Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

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  1. I understand why someone would be for the amendment.  But what is the argument against?

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    p>I don’t think I would classify this as hack, but if we are looking for cost savings, sounds like a reasonable consideration.

    • I’ve seen the number $5 million bandied around as the “cost” of these two days off. But I’m unclear about what that means. Does that mean that if the holidays are eliminated the state will spend $5 million less? Or does that mean that the total salaries paid to everyone for those two days is $5 million? In which case the money won’t be “saved” by eliminating the holidays, but rather will be spent on work.

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      p>Anyone know how this is figured?

      • Is OT for Police, Fire, Public Works (e.g., the resulting Saturday trash pickup), etc.

    • 1) the Hart argument…

      “It’s not a frivolous tradition. We hold it to be important, and I wonder if we get rid of it does that open the Pandora’s box to perhaps over time get rid of other holidays.”  During the roiling budget debate, Hart suggested Christmas and Thanksgiving might be the next to go if the holidays were nixed.

      It’s a slippery slope, and before you know it, we’ll be getting rid of Thanksgiving and working seven days a week.  This contention illustrates how weak most slippery slope arguments are.

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      p>2) We aren’t changing our ways, dammit!

      “I’m not going to be backed up by the newspapers, not backed up by the cynics, not backed up by the haters,” bellowed Rep. James Fagan (D-Taunton). “I hope these holidays are around and with us a long time after the Globe is gone.”

       First they came for Bunker Hill Day, and I said nothing.  Then they came for per diems, and I said nothing because I live close to the State House so it wasn’t much cash out of my pocket.  Then they came for the termination pensions, and I said nothing because I couldn’t think of a non-laughable reason to defend them.  Then they came….

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      p>3) We like getting shitfaced on St. Patrick’s Day-eve and we refuse to go to work.  No justice, no peace!

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      p>4) The public employee unions appreciate having the day off for their members.  More importantly, since everyone knows these are b.s. holidays, many government employees will have to work anyways… and that means holiday overtime!  Ka-ching!

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    • I have a great interest in history and I believe such holidays should stand as reminders for significant evets in our history.  I have, however, suggested making them statewide and would be OK with making them holidays for more than public employees.  Call me biased, but I could never vote for abolishing a history-based holiday.

      • If they had the stones to face down the business lobby and declare these full statewide holidays during which commerce and industry had to come to a complete halt to celebrate the Revolutionary War (or have a cook-out), I would support that.  That might show that they were serious about the sentiment of the holidays rather than just protecting a special perk for public employees.  But until that date, these have to go.

        • On the other hand I’ve never been completely comfortable telling private businesses when they can and can’t open a la “Blue Laws”.  I’m fine with requiring non-essential public services to close.

  2. from awesome progressive and frequent BMGer Lori Ehrlich.  Also notable: Y votes from excellent 1st termers Dykema and Ferrante, and long-time prog stalwart Kay Khan.  Disappointing “N” votes from Sean Garballey and, as you mention, Sciortino, Kaufman, and Smizik.

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    p>Wow — a 78-78 tie.  How often does that happen?

    • Several progressives did vote Yes and should be congratulated.  Kudos to Hecht, Lewis, Brownsberger, etc.  Imagine if the progressives actually banded together and voted as a block on these issues.  

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      p>Still, you have to wonder if there’s any sense of shame in the State House when this amendment loses on the same day as the DiMasi indictment.  

      • That’s really what’s missing, isn’t it?  A solid progressive bloc that (a) is well organized, (b) consists of a significant number of votes, and (c) has a coherent, consistent set of priorities that they will stick to, even if it means voting against leadership or even (gasp!) with the Republicans.

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        p>Who’s the likely ringleader?  Hello?  Bueller?

  3. Would I be right in thinking that the vote among Reps. from the greater Boston area would be more likely “No,” seeing how people who benefit from the holidays are their constituents.

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    p>The ones with some explaining are those who reap no political benefit from opposing the amendment.

