Dear Andrew Sullivan:
No.
Love,
Liss
Austerity in the UK: The new civil service
In case you haven't heard about it (and even if you have), British civil servants are planning a major one-day strike for tomorrow. They're protesting the conservative government's proposed austerity measures. More specifically, public employees are indignant about substantial increases in the contributions they must make to their pensions, and an increase in the retirement age. In order to save the UK government from a manufactured crisis, its employees will be working later in life for less pay. Where have I heard that before?
The Guardian has been providing tons of coverage from multiple perspectives. This includes quotes from workers, and analyses of why teachers will be striking.
By a moderate coincidence, a few days ago I got my annual statement from the New York State Teachers' Retirement System (TRS). Gold-plated it was not. New York State is constantly reducing the value and harshening the terms of its public employees' pension. (At the moment, NYS classifies its employees into one of five tiers based on their first date of service. The later one starts, the higher the tier and the less generous the pension.)
New York State employees are also looking at a pay freeze for multiple years (just like UK public employees), and required unpaid furloughs.
Anyhow, I thought I'd take this opportunity to express solidarity with workers in Britain while simultaneously beginning to explore why I chose to leave the public sector.
For me, my pay and benefits weren't as much of an issue as the lack of respect they represented. Don't get me wrong, there's all sorts of disrespect in the private sector. However, I think there's a fundamentally different dynamic to the abuse public employees deal with.
Let's say you're an employee in the private sector. If you refuse to work long hours, don't have the resources you need to do your job, are doing the work of multiple people, have incompetent coworkers or supervisors, you could cost your employer money, which could lead to you losing your job. Likewise, your boss might (also) be an asshole and/or cheap, and fire you for whatever. If you don't have a union, you're pretty much out of luck. If you do have a union, you still may be out of a job.
If you get fired or laid off under such circumstances, a lot of folks will conclude that your boss is an asshole. To hell with hir. What an isolated and unfortunately awful person.
Let's say you teach. You will most certainly be working long hours, doing the work of several people. It's pretty much a given that you won't have the resources available to do your job well.
These working circumstances fly in the face of a culture that claims that universal education is an important, fundamental right.
Some of your students will drop out or perform badly on standardized tests, or be unhappy with the education they received. This may be because the system sets up teachers and students to fail. It may be because some of your students do not have adequate food, shelter, and medical care, and are somewhat distracted from their studies.
It won't matter. Someone, somewhere will notice you or your institution, and you and/or your institution will be faced with pressure to "step up your game" or else. Every. Single. Night. you'll hear politicians and pundits talk about how lazy, inept, and overpaid you and your colleagues are. A lot of your neighbors, the same people who depend on your hard work, will agree with the pundits and they'll elect politicians that will continue to attack you.
And why, do you ask, would politicians attack teachers? Because teaching is one of the most important professions in the world. A lack of educated workers is what keeps the economy in shambles. The lack of quality education causes poverty, crime, and otherwise destroys our bootstraps.
In this line of reasoning, the key to social mobility (or the lack thereof) is education, not reckless speculators and wealthy tax scofflaws. After all, in this narrative the rich got where they are by virtue of their intelligence and education, not by virtue having vast amounts of privilege.
Teaching is important. Its something I enjoy immensely, and consider myself reasonably good at. In my job search, I applied for a lot of positions teaching and/or writing in public and private, for-profit and non-profit settings. They all paid a lot less than the job I'm ending up with, because I'll be working in a position that society agrees involves technical skills.
Thus, teaching is the most important job in the world yet anyone can do it. (See also: writing) Despite this, just about everyone who tries it fails miserably, because they are bad, lazy, incompetent people, which explains why teachers don't get paid squat.
Mixed messages, anyone?
Without going into the specifics of my job, my mental health has declined precipitously during the three-and-a-half years I've taught for the State University of New York. I'm not alone. When I started, my colleagues warned me this would happen. Apparently my profession breaks up families and destroys lives.
I couldn't take it anymore. My family couldn't take it anymore. I'm taking my Ativan (among other things) that I take for my multiple daily panic attacks and going home. I love teaching, but I grudgingly engage in occasional acts of self-care.
Here's one last thing. Three quarters of my teachers' union (which covers K-12 and SUNY teachers) are women. I suspect that many other sectors of the government workforce are heavily female (provision of health care and social services, for instance).
