How do you get rid of the snow in YOUR yard?

I fold it up and put it back in the box until next year....hahahaha....!! I have friends that I know wish it were that simple for them....

And woohoo!! Remember what I was sayin' about not messin' with traditions and luck and stuff? I found my old post about the poor ole Federal Judges! Hahahaha...it seems that somebody at blogspot is smart enough to know that we all ain't known for snap...they put it in my drafts even though I didn't save it...Thank you, Blackeyed Peas!!! So, since I fell over the old post, Imo put it on this page....Lady Luck wouldn't have it any other way...

Aww..them poor ole Federal Judges....

...it is only with wipin' back the tears that I am able to write this post today. It seems that Congress isn't gonna approve the annual COLA for the Federal Judges this year. Dang it, anyhow...how will they ever make it....what with inflation and all? I mean, come on...look at the hardships they endure. They have to go to school...an average of seven years post high school, for which they earn on average sixty to eighty seven thousand dollars per year, depending on the type of law they practice, and how good they are. Then, they have to be appointed to a Federal Bench, where they can sit until they retire, because appointments are for life, without ever having to worry about economic downturns or fearing a layoff. If they have fifteen years on the bench and they retire at age sixty five, they receive one hundred percent of their pay for life. And come on....they only make from around $170,000 to $217,000 per year! This low pay is what a lot of Federal Judges, including Chief Justice John Roberts are calling an "emerging crisis".

Now....stepping back into the real world..

I am a skilled trade worker...just like a hundred million or so other workers out there. And, just like those other skilled trade workers, I have spent the past thirty five or so years studying to keep abreast of the advances in technology that affect the work that I do. So, let's call that thirty five years of post high school training. Most workers in my world make no where near what a private practice lawyer makes...has no opportunity to be appointed to a "for life" position with the vacation, health care and other benefits enjoyed by Federal Judges. I know of no trade worker who is not susceptible to the effects of a poor economy...layoffs, cutbacks, etc. I will have to be sixty six years old to qualify for Social Security without forfeiting a portion of my benefits....others younger than me will have to work until they are even older. I would be willing to bet...if I were a betting man...that nary a skilled trade worker in the U.S. is working for a company that is paying $170,000 to $217,000 per year for his/her skills and labor.

Is it that Federal Judges are just so much smarter that the average skilled worker that they need or deserve so much more compensation? I'll admit, that without having to do a boatload of reading and research on each and every case, I could not do a Federal Judge's job. That said, I kinda think that most Federal Judges couldn't do what I do either...or what most other skilled trade workers do. I don't think there is a huge difference in I.Q., just a difference in opportunity at an age when career decisions are made...or maybe a difference of geography or family background. I'm not saying that becoming a Federal Judge is not a possibility for anyone who sets their sights on becoming one, just that the road is quite a bit easier for some.

I will say that before anyone who makes three, four or even more times as much as the workers who spend a lifetime honing their skills to keep up with technology and stay viable in the workforce start whining about their "emerging crises", they should spend a little time in the real world.

Oh, well....