Before you read this, I want you to know that I vote. I have voted every chance I have had in local, State, and National elections. My vote is my choice just as yours is your choice. I have voted even when I don’t like any of the candidates. I cannot control who runs, I cannot control who the majority will vote for. However, I cannot complain if I do not vote.
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Politics have always been a hot topic around the firehouse kitchen table. I love hearing from guys who will vote for a candidate for one reason for another. One big issue is always gun control. I have always been told that the Democrats will take away my guns. Another hot topic is abortion…The Republicans don’t like it and the Democrats let anyone get one. The truth is that different politicians run on different platforms. They pick and choose their battles and run on the platform of issues they think will give them the most support. What they do in office is a whole different story. Why? Simply because the President might not have a congress that backs them or has a separate agenda.
I work in public safety. We don’t make the government a monetary profit. We are not a business, we are a necessity for the public’s safety. We are vital to the American way of life. Sure, Cops write tickets and EMS bills for transport, but that doesn’t cover the expense and sometimes goes to the general fund…not the departments. Teachers are expected to not only teach our children, but many rely on them to parent them too. However, since we are not an income source, some politicians think we aren’t needed or can be scaled back just because of the expense. On paper, we are an expense. Politicians see us as an expensive insurance policy that they simply don’t want to pay for…Except when they need us. Then they stand next to us for the photo op.
Because we are public safety and most work for the government in some form or fashion, we don’t have a voice without public sector unions. Those very unions are the ones that Republicans have been attacking. Why? It is simple. If they take away our voice, they can cut our services easier…those vital and necessary services that cost money to operate.
Put a price on it…Put a price on a city block burning down. Put a price on a persons life because we aren’t there to render aid. Put a price on anything we do.
Don’t get me wrong. There are some Pro-Public Safety Republicans…and the Democrats aren’t exactly throwing money at us…they are just a little more eloquent. If you remember correctly, the National Collective Bargaining bill did not pass Congress when it was controlled by the Dems (if my memory serves me correct). It never made it to the Presidents desk.
When I relate to politics, I think of the issues that affect my family and my way of life. My family, my career (firefighter), my faith…pretty much in that order. I enjoy hearing what others think when it comes to candidates. I like hearing their thoughts and sometimes learn from their opinions. It might sway or strengthen my opinion on one candidate or another.
When speaking about my career (firefighter), I often find it amusing that the gun and/or abortion topics come up just to prove a point. For instance, when talking about how Republicans (in general) do not like collective bargaining for public sector unions, another firefighter might show their support for a Republican because the NRA backs them. Ok, I get that…but it is a little off topic. Give me something to chew on related to Republicans supporting public sector unions. Give me an example of Republicans supporting firefighters, or teachers. Our brothers in blue (police) are a different story. Republicans typically seek Police support and also typically give support to Police Departments…but there is always that fact that they typically do not support public sector unions.
I don’t typically offer thoughts on politics here on the blog, so I realize I am putting myself out there…Below are some more thoughts on some current issues related to the current presidential race… I would love to hear your thoughts on these issues.
Wouldn’t it be nice if it were this easy:
By now you have heard the “Romney Tape”…You know, where Romney wrote off 47% of Americans. I think it is unfortunate. Does Romney really not care about almost half of us Americans? That is what he said. I know that if I were part of that 47% (and I probably am) I would feel screwed voting for Romney. The video is below
“There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what,” Romney is shown saying in a video posted online by the magazine. “There are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe that government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it.”
“Forty-seven percent of Americans pay no income tax,” Romney said.
Romney said his role “is not to worry about those people. I’ll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives.”
Romney wants to create jobs. That is a fact. Firefighters, Police, and Teachers don’t seem to be a part of this job growth. It actually seems as though the opposite is the case. There are some more videos below that support that theory.
“I disagree with the Fraternal Order of Police on this point,” Romney wrote. “I believe labor unions – including public employee unions – can be constructive forces in our communities and I would look forward to working closely with them as president.” But he then quoted FDR, of all people, as saying collective bargaining “cannot be transplanted into the public service.”
