Why does the rest of the country hate DC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was born and raised in a very middle class suburb of Detroit. I graduated at the top of my high school class, got a scholarship to an Ivy League school, and moved away from Michigan never to return for longer than a couple of weeks for a few summers. Fast forward 25 years, my husband is from similar circumstances, we met here in DC and are both GS-15s. I've been proud to be s civil servant and have worked pretty hard to provide high quality services through my department.

In this election season I've been totally shocked by the level of fury and anger directed at Washington, "the system", and even me personally by my hometown friends on both the left and right. They hate us. One woman I haven't seen in 20 years called me a cancer who would need to be removed once Donald Trump gained the presidency after I posted something fairly neutral on the election, the Bernie supporters were pretty similar.

Frankly my husband and I could have had more lucrative careers in the private sector like many of my college and law school classmates but we came to government out of a sense of patriotism and civic duty. I work hard because I want our government to function well, I had no idea how many people assumed I am a lazy drain on the economy.

What have we done to earn this vitriol and how do we change this perception?

How tone deaf can you get, PP. you are the very embodiment of why people hate the government. You work very little have paid vacations and medical benefits that are the envy of the world. Of course people resent you. It comes with, being a fed. You are a nice life at the expense of others who are not.

Ha! My benefits in the private sector were much better than government. Paid maternity leave, for example. And many govt employees I know have PhDs and are working 70 hours a week. The US tacpayers are getting the benefit of my work at a discount because I find the work interesting. And my alternative would be working in a private sector industry known for price gouging consumers like you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Calling everyone in the middle an uneducated, imbecilic, racist rube from flyover country.

Calling them uncultured and ignorant.

Watching government grow exponentially without tangible benefit in the "middle".

Being told how and what to think.

Being condescended to because you chose to move to Detroit with your Harvard MBA rather than going to NYC or DC or some place "with culture".

How's that for a start?

Im confused. Where in OPs post did they say any of this? You are projecting your anger at idiots everywhere on innocent people like OP just because of where they live.

I didn't ascribe any of that to OP. OP asked a question. I answered. I projected nothing.

And for full disclosure, I too graduated high school in a very upper class suburb of Detroit and got my education on the East Coast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was born and raised in a very middle class suburb of Detroit. I graduated at the top of my high school class, got a scholarship to an Ivy League school, and moved away from Michigan never to return for longer than a couple of weeks for a few summers. Fast forward 25 years, my husband is from similar circumstances, we met here in DC and are both GS-15s. I've been proud to be s civil servant and have worked pretty hard to provide high quality services through my department.

In this election season I've been totally shocked by the level of fury and anger directed at Washington, "the system", and even me personally by my hometown friends on both the left and right. They hate us. One woman I haven't seen in 20 years called me a cancer who would need to be removed once Donald Trump gained the presidency after I posted something fairly neutral on the election, the Bernie supporters were pretty similar.

Frankly my husband and I could have had more lucrative careers in the private sector like many of my college and law school classmates but we came to government out of a sense of patriotism and civic duty. I work hard because I want our government to function well, I had no idea how many people assumed I am a lazy drain on the economy.

What have we done to earn this vitriol and how do we change this perception?

How tone deaf can you get, PP. you are the very embodiment of why people hate the government. You work very little have paid vacations and medical benefits that are the envy of the world. Of course people resent you. It comes with, being a fed. You are a nice life at the expense of others who are not.

We do not work "at your expense." We work FOR you and we are compensated for far less than what we would be making in the private sector.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Calling everyone in the middle an uneducated, imbecilic, racist rube from flyover country.

Calling them uncultured and ignorant.

Watching government grow exponentially without tangible benefit in the "middle".

Being told how and what to think.

Being condescended to because you chose to move to Detroit with your Harvard MBA rather than going to NYC or DC or some place "with culture".

How's that for a start?

Im confused. Where in OPs post did they say any of this? You are projecting your anger at idiots everywhere on innocent people like OP just because of where they live.

The assumption that everyone in DC is a corrupt lazy cancer in the rest of the country is just as bad as the assumption that Midwesterners are racist uncultured idiots. Both unfair stereotypes.

I didn't ascribe any of that to OP. OP asked a question. I answered. I projected nothing.

And for full disclosure, I too graduated high school in a very upper class suburb of Detroit and got my education on the East Coast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was born and raised in a very middle class suburb of Detroit. I graduated at the top of my high school class, got a scholarship to an Ivy League school, and moved away from Michigan never to return for longer than a couple of weeks for a few summers. Fast forward 25 years, my husband is from similar circumstances, we met here in DC and are both GS-15s. I've been proud to be s civil servant and have worked pretty hard to provide high quality services through my department.