Throughout Europe, Canada, and the US, governments have also been at the forefront of hiring workers based on merit. I don't care what lies people have told you, modern governments tend to hire qualified candidates, even if they're not temporarily able-bodied, straight, cis, white, Protestant guys who are related to their supervisor. It's an open secret that the civil service is one of the places you go to get work when other people are too bigoted to hire you.
That the composition of the civil service doesn't mirror that of corporate boardrooms or government cabinets is not immaterial. In numerous times and places, meaningful public sector employment and the services that public employees provide have been important in aiding upward social mobility. Despite their talk, most of what has come to be termed "the 1%" isn't interested in social mobility or in paying taxes to support it.
The double talk, aggression, and hatred aimed at public employees from our bosses (ostensibly, our neighbors) takes a huge daily toll on us. This is why I standard in solidarity with the workers in Britain.
Daily Dose of Cute
Lord Dudlington takes his breakfast on the settee.
Dudley—who, as previously documented, is One of Those Dogs who constantly has to be taken to the vet for something, whether it's eyeball drama or butt hullabaloo—was limping pitiably this weekend after hurting his front left paw while zooming around the backyard. Now, Dudz routinely tears his paws to pieces, because he is not only a beastie capable of running 45mph but also a total glaik, so we're used to cleaning cuts and removing thorns and not getting totally alarmed every time he has a little limp. But this was a serious limp, and we feared a broken or dislocated toe (to which greys are prone), so it was off to the vet. Again.
Luckily for Dudz (and us), it was not a broken toe; it's merely the equivalent of a sprained ankle. So he's been prescribed an anti-inflammatory and bed rest.
Zelda keeps watch on the floor in front of the settee: "I got this."
Trying to keep Dudz and Zelly from playing together is the hardest part, although I shan't complain about having two playful dogs who love each other.
At the animal clinic, the vet noticed that Dudley had some bruising on his belly and the inside of his back legs, easily noticeable since those areas are pink and hairless. "Um, that's where our other dog bumps him with her head when she runs underneath him," I told the vet. "It's, like, the best game ever." The vet and the vet tech laughed. Of course it is.
Yesterday, after we got home, I was watching Animal Cops: Phoenix and a mixed-breed dog that clearly had greyhound in him whimpered onscreen. Zel almost never reacts to anything on the television, but that greyhoundy whimper sent her tearing up the stairs to the loft where Dudley was resting, to make sure he was okay.
"Let me know if you need anything, buddy." BFFs.
Sexual Abuse Also Happens Outside of Penn State
[Trigger warning for sexual abuse]
The day after the Penn State Board of Trustees fired Joe Paterno and PSU president Graham Spanier for covering up rape and sexual abuse by assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, a woman called the Syracuse police to allege that Syracuse assistant men's basketball coach Bernie Fine had molested one of her friends over an extended period of time. This set off a chain of events that has thus far led Syracuse University to fire coach Fine.
Authorities are closely examining the allegations against Fine nine years after this victim first contacted the Syracuse police and the Syracuse Post-Standard, eight years after he contacted ESPN, and six years after SU conducted an internal investigation. (Deadspin has a timeline of events.)
A few things have changed since 2002. Syracuse has a new police chief. In light of both the renewed interest in the allegations and events at Penn State, two more victims have came forward. As Fine allegedly abused one of these men in another state, the federal government still has time left under the statute of limitations to prosecute the coach. This was not the case with alleged abuse that occurred within New York. Oh, and also a pair of famous college coaches at Penn State are in deep trouble because one of them raped and otherwise abused some children, while the other one covered for him.
Now the police, media, and SU are suddenly very interested in finding out what happened.
Call me skeptical, but it seems like Joe Paterno has to get fired for folks with power to care about coaches sexually abusing children. This, in turn, discourages victims from coming forward.
Since Fine's first accuser came forward, he's been ignored for years and publicly condemned by legendary SU men's basketball coach Jim Boeheim (who subsequently issued a tepid quasi-apology). Meanwhile, after SU fired the abuser in light of substantial evidence that corroborates the victim's allegations, the Syracuse Post-Standard still seems unclear about nine years' worth of inaction. ("When the allegations first broke", SU did not "quickly [place] Fine on administrative leave" [emphasis mine].)
