Elon Musk - Words and Commentary

SamSpade

Well-Known Member
PREMO Member
It has been dropping from attrition for years, for the last 10 years all I've heard is "brain drain" due to the large number of workers that were near retirement age vs the younger workers that the government was having a hard time attracting. I'm in the middle group (GenX) which is a fairly small group.
It's hovered at about 3 million - and that includes military and postal - since the mid-60's - while the population has almost doubled. Ergo - federal employment as a percent of the population has decreased. Its current percent of the population hasn't been this low since before WW2.

The overwhelming "waste" in the federal government isn't the employees - but what the government is spending on its programs. We have small agencies who are for all intents and purposes - might as well be BURNING billions of dollars.
 

phreddyp

Well-Known Member
It has been dropping from attrition for years, for the last 10 years all I've heard is "brain drain" due to the large number of workers that were near retirement age vs the younger workers that the government was having a hard time attracting. I'm in the middle group (GenX) which is a fairly small group.

Here is a serious question, if government employment is reduced would you be against higher pay so they could attract good workers or do you still want the best workers on a bargin? The last 5-6 years we have pretty much been hiring any electrical engineer that will accept the job because they have been so hard to attract and most leave before they achieve journey level competence (5ish years).
You are not going to get the BEST engineers in the 1st place, the BEST are not going to be stupid enough to work for the government. There for your question is a moot point. The best you are going to be able to hire are some that do about 45 minutes of work in a 8 hr workday, you know just like the ones you have today. Money is not really an incentive to those who do not want to work (kind of like a real estate agent does not want to see your house sit on the market while you wait for the offer you want, they want that house sold at whatever price they can get someone to offer so they can book whatever commission they can pocket)
 

Clem72

Well-Known Member
It's hovered at about 3 million - and that includes military and postal - since the mid-60's - while the population has almost doubled. Ergo - federal employment as a percent of the population has decreased. Its current percent of the population hasn't been this low since before WW2.

The overwhelming "waste" in the federal government isn't the employees - but what the government is spending on its programs. We have small agencies who are for all intents and purposes - might as well be BURNING billions of dollars.
You're not going to convince people like Vrai with logic. She doesn't care that $100k is well underpaid for an engineer or scientist, because it seems like hitting the lottery to someone like her who has spent her whole life with McJobs. She's just happy to watch it burn. Envy used to be a sin, but these guys wear on their chest like with pride.
 
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glhs837

Power with Control
Look, I'm glad the Trump Administration is doing all the right things, but I DO have a queasy feeling about Musk. Ask yourselves why he is involved in this mess at all? Money? Prestige? Power??? Just a narcissist?
Don't kick me in the nuggies, but what if BIDEN gave control of most of the Government to a Chinses millionaire? (Yeah, I know he probably did!!!!!)

So on a pragmatic basis Dems showed that they wanted to crush his companies. Survival for those companies required him to remove them from power.

Now if you watch him, wealth isn't a tool to make his life awesome. No yachts, sold all the houses.

Why strive to be so ridiculously wealthy? We can't know what's in someone's heart. We can see what they do. Everything he's done rolls back out to his publicly stated goal. To ensure the long term survival of the species.

We cannot survive a planet we pollute beyond repair. Reduce pollution. Autos and battery storage do that. But it needs to be ones that are profitable.

We can still be wiped out by an extinction level event. The only way humanity survives that is to have a significant population of the planet when it happens.

Rockets do that. They get us off the planet. But you need money to build them and, so you need profitable ones to make the big ones. Falcon/Starlink/Starship do that.

You need inexpensive flexible abor to help the people out there. Optimus does that.

But you need to make habitats to survive out there. Boring Company will dig those. Solar and batteries will power them. Optimus will help build and maintain them.

AI is a threat to humanity. Neuralink maybe give humanity parity with AI if it comes to a fight.

It sounds crazy, but it all hangs together. But there is only one country in the world where you could do all of this. So step one is to make sure this country doesn't devolve into the world of Demolition Man.
 

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
You're not going to convince people like Vrai with logic. She doesn't care that $100k is well underpaid for an engineer or scientist, because it seems like hitting the lottery to someone like her who has spent her whole life with McJobs. She's just happy to watch it burn. Envy used to be a sin, but these guys wear on their chest like with pride.

OMG :lmao:

How does it not embarrass you to be this ignorant? You know that many people on here know me personally, right?

:roflmao:
 

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
The overwhelming "waste" in the federal government isn't the employees - but what the government is spending on its programs. We have small agencies who are for all intents and purposes - might as well be BURNING billions of dollars.

Right, and those agencies have people who work for them....who will be getting the ax....which is causing a Deep State meltdown....which is making emotion-based types come apart because they don't seem to grasp that when agencies go away the people who work for them go away too.

🤯
 

PeoplesElbow

Well-Known Member
You are not going to get the BEST engineers in the 1st place, the BEST are not going to be stupid enough to work for the government. There for your question is a moot point. The best you are going to be able to hire are some that do about 45 minutes of work in a 8 hr workday, you know just like the ones you have today. Money is not really an incentive to those who do not want to work (kind of like a real estate agent does not want to see your house sit on the market while you wait for the offer you want, they want that house sold at whatever price they can get someone to offer so they can book whatever commission they can pocket)
So the only thing you think is worth doing is less of them?

What do you do, profession wise?
 

phreddyp

Well-Known Member
So the only thing you think is worth doing is less of them?

What do you do, profession wise?
If you are downsizing, why would you need more of them?
I am a retired electrical contractor.

I have worked in the private sector, had a government job, been self-employed, and worked in the IBEW local 26.
Being self-employed was the best by far, hands down.
 

PeoplesElbow

Well-Known Member
If you are downsizing, why would you need more of them?
I am a retired electrical contractor.

I have worked in the private sector, had a government job, been self-employed, and worked in the IBEW local 26.
Being self-employed was the best by far, hands down.
Hate to tell you, but from one of the earlier notices from the White House it said DoD could possibly grow. Trump likes the DoD.
 

phreddyp

Well-Known Member
Hate to tell you, but from one of the earlier notices from the White House it said DoD could possibly grow. Trump likes the DoD.
It's possible if you implanted pigs with wings they could fly too.

I forgot but I read something about Trump saying or maybe Musk the dept of defense was overstaffed yesterday for what that is worth.
 
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Gilligan

#*! boat!
PREMO Member
If you are downsizing, why would you need more of them?
I am a retired electrical contractor.

I have worked in the private sector, had a government job, been self-employed, and worked in the IBEW local 26.
Being self-employed was the best by far, hands down.
I keep the shop floor swept, the wood stove stoked, and the bathroom clean. SGI does all the real work.

OK..OK...maybe the bathroom could use more attention...
 

phreddyp

Well-Known Member
I keep the shop floor swept, the wood stove stoked, and the bathroom clean. SGI does all the real work.

OK..OK...maybe the bathroom could use more attention...
Yep, when you are self-employed you get to wear lots of different hats.
 

herb749

Well-Known Member
Right, and those agencies have people who work for them....who will be getting the ax....which is causing a Deep State meltdown....which is making emotion-based types come apart because they don't seem to grasp that when agencies go away the people who work for them go away too.

🤯


These agencies dole out the money. If they could rein in the NGO's then they'd spend less. These NGO's set up, ask for funds, spend most on salaries and less goes to what its for.
 
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