The Glorious Fourth!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Independence Day celebration! I missed everything because we went to the wedding of Bobby's cousin's son in Egg Harbor, NJ. Some of you may not know that Egg Harbor is near Atlantic City--major resort and casinos. When we first got the invite for the wedding, all I could think was "Atlantic City??? On the FOURTH OF JULY????? What are they thinking???" Well, they were obviously not thinking about those who don't live in the area. Thank God it was planned for 6 p.m.

Since we're the chauffeurs for Bobby's parents, we had to leave even earlier than usual because of age-related slowness (*ahem*). It's a good thing we did because, not knowing the area where we were going, we were relying on the directions provided by GoogleMaps which took us on the Atlantic City Distressway. I mean "Expressway"--read that "Five Thousand Car Parking Lot." Add to that two 85+ toddlers in the back: "How far are we from the exit?" "I shoulda stayed home." "Boy, our lane is slow--the other lanes are moving much faster." "Wow, there's a Grayhound bus." "How far til the exit?" *HUGE SIGH AND PRAYER FOR PATIENCE*

Well, we did find the place in plenty of time. It was a lovely wedding, the food was great, and a couple glasses of a lovely Chardonnay went a long way to calming my nerves! I was surprised that they didn't have an attendance book for the guests to sign because I brought along my new Namiki M90, filled with Rohrer & Klingner Cassia, to sign it with. (So many places provide a horrible ballpoint with black gummy ink, and I have moral objections to signing a guest book with anything that nasty.)

I had to laugh because my mother-in-law remarked to me that she and I were out of place because we were "the only women there not showing our boobs"! I replied that we also were not tattooed (as were the majority of the guests under the age of 45), and that made her laugh.

We got directions from the father of the groom on how to get to Route 40 (our usual route to Atlantic City), so the trip home took half the time as the trip there. We did get to see a few fireworks in the air here and there on the way home, but I think those were set off by individuals and were not part of any display. And fortunately our passengers fell asleep early on (it was, after all, after 10 p.m. and WAY past their bedtime), so the ride home was peaceful and blissfully quiet.

I slept til 8:30 today and have been just futzing around. The weather since Friday has been about as perfect as summer weather can be: Temps in the low 80s, no humidity to speak of, and a nice breeze to keep things cool. I sat on the patio with our parrots, watched our sparrows and catbirds eating the toast crumbs I put out, and watched our hummingbirds at the feeder. Ahhhhhhh. If only it would stay this way, I wouldn't hate summer weather!

Well, our neighbor has finished mowing his lawn, so I'm going back outside! Have a lovely day, everyone!

Wild about Harry

I just watched several different trailers for the next Harry Potter movie. I can hardly wait!!!!

I Solemnly Swear

I am up to no good.

No, that's not what I meant to say! (LOL)

I solemnly swear that when I get so old and decrepit that I'm afraid to drive the 35 mph speed limit, I will turn in my car keys. Honest to God, I'm so *#@!! tired of being stuck behind some ol' grampaw or grammaw weaving and wobbling their way up New Burton Road at 15 mph that I could just scream "IF YOU CAN'T DRIVE 35 FREAKIN MILES PER HOUR, GET THE HELL OFF THE ROAD!!!!!!" Jesus Christ, it drives me nuts . . . especially at 7:45 a.m.!

Awesome!

Bobby and I went to IHOP for dinner last night (yum!). He was working 4-12, so I picked him up and drove to IHOP.

Anyway, as I was leaving the house, I saw what looked like a dead baby bird in the birdbath. I went over to make sure of what it was (seed propellers from the Japanese maple, thank God) when suddenly something went whizzing past my head. I heard a lot of high-pitched, rapid twittering (very much like a bat) and a loud buzzing (like a cicada); so I stopped to look around ... and realized I was being buzzed by two (or maybe three) hummingbirds! They were feeding at the hosta flowers and took great exception to my being in "their" territory! They flew around my head and past my ears for a few seconds, twittering and chittering for all they were worth, then flew away. What a thrill!!!

The fun just never ends!!!

