Railway Preservation News :: View topic - Employee Firings at Steamtown

OK, some clarification here....

First, what appears to be happening is vaporization of various agency staff in many places. By vaporization I mean the employee is terminated, accounts locked, and the only way you know they are even gone is the email is returned with an unknown address. Unlike private industry, it isn't passed upstream to supervision to reassign duty or follow up. Gone.

.

Sure, there is too much waste in the government, but it sounds like the gutting of it is leading up to a big tax cut for the 1% with a trickle-down on the rest of us, not a reduction of the national debt.

So I say, let the Trump, etc.. tax cuts expire. Close some loopholes. Then let's and see where we are.

And by the way, how much does America need to contribute to fund Musk's Fly Me to the Moon project? Shouldn't some person other than Musk review the need for his rocket man fantasy?

Personally, I would prefer that some people give a little respect to the President and the people who voted for him. So far, he is right on track to do what we voted him in there to do.

That said, there has been this desire for some time to privatize Steamtown and this might be the opportunity to do so, or at least some sort of hybrid approach. A small government civilian staff to oversee support contractors would seem like the logical approach. Such contractors would handle everything from advertising, social media, shop support, operations, etc. For Steamtown at least this seems like a very good opportunity.

J.R. May

The one saving grace in all this madness is the very proven fact that the pendulum ALWAYS swings back the other way and compensates for the excesses of when it was far from center.

The great orange one has as much as told us that he will ignore court rulings that go against his and President Musk's agenda which will put us squarely into a major constitutional crisis.

Not that he'd listen to me but I'd counsel Trump to think some before he ignores a court order as doing so will only add to the other sides ammo which they will surely use in his 3rd. Impeachment trial.

Will the 3rd. trial be the one that convicts him???? Time will tell. Ross Rowland

When people claim "I don't want things to get political here" about a topic that is blatantly, unavoidably political, what they usually mean is either "I don't want to hear facts or opinions that might make me have to reconsider my established political biases.

Quote:

No. what they mean is that they're not here to debate personal political ideologies. And that's where this thread is headed, veiled or blatant.

I don't care if you road in on a donkey or an elephant. Shut up and hand me that wrench over there.

I don't understand how some can think that in any of this wholesale slaughter of govt. agencies, the removal of entire sectors of government employees, was even thought out at all in advance?
You're giving them too much credit. This is retribution and anarchy. Appointing people who are enemies of the department they're chose to head? What in the actual hell?
All I can say is I wish everything comes to a head quick. I want to see the implosion.

Personally, I would prefer that some people give a little respect to the President and the people who voted for him. So far, he is right on track to do what we voted him in there to do.

Perhaps folks should go directly to the House and Senate proposals for the budget:

House:

https://budget.house.gov/fy-2025-budget-resolution

Senate:

https://www.budget.senate.gov/imo/media ... lution.pdf

Brian Helfrich

JR May wrote:

Personally, I would prefer that some people give a little respect to the President and the people who voted for him. So far, he is right on track to do what we voted him in there to do.

Let me guess... you are a white, "straight", "Christian" male? I should be a mind reader!

Author:	superheater [ Tue Feb 18, 2025 2:43 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Employee Firings at Steamtown
Randy Gustafson wrote: OK, some clarification here.... First, what appears to be happening is vaporization of various agency staff in many places. By vaporization I mean the employee is terminated, accounts locked, and the only way you know they are even gone is the email is returned with an unknown address. Unlike private industry, it isn't passed upstream to supervision to reassign duty or follow up. Gone. . That is what happens when an employee leaves a government agency. Federal, state and local. One of the more recent changes in PA government was the retirement of former Congressman Tim Holden as Chairman of the PA Liquor Control Board. If you send an email to him, it will be returned, even though his retirement was anticipated and planned-you don't get an automatic redirect to the new Chairman-and I'd have to ask my friends there what his name is, so. Some years ago, I had a lower level employee leave because she disagreed with my prohibition of "testing" employees by inserting errors in production data. I found out about it and told he we're not having management by antagonization. Shortly after she left, I found out she still had access and was "snooping". Even though she was still employed elsewhere, it was a still a security breach.

Author:	JR May [ Tue Feb 18, 2025 2:45 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Employee Firings at Steamtown
Personally, I would prefer that some people give a little respect to the President and the people who voted for him. So far, he is right on track to do what we voted him in there to do. That said, there has been this desire for some time to privatize Steamtown and this might be the opportunity to do so, or at least some sort of hybrid approach. A small government civilian staff to oversee support contractors would seem like the logical approach. Such contractors would handle everything from advertising, social media, shop support, operations, etc. For Steamtown at least this seems like a very good opportunity. J.R. May