“I agree with this view, and I would not support an expansion of collective bargaining rights for public employees,” Romney wrote. Read more
Check this out (also in a video below):
Romney said of Mr. Obama that “he says we need more firemen, more policemen, more teachers. Did he not get the message of Wisconsin? It’s time for us to cut back on government and help the American people.” Read more
IAFF on Romney
Romney also opposes FIRE Act grants, which provide critical funding to communities for life saving equipment and apparatus. As governor of Massachusetts, Romney repeatedly attempted to cut local aid to communities, jeopardizing public safety and safe staffing. He also attempted to strip away the collective bargaining rights of fire fighters in the state. Read more
Firefighters Smack Romney Following Colorado Campaign Swing
Following reports Mitt Romney met with fire officials in Colorado Springs yesterday, Colorado firefighters are questioning his support for them. Romney has said “we don’t need more firefighters”, opposes federal legislation that helps firefighters, and also supports the radical Ryan budget, which would gut firefighting support by 19%. Colorado Representatives Coffman, Gardner, and Tipton all voted for the Ryan budget. Read more
What about his time as Governor? How did he do with Firefighters?
As governor of Massachusetts, Romney often ended up sparring with firefighters and their unions. He proposed stripping collective bargaining rights for firefighters and police officers in a city that needed a state bailout, and cut funding to a fire station to be built on the site where six firemen died. He also proposed tripling the state police budget to deal with homeland security concerns in the years after 9/11, but didn’t offer a dime for firefighters, angering many at the time. Read more
Politifact.com offers fact checking on their site in relation to public safety. View it here
Check out the Obama/Romney Tax Savings/Cost Calculator
I found this neat little calculator on President Obama’s web site. You can plug in your annual salary, marital status, and number of dependents and see what the difference is in tax savings/increase will be under Obama or Romney as President. Tax Calculator here
Romney Tax Cuts:
You’ve heard Romney say this — or some variant of it –dozens of times before. What’s changed since then is that Romney has admitted that his tax cuts, if they’re not going to add to the deficit, will have to increase taxes on people he defines as middle income and cut them on people he defines as high income. Read more
Mitt Romney suggests cutting mortgage interest deduction
DENVER – Offering deficit-cutting ideas before his first debate with President Barack Obama, Mitt Romney says he might be willing to reduce income tax deductions used by millions of families for home mortgage interest and health care costs. Read more
I wonder if Mitt Romney is what we need? Police, Firefighters, Teachers…aren’t we middle class? Are we part of the 47%? Can we afford the job cuts, loss of benefits, and loss of bargaining rights? Are we not the middle class?
Links:
- Romney opposes bargaining rights for fire fighters and police
- Does Mitt Romney want to cut jobs for police, firefighters, and teachers?
- Romney’s long assault on firefighters
- Massachusetts fire fighters and the Romney they know….
- Professional Firefighters of Mass. - The Romney WE Know…
- Mitt Romney admits he’ll need to raise taxes on the middle class
- Obama/Romney Tax Calculator
- Politifact.com on public safety comments
- IAFF: Romney Opposes SAFER and FIRE Act Grant Programs
- Firefighters Smack Romney Following Colorado Campaign Swing
- Mitt Romney suggests cutting mortgage interest deduction
“I did not become a teacher to become wealthy or powerful, I became a teacher to make a difference” – Watch below
- Rhett Fleitz “The Fire Critic”
What I think so fail to truly understand is that if there is no prosperity in our communities, we can not get paid. So it’s a domino effect, our pay and benefits are linked to the financial success of the community as a whole. If there are no jobs, there is no money, no money, no taxes, no taxes, no us. I tend to believe that we should be putting our bets where community prosperity will increase.
Maybe if you are overpaid. The Firefighters, Police, and Teachers in my area are not overpaid.
If there are needs for cuts, there are plenty of other government programs which are not as much of a priority as public safety.
Some want to create jobs, boost the economy, AND cut our positions. Not cut our positions, boost the economy, and THEN recreate our jobs.
If we fail to show that we are a vital asset to the public’s safety, we have failed the public.
Your vote for President affects everyone- not just your little corner of the universe. Public employee unions (gasp!) may not get everything they want under a Romney presidency, but the ENTIRE country will suffer under four more years of the current disaster.
THAT’S the problem of voting for the current union-approved candidate, who- let’s not kid ourselves- wouldn’t be a Republican if bin Laden himself was running as a Democrat. (btw, how have municipal employees been doing for the last four years? Everything sunshine and roses I take it, since your union is backing the incumbent?).
One-issue voters are just a half-step above completely ignorant voters in my book. I’d rather you both stayed home.