Wow, what a day yesterday was! Bobby and I had the grandchildren for a sleep-over on Friday, and we went over to DC on Saturday. Why did we go to DC? Well, Fahrney’s had an open house, and Bobby wanted to get me a pen for my birthday. (Nice guy, that Bobby, eh?)

I love going to Fahrney’s because I love looking at all the beautiful pens. I was a bit worried about Rebecca and Liam becoming bored—after all, how interesting can pens be to kids who are 5 and 4 years old, respectively? Well, actually, it turns out the store was quite interesting to the little kids. It helped that the first thing that happened was one of the nice ladies there gave each child a chicken pencil—a pencil with a cap that was actually a pencil sharpener topped by a rooster head. They thought that was the coolest thing ever! It also helped that the display cases and counters were at an eye level for two fairly small people, and they absolutely had a blast looking at those pens. Honestly, Rebecca and Liam were about as perfect as one could expect two children in a “grown up” store to be!

The pen that caught my eye (and, I found out later, Bobby’s eye) was a Stipula La 91, also known as a Bayonet. Check it out here:

http://www.pens.it/pens.htm?stipula/_91.htm

Raffaela, the Stipula representative there, had one in tortoise (which to me looks more like one of those beautiful gold, black, and brown koi) and others in blue, black, and red. The tortoise was translucent and seemed to glow, while the other colors were opaque. She said that Stipula isn’t making the tortoise La 91s any more, but they will be starting production for the plain colors again. Even more appealing to me was the fact that it came with a .9mm stub!

That was the only pen that really hollered “BUY ME” at me, so that’s the one I got. And, boy, is it a treat to use! The pen is actually very small and takes only cartridges, so I loaded it up with a Pelikan turquoise cart as soon as I got home. The nib has some very nice “give” to it and lays down a lovely wet line. The pen is also remarkably weighty, and it fits perfectly in my hand. My pen is a lot lighter in color than the photo on line; and I have the feeling that I’m going to be spending a lot of time turning the pen over and over in my hand, just looking at it rather than writing with it!

After we got home from DC and returned the children to Sara, we went out for dinner with our friends, Mollie and Skip, and our daughter, Katrina, and son-in-law, Chris. We went to Sheridan’s, which is very much like an Irish pub . . . only it’s set down in Smyrna, DE. Their fish and chips are the best I’ve had this side of the Big Pond. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm! Mollie was very generous, as was Skip, and K & C gave me three Queen CDs! Woo hoo—gonna play me some Freddie!

When we got back home after our lovely dinner, I remembered that I hadn’t checked the mail; and when I did, I found that I received the backordered pen that I got with a gift certificate from K&C for Swisher’s Pens: The Namiki MU/M90. WHAT a cool pen! Check it out here:

http://www.namiki.com/limitedEditions/mu90.php

It is, as you might expect, an absolute nail; but it’s just as smooth as smooth can be. I filled it with Rohrer & Klingner Cassia (a very nice purple-purple). My pen is #309. (You know, I never in a thousand years thought I’d ever be getting any “limited edition” pens—I mean, how ostentatious! But here I am with four of them. I guess it only goes to show that things don’t always go as one might think!)

And, by the way, the folks at Swisher Pens absolutely ROCK. I had a couple of questions and concerns when I placed the order and afterward when they sent the payment request, and they sent replies within hours of my e-mails. You just don’t get (or rarely get) service like that any more. The Swisher folks are wonderful!

Ok, now I really am going to have to get rid of a few pens. My collectulation (or is it an accumulection?) is getting out of hand…

Grumbles and rants

I am being a complete stinkpot. Skip and Mollie are getting together with Bobby and me for my birthday celebration on Saturday. True to form, Mollie is expecting moi to host my own birthday party. You know: Come over to my house, play some music, go out to dinner, come back to my house, etc., etc. Of course, who gets to clean the house before then clean up after? Plus, she always brings something to eat after we stuff ourselves at dinner; so I end up with stuff I don't want in my refrigerator, dirty dishes to clean, etc. And all because the inside of Mollie's house is like one huge landfill.

