Quoted from Box A Rox

What a pile of crap

100 jobs for Schdy... is a good thing.
Jobs anywhere in the Capitol District is a good thing.  Some people who live in Schdy work in Albany, or Troy.

Had these jobs left for Buffalo, Syracuse or downstate, it would have meant a loss for our area.
There are people on this board, if given $100, they'd gripe that it wasn't $200.  

Box... Again I ask where is the gain in this? +100 for Schenectady means -100 for Albany.
Its like moving 5 bags of groceries from your trunk to your front seat and thinking you gained something.

When Governor Pataki moved a couple hundred jobs from Albany to Schenectady -- the Nayboob Republicans thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread and cheered for it because it was a Republican doing it,  Personally, I think it was a good idea (bringing that DOT office to Downtown Schenectady)  THEN and I think bringing these 300 jobs NOW is an equally good idea.

Now stop the partisan bullshit --- admit that it is a good thing -- and lets move on to tackle the other issues/problems that need to be addressed.

Is there a cafeteria in the building?  If yes, do they pay sales tax?

the state comp building is to 'cover' the LOAD of cheap a$$ healthcare worker positions....oh yeah.....

Quoted from 55tbird

Its like moving 5 bags of groceries from your trunk to your front seat and thinking you gained something.

GREAT VISUAL!!!  A perfect example for the mentally impaired!!

Re-distribution of government jobs is clearly not the plumb line for economic growth!!! Let's see how many of these folks pick up and actually 'move' into schenectady!! Now that would be the best case scenario....yes?

According to:

http://www.businessinsider.com.....-2010-6#9-new-york-2

16.3% of all employed NY'ers work for some government entity.

Surprised we're only #9 on the list.

Alaska can afford to be like #2 - they make tons of money in oil revenue.

Alaska is also the biggest Government Welfare state in the USA.  More US Tax Dollars go to Alaska than
any other state.  It's the Classic "Welfare Mom" of our country.

Quoted from Box A Rox

Alaska is also the biggest Government Welfare state in the USA.  More US Tax Dollars go to Alaska than
any other state.  It's the Classic "Welfare Mom" of our country.

Hmm - I do recall hearing that before, thanks for reminding me.

Regardless of Alaska or NY - we have major problems when we expect there to be five people working outside of government to pay for each federal / state / local employee.

It would be difficult if it was 8 people.

I can't find an updated list, but below is a 'SUBSIDIZED STATES' vs 'DONOR STATES' from 2004.  The Bush Economic
Meltdown may have changed these numbers since then.

SUBSIDIZED STATES: (Dollars received for every tax dollar paid)
North Dakota (2.03), New Mexico (1.89), Mississippi (1.84), Alaska (1.82), West Virginia (1.74), Montana (1.64),
Alabama (1.61), South Dakota (1.59), Arkansas (1.53), Hawaii (1.52), Virginia (1.47), Oklahoma (1.47),
Kentucky 1.46), Louisiana (1.44), Idaho (1.34), South Carolina (1.32), Missouri (1.32), Maine (1.31),
Tennessee (1.24), Iowa (1.22), Arizona (1.20), Maryland (1.20), Nebraska (1.19), Utah (1.14), Kansas (1.14),
Vermont (1.12), Pennsylvania (1.08), North Carolina (1.07), Rhode Island (1.06), Wyoming (1.05), Ohio (1.02),
Georgia (1.01).
(26 Red States, 6 Blue States)

BREAK-EVEN STATES:
Oregon (1.00), Florida (1.00)
(1 Red State, 1 Blue State)

DONOR STATES:
Indiana (0.99), Texas (0.92), Washington (0.91), Michigan (0.90), Wisconsin (0.87), Delaware (0.85),
California (0.81), New York (0.81), Colorado (0.79), Massachusetts (0.79), Illinois (0.77), Minnesota (0.77),
Nevada (0.73), New Hampshire (0.68), Connecticut (0.64), New Jersey (0.62).
(4 Red States, 12 Blue States).

Was talking to some folks from the comp dept. Although they are glad they are employed........many many are not happy being re-distributed to schenectady!! On the other hand....the dot folks like their re-distribution decision!

Quoted Text

State workers moving out of downtown Schenectady this week; will be replaced by others
The Business Review by Michael DeMasi, Reporter
Date: Wednesday, April 4, 2012, 6:43am EDT

About 200 state workers will move out of Schenectady, New York, by the end of this week, leaving a prominent downtown building empty until a new batch of employees fills the cubicles.
The state Transportation Department regional headquarters is leaving 328 State St. for different offices at 50 Wolf Road in Colonie.
They will be replaced by about 290 staff at the state Workers’ Compensation Board moving to Schenectady from 20 Park St. in downtown Albany. They are expected to be in the building in early summer..................>>>>................>>>>.....................http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/morning_call/2012/04/state-workers-moving-out-of-downtown.html

Quoted Text

SCHENECTADY
Downtown prepares to welcome state workers
BY BETHANY BUMP Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Bethany Bump at 395-3107 or bbump@dailygazette.net.

