Randy Moss

[Snaggletooth]

Talented but controversial football player was kicked off the team by the Minnesota Vikings. Under the rules, other teams may claim him if they are willing to pay him the same salary.

Moss was claimed by the Tennessee Titans for the same salary. However, he received a $200,000 raise. A paradox??

Not hardly. This is the difference in state income tax between a high-tax state and a state with no income tax. A multi-million $ salary contributes as well. Even more amazing is the $200,000 is for only 8 games in Nashville versus 8 games in Minneapolis. Even as a Tennessee resident Moss must pay state tax for games he plays in Indiana, California, etc.

State income tax, $25,000 per game. Geez....

[Gary2]

I'm reminded of a joke I once heard concerning a famous basketball player, which looked at his salary as an hourly rate, and then pointed out how much he'd earn at that rate while standing in line at the movies, etc.

The punchline of the joke was that it would still take him a few hundred years to earn enough to match Bill Gates's wealth.

[JON]

Taxes

and now we will have a Governor, her in MN, who thinks people like Randy should pay more???? In 1992 the three largest employers in Minnesota were 1. University of Mn, 2. State Government and 3. Federal Government. In 1982 the three largest were like 3M, Northwest Airlines and another private company. Minnesota is in the lead and getting worse, but several of your States are making the same mistake. Get your government job, they all have defined benefit plans - plus. MN has not figured out that people leave the state, expand in other states and the quality of life in MN is not way better than all you poor guys who do not live here. Make sure your kids (grand also) get their government jobs.

Randy did get some good tax advice. TN was the only team to claim him.

[Snaggletooth]

Gubbermint Jobs

Average Federal worker makes $79,000 annually. Not including benefits, such as health insurance most of us would envy.

In TN, no one used to work for the state unless they were willing to work for substandard pay. But they always had good retirement and health benefits. Nowadays, their salaries have not really exploded, but manufacturing and other private sector jobs are either going overseas or are being cut drastically.

With a four-year degree, you could get a good paying job, or you could teach in a TN school for about half the money. Now there is a teaching surplus and teachers are among the well-paid in most towns like where I live.

So, in one town or another in our state, former small businessmen and factory workers are crashing the county courthouse to get jobs.

[Zee]

Average Federal worker makes $79,000 annually. Not including benefits, such as health insurance most of us would envy.

In TN, no one used to work for the state unless they were willing to work for substandard pay. But they always had good retirement and health benefits. Nowadays, their salaries have not really exploded, but manufacturing and other private sector jobs are either going overseas or are being cut drastically.

With a four-year degree, you could get a good paying job, or you could teach in a TN school for about half the money. Now there is a teaching surplus and teachers are among the well-paid in most towns like where I live.

So, in one town or another in our state, former small businessmen and factory workers are crashing the county courthouse to get jobs.

Please post your source for the average salary of a Federal worker and how the $79,000 was computed. My guess is it is very wrong and far too high for the "average".

[Snaggletooth]

Cites,Clips

Source is CBS news, hardly a conservative source. When I dug in, it appears the
statistics are even more stark: Snag

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/08/10/eveningnews/main6761340.shtml

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwcchh6GfxY

[Zee]

Source is CBS news, hardly a conservative source. When I dug in, it appears the
statistics are even more stark: Snag

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/08/10/eveningnews/main6761340.shtml

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwcchh6GfxY

Snag-

I thought I deleted my response (which was longer). Apparently, I didn't delete all of it and it posted.

I've seen the same newscasts. But, I've seen nothing on how the "average" was computed. There are an awful lot of low paid workers in the federal system, so I'd be quite surprised if the average quoted of $123,049 includes everyone. I also assume the average includes vacation, days off, health benefits, pensions, etc. Private sector averages rarely includes the benefits. Another thing that isn't mentioned is how long these folks have been in their jobs. Many earning $79,000 have been at their jobs 25+ years.