Well, I'm damned sick and tired of the "Let's have a party at your house" shtick for every single occasion; and I am not "hosting" for music at my own house for my own birthday. Maybe I should feel flattered that this house is so comfortable and welcoming, but I don't. I feel pissed off and put-upon that I'm "expected" to do this because I "have someone to help around the house."

What bullshit. There are two people, two birds, and one dog living in this house. That means there are four other beings to pick up and clean up after--and believe me, the birds and Scout don't do a damned thing to clean up after themselves!

Mollie's mother's death is simply the latest excuse for not cleaning/picking up her house. The main problem is that Mollie never does pick up her house--there is not a single piece of furniture that isn't piled high with crap. Every single chair, table, sofa, TV, computer, etc., is covered. And now her car is filled to the roof with stuff from her mother's house--she can't even unload the freakin car because she doesn't have any place to put the stuff! Jesus.

You know, when my mother died, I had a house, a husband, two kids in college, two cats, and a dog to take care of while working AND single-handedly taking care of settling Mother's estate. I had a hell of a lot more to do than simply pick out what I wanted from Mother's house. Yet I still managed to keep my house picked up. It was frequently messy (it still is frequently messy), but it sure didn't look like the aftermath of a rummage sale! I didn't have shit piled three and four layers deep on every horizontal space--not before, not during, not after. There's no damned excuse for that.

Ok, that's not a Christian attitude. Too bad. Even Jesus got pissed off (Matthew, Chapter 21). But I really don't see why some effort can't be expended on my behalf for a change. (Yeah, I know: What a selfish beeyotch.) Oh well, I guess I'm just not worth it, eh?

From the mouths of babes

We had Rebecca over for a sleep-over Monday night. She was talking about the thunderstorm we had, and of course I had to sing (in my best Queen fashion) "Thunderbolt and lightning--very, very frightning me"

Then in my best Roger Taylor voice: "Galileo!"

Rebecca laughed and said "Baba, you crack me up."

LOL!

Whatta weekend!

The weather yesterday (Sat.) was about as perfect a summer day as it gets here in Del. It was in the mid-70s, NO HUMIDITY, with a breeze blowing. Fabulous! Now why can't it stay like this all summer???

Today is just about as nice. Bobby's taken Rebecca and Liam to Breakneck Park and thence to Wal-Mart South to get hot dogs and hamburger for a cookout tonight. (We figured Sara needed a break, too.) The kids rode their bikes then helped dig weeds up from between the bricks on the patio--Liam especially enjoyed digging up the weeds (and dirt!) from the bricks.

I saw lightning bugs for the first time this year during a thunderstorm Friday evening! It was raining pretty hard, too. Who'd have thought lightning bugs would be out in a deluge, but there was a load of them!

Sitting out on the patio today was absolutely wonderful. I sat in the rocking-lawn chair with my cup of tea, Mr. Bird walked around on the picnic table, and we just gloried in the glorious day. I saw the female hummingbird at the feeder a couple of times and even managed to get a couple of pictures of her. Bobby said he's watched her feed then head for the top of the middle cedar in the little plantation; and, sure enough, I happened to be looking at the cedars and saw her fly from the top of the tree! How wonderful to have nesting hummingbirds in the yard!!! Neither of us has seen the male yet, just the female, but that's ok. Where she is, he'll be. She's so tiny that with her coloring--pale green on top, white on the bottom--she could be mistaken for a cicada.

I do love my outdoor birdies!

Sometimes I wonder

Just exactly how tuned in Ariel is.

I was cleaning stuff in the kitchen today when the house wren started singing outside Ariel's window. I said to her "Do you hear that? Do you hear that pretty song?"

Ariel answered, "It's just a bird."

Gimme a break - Chapter II

I got a letter yesterday from the Delaware Democratic Committee, asking for a donation to help the democrats win/keep their legislative seats. Let me tell you, given what the Gov is proposing, this just absolutely set my teeth on edge. Here's the letter I wrote:


****************************************************************************

Dear Mr. Daniello:

I received your letter regarding the Delaware Democratic Party Victory Fund wherein you ask me for a donation.