Just out of curiosity, what other state and local government programs would YOU cut in order to create more money for union employees? I’m willing to bet that more than a few of them are Democrat-championed social programs. Oops. Shot yourself in the foot there I guess.
I haven’t shot myself in the foot. I never said who I was voting for or why.
I simply brought up issues related to my line of work.
You are absolutely right…I am sure that some of the government programs I might cut are championed by Democrats. That doesn’t matter to me.
and yes…My vote matters. My vote affects my little corner of the universe and might affect yours as well. It is MY vote.
since i’m in florida i have to wait to see how the “chad” hangs
The election is like being on a dock and choosing to get on the titanic or edmund fitsgerald
“One-issue voters are just a half-step above completely ignorant voters in my book. I’d rather you both stayed home.”
Hypocrisy
BH,
This was an article regarding one aspect of the decision that those of us in Public Safety will make just like the rest of the voting population.
I know that I for one have wrestled with my concerns regarding issues both Obama and Romney have supported. I am both a Police Officer and a volunteer firefighter. I was raised in a family that owned its own business and is very conservative in its political beliefs. You may be surprised but a majority of the Officers and Firemen that I work with are conservative and Republicans.
However, we also recognize that without collective bargaining rights we would be at the mercy of the local governments to determine our pay and benefits and from what I have seen of the governments and what they want to pay, the people that you rely on to protect your life and property would definitely not be the best people for the job. No one with any decent skill set would work for the governments in these type of jobs. Now that is not saying that I became a Police Officer with the expectation of becoming rich, but I do deserve a just compensation. The idea, at least in PA, is that if the bargaining units and the municipalities cannot reach a fair agreement for both sides, then a neutral arbitor steps in and makes the determinations, trying to be fair to both sides and taking into consideration the financial implications in regards to the municipalities. Which on its face should be an ideal situation.
So once again thank you for assuming that Public Servants only focus on one issue when deciding how to cast our ballots. One thing that I do ask is that you try to be a little nicer and maybe even a little politer next time you decide to assume that you know what you’re talking about and want to label an entire group of people. You may find that a polite discussion will open your mind to different and probably lead to better understanding by all involved.
There are “one issue voters” on both sides of the politcal aisle….
I don’t believe I made a distinction, Chief.
Good post. It’s a shame that people can’t intelligently voice their opinions more often, as you so very well did.
Often people take it as an offense to their personal beliefs and a direct attack to them, and they spit closed minded insults back, without respecting the right to people’s opinions.
The other thing people don’t understand is there’s a difference between congress and the president. What Romney or Obama says they will do next term will, in all likelihood, not happen due to congress existing. In my opinion, congressional votes by the public are far more important than the presidential nomination.
Ironically, I am a libertarian working in public safety
Anyway good post, good points.
Thank you h deezy. I agree with you about Congress. I think I made a note of that above, or at least thought about it when I put this thing together.
Good Stuff Rhett. I often feel the same way. Fact of the matter is I still have a shit ton of guns and nobody is stopping the innocent killing of the unborn. I vote from my pocketbook. These guys try to catch you with these big ticket items but really we are not any better with one or the other. It’s a shame that our profession demands excellence, but our elected officials are often one bad choice or an even worse choice. Great article. Keep it up and keep em thinking.
“…keep em thinking.” That is what it is all about.
Thanks Brother
How would taking the Feds out of the picture affect all volunteer departments in localities that can’t afford to pay teachers, build schools, hire a paid staff, afford to maintain and purchase existing fire equipment currenty maintained by an all volunteer system. Would this cause a increase in taxes if the States pass the burden to local government. Most of us have to work a full time job just to volunteer. My dept. has been helped several times by FEMA thru the Fire Act grant and if it was not for that we would be still be figting today’s fires with outdated and substandard equipment. This would force volunteers who need to spend time training and answering calls back to seling hotdogs and pancakes to afford the equipment to protect those they serve.