True to form, today's New York Times contains a lengthy story on Bernie Fine, much of which details what a great guy he is, despite getting fired for molesting boys.
As long as were swimming in a rape culture, sexual abuse will continue to be appallingly common and largely unprosecuted.
The Walking Thread
"You should definitely use this gun to shoot me, because I am terrible."
Sunday night's episode was the mid-season finale, a new concept that means "We will be back when our ratings won't be torched by the holidays, i.e. February," and it was definitely the best (and THE WORST!) episode in quite some time. OMG that ending! Walking Dead, you are just lucky I ALSO watch Dexter, so I saw an EVEN SHITTIER reveal on the same night. Oy these shows.
Anyway! Let us commence discussion of the last episode that FOR SURE I'm absolutely positive about this felt exactly like a zombie munching on the contents of my brainpan.
(Spoilers lurch undeadly herein.)
Economic News Round-Up
The password is: Unemployment.
LA Times—On the US: "Despite the nation's 9% jobless rate, Republicans have grown increasingly uneasy with providing additional unemployment benefits beyond the 26 weeks most states offer. More than 2 million jobless Americans will exhaust those benefits in the early weeks of the new year. The federal government has been supplementing the states to provide up to 99 weeks of benefits. Congress will need to devise a way to pay for the estimated $55-billion cost of the extra aid that will draw GOP support without alienating Democrats."
Belfast Telegraph—On the UK: "The UK's economy will slip back into recession in the coming months, a bleak forecast from the OECD revealed. The economic think-tank said the UK's GDP will shrink in the final quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012—the first time it has predicted a double-dip recession for the UK. ... The OECD also said unemployment, which currently stands at 8.3%—its highest since 1996—will rise to 9% in 2013 as jobs figures take a worse hit than in the recession following the banking crisis."
ABC Melbourne—On Australia: "A study looking at youth employment has found young people make up almost a quarter of Australia's long-term unemployed. ... Since 2008, the percentage of young Australians without a job for a year or longer has almost doubled."
AP—On Japan: "Government figures released Tuesday showed the unemployment rate adjusted for seasonal variations had jumped to 4.5 percent from 4.1 percent in September. Other recent indicators show slowdowns in exports and industrial production in the face of a strong yen and a sputtering global economy."
China Daily—On France: "The number of jobless people in France grew by 1.2 percent in October from a month earlier, as sluggish economic activities slowed job creation in the eurozone's second largest economy, official figures showed on Monday. According to labor ministry figures, France registered 34,400 more jobless people last month, which pulled up the country's total number of jobseekers to more than 2.814 million in France's mainland."
Asia One News—On Thailand: "The Office of the National Economics and Social Development Board (NESDB) said yesterday that Thailand had 260,000 people out of work in the third quarter of this year and the flood had significantly affected workers' quality of life. The unemployment rate was expected to increase to 700,000-920,000 people, with household debts also rising."
NASDAQ—On Italy: "Italy's economy will contract by 0.5% in 2012, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Monday in a new set of forecasts, sharply slashing projections of 1.1% growth made in May. ... Italy's new government needs to 'fully implement' emergency fiscal measures it inherited from its predecessor and 'undertake important structural reforms to spur growth,' doing so even as unemployment rises, the OECD said."
Bloomberg—On Spain: "Spain's economy is struggling to recover from a three-year slump as households spend less to pay off one of the largest private-debt burdens in the euro region. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development cut its 2012 growth forecast for Spain to 0.3 percent from 1.6 percent yesterday, and said it sees unemployment peaking at 22.9 percent next year."
The Globe and Mail—On Greece: "In October, Greece's million-strong unemployed outnumbered the county’s 750,000 public sector workers as the country edged to the close of its fourth year of recession."
Not good. Meanwhile, the Eurozone crisis remains a primary global concern...
The Guardian's live coverage is here.
CBS News—EU leaders seek Hail Mary for the euro: "The 17 finance ministers of the countries that use the euro converged on EU headquarters Tuesday in a desperate bid to save their currency—and to protect Europe, the United States, Asia and the rest of the global economy from a debt-induced financial [disaster]. ... Even countries outside the eurozone were ratcheting up pressure on the ministers to find a solution. President Barack Obama, meeting with top EU officials on Monday, said a European failure to resolve its debt crisis would complicate his own efforts to create jobs in the U.S. And even Poland, historically wary of German dominance beyond its borders, appealed for help. 'I will probably be the first Polish foreign minister in history to say so, but here it is,' Radek Sikorski said in Berlin. 'I fear German power less than I am beginning to fear German inactivity. You have become Europe's indispensable nation.'"