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING

My husband and I are State of Delaware employees. We are facing the possibility of losing 16% of our household income, thanks to our Democratic governor, Jack Markell, for whom, I’m very sorry to say, we both voted. Our Democratic senator, Brian Bushweller, and our Democratic representative, Brad Bennett, are both mealy-mouthed when it comes to supporting the State employees in their districts; and I get the very distinct impression that they will not support State employees, who, by the way, are taxpayers.

That is correct: WE ARE TAXPAYERS.

For some reason, the Governor and the legislators seem to think that State workers don’t pay taxes. If that’s the case, I’m owed 26 years’ worth of refunds for the taxes that were erroneously taken out of my paycheck. My husband is owed 33 years’ worth of refunds.

We State workers are, in effect, paying our own salaries as well as supporting the parasites on welfare who contribute nothing but more hands out for more hand-outs.

The measly 2% “raises” the legislators so generously toss our way not only don’t keep up with inflation, they also don’t keep up with the cost of living. And now they want to REDUCE by 10% what we’re already behind on?! Yes, 10%--the 8% the Governor wants to take off the top plus the extra we have to pay for medical coverage insurance. That’s how much he “values” us!

We are WORKERS, not cash cows to be milked whenever there is a budget shortfall. But, of course, it’s easier--and far more popular--to take it out of State workers’ pockets than actually raise taxes and fees or cut the handouts to non-workers.

Perhaps you, as chair of the Delaware Democratic Party, can get the word out to our Democratic senators and representatives and pass a long a few suggestions.

If the Democrats truly want to cut spending, let me suggest looking at welfare, Medicaid, and other programs that support people who will not look for work but who live off the taxpayers’ money--MY money. I limited the number of children I had because I knew my family’s financial limits. If other people choose to have children they can’t afford, that’s their problem--*I* should not have to pay for them.

Suggestion #1: Cut off State financial aid after the second child if the mother and/or father is receiving State assistance. No extra food stamps, no Medicaid, no extra money in the paycheck they’re already not earning. If they want to keep on cranking out babies, fine; but don’t make us productive citizens--us taxpayers--pay for them.

Suggestion #2: Eliminate the DAPI program. Use that money to fund sex education and birth control. Don’t encourage teen-agers to keep having babies that we taxpayers have to pay for.

Suggestion #3: Mandatory drug testing for all State financial aid recipients. If recipients test positive for drug use, eliminate all financial aid immediately. My tax dollars should not be used to support the drug habits of these non-productive parasites.

In the Governor’s speech before the opening of the legislature, he pointed out that we have thousands of retirees moving here because of our low tax base. Suggestion #4: RAISE OUR TAX BASE. Those people contributed nothing over the years; don’t make us pay for them and the services they demand. Institute a 3% sales tax--it would still be a heck of a lot less than surrounding states’ sales taxes.

Suggestion #5: Raise developers’ fees by 20% for each new building or house they want to put up. If they want to clog up our roads with additional traffic caused by additional people, let them pay for it up front.

Suggestion #6: Raise the property transfer tax. People from NJ, PA, MD, DC, and other states are moving here in droves because our property rates are so very low. They are increasing the wear and tear on our roads, overcrowding our schools, and draining our water and land resources. Let them pay for their using up our resources when they move here.

Suggestion #7: Please don’t bind the mouths of the kine who tread the grain. Don’t support ANY cuts to State workers’ salaries. We who are productive, tax-paying citizens should not be penalized because we choose to work in State government. We have a hard enough time making ends meet as it is--a 10% reduction in our paychecks will make it impossible. Despite everything you read in the News Journal regarding State employee salaries, the majority of workers are NOT making $41,000 a year--they’re making $26,000 or less, and the lower paygrades make less than $20,000. A 10% loss will kill them.

Thank you for taking the time to read my suggestions. I hope you will pass them on to the Democrats who want to be re-elected in the coming years. If the Democrats in the State of Delaware legislature pass a budget that does not cut State of Delaware employee salaries, you may send me another donation request. If they do vote to cut our salaries, please remove my name from your list of possible contributors because I assure you I will not donate so much as one cent.