Author:	superheater [ Tue Feb 18, 2025 2:52 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Employee Firings at Steamtown
NKP1155 wrote: Sure, there is too much waste in the government, but it sounds like the gutting of it is leading up to a big tax cut for the 1% with a trickle-down on the rest of us, not a reduction of the national debt. So I say, let the Trump, etc.. tax cuts expire. Close some loopholes. Then let's and see where we are. And by the way, how much does America need to contribute to fund Musk's Fly Me to the Moon project? Shouldn't some person other than Musk review the need for his rocket man fantasy? No. Hot off the presses. The top 1 percent’s income share rose from 22.2 percent in 2020 to 26.3 percent in 2021 and its share of federal income taxes paid rose from 42.3 percent to 45.8 percent. The top 50 percent of all taxpayers paid 97.7 percent of all federal individual income taxes, while the bottom 50 percent paid the remaining 2.3 percent. Since 50% of people pay almost none of the bill-and keep in mind this figure includes people getting freebies like the EITC, so they are net recipients-should they just pay nothing or increase the EITC. How do you propose to give them a big tax cut? https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/fede ... data-2024/

Author:	superheater [ Tue Feb 18, 2025 2:55 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Employee Firings at Steamtown
JR May wrote: Personally, I would prefer that some people give a little respect to the President and the people who voted for him. So far, he is right on track to do what we voted him in there to do. That said, there has been this desire for some time to privatize Steamtown and this might be the opportunity to do so, or at least some sort of hybrid approach. A small government civilian staff to oversee support contractors would seem like the logical approach. Such contractors would handle everything from advertising, social media, shop support, operations, etc. For Steamtown at least this seems like a very good opportunity. J.R. May Trump has been in office four weeks. They said nothing the prior four years. Explains a lot.

Author:	superheater [ Tue Feb 18, 2025 3:09 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Employee Firings at Steamtown
co614 wrote: The one saving grace in all this madness is the very proven fact that the pendulum ALWAYS swings back the other way and compensates for the excesses of when it was far from center. The great orange one has as much as told us that he will ignore court rulings that go against his and President Musk's agenda which will put us squarely into a major constitutional crisis. Not that he'd listen to me but I'd counsel Trump to think some before he ignores a court order as doing so will only add to the other sides ammo which they will surely use in his 3rd. Impeachment trial. Will the 3rd. trial be the one that convicts him???? Time will tell. Ross Rowland By the way, how did your attempts with Biden go, being as you thought a native son of Scranton might be a benefactor of Steamtown. You posted here a few years ago about making some inquiries. I've heard that Biden went to the Lackawanna County Trolley museum a couple years ago to announce his big transportation bill-did he talk a walk outside to see the federal facility that the LCTM is located in? I didn't hear sanything about his tour of Steamtown, did you?

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Employee Firings at Steamtown https://www.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=48560	Page 3 of 4

Author:	jayrod [ Tue Feb 18, 2025 3:29 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Employee Firings at Steamtown
Quote: When people claim "I don't want things to get political here" about a topic that is blatantly, unavoidably political, what they usually mean is either "I don't want to hear facts or opinions that might make me have to reconsider my established political biases. No. what they mean is that they're not here to debate personal political ideologies. And that's where this thread is headed, veiled or blatant. I don't care if you road in on a donkey or an elephant. Shut up and hand me that wrench over there.

Author:	superheater [ Tue Feb 18, 2025 3:33 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Employee Firings at Steamtown
jayrod wrote: Quote: When people claim "I don't want things to get political here" about a topic that is blatantly, unavoidably political, what they usually mean is either "I don't want to hear facts or opinions that might make me have to reconsider my established political biases. No. what they mean is that they're not here to debate personal political ideologies. And that's where this thread is headed, veiled or blatant. I don't care if you road in on a donkey or an elephant. Shut up and hand me that wrench over there. Will be you be calling Megan to volunteer @ Steamtown?

Author:	superheater [ Tue Feb 18, 2025 3:39 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Employee Firings at Steamtown
Bad Order wrote: I don't understand how some can think that in any of this wholesale slaughter of govt. agencies, the removal of entire sectors of government employees, was even thought out at all in advance? You're giving them too much credit. This is retribution and anarchy. Appointing people who are enemies of the department they're chose to head? What in the actual hell? All I can say is I wish everything comes to a head quick. I want to see the implosion. You're JofromJerz, aren't you. And by the way, I don't care if your boy "apologized" about the internet prediction. He never apologized about the hole digging or the myriads of other unforced errors. By the way, I'm having my second cup of STOK cold brew. Everybody needs a vice, and I prefer caffeine over the psychotropics "some people" favor. Four years ago, a bottle was $4.99, with sales for $3.99. Last night I paid $6.19. That's nasty inflation and it is currency debasement or don't you worry until there's a Weimar Republic event?

Author:	RCD [ Tue Feb 18, 2025 3:43 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Employee Firings at Steamtown
Steamtown seems to have always have been a mess. They scrap equipment without telling anybody and they seem to mismanage restoration efforts. Then you look at privately run railroads like Strasburg, Valley Railroad, Grand Canyon Railroad, or even some non-profits like RMNE, Seashore, Adirondack. You see a sharp contrast on what can actually be accomplished.