ABC News—Obama says US 'stands ready to do our part' for Eurozone crisis: "As the European debt crisis continues to escalate, President Obama urged European Union leaders today to act quickly to resolve the eurozone crisis... 'This is of huge importance to our own economy. If Europe is contracting or if Europe is having difficulties, then it's much more difficult for us to create good jobs here at home,' [the president said]. While Obama did not say what kind of assistance the U.S. would be willing to provide, earlier today the White House ruled out any financial contributions from U.S. taxpayers. 'We do not in any way believe that additional resources are required from the United States or from American taxpayers,' White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters. 'This is a European issue, that Europe has the resources and capacity to deal with it and that they need to act decisively and conclusively to resolve this problem,' Carney said."
So, basically, we're going to "help" by lecturing other countries to get their shit together while failing to get our shit together. Awesome. Austerity for everyone!
Reuters—Euro zone crisis biggest threat to global economy—OECD: "The euro zone's debt crisis has become the biggest threat to the global economy and a break up of the currency zone can no longer be ruled out, the OECD said on Monday, slashing its forecasts and urging the ECB to play a bigger role in defusing the crisis. ... A worst case scenario of continued inaction in the euro zone and the failure of U.S. lawmakers to agree a spending-reduction plan would usher in a devastating downturn for the world economy, the Paris-based OECD said."
Speaking of the Congressional Supercommittee, they have yet to do fuck-all, naturally. And Republican Governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, is leading the charge on making it All President Obama's Fault, despite the fact that Republicans accuse him of railroading Congress when it suits their narrative, and now accuse him of, essentially, not railroading Congress. (As if Congressional Republicans could be railroaded, anyway.) Good fucking god, this country's national discourse is infuriating.
In other random economic news...
IndieBay: Interview with Scott Olsen about his injury from the police attack on Occupy Oakland (video).
Bloomberg: Moody's considers bank debt downgrade in 15 European nations.
Wall Street Journal: Facebook targets huge IPO.
CNN Money: American Airlines files for bankruptcy.
Bloomberg: How Paulson gave hedge funds advance word. And related to that: Paul Krugman's "Mission not accomplished."
New York Times: In gloomy economic times, Santas learn to help by curbing expectations.
As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to leave links to anything you're reading and/or writing in comments.
Freedom of Tweet
Last week, 18-year-old high school senior Emma Sullivan got in Big Trouble after tweeting that she had "made mean comments at" conservative Republican Governor of Kansas, Sam Brownback, who was addressing a Youth in Government program, and told him that he "sucked." Sullivan actually had not done those things; her tweet was a joke to her then-65 followers, comprised of her friends. But Brownback's office, who fiercely monitors social media sites to document (and apparently whine about) criticism of the governor, ratted on Sullivan, whose principal ordered her to send Brownback a letter of apology. Sullivan refused, saying "she isn't sorry and doesn't think such a letter would be sincere."
Sullivan received a scolding at school and was ordered to send Brownback an apology letter. She said Prinicipal Karl R. Krawitz even suggested talking points for the letter she was supposed to turn in Monday.This is a man who ran for president of the United States, and we're meant to believe that he can't have a dialogue with a teenage girl who criticizes him with indelicate language, because it offends his delicate sensibilities? Yikes.
...She said she thinks the tweet has helped "open up dialogue" about free speech in social media..
"I would do it again," she said.
...Sullivan said she disagrees with Brownback politically, particularly his decision to veto the Kansas Arts Commission's entire budget, making Kansas the only state in the nation to eliminate arts funding. Brownback has argued arts programs can flourish with private dollars and that state funds should go to core government functions, such as education and social services.
"I think it would be interesting to have a dialogue with him," she said. "I don't know if he would do it or not though. And I don't know that he would listen to what I have to say."
Sherriene Jones-Sontag, the governor's spokeswoman, told The Star previously that Sullivan's message wasn't respectful and that it takes mutual respect to "really have a constructive dialogue." Brownback's office didn't return calls or emails Sunday from the AP.