Very sincerely,



Leilani M. Wall

****************************************************************

I wonder whether I'll hear from Mr. Daniello...

Hog Heaven a/k/a the New Captain Trips?

Glutton for punishment that I am, I'm rereading Stephen King's The Stand. It's been a couple of years, and I wanted to refresh my memory of the aftermath after the flu got loose. (Remember, this story is copyright 1978.) One paragraph in particular sent "Holy shit!" chills down my spine. It's when Stu Redman is in the plague center in Vermont. He's watching the news on TV, and the newscaster says:

"There have been some reported deaths in New York as a result of this latest flu outbreak, but contributing causes such as urban pollution and emphysema have also been present in most of those fatal cases. Government health officials emphasize that is is Russian-A flu, not the more dangerous swine flu. . . ."

GAAAAAH! SWINE FLU!

Yeah, keep calm, folks. The media is blowing these things all out of proportion. You don't need immunizations.....

Give me a freakin' break!

I got an "offer" in the mail to apply for a new BLACK Master Card. Oh, they assured me this thing is way better than any ol' gold or platinum card: This thing is carbon! I will attract lots of attention wherever I use it! Woooooooooooooooooooo! And dig this: It would cost me only $495 a year to carry it!

FOUR HUNDRED NINETY-FIVE DOLLARS for the dubious privilege of simply carrying a carbon black credit card??? For the love of God, how stupid do those people think I am???

Well, I took that application; wrote "NO" with the stinkiest Magic Marker I have; folded the application, the envelope it came in, and all the miscellaneous junk including the invitation card into a nice little wad; and crammed it in the self-seal, self-addressed, postage-paid envelope. I was very careful to seal the openings with mailing tape. Oh, and on the invitation card I wrote a little note that said:

"$495 a year for the dubious privilege of carrying this card??? Give me a break! When you pay me $495 a year, I'll think about applying for one."

So, when do you think they'll send me a check?

Leonard Cohen = AWESOME

Saw Leonard Cohen in concert last night. Still euphoric. Details to follow.

Major Frustrations

I've been in contact with the union, sent in my "I want to join" card, and am still encouraging my co-workers to sign up. I haven't given up by any means! There is going to be a huge rally of State employees this coming Wednesday; unfortunately, I have some very important career-enhancing training on Weds. that I absolutely cannot miss. I still have three years to go before I retire, and I still want a new job!!! But I've posted notices all over the place in the building . . . on the sly, of course, since we're not supposed to do this kind of thing on "State" time. But bugger them--no one else is doing a damned thing to help us.

The AFSCME reps were in the building with information and handouts a couple weeks ago. Did our HR office let us know they were going to be there? Oh, HELL NO! I found out quite by accident when I had to go pick something up from the front office! Boy, was I pissed off that none of the employees had been told. So after stopping in and saying hello to my friends there, I hightailed it back upstairs and started telling my co-workers. I hope at least some of them went down.

I'm also still telling folks that it's not too late to bang on their legislators and to do so early and often. The politicians need to know that it's NOT ok to expect us to take a pay cut, that we're already behind the inflation and cost of living curve, and that they need to find other expenses to cut. And you can bet your bippy I let them know what I think could/should be cut: the programs that support the nonproductive parasites that contribute nothing to society except more mouths that they expect us--the tax payers--to feed. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr. I won't get started on that...I WON'T get started on that....

Next step: Solidarnosc!!!

Yep, believe it or not, kids, your ol' Maw is seriously--I mean SERIOUSLY--considering joining a union. The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) is starting a new push to sign up more State workers; and with the shape of our economy and the way the Powers That Be are getting ready (it seems) to screw us over, this is their golden opportunity to get folks to sign up.

You know what a HUGE departure this is from my usual anti-union feelings; but by God, if it takes my joining a union to save my (and Dad's) benefits both now and during retirement, then I will do it.

AFSCME even had people going from door to door to State employees' homes--we had two stop by the house on President's Day. I had some questions for them, so I invited them in . . . and I grilled them for the better part of an hour. I also offered them some suggestions on what they need to do to get The Word out to more of the lower-level peons (like me). I could see Dad giving me the very confused eyeball, but he didn't say anything.