In this election season I've been totally shocked by the level of fury and anger directed at Washington, "the system", and even me personally by my hometown friends on both the left and right. They hate us. One woman I haven't seen in 20 years called me a cancer who would need to be removed once Donald Trump gained the presidency after I posted something fairly neutral on the election, the Bernie supporters were pretty similar.

Frankly my husband and I could have had more lucrative careers in the private sector like many of my college and law school classmates but we came to government out of a sense of patriotism and civic duty. I work hard because I want our government to function well, I had no idea how many people assumed I am a lazy drain on the economy.

What have we done to earn this vitriol and how do we change this perception?

How tone deaf can you get, PP. you are the very embodiment of why people hate the government. You work very little have paid vacations and medical benefits that are the envy of the world. Of course people resent you. It comes with, being a fed. You are a nice life at the expense of others who are not.

Quit being a martyr. Being a Fed is a highly sought after position. The only reason you are a Fed is for the benefits. The easy work week. Low hours, high benefits, etc. That is why there are so many people clamoring for Fed jobs hoping to give up their private practice jobs. It isn't any grand sense of altruism and selflessness. GMAB!

We do not work "at your expense." We work FOR you and we are compensated for far less than what we would be making in the private sector.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC has a bad reputation with the rest of the country, because of the behavior of the people the rest of the country sends to DC.

This. They're mad because the 50 states sends people to Congress who don't know how to compromise and do their jobs.

I moved here 10 years ago, have nothing to do with Congress. Working at a nonprofit for the greater good. But, some people from the states "hate DC." It makes no sense.

[Anonymous]

Because once you are a Fed worker, then you become just like the politicians, the only thing you care about is staying in your job. You lose sight of the little things that big government does, like these crazy regulations, that affect the average person's daily life in so many ways and you don't seem to care. You will forever vote Democratic because you need your job and its' benefits and the rest of the world knows it. Basically, you appear to have no integrity, period. I overheard two EPA "workers", that's the word you guys like to use these days, right? Anyway I overheard them talking about the election while out at dinner and they said look, even if he wins we don't have to worry. He will never be able to untangle the mess of our department and we won't be touchéd. Invisible is the word that comes to mind, yes, government workers think they are untouchable. I don't care if its the nasty customer service at the DC MVA or my local postal carrier, they just seemed so removed from the average person's burden. I mean I can't imagine talking to people the way I have witnessed government agencies handling their job and not being immediately fired, in the real world we are not sheltered in our jobs, we perform or get fired. That's not how it works with government workers and there is a lot of resentment towards that sense of entitlement you seem to possess. And you know what, your post sounds as though you feel you are entitled to the respect for others for your service, please, you are not in the military, you are a f g leach off of the tax payers ass and you don't even have to use Obamacare. Understand now?

[Anonymous]

Washington is a city of Southern efficiency and Northern charm. JFK

[Anonymous]

Let's update that shall we, Washington, D.C. has become a city of over entitled brats who suck off the taxpayers back every opportunity they get. Sounds much better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Washington is a city of Southern efficiency and Northern charm. JFK

I've never heard that before. Thx for sharing!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because once you are a Fed worker, then you become just like the politicians, the only thing you care about is staying in your job. You lose sight of the little things that big government does, like these crazy regulations, that affect the average person's daily life in so many ways and you don't seem to care. You will forever vote Democratic because you need your job and its' benefits and the rest of the world knows it. Basically, you appear to have no integrity, period. I overheard two EPA "workers", that's the word you guys like to use these days, right? Anyway I overheard them talking about the election while out at dinner and they said look, even if he wins we don't have to worry. He will never be able to untangle the mess of our department and we won't be touchéd. Invisible is the word that comes to mind, yes, government workers think they are untouchable. I don't care if its the nasty customer service at the DC MVA or my local postal carrier, they just seemed so removed from the average person's burden. I mean I can't imagine talking to people the way I have witnessed government agencies handling their job and not being immediately fired, in the real world we are not sheltered in our jobs, we perform or get fired. That's not how it works with government workers and there is a lot of resentment towards that sense of entitlement you seem to possess. And you know what, your post sounds as though you feel you are entitled to the respect for others for your service, please, you are not in the military, you are a f g leach off of the tax payers ass and you don't even have to use Obamacare. Understand now?

Isn't job security what this election is all about? Are you saying people in private sector don't care about keeping their jobs?

I'm sorry you've had such a difficult time with your postal carrier. We love ours and I love the people who work at the local post office. Friendly and helpful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was born and raised in a very middle class suburb of Detroit. I graduated at the top of my high school class, got a scholarship to an Ivy League school, and moved away from Michigan never to return for longer than a couple of weeks for a few summers. Fast forward 25 years, my husband is from similar circumstances, we met here in DC and are both GS-15s. I've been proud to be s civil servant and have worked pretty hard to provide high quality services through my department.

