Poll Shows A Disrespect For Government Workers

Having spent most of my working life as a government worker (for the state of Texas), I have to admit that a recent Rasmussen Poll made me a bit angry -- because it shows that too many Americans don't respect government workers. The survey was done of 1,000 likely voters on January 6th and 7th (and had a 3 point margin of error).

According to that poll, nearly half of the public (46%) thinks that government workers make more money than those working in the private sector. In addition, only about 10% said government workers worked harder. That's outrageous. While government workers may not work harder than those in the private sector, they work as hard. And many times those workers are doing dangerous or difficult work that most other people would not want to do.

And they don't do it because they get paid any big money. While a few agency heads may make some pretty good money, the bulk of government workers don't make much at all. Most wouldn't even come close to the median salary of an American worker (although they do make a little more than the growing number of minimum wage workers).

Why do they do it then? Why do they work difficult and many times dangerous jobs for very little pay? Because they love their community, state, and country -- and they want to serve their fellow citizens. That may sound rather fatuous and self-serving, but I believe it to be true. Almost all of the government workers I have known were very hard workers, who were proud to be serving their community -- and knew when they accepted the job that they would probably never make as much money as they could make in the private sector.

I think this public respect for government workers is because of the lies being repeated by Republican officials. They want people to believe government workers are lazy and inefficient, and make more money than they are worth. They want people to believe that so they can more easily impose austerity measures, and get rid of those workers (so their rich friends can get tax cuts) -- and sadly, they have convinced too many Americans that this is the case.

Government workers are not lazy and most are very efficient, and they aren't paid adequately for what they do. They should have the respect and appreciation of their fellow citizens. And the Republicans should be ashamed of demonizing those workers.

Kerik Sentenced To 4 Years In Prison

How the mighty one has fallen. Bernard Kerik was once called one of the best police chiefs in this country and was called a hero after 9/11 (although I think it was the men who he commanded that were the real heroes and Kerik was just trying to trade off their heroism).

But regardless of whether it was his own heroism or his men's heroism, Kerik nearly used that to catapult himself into an important national office. George Bush bought into the hype and in 2004 he nominated Kerik to become the head of the Homeland Security Department.

It looked like he would actually head that department, but Democrats created a firestorm of protest, delaying the nomination and finally forcing it to be withdrawn. And that's a good thing because Kerik has turned out to be far from a hero. He's just another criminal.

Last November, he pled guilty to eight felonies, including tax fraud and lying to the White House while they were vetting him for the job at Homeland Security. He will remain free (with an electronic ankle bracelet) until May 17th when he must report to a federal prison (which is yet to be designated).

Kerik must also pay $188,000 in restitution and also pay income taxes and penalties on six years of tax returns. He has know about the restitution and taxes with penalties since last November, but has yet to pay a single penny.

The federal court guidelines recommended 27 to 33 months in prison, but the federal judge exceeded that and sentenced Kerik to 48 months, saying the guidelines didn't consider "the almost operatic proportions of this case". He went on to chastise Kerik by saying, "The fact that Mr. Kerik would use that event (9/11) for personal gain and aggrandizement is a dark place in the soul for me."

Kerik had pleaded for a short sentence, saying he had "become a better person". Maybe so, but I don't think that should even be considered until he finishes serving that four year sentence -- which he richly deserves.

A Disqualification For Government Service

In the metroplex Texas city of Grand Prairie, five police department employees have been placed on administrative leave -- four police officers and a dispatcher. The department's chief is now deciding whether the five employees should be fired or retained.

The employees are accused of using department computers to forward a racist e-mail. Sadly, this is happening after the department had "sensitivity training" only two years ago. The questionable e-mail "included a racist reference to the tail number on Air Force One and suggested that Obama will serve only one term because a black man can't hold a job longer than four years." The five were placed on leave for using a city-owned computer for personal use.

Although the e-mail originated from an outside source, these employees forwarded it among themselves. Police spokesman John Brimmer said, "These are some good officers who have worked at the department for a long time that made a serious lapse in judgment. You can't do much about an unsolicited e-mail, but what you do after you open it is on you."

The vice-president of the local NAACP chapter, Preston Dixon, went further saying, "If they view our nation's top officer as an N-word, what do they think about the average black citizen in the community? Since they've gone through diversity training, then they knew better and should be fired."

The question is, should they be fired? I agree with Preston Dixon. The five employees should be fired, but not for personal use of a city computer. That's a fairly minor offense, and could be dealt with with a warning or a write-up. What they should be fired for is their racist attitude.

I have spent most of my adult life in some form of law enforcement -- six years as an officer and supervisor at a college in a particularly rough part of a major city, eight years as a correctional officer and another twelve years working for both adult and juvenile parole. I don't believe I could have done any of those jobs properly if I had been a racist.

In fact, I will broaden that view. I don't think a racist can properly do any government job that requires contact with the public, whether on a local, state or national level. Government workers must treat everyone the same -- no matter their race, ethnicity, sex, religion, age or sexual preference. And it is extremely hard to keep your prejudice out of your work.

There are lots of jobs a racist can probably do, but government service dealing with the public is not one of them. Racism should be an automatic disqualification.