As we were eating dinner, I asked him "So--do you think I have the chutzpah to be a union shop steward?" He looked at me and said "I never thought I'd ever live to see the day you sounded so pro-union." My answer: "Neither did I!"

But yeah--if that's what it takes, so be it! I'm bloody well damned fed up with State workers always being the ones who have to give up the most.

My (very long) letter to Governor Markell

I'm damned sick and tired of the Governor and the Legislators trying to balance the State's budget on the backs of State employees. Their mantra/philosophy seems to be "Money a little tight? Cancel employee pay raises!" And this year they seem to be wanting to take it a step further. There is talk going around the State of Delaware agencies that not only are we not getting a pay raise this year; but the Powers That Be are seriously considering reducing employee benefits or, barring that, increasing how much employees will have to pay for their benefits. There has also been talk about discontinuing health care for retirees. Needless to say, I am NOT a happy camper.

So I sat my butt down and spent nearly an entire day composing this letter. Then I let it (and me) cool off a bit then revised it. After a few tweaks, I had Bobby review it and got his input. This is the final result (four pages' worth of result):

**************************************************************

The Honorable Jack Markell
Governor
Tatnall Building
William Penn Street, 2nd Floor
Dover, DE 19901

Dear Governor Markell:

I am a 27-year State of Delaware employee with the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC), and I am extremely concerned with the economic situation in Delaware and the rest of the world. As a pay grade 9, one of the lower pay grades in the system, I have three concerns that alarm me: State employee salaries, State employee benefits, and closing the budget gap.

State of Delaware Employee Salaries

While The News Journal is generally sympathetic to workers, it is highly antagonistic toward State employees and what they cost the “taxpayers.” They conveniently forget, as does a distressingly large number of the general public, that State employees are taxpayers, too. It would do us a world of good to know we have the support of our Governor and our legislators.

State employees got no pay raise last year, they won’t get one this year, and next year doesn’t look a whole lot better; however, the cost of living—groceries, utilities, rents, childcare, etc.—has certainly not gone down with those stagnant salaries’ buying power. We are losing by inflation 3% to 5%.

The State of Delaware’s 2007 Workforce Analysis reports that the “average” salary of State employees is $41,781; however, that number is extremely misleading.

The State pay grades range from 1 to 26, with the majority of the 12,190 Merit system employees being pay grades 14 and below. A chart demonstrating this can be found on page 7 of the 2007 Workforce Analysis.

Page 7 of the 2007 Workforce Analysis also reports that the largest number of employees (1,159) is in pay grade 11. The second largest group of employees (1,101) is in pay grade 7; and the third largest group (1,103) is in pay grade 8. Following is a table showing these pay grades and the salaries:

Pay grade 80% 100% 120%
11 $32,652 $40,815 $48,978
7 $24,910 $31,138 $37,366
8 $26,654 $33,317 $39,980

Most newly-hired employees’ salaries start at the 80% level. The 100% is supposed to be “full performance”—meaning, that’s the salary experienced employees are supposed to make. In reality, it can take 20 years or more for an employee to reach that 100%. The 120% is the maximum that someone in that pay grade can make. The people who actually reach 120% are virtually non-existent.

Page 8 of the 2007 Workforce Analysis shows that the largest number of employees (3,882) has five or fewer years of service; 2,984 employees have between 6 and 10 years of service. It’s a safe bet that the only new or fairly new employees making $41,781 are in the higher pay grades—i.e., 15 and above. As I mentioned previously, I am a pay grade 9 with 27 years of State service; and I am well below that “average” salary!

Employee Benefits

And now the Powers That Be (via the State Employee Benefits Committee) are talking about reducing employee benefits! First State Basic will remain unchanged. HMO Plan deductions will go up $25 per pay—an extra $650 a year. PPO Plan deductions will go up $7.50 per pay—an extra $195 a year. Co-pays for active State employees will go up $5 for primary visits, x-rays, lab work, and specialists. Emergency room visit co-pays will increase $15. The State Employee Benefits Committee is also going to “adjust” the prescription plan. Specifically, for people who suffer with allergies, they plan to refuse prescription antihistamines until over-the-counters used first. They plan to discourage the use of Prevacid and Miralax.