Rhett I guess I’ll be one of the few agreeing with you. The current state of the country depends on who you get your information from. How good of a job our current President has done also depends on who you get your information from. While I may not necessarily agree with all of President Obama’s views and actions over the past 4 years, I can honestly say I am better off than I was 4 years ago. I began my career, bought a house, furnished it with an $8,000 federal tax credit, and have been able to work on my degree with federally subsidized loans. I strongly disagree with throwing complete control of public service back to the states. That would mean no more OSHA standards, no more NIOSH reports. If you live in a poor state too bad so sad, you’ll have to get by on jump starting your 1956 Ford/John Beam pumper to get to that barn fire two counties over, because they had to lay off their paid firefighters and your department can’t afford to replace their apparatus without grant assistance. Most states can barely afford to stay afloat as it is. The south as a region (and as individual states) takes more money from the federal government than they sends in taxes. Look at Europe, their experiment in austerity measures has resulted in a complete failure, leaving them worse off then when they started. For states to afford to absorb the cost that the federal government currently incurs regarding public safety they would have to raise taxes. In addition there is one National Fire Administration with all of its administrative and bureaucratic costs. If they were done away with, each state would then form their own fire administration, which is more cost effective? One or 50? We have a Department of Fire Programs here in Virginia, and their budget has essentially been gutted due to cuts by our state. How are they going to absorb additional costs and responsibilities when they’re struggling with what they have now? Virginia can’t even cover our modest retirement system (which is an entirely different discussion in it self).
We wouldn’t be having this discussion right now if we weren’t currently paying $250B a year for an unfunded tax cut, $300B a year for 2 unfunded wars and compounded with a loss of $350B a year in revenue from the recession in 2008. These combine to account for roughly 90% of our annual federal deficit. It’s interesting how attitudes change in a decade. Post 9/11 the “conservative” attitude was spare no expense, we need to be better equipped, sure the federal government can create entire departments and strip away Constitutional rights (Patriot Act), its for our own good! Now it has changed to slash and burn the budget the federal government is out of control!
Great points.
Kind of off topic…
You know I missed that $8k tax credit by one day when we bought our last house. I didn’t know about it or I would have changed the closing date…1 day cost me $8k.
Rhett, let me start by explaining that I am an IAFF alumini. I was an officer in our local. And both of my sons are career firefighters and IAFF members. I am also a life long Democrat. I’m voting for Mitt Romney. I am a strong union supporter. I believe most unions serve the purpose of protecting their members and worker’s rights. I’m voting for Mitt Romney. I obviously don’t entirely agree with his positions on public employee unions. But, in my opinion, this country is on the wrong road and our current President is leading us down that road. The last time I checked, most Firefighters, other than Federal Firefighters, work for local jurisdictions. The local jurisdictions, many of which are Democratically governed, decide on contracts, and staffing, and benefits and all the other things associated with providing services to their residents. They should not be relying on the federal government to provide those services. While some jurisdictions need SAFER grants to survive, many use them as a crutch, and that is where the problem lies. Make no mistake, this country is in terrible financial trouble. It may take a while, but the ultimate solution is to get the economy turned around and get the revenue coming into the cities and towns again. And yes, in some instances, this may require tough decisions on the part of the local elected officials. But in too many cases, those elected officials have come to expect federal aid to solve their budget issues, and that has partially led to some of the current financial crisis. We can argue from now until doomsday, and point fingers at previous administrations, but that doesn’t solve the problem. And, again, in my opinion, this President has done nothing to solve these issues, they have only gotten worse under his leadership, or lack there of. While I sometimes struggle with the decision to vote for Mitt Romney, I don’t trust Obama. Our influence in the world has diminished tremendously and I believe our Country is at greater risk now than when he took office. And the final deciding factor in my mind, was the tragedy in Libya. The US Embassy was attacked, and four US citizens were murdered, and our President referred to the turmoil in the Middle East as a “bump in the road”. While I didn’t personally know any of those murdered in Libya, my neighbor did. He was in BUDS with one of the people killed. That brings it home. There are times when we have to base our decisions on what is better for the greater good, not just what’s in our own personal best interest. In my opinion, this election is one of those times.
My voting philosophies are a bit different I guess.
Faith comes first. Period.
Family is second.
Everything else is far behind the first two.
The candidate has to be morally upright first and foremost to get my vote. If he isnt, I dont care anything about his ideas, it doesnt even matter.
I have been a career firefighter for 23 years and have never been a union member, I have voted almost exclusively Republican my entire life simply because that party has almost always fielded candidates whose beiliefs fit most closely with my own.
