TV Report: PILOTS ON FOOD STAMPS

[Dizel8]

The economy now is totally dependent on air travel. Air travel now moves 40% in dollar value of the national GDP. No other profession has that kind of economic impact. That's why this profession is going the way it is. What's bad for us is good for the rest of the economy.

Well, the economy is also highly dependent on the kind of infrastructure FDX, UPS etc. provides and it is good for them and the economy. Hence I disagree with you deduction, inasmuch that if airtravel is so important, then the customer should be willing to pay more, but he/she isn't.

Air travel is important, but it is in many cases discretionary spending, in other words, the first to go when the economy is in the dumps, so how important is it really?

 

[SkyNation]

I made @25K my first year at a regional.

Made @53K second year, still as an FO.

Third year now, as CA I'll make mid-80K range.

it's all about credit vs. block.

 

[bluefishbeagle]

At a commuter in Central cal early 80's we in fact qualified for food stamps...as the company recieved got wind of it they gave us a raise...5 dollard above the qualifying threshold....and they complained when the yearly pilot turnover was 108%

In the mid 80's Eastern Air Lines did the same thing to get their FA's off food stamps.

Sad that now the bar is so low that pilots are in the same boat.

 

[capt. megadeth]

PS: Maybe we should use your tax dollars to subsidize stay at home moms and families instead of destroying them through abortion and other negative family programs.

Don't worry, we already do that. It's called welfare and it's out of control.

What kills me about all you guys that want your wife to stay at home with the kids but when divorce time comes, you are b!tching that she's taking you to the cleaners. What do you expect? You have a woman completely dependent on someone else for money for years and with no skills. Now, she is supposed to just go out there and make it without you and your money. You reap what you sow.

 

[capt. megadeth]

I'm sure most people would think an extra $20 a ticket is a bargain to ensure a better qualified pilot and a safer trip.

LOL! That's funny right there. Yeah right. They'd
b!tch about it because they think we are all paid $300K a year.

 

[capt. megadeth]

It's because of morons like yourself that I and everyone else in my 'circle of trust' will be voting a STRAIGHT Democrat ticket in 08.

Have fun seeing more of your tax dollars going buh bye for more illegitimate children and drug addicts.

 

[Redmeat]

Have fun seeing more of your tax dollars going buh bye for more illegitimate children and drug addicts.

That's fine.

Maybe we can straighten one or two out and I won't find my car window broken out in the employee parking lot one day. That would be money well spent. I don't see where the current Admin has done me any favors. I voted for W twice and I voted for his dad.

Dubbya is OBVIOUSLY anti-labor. That is a NO GO in my book.

Time to see what the Dems can do for us.

 

[capt. megadeth]

That's fine.

Maybe we can straighten one or two out and I won't find my car window broken out in the employee parking lot one day. That would be money well spent. I don't see where the current Admin has done me any favors. I voted for W twice and I voted for his dad.

Dubbya is OBVIOUSLY anti-labor. That is a NO GO in my book.

Time to see what the Dems can do for us.

Well taxes going up isn't fine for me but I'll buy the rest.

 

[PCL_128]

Have fun seeing more of your tax dollars going buh bye for more illegitimate children and drug addicts.

At most, all of us would see maybe a 5% increase in our tax burden. I would wager less than that. The Dems will likely start out by raising corporate and dividend taxes, then move on to raising the top two income tax brackets (very few pilots fit into those brackets). As a result, though, we would have an NMB that would allow us the leverage to achieve far more than a 5% gain in total compensation.

I've never voted for a Dem for any national office before, but I expect to vote almost straight "D" next year. I've held out as long as possible, but Bush and his Republican buddies have just beaten us down too much. Time to take some back.

 

[ratherbeflyen]

Ual's first year pay with a family of 5 qualifies you for food stamps. Check the numbers!

When you get hired at XJT you have to fill out paper work for public assistance in Ohio. You can apply for it on the spot or decline it. Years ago pilots were getting foodstamps in uniform so management made provisions for you to your help some other way.

 

[CA1900]

Well taxes going up isn't fine...

Somebody has to pay for W's runaway spending rampage...