My husband and I are lucky with our 33 and 27 years, respectively, of State service and no children at home; but what about the poor stiffs trying to make it on $17,520 a year? That is the starting salary of a pay grade 1—a laundry or custodial worker or a clerical assistant.

Governor, let me respectfully ask you: How can any reasonable person expect a pay grade 1 who makes approximately $1,460 a month to pay, say, $700 a month for rent plus $500 a month for child care plus utilities plus food for the family plus car expenses (gas, insurance, maintenance) to get to that job in the first place THEN expect that pay grade 1 to shell out an extra $15 or $50 for family health care coverage because the Powers That Be are trying to balance the budget by reducing employee benefits? And that extra money for coverage doesn’t include the deductibles the employee must pay for said health care! Is it any wonder people in the lower pay grades have to work one, two, or more extra, part-time, jobs to try to make ends meet?

I understand there is also talk about doing away with health care benefits for retirees. Here’s what would happen to a retiree of a lower pay grade. Let’s say we have a retiree who is one of the mythical beings who actually reached 120% of his pay grade 7 job, having worked for the State of Delaware for 35 years, and was making $37,366 when he retired. Let’s be generous and say his pension is 75% of his last three years’ salary of $37,366 or $28,025; and he gets paid once a month. That’s a monthly income of approximately $2,335. As a reward for his 35 years of service, he’ll now get to pay anywhere from $500 to $1,000 a month (if not more) for his health care coverage, which reduces his monthly income to something between $1,835 and $1,335. If our retiree started working for the State at age 20, he’ll be 55 when he retires—he won’t qualify for Medicare, and he’s too young to collect Social Security. One hopes the poor man doesn’t still have a mortgage payment or that he needs to pay utilities . . . or eat.

Closing the Gap?

I should like to propose that the Governor and the Legislators do something truly revolutionary to balance the budget and/or make up the shortfall by doing something other than penalizing State employees. Keeping in mind the saying about binding the mouths of the kine who tread the grain, why not consider these steps:

- Triple or quadruple taxes on cigarettes.

- Triple or quadruple taxes on liquor.

- Triple or quadruple incorporation fees.

- Do away with some of the tax breaks that corporations get and private citizens don’t.

- Institute a developer’s fee of at least 20% for each house built in new developments. Half of the fee would help offset the costs of new roads and increased traffic and wear and tear on existing roads, the other half would go to the school district to pay for additional classrooms to handle the increased number of children attending school in that district.

- Double or triple property transfer taxes. Many people are moving to Delaware from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland because our taxes are so much lower. Why not let them pay up front to offset what they’re costing us in increased traffic congestion, increased wear and tear on our roads, increased pollution, and increased drain on our resources.

- Eliminate tax deductions for gambling losses and/or increase the percentage the State receives on gambling winnings.

If you absolutely must take another whack at State employees, I have two suggestions:

1. Eliminate educational assistance for people at pay grade 15 and above. People who make $42,801 and more should pay their own way if they want another degree. For example, we are paying for an additional degree for the Environmental Program Administrator of the Air Quality Management Section who makes $88,985 per year. I make $39,876 per year; why should my tax dollars subsidize someone who makes more than twice what I do?

2. Eliminate selective market variation (SMV). The difference between the regular pay grades and SMV is mind-boggling. As an example, the following table shows regular salaries compared to SMV engineer salaries:

[NOTE: The table would not "translate" into the post here--sorry, it was impressive]

As you can see, the differences run from nearly $8,000 for a pay grade 11 (which starts at 75% for SMV as compared to 80% for regular salaries) to just over $16,000 for a pay grade 22. In these economic times, this discrepancy is unnecessary. Contrary to what the program managers claim, it is not difficult to attract engineers to State employment, nor is it difficult to retain them; the problem is that the program managers want to hire entry-level engineers but expect them to have 20 years of experience.

There are similar discrepancies between regular salaries and other SMV classifications.