Others, joining at $79,000 have had 10-20 years private experience prior to joining the Government to work for much, much less that their previous private sector jobs. They are experienced, and victims of the economy just like many others. The higher entrance salaries in the government are the result of reduced retirement benefits. To obtain the same benefit as those previously, a participant must maximize their 401-K that wasn't the case in the past.

Like others, much I discount much I read in the media. I suppose I believe what I want to believe, which isn't always right.

If the numbers are correct, I can tell you I'm grossly underpaid as are most of my co-workers all with 10-20 years experience, and most with MBA's and CPA's.

[Snaggletooth]

Minnesota

the quality of life in MN is not way better than all you poor guys who do not live here.

Jon, just a word or two about Minnesota and their horrible high taxes, and I suppose the merciless cold weather as well.

And I suppose if I lived there and paid them I would feel differently. As it is, while most Tennesseans vacation in the mountains or beaches, I have been going to Minnesota for the last five years. Everywhere from Fargo ND to Winona in the South and Grand Marais on the spectacular north shore. I've even been in the middle of January.

Last I heard, Minnesota ranked #2 in Education based on test scores, and #1 in public health. A health insurance program which all states would do well to emulate. Whereas human nature is the same everywhere, there is a dramatic difference between your state and the southeast or industrial northeast for that matter.

Minneapolis is the cleanest "big city" in America. You can go downtown any hour of the day or night, if you so desire. Yes, I know to stay away from Lake Ave. and a few other places, but you should spend some time in Chicago, Cleveland, or Memphis for that matter, where nowhere is safe. The town apparently is also corporate headquarters for the old and the new, ranging from General Mills to Target USA and Best Buy. Even St Paul's Land-O-Lakes butter is a household name.

The countryside is different as well. In these parts, small towns are known for incredible opulent wealth on one side of the railroad, whereas you cross the tracks and see dilapidated shacks and trailers, rusty cars on blocks, and people living in school buses. In contrast, most of small-town Minnesota and Wisconsin is filled with what I describe as an elite burgeois - hard working, friendly people who keep their homes maintained and their lawns manicured without the apparent emphasis on class-distinction. It is refreshing to go there.

I'm not naive enough to think of MN as a utopia, free from the scars of humanity, but I am proud for the Minnesotans who live there. Every place has its scurvy people, and I'm sure you have notorious politicians just like we do. By the way, the South also has some of the finest people on earth, and I love my home state, but for different reasons.

[JON]

Mn

South Dakota shows ranks like 43 in educational spending and 7 in testing. I have never seen any statistics in the last 20 years that show a direct relationship that increase in spending gives you an increase in testing. In fact I think just two weeks ago the testing result for world wide shows the USA as 22nd and 27th in math and science a long long way from where it was 20 years ago. Also - I guarantee you we are 1st in spending. I think in some surveys Wisconsin and Iowa are ahead of us.

Minnesota will remain at the average until we bust. When education, government and not-for profits have the majority of the jobs eventually something has to give. California will be first and even though MN requires a balance budget - there now is a problem with even generating enough tax revunue when the next fiscal budget claims they need a 7% increase in tax revenues.

I believe it is call the Hughs(?) survey that monitors government vs private sector compensation benefits packages. I beleive the government sector passed the private sometime 1995-97 and while the private sector has remained stagnet the public sector has not. Where do you find defined benefit plans other than teachers and government. The only good thing about it is it will cause hitting the wall a little quicker. For whatever reason the government retirement plans are not accrued as fully funded. Somehow the people in the know think some real magic will happen to get these funded - baby boomers are coming. Ohio really upset their President when they used their Stimulus money to help fund the public employees pension, and here in Minneapolis the city being only honest raised their mill levey on real estate saying they have to catch up on the funding. By no means is this a problem caused by the current administration, every admin for the last 25 years main goal was to pass the problems on to the next admin. With this economy the wall is closer and we can not avoid it.

I do think we will have a lot of tax changes. The new head of the House of Rep says the code has to be made easy. When is the last time we heard that.