Rob Ford's Toronto

[Justin10000]

Heh. Damned if I do, and damned if I don't. It's good you were able to cover all your bases there.

BTW, I find it amusing that people who call this...

"If you're such a hard worker(god I hate that conservative talking point), go out there and make more money!"

...a conservative talking point.

As someone who has only ever voted left or centrist, and never for a capital C Conservative, it just seems odd. I guess I'm just not as left as you would like. So here's a hint: If you ever go to Saskatchewan (where Canadian medicare was invented) don't be surprised when a NDP-supporting farmer says that.

Interesting. I did not even call you a conservative, yet you assumed I called you a Con! Here is a hint. It's not always about you. Hence why I asked why you're so bitter. I know people like you. You're full of yourself. You think the world owes you something, and when you see people doing better than you, you complain, and whine.

If you're such a hard worker, you shouldn't have to whine about others making a decent wage. You're just a whiner, and I have to be harsh, a loser. Stop whining, and go make something of your life. No one want to hear your whiny rants.

 

[Eug]

Interesting. I did not even call you a conservative, yet you assumed I called you a Con! Here is a hint. It's not always about you. Hence why I asked why you're so bitter. I know people like you. You're full of yourself. You think the world owes you something, and when you see people doing better than you, you complain, and whine.

If you're such a hard worker, you shouldn't have to whine about others making a decent wage. You're just a whiner, and I have to be harsh, a loser. Stop whining, and go make something of your life. No one want to hear your whiny rants.

Heh, barking up the wrong tree, yet again. BTW, you might want to dial it down a few notches too, cuz you're sounding pretty hysterical.

 

[Eug]

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/788256--ttc-s-big-earners-club-up-by-almost-one-third

The best paid collector was Yasin Saleemi, who pulled in $114,520.99 in salary and overtime.

Saleemi, 47, said that those who envy him should know he has a homemaker wife, a mortgage, two kids in university, two others who plan to go and he works so much overtime “I have no life basically.”

“I start at 5 a.m. and finish at 6 p.m. ... I can’t even get weekends off,” he said, adding he scrounges for any overtime to augment a base salary that it’s in the range of $60,000 to $75,000.

--

What?!?

 

[tkip]

A base salary of 30-75k? Is this correct? I'm a union person but I don't make anywhere near this amount. My gross per year is about 25k less. Something about this doesn't seem right.

 

[Justin10000]

The best paid collector was Yasin Saleemi, who pulled in $114,520.99 in salary and overtime.

Saleemi, 47, said that those who envy him should know he has a homemaker wife, a mortgage, two kids in university, two others who plan to go and he works so much overtime “I have no life basically.”

“I start at 5 a.m. and finish at 6 p.m. ... I can’t even get weekends off,” he said, adding he scrounges for any overtime to augment a base salary that it’s in the range of $60,000 to $75,000.

--

What?!?

What?? He is working 6-7 days a week, 11 hour shifts so he can put his kids through university, support his family, and basically have a decent middle class life, and HE'S AN OVERPAID BUM!

This is the definition of working hard.

Yeah, you're definitely a bitter man.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

That's well and good, but it didn't address the point - which is fare collection under the current system is inefficient, inconvienent and out-dated. Individuals like him who has such strong work ethic should be deployed to more fruitful tasks than one that is more suited to machines. And no, providing a decent middle class life should be the aspiration of society as a whole through other measures, not at the cost of maintaining said obsolete system. You are not doing anyone a favour when you promote a situation where social justice is equated to inefficiency and low productivity.

AoD

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Another matter that flew under the radar is the Civic Appointments - basically board members for the libaries, etc. It would seem that there are some quality control issues for the appointees. If you want to stack the agenda, that's another area to do it.

AoD

 

[Justin10000]

I totally agree AoD. The current method is outdated, and needs to be improved. But until it is, there is no reason that the fare collectors should be viewed as being overpaid and lazy. Someone has to the job for the time being. I do not like this race to the bottom mentality of Eug and a few others. I cannot imagine staying in a glass booth for 11 hours is a job many wish to pursue, but someone has to do it.

 

[GraphicMatt]

Yep. It's minor in the grand scheme of objectionable things, I guess, but the Rob Ford administration will appoint a slate of civic appointees that are far whiter and far maler than what we've seen in the past.

We'll go from a roughly 50/50 male/female split to 75/25, and the number of visible minorities given positions will go from 30% to 15%.

Here's the chart: http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2011/ia/bgrd/backgroundfile-41076.pdf

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

I don't think it is that minor, actually, considering it governs a lot of the services that Torontonians hold dear. Representativeness of the appointees is an issue - but the more fundamental one is what are their qualifications (city staff seem to indicate that they haven't been vetted on that criteria) and linkages with the Ford/PC axis.

AoD

 

[Eug]

What?? He is working 6-7 days a week, 11 hour shifts

His base salary is $60000 or perhaps $75000. He is working 6-7 days a week so he can make $115000 a year. So yeah, he's grossly overpaid for the job he does. Great for him, but not for those paying his salary - us.

The current method is outdated, and needs to be improved. But until it is, there is no reason that the fare collectors should be viewed as being overpaid and lazy. Someone has to the job for the time being. I do not like this race to the bottom mentality of Eug and a few others. I cannot imagine staying in a glass booth for 11 hours is a job many wish to pursue, but someone has to do it.

You might not like the focus on overpaid union employees, but the taxpaying public is getting sick and tired of the unions' sense of entitlement, at the expense of everyone else. This is not the race to the bottom, despite your repeated hysterical declarations that it is. This is the path to fiscal responsibility, whether you like it or not.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Eug:

Well, erosion of the middle class is a race to the bottom - but I argue that it isn't productive to deal with that issue at the level of the organization, particularly when the alternative offered is doing everything in the same old way. Besides, unions aren't necessarily interested in protecting the most vulnerable of all the workers - but oftentimes only those with the most seniority.

AoD

 

[tkip]

While I disagree with the racing to the bottom mentality that seems to drive so many, because it's really just envy/jealousy for some and for others it's a cover to make people poorer, I do question the validity of this base salary which seems grossly inflated. And people keep ignoring that unions don't just take. The employer agrees to the terms.

 

[greenleaf]

Yep. It's minor in the grand scheme of objectionable things, I guess, but the Rob Ford administration will appoint a slate of civic appointees that are far whiter and far maler than what we've seen in the past.

We'll go from a roughly 50/50 male/female split to 75/25, and the number of visible minorities given positions will go from 30% to 15%.

Here's the chart: http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2011/ia/bgrd/backgroundfile-41076.pdf

Interesting. I applied to five boards and got two interviews. I wonder if I showed up 5 times in this doc, which would skew the percentages? (white, male, under 30)

 

[paraone]

say his salary is $65,000 minus taxes and deductions that is paycheque of about $1700 every two weeks, about $3400 a month and you all think that is grossly inflated? To live in this city with 4 kids? what world are you guys living in? That is not a huge salary by any stretch, that is barely livable in this city. Some people just like to complain about anyone they see as "lazy" what is the difference between this guy sitting in a booth or a receptionist sitting at a desk?

Anyone who says that this is a huge salary is either too young to know better or has an entry level position or hasn't worked in the real world. I would argue that most execs making $200,000+ to delegate are "grossly" over paid... Good for this guy, he doesn't make the rules, he just uses the rules to make a better life for himself and his family. If you don't like it, then go apply for a job as a ticket collector.