Finally

As a DNREC employee, I beg you: Please don’t saddle us with a secretary who’s into economic development—that’s what DEDO and Director Alan Levin are for. DNREC needs a regulator—someone who knows environmental regulations and knows how to enforce those regulations. We’ve been ordered by our governors, starting 20+ years ago with Mike Castle, to be more “friendly” to industries and businesses, to “educate” them and “work with them” rather than make them obey environmental laws; and look where it’s gotten us. Industries such as Valero thumb their noses at our attempts to get them to clean up their facility; and industries such as Standard Chlorine pollute at will then declare “bankruptcy” and decamp, thus saddling Delaware taxpayers with the cost of cleaning up the mess they left behind. Let Mr. Levin take the lead on attracting “green” industries; let the secretary of DNREC take care of protecting the State’s citizens, their health, and the environment.

Thank you, Governor Markell, for taking the time to read my letter. I would simply like to see State employees get a break for once. I’m proud I work for the State of Delaware, and I’m proud of my agency and my co-workers in every State agency. May I have your authorization to submit this as an opinion to The Delaware State News, The News Journal, and The Dover Post?

I remain, sir,

Very sincerely yours,



Leilani M. Wall

********************************************************

Now we'll see what happens!

Stimulus Check???

A friend of mine sent me a funny e-mail about the stimulus checks. Supposedly everyone in the US is supposed to receive some tens of thousands of dollars amount. You clicked on the "IRS link" to find out how many thousands you're supposed to receive. What popped up was a laughing kitten saying "You wish!" Yeah, I wish, all right. While I'd love to receive, oh, say, $50,000 or so, I have a real problem with this whole "stimulus" thing...

My main problem and concern with the stimulus checks--both Obama's proposal and the one Dubya gave us--is simply this: WHERE THE HELL IS THE MONEY COMING FROM??? If the economy is as tight as everyone is saying, and it certainly is, we, the taxpayers, and the government DON'T HAVE all these billions of dollars! So non-existent money is being sent to people, in hopes that they'll spend it and rescue the economy??? It abso-friggin--lutely does not compute.

I got straight As in both micro- and macro-economics, but that sure doesn't make me an economics genius. However, even I can understand that one can't make something from nothing. Six hundred or even six thousand non-existent dollars are not going to turn things around. Whatever stupid amount of non-money we get this time around is going straight where Dubya's snake-oil-miracle-cure money went: into our savings account. What--they think we're going out and buying a new car? Jeezus pleezus.

A good laugh

An uber-Republican relative of mine sent an e-mail forward of the latest from David Limbaugh, younger brother of Rush, wherein he accuses the Democrats (aka "leftists") and Obama supporters of being "poor winners." Oh, puh-leeze! As if the Republicans--if our country had been so stupid, benighted, and unfortunate as to have elected another 'Publican to the presidency--wouldn't have been strutting and crowing as if they were the kings of the midden hill.

I read Limbaugh's whine with the greatest of glee, contrasting, in my mind, how it would have been had McCain won. All I could think was, "The shoe surely pinches when it's on the other foot, doesn't it?"

A "good" laugh? Nah. Let me rephrase that: An excellent laugh!

Glory, hallelujah!

Ok. I'm under no delusion that anyone out there is or will be reading this or that anyone gives a rat's ass about what I think or feel, but I have to say that I am both touched and impressed by Mr. Obama's inauguration speech today. I was not "for" Obama at the beginning of this past presidential race--I wanted Hillary Clinton, I voted for her in the primary, and I was truly pissed off at the Democratic party for putting the pressure on her to drop out before the Democratic convention. That's what conventions are for: to decide who the party's candidate will be. But that's all water under the bridge.

I voted for Barak Obama because he was the best candidate, and this country had already been screwed over by eight years' worth of Republicans. Thank God a thousand times for term limits!!!

Listening to Mr. Obama's speech today, I was just absolutely blown away by the power of his words, by his refusal to point fingers, and by his refusal to try to brush all the damage away. I especially liked--and was especially proud--of his saying that we, America, refuse to apologize for our way of life! His words:

"We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you."

God bless you, Mr. Obama!