I think what a lot of you are missing is the fact that without the federal government being involved such as AFG and SAFER grants many fire departments would not have any equipment and or manpower. The grants have been beneficial fo volunteers, part time, and full time FF. I have reviewed the grant applications and from what I have seen there is just as much loss in all areas and just as much awarding of grants to all departments not just one or the other. Maybe some of you should go back into history a little. Without unions there would not be minimum wage or any safety as to what we wear or drive to an incident you would be at the will of your administration so government direction would be at the local level. AS to the comment about eliminating Federal Government, with the structure in place most states are on the verge of being broke so there will never be funds available so we will go back to whatever the citizens can give.
I guess it is difficult for those of us in “Right to Work” states to really see the need for or value of unions. that is why I never joined.
As far as why I support Romney, it has nothing to do with the fire service, it is about what is best for our country.
I am not interested in living in a socialist country, I don’t want national healthcare, I don’t support gay marriage, abortion or more gun control. I want someone in the White House that understands the economy and really wants to fix it. I want a government that is less involved in peoples lives.
I want someone who will cut spending.
I believe Mitt is the man for the job.
So let me get this straight….
I should not vote what is best for my country or my friends and family because a vote for Obama would benefit ME as a FF? Screw the rest of the citizens and friends and family. As long as I get what is best for ME . Out here in California we have been an extremely left Democratic State for what seems like eternity. California is now the laughing stock of all 50 states and as taxpayers we are being gouged more and more to pay for more and more Entitlement programs. Pensions are out of control and corruption is the norm, which has been the reason more and more fire stations are closing and more ff are being layed off etc.. But who cares as long as I vote for Obama because Romey believes in States rights…. BTW, where do you think grant money etc. comes from??? TAXES paid by me, my friends, and my family!
Dave,
I didn’t tell anyone to vote for anyone.
I simply asked the question if Mitt Romney is the right choice for Firefighters/EMT’s. I have not been given many examples of how Romney will be better for our occupations/volunteer departments.
I have gotten a lot of feedback from guys like yourself who think that Romney is the clear choice and that Obama is ruining the Nation.
My whole intention in this post was to learn.
I still don’t know who I will vote for. I have plenty of other reasons to vote for one or the other outside of their platform’s affects on my occupation.
I am happy you have strong feelings for Romney, and I appreciate you taking the time to comment.
Fire Critic,
You have misunderstood my post. I am NOT a strong Romney supporter and I have no feelings towards him. What i am a stong supporter of, and have strong feelings towards, is CORE VALUES and RESPONSIBILITY for one’s actions. I am not a supporter of bigger and bigger government. I am not a supporter of an enabling government which allows and often encourages people to rely on government handouts from the time they are born til the time they die and are buried on the taxpayer dime!
Obama is a big government supporter. He believes in wealth redistribution and has said so many times. Google it. While a bigger government might be better for me as a FF, it is NOT better for anybody who is not feeding at the public trough. So, do i vote for Obama because it may be better for me financially or do i do what is right FISCALLY for the nation as a whole?? To me the answer is easy…. I will vote for Romney even though my vote in California is worthless as we have many more takers here than contributors.
We are a firefighter family here in CA, my husband 28 years of service for his City. We did not vote for Obama the first time and will vote Romney in this next election.
I would hope that our brother and sister firefighters are enlightened enough to debunk the propaganda on their own, and respect that people have their own personal reasons as to what they feel is best for our country.
In my opinion, Mitt Romney is exactly right. The Federal government giving money to localities does not help create jobs that will stimulate and make a good long term, thriving economy. The first stimulus did this, and it didnt work. It may have kept a firefigher on the job for 1 year, but unless the problem is solved locally, the money will run out.
The Federal Government should have no constitutional authority to give taxpayer money (which was printed, causing inflation that hurts firefighters and their families) to local fire departments. Firefighters are paid “locally.” It is a local issue and a state issue at best.
I feel, if you TRULY want to have more firefighters, police and teachers, have them well paid and equipped, then let’s STOP sending most of our tax dollars to Washington and keep those dollars locally. Keep those dollars in YOUR community. The IAFF is cutting its nose off to spite its face. In other words – don’t allow a poorly thought out short term solution create even greater problems in the long run.
Remember. Those of us in PUBLIC service are tax regurgitators…not tax payers. We can not spend ONE dollar unless somebody in the PRIVATE sector makes it first!! NOT ONE!!! We need a STRONG “private sector” not more people on government handouts.
Just my opinion.