Author:	Alexander D. Mitchell IV [ Tue Feb 18, 2025 4:06 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Employee Firings at Steamtown
Bad Order wrote: I don't understand how some can think that in any of this wholesale slaughter of govt. agencies, the removal of entire sectors of government employees, was even thought out at all in advance? You're giving them too much credit. This is retribution and anarchy. Appointing people who are enemies of the department they're chose to head? What in the actual hell? AND YET I heard non-stop wails of anguish, anger, and "conspiracy theories" all last year about EXACTLY what you seem to demand: "Project 2025." It was a policy paper produced by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative "think tank," outlining policy approaches and proposals that it felt should be adopted by the Trump Administration (or, to be fair, any Republican that won election over Biden) should they win, with a heavy emphasis on fiscal restraint and reduction of the size and scope of government. It was attacked endlessly by opponents as a "blueprint for dictatorship" and a "plan to destroy 'democracy as we know it®'", even though there was no direct evidence that Trump had even looked at it or taken it into consideration. Every president-elect selects a team of Cabinet members and advisors to assist in the furtherance of his/her objectives. I don't expect any president to micromanage Amtrak or public transit, but I do expect them to rely on people who do understand the various issues involved with such an agency or operation. The best presidents have been astute administrators and diplomats, not dictators--and oddly, both Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton fall in this category, as well as Ronald Reagan. I am not taking any sides in this forum as to whether Trump is doing good things or bad things. But I HAVE to take exception to the idiotically preposterous idea that everything that has been coming out of the Executive Branch in the past five weeks has been happening in a vacuum of vindictiveness with no advance planning. That's as stupid as suggesting "Obamacare" was conjured up in one night, or that the Executive Order to shut down the Keystone XL Pipeline just happened to blow into Biden's hands from the heavens in between the Capitol and White House on Inauguration Day 2021........... The difference in 2025? "This time, it's personal......" (And after the deadly actions of an assassin's bullets in Pennsylvania, I can't say I blame him.) And I do not recall any open pledges to do away with Amtrak, either..........

Author:	co614 [ Tue Feb 18, 2025 5:02 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Employee Firings at Steamtown
I made a serious attempt to get the AFT 2.0 proposal in front of Biden by enlisting the support of Mayor Cognetti of Scranton who had a very close personal friendship with him. I met for over an hour with her in July 2023 and we agreed on a plan going forward which entailed me generating 20 support letters from people who were involved in AFT 1.0 and could testify to its positive impact on the nation and a proposal that we would make Scranton the 125th. and final display stop of the 3 year tour and put the AFT 2.0 display consist on permanent display at Steamtown. The packet was to go directly to Biden from her. I was able to generate the letters and put together the rest of the inclusions and then she went dark on me without any explanation. The only thing I can think of is her being advised by his senior staff of his mental limitations and that this would be too much to add to his agenda??? Darn shame as it would have certainly worked and helped Scranton/Steamtown in a big way. You win some and lose some and that's how life goes. Ross Rowland

Author:	Crescent-Zephyr [ Tue Feb 18, 2025 5:19 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Employee Firings at Steamtown
JR May wrote: Personally, I would prefer that some people give a little respect to the President and the people who voted for him. So far, he is right on track to do what we voted him in there to do. Let me guess... you are a white, "straight", "Christian" male? I should be a mind reader!

Author:	choodude [ Tue Feb 18, 2025 5:34 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Employee Firings at Steamtown
Perhaps folks should go directly to the House and Senate proposals for the budget: House: https://budget.house.gov/fy-2025-budget-resolution Senate: https://www.budget.senate.gov/imo/media ... lution.pdf Brian Helfrich

Author:	superheater [ Tue Feb 18, 2025 6:23 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Employee Firings at Steamtown
choodude wrote: Perhaps folks should go directly to the House and Senate proposals for the budget: House: https://budget.house.gov/fy-2025-budget-resolution Senate: https://www.budget.senate.gov/imo/media ... lution.pdf Brian Helfrich Perhaps you'll share with us the specific cause of your histrionic distress, because quite frankly, at this point, I see no evidence that you have any competence to opine upon such matters and you certainly seem to have one agenda-promote the idea that fiscal restraint is a catastrophe.

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Author:	superheater [ Tue Feb 18, 2025 6:28 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Employee Firings at Steamtown
Crescent-Zephyr wrote: JR May wrote: Personally, I would prefer that some people give a little respect to the President and the people who voted for him. So far, he is right on track to do what we voted him in there to do. Let me guess... you are a white, "straight", "Christian" male? I should be a mind reader! Do you make it a habit of inquiring about others' race, sex lives and religion? Weren't you ever taught such inquiries are rude? Lines are straight, people are not.