR.,. I despise the whole system.. all the levels.

[praxis1966]

...that's the pubic face-- that's what we get to see daily...

I do believe your Freudian slip was showing just now. :lol:

[coda]

Yikes! :blink:

We are proles! and they are pubes!

Just a bit of a rant though. Damn good to unload it, too.

ironic actually, that as outraged and as fast as I jotted that down, I spelt beauracracy Dead on! I am always stumbling over that one! Couldn't type public worth a damn though. :rolleyes:

[Colombia]

Originally posted by [email protected] 9 2005, 11:00 PM
Yeah, READ. I said there was five people re-painting a one-arrow onto the pavement of a one-way lane entering into a shopping plaza. One person poured the paint onto the pavement. One person rolled it out. the three others were in various positions watching.

*YOU* can respect and support the mis-management of tax dollars, La Rev. I feel it is my revolutionary duty not to. In the particular place where I live the money sure as hell could be used for way more important things like the things I stated above. In the state where I live there is 8 million citizens living in a city of 309 sq. miles and about 36,248 documented homeless people living on the streets and in the sewer system-- 15,000 of those children and kids in overcrowded schools having classes in boiler rooms and taking the subways to school, and hospital emergency rooms you have to wait hours and hours before you see someone. Don't tell me that those three people standing around watching the paint dry job's are not expendable. If you are happy with the way the US operates domestically you can fuck off to their side.
Were you in a car? If you were, you probably passed them quickly, and didn't see the extent of work they did. I have seen them fix the roads on my street before, and it can be hard work depending on how bad it is.

[coda]

heh! I'm getting interrogated now!#!@!

Yes, when I first saw them I was in a moving vehicle.. then sitting on the hood of same parked vehicle for about 45 minutes in the parking lot and able to intermittently observe. This particular crew was there to repaint an arrow directive on the pavement. By the time I left, they hadn't started the arrow yet. When I came back that way a few hours later, aprox. 4 hours, still, no sign of the arrow. Granted the two people actually doing the work, the one pouring the paint, the one rolling it, were indeed working -- whether it was hard or not -- who's to say.. that's subjective... the other three were just casually standing around the whole time. Not the first time I've seen this either. As a tax paying citizen, I believe I have a right to critize flagrant misappropriation of tax payers money. sorry, if I offended anybody that works for the state or government. :blink:

anything else you want to know?

[Colombia]

I will take your word.

If they were really doing little as you say they were, I would file a complaint and see what happens.

[coda]

Nahh. There in the grace period right now. Those things will be adjusted come time the revolution. Just illustrating how messed up the system is on all it's levels. Believe it or not.. a lot of times it's those little common everyday things that irk the average apolitical person off, where they than seek for massive change... not the big things like wars or executive level abuses. I use those types of examples a lot when talking to people about how things could be different in a people oriented society.