    Just a few months after about 200 state Department of Transportation workers vacated their downtown offices, county officials are preparing to welcome a few hundred workers from another state agency.
    More than 300 state Workers’ Compensation Board employees will move into the recently vacated building at 328 State St. in mid- to late July. Those workers will be met with a slew of welcomes from local merchants on day one.
    “This is a big boost for downtown,” said Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority Chairman Ray Gillen. “They’re eagerly awaited, and everyone’s excited by this. We want to make it a smooth transition for them and show them that downtown is a great place to work.”
    The Metroplex board reviewed a new “welcome website” for the workers at its monthly meeting Wednesday night. The site, http://www. welcomeworkerscomp.com, is pretty much what it sounds like, with hearty welcome messages and a few downtown bragging points thrown in for good measure.
    The county, city and Metroplex designed the website to include information on commuting to the former DOT regional headquarters building at the corner of State and Broadway, as well as information on parking, city attractions, restaurants, shops and other services.
    The Workers’ Compensation Board relocation was announced in February, just two weeks after the state announced it would be moving DOT headquarters to Colonie as part of its restacking efforts.
    Although losing loyal DOT customers first dismayed local businesses like Ambition and Nico’s Pizza, the chance to win over new customers was viewed as a welcome opportunity. After all, many of the DOT workers were field agents who spent most of their time away from their headquarters and so were not regular downtown business patrons.
    “We’re told that the Workers’ Comp folks will really be here,” said Gillen. “People come to them for meetings and hearings, so we actually expect there to be more street and foot traffi c from Workers’ Comp than state DOT.”
    Additional employees will relocate after the initial move is completed, bringing the local workforce to as many as 500 employees.
    “We were very proactive once we heard about the state’s restacking efforts,” said Gillen, “and we knew that the DOT building is really, some argue, the best state space in the region. It’s a great facility in a great location.”
    The real welcome begins once the state employees move here from their current site on Park Street in Albany.
    Proctors, which is practically next door to their new office space, will welcome the workers in July with a marquee message. Local merchants will provide discounts, coupons and other specials to greet the incoming personnel. Many of these will be displayed prominently in their windows. .........................>>>>.............................>>>>.............http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01701&AppName=1

Quoted Text

"...Local merchants will provide discounts, coupons and other specials to greet the incoming personnel....

will have welcome packets on their desks the day they arrive. ..."

Sounds rather like bribery.   Violations of state ethics.  

Quoted Text

“People come to them for meetings and hearings, so we actually expect there to be more street and foot traffi c from Workers’ Comp than state DOT

And all people went to that building when DOT was there, that location was the place for most training classes of DOT employees and with all those people coming there, who didn't work there but came for meetings and training, it didn't help the  city, did it?   I mean, property values plummeted, taxes went up, tax base went down, etc



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Quoted Text

"...The Metroplex board reviewed a new “welcome website” for the workers at its monthly meeting Wednesday night. The site, http://www. welcomeworkerscomp.com, is pretty much what it sounds like, with hearty welcome messages and a few downtown bragging points thrown in for good measure. ..."

So now taxpayers, not just of the city or county, but the whole state, will be paying state employees to be going to websites that are not for official government business.   But that's OK, pay them outlandish pay and benefits and let them play on their computers at work.   Great concept



Then on that site there's the:

Quoted Text

Don’t miss a thing!
Sign up here to receive the Downtown
Schenectady Improvement Corporation's
weekly update.

Name: ________________

Email:  _______________

Of course, spend taxpayers' money to send personal e-mail to them at their state e-mail addresses, again, mis-use of government property.    Of course, DV would say they "can" use their home e-mail.   Well I'm sure he will say that all those WCB employees are oh so wonderful and have nothing in life better to do, but to go home every day, have their dinner, and sign on to their home computer to read the weekly update, like the employees are so interested in downtown and the city.

Let's see how many of those employees CHOOSE buy a house IN the city and become owner occupants.    Anyone want to take a guess?    Of course, since most of us have the intelligence to know about laws and and how to look info up, we have the ability to look up the names of the employees and then to compare it with the property ownership records in the city, and then we can check back in a year and see if WCB employees' names appear then.


A city that is good with a downtown that is good doesn't need to use bribes or other incentives to get people to move to or work in or frequent the businesses.

But this is Schenectady, a city that has come to the point of needing to take desperate measures to get people to come to it.

Am I being negative?    HELL NO!    Am I being down on Schenectady?    HELL NO!    

The things that are negative about the city MUST be publicized for all to know in order that the city leaders take heed and act to change them.    Ignoring the negatives, keeping things secret, and pretending they don't exist will not result in change, it will merely continue things as they have been.  

To ignore the negatives is to make a statement with slight wording change:   "it ain't broke so there's nothing to fix."

There are MANY negatives and it is absolutely imperative that they be fixed!


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It would be very interesting to see exactly how many of those businesses really wanted to, or could really afford, to give those discounts to these hundreds of workers....since the businesses aren't doing as great as the cheerleaders would have you believe.