Again I will note with amusement how it is progressives—and feminist ladies in particular—who are constantly cast as "oversensitive," but I have engaged in dialogue on many occasions with people who have said much worse to me than that I "suck." And I am not a public official whose paycheck is drawn from a government which ostensibly guarantees the right to freedom of speech.
Sullivan's mother, Julie, said she isn't angry with her daughter, even though she thinks she "could have chosen different words."Rock on, Mama Julie.
"She wasn't speaking to the 3,000 followers she has now," Julie Sullivan said. "She was talking to 65 friends. And also it's the speech they use today. It's more attention grabbing. I raised my kids to be independent, to be strong, to be free thinkers. If she wants to tweet her opinion about Gov. Brownback, I say for her to go for it and I stand totally behind her."
After Brownback and his staff tried to bully Emma Sullivan into silence and capitulation, and she and her mother were having none of it, guess what happened?
Brownback did announce this afternoon: "My staff over-reacted to this tweet, and for that I apologize."Still no apology for using taxpayer dollars to monitor Twitter for any hint of criticism of the governor in direct contravention of free speech laws, though. Huh.
Seen
On the bumper of a van in front of us on the road, on the way to dinner with friends Friday night: "If you can read this, you weren't ABORTED. Call your MOM and thank her."
Capitalization original.
I tried to get a picture of it at a stoplight, but our headlights' reflection off its gloss rendered it unreadable. Sad trombone.
Given the fact that Indiana has the most abortion restrictions of any state in the union, it might make more sense to call Mitch Daniels and thank him.
If you're the sort of person inclined to thank people for your lack of abortedness, that is.
Sunday Shuffle
You?
Bonus Foo just because:
The Virtual Pub Is Open
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the US, and, although not all of our contributors are USian, most of us are, so we're all going to take a long weekend. We'll be back full-time next Tuesday, and there will continue to be moderated daily Open Threads in the interim.
To everyone who will be marking Thanksgiving...Happy Thanksgiving!
To everyone who won't be...have a nice weekend!
In acknowledgement of what I will inadequately describe as the complicated history of this holiday, I recommend (re)reading Renee's great guest post, "What Are We Really Giving Thanks For?"
And in acknowledgement of the part of this holiday which is worth celebrating—that is, taking a moment to give thanks for that for which we are grateful—I would like to say that I am thankful for you, Shakers.
It's Interesting...
...how much conservatives suddenly care about "flip-flopping" when it's a Mormon who's doing it.
Funny, that.
Daily Dose of Cute
Video Description: Zelda the black-and-tan mutt chases Dudley the white-and-red greyhound around the back of the garden. When he gets too far ahead of her, he slows down to let her catch up, but never actually catch him. They stop, and I tell her, "Zelda, get him! Go get him!" She runs after him some more. Repeat.
* * *
As I mentioned, we recently had to have our back garden fenced in, as the two-years-and-counting increasingly FUBARed construction project on our street is set to leave us without sidewalks in every direction for possibly six months. So, since we live in a place that doesn't give a fuck about basic amenities, but do ourselves give a fuck about providing our dogs with regular exercise, we had to spring for a fence.
(To give you some idea of how absurdly mismanaged and chronically stupid this project is, they are spending today tearing out the street in front of our house. Great idea, because who needs access to their driveways on a holiday weekend? I'm sure no one was planning on having people over for Thanksgiving.)
Anyway! Although it was highly irritating to be obliged by local incompetence to put ourselves in debt, the dogs are convinced we've gifted them with their own private dog park, and their joyfulness makes me happy.
Dudley has also been inspired to invent a new game which I call Bump. Basically, the game consists of Dudley bumping me, lol. I stand in the middle of the yard, and he walks over and flops against the back of my legs as hard as he can, and then I say, "BUMP!" and he curls around me then flops against the front of my legs, then the sides, and around and around, looking up at me and grinning like a fool while I say, "BUMP! BUMP!" and pet him and give him kisses.
He is 70 pounds, and this game will definitely put me on the ground someday. But probably not before Zelda's new game of "RUN AT TWO-LEGS AT TOP SPEED THEN LAUNCH MYSELF THROUGH THE AIR AT HER WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" does.
Seen
In case your Thanksgiving needs a little more excitement, try adding some Bieber Febver!