In this election season I've been totally shocked by the level of fury and anger directed at Washington, "the system", and even me personally by my hometown friends on both the left and right. They hate us. One woman I haven't seen in 20 years called me a cancer who would need to be removed once Donald Trump gained the presidency after I posted something fairly neutral on the election, the Bernie supporters were pretty similar.

Frankly my husband and I could have had more lucrative careers in the private sector like many of my college and law school classmates but we came to government out of a sense of patriotism and civic duty. I work hard because I want our government to function well, I had no idea how many people assumed I am a lazy drain on the economy.

What have we done to earn this vitriol and how do we change this perception?

http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/04/opinions/why-do-americans-hate-hillary-rogan-opinion/

Because some things that happen with our govt defy basic logic. Harry Reid writing ACA? Bill Clinton even recognized the problem. Obama commuting meth dealer sentences. San Bernadino and Pulse as unlikely spots for radical Islamic terrorism, "workplace violence " at Ft Hood, visa waiver program , Somali Minnesota Isil recruits, jobs to Mexico [how many companies make HVAC units?], cities going to..., tax code, immigration-illegals, etc.

Federal employees in DC tainted with just being in DC with it's big bloated failed schools ...people assume there are many employed by the govt who do a 1/2 job and get paid. 2013 fed employees by state: http://www.governing.com/gov-data/federal-employees-workforce-numbers-by-state.html I see jobs that could be located in other areas of the country?

DC is odd. Even the metro. Silver line extension is using the same couplers [orange?] that failed and need to be replaced on other sections of track.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because once you are a Fed worker, then you become just like the politicians, the only thing you care about is staying in your job. You lose sight of the little things that big government does, like these crazy regulations, that affect the average person's daily life in so many ways and you don't seem to care. You will forever vote Democratic because you need your job and its' benefits and the rest of the world knows it. Basically, you appear to have no integrity, period. I overheard two EPA "workers", that's the word you guys like to use these days, right? Anyway I overheard them talking about the election while out at dinner and they said look, even if he wins we don't have to worry. He will never be able to untangle the mess of our department and we won't be touchéd. Invisible is the word that comes to mind, yes, government workers think they are untouchable. I don't care if its the nasty customer service at the DC MVA or my local postal carrier, they just seemed so removed from the average person's burden. I mean I can't imagine talking to people the way I have witnessed government agencies handling their job and not being immediately fired, in the real world we are not sheltered in our jobs, we perform or get fired. That's not how it works with government workers and there is a lot of resentment towards that sense of entitlement you seem to possess. And you know what, your post sounds as though you feel you are entitled to the respect for others for your service, please, you are not in the military, you are a f g leach off of the tax payers ass and you don't even have to use Obamacare. Understand now?

I believe everyone is entitled to respect, whether they work for the government, a major corporation, or in fast food. But this general lack of decency and terrible DC stereotypes is exactly what OP was talking about.

Government workers can and do get fired. Any of them with 2 Ivy League degrees could likely do much better in the private sector, regardless these stereotypes aren't true of a lot of DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because once you are a Fed worker, then you become just like the politicians, the only thing you care about is staying in your job. You lose sight of the little things that big government does, like these crazy regulations, that affect the average person's daily life in so many ways and you don't seem to care. You will forever vote Democratic because you need your job and its' benefits and the rest of the world knows it. Basically, you appear to have no integrity, period. I overheard two EPA "workers", that's the word you guys like to use these days, right? Anyway I overheard them talking about the election while out at dinner and they said look, even if he wins we don't have to worry. He will never be able to untangle the mess of our department and we won't be touchéd. Invisible is the word that comes to mind, yes, government workers think they are untouchable. I don't care if its the nasty customer service at the DC MVA or my local postal carrier, they just seemed so removed from the average person's burden. I mean I can't imagine talking to people the way I have witnessed government agencies handling their job and not being immediately fired, in the real world we are not sheltered in our jobs, we perform or get fired. That's not how it works with government workers and there is a lot of resentment towards that sense of entitlement you seem to possess. And you know what, your post sounds as though you feel you are entitled to the respect for others for your service, please, you are not in the military, you are a f g leach off of the tax payers ass and you don't even have to use Obamacare. Understand now?

I believe everyone is entitled to respect, whether they work for the government, a major corporation, or in fast food. But this general lack of decency and terrible DC stereotypes is exactly what OP was talking about.

Government workers can and do get fired. Any of them with 2 Ivy League degrees could likely do much better in the private sector, regardless these stereotypes aren't true of a lot of DC.

Perception often equals reality. So change the perception.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let's update that shall we, Washington, D.C. has become a city of over entitled brats who suck off the taxpayers back every opportunity they get. Sounds much better.

This is the type of evidence driven, respectful comment that really moves the debate forward.