 

[JoeMerchant]

At most, all of us would see maybe a 5% increase in our tax burden. I would wager less than that. The Dems will likely start out by raising corporate and dividend taxes, then move on to raising the top two income tax brackets (very few pilots fit into those brackets). As a result, though, we would have an NMB that would allow us the leverage to achieve far more than a 5% gain in total compensation.

I've never voted for a Dem for any national office before, but I expect to vote almost straight "D" next year. I've held out as long as possible, but Bush and his Republican buddies have just beaten us down too much. Time to take some back.

You've become a "tax and spend" liberal just like the rest of the AFL-CIO robots......

Many of us would be affected by the tax raises you just said would be OK..... I am in the top 10% of W2 earners and I am at ASA.... I bet more than you know would be affected....

By the way, I was on the negotiating committee in 1998 with a DEMOCRATIC NMB and they wouldn't release us either..... The NMB Chair was a Clinton appointee and a former AFA MEC Chair.....They would not release us.... it was only a WOE campaign that got us what we have today.... something most pilots aren't willing to do....

More regulation, spending, and taxation isn't the solution.....

 

[capt. megadeth]

I've held out as long as possible, but Bush and his Republican buddies have just beaten us down too much. Time to take some back.

I agree but I don't trust the democrats either. None of them give a crap about you and I. Furthermore, any tax increase is too much. If anything, the tax rate needs to come down and the government needs to become more efficient instead of wasting money. I know that's a pipe dream, but that's what I think.

 

[PCL_128]

You've become a "tax and spend" liberal just like the rest of the AFL-CIO robots......

Call me whatever you want, but I'm tired of being beaten down just so the super-rich can make their next billion. Things are no longer "trickling down" like they're supposed to, Joe.

Many of us would be affected by the tax raises you just said would be OK..... I am in the top 10% of W2 earners and I am at ASA.... I bet more than you know would be affected....

You wouldn't be affected, and neither would 95% of the pilots out there. I made 62k last year, but I was only taxed on 35k because of all the deductions. Getting into the top brackets requires a massive amount of income.

By the way, I was on the negotiating committee in 1998 with a DEMOCRATIC NMB and they wouldn't release us either..... The NMB Chair was a Clinton appointee and a former AFA MEC Chair.....They would not release us.... it was only a WOE campaign that got us what we have today.... something most pilots aren't willing to do....

More regulation, spending, and taxation isn't the solution.....

Joe, offer anecdotal examples all you want, but the facts speak for themselves. This administration tried to force through a rider on a bill that would have made transportation worker strikes a terrorist act! Dubya famously said "no airline strikes on my watch.' The Republicans are fighting endlessly to kill the EFCA. I could go on forever on this. The fact is, the modern-day Republicans have taken labor-hating to an all new high. I hate the Dems on tons of issues (gun control, abortion, gay marriage, welfare, healthcare, etc...), but it's gotten to the point where labor has been beaten down so much that we've got to put aside the other issues for an election cycle or two and just think about our careers. If we don't, then we're going to watch the entire middle class in this country slip into the abyss.

 

[PCL_128]

I agree but I don't trust the democrats either. None of them give a crap about you and I.

Of course they don't care about us. Nobody in Washington cares about the little guy. But, they do care about winning elections, and the Dems win elections by sucking up to labor, trial lawyers, environmentalists, etc... They don't actually care about any of this stuff, but that's where their money comes from, so that's who they'll support. A Dem President would thank the AFL-CIO for their support by naming labor-friendly members to the NMB and NLRB. The Dems in Congress would thank their labor contributors by passing the EFCA and other labor-friendly legislation. They won't do it because they care about us; they'll do it so they can continue to get our votes next time.

We have to learn to play the game and stop acting like a bunch of idealists. Sadly, it's just the way things work.

Furthermore, any tax increase is too much. If anything, the tax rate needs to come down and the government needs to become more efficient instead of wasting money. I know that's a pipe dream, but that's what I think.

I agree with you. But it's never going to happen. Government spending will never decrease, and government programs will never be cut. That's just reality. Voting for Republicans in some vain hope that they'll actually do these things is insanity. The Republicans are getting their money from the super-rich, and that's exactly who they'll support. We don't even show up on their radar.