    • Don’t you think it’s more likely that Boston area reps’ constituents are the ones most inconvenienced by these holidays, since those are the folks most likely to need to transact business in Suffolk County?

      • They state employees who donate, volunteer and vote, or the ones inconvenienced?

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        p>One group definitely votes, the other, not necessarily.

        • I was just responding to this, in your original comment:

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          seeing how people who benefit from the holidays are their constituents.

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          p>Certainly, some people who benefit are their constituents.  Just not all.  That was my point.

  4. the Herald article claimed that it’s a floating holiday — take it on Mar 17 or some other day.

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    p>If Mar 17 is no longer a holiday, than won’t everyone just have it as a floating day?  Same annual salary, same number of days off, just fewer of them taking that particular day off?

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    p>Where is the savings?  Oh — you mean just require all workers to work one more day a year without paying them to work one more day a year?

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    p>Sorry, in my view of progressive, forcing labor to work more hours without providing more compensation is hack.

  5. As many commenters have pointed out in previous discussions of this issue, the “hack holidays” are anti-family because they require working people to make special arrangements for child care on these days since schools are closed but ordinary people — those not protected by the hackocracy — don’t get the special vacations.

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    p>Chances for any aggressive progressive Democratic challengers to incumbents, or for some Republican pickups in the next election, took a huge step forward in Massachusetts in the last 48 hours, I’d say.  

    • Are Good Friday or Patriots Day  “Hack Holidays” too?  I don’t get those days off, but the school is closed, should we eliminate those to protect families?  Many communities in the state have Yom Kippur as a school holiday, yet many have to work then, should we eliminate that?  Is standing against Good Friday and Yom Kippur also a litmus test of a good progressive?      

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      p>I’d also like to hear a response to Stomv’s question of whether this actually saves any money.  If not, then all the uproar is worthless.  Sure, voting yes demonstrates that in principle, you support socialism, but it doesn’t actually get us any closer…  

    • Most people in the private sector don’t get that day off. Or Presidents’ Day and Columbus Day, for that matter. MLK Day under your definition would have to be considered “anti-family.”
       

  6. In this Herald article from yesturday  (http://www.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view.bg?articleid=1176193 ):

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    Hart said he was surprised when fellow Hub resident Chang-Diaz voted to get rid of the holidays.

    “I haven’t spoken with her about it, but I’m surprised by her vote because she didn’t express any Evacuation Day sentiments to me in the past,” Hart said. “If she had some concern perhaps she should have debated it with me.”

    Chang-Diaz did not return calls for comment, but Sen. Jamie Eldridge (D-Acton) said he supports the Republican-filed amendment because the holidays are bad government.

    “To me, I just don’t think it’s fair to have a few holidays that only apply to a small group of people in one county,” Eldridge said, adding he’ll also support Tisei’s bill.

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    p>Is she supposed to talk with Hart before every vote or something?  It seems pretty unusual to me for a state senator to personally go after another state senator like this.  Sonia needs to deliver a smack-down “Jackie White Tie” over this.

  7. No one’s proven to me that state workers in Suffolk county don’t work hard enough. I look at the lowly staffers at the State House and many of them are expected to work at little salary very long hours, often without much vacation time.

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    p>As far as I’m concerned, the solution here is to give everyone across the state two more days off, public or private sector. If other cities or towns have specific and important days, days that should be remembered in the annals of their history, let them pick those days.

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    p>In countries like France, there’s very strict limits to the number of hours people are forced to work, as well as the time they’re given off. Unlike our country, people in France actually take those days off. What’s the result? The French are the most productive population per hour of any country in the world… and they get to enjoy themselves a little more. Life shouldn’t be just work until you die. This vote was in reality not very important either way, but it completely misses the point and sends progressives down the wrong path. We need more vacation time as a country, not less.  

  8. A “Y” vote is to abolish the hack holidays, and it is to the left of the rep’s name?

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