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Pay raise sought for bilingual fed workers

OxymoronP said:
Oh great the old my friend debate strategy. Well my friends who are firefighters think multiple families living in illegal apartments risk everyones lives, especially that they cannot communicate to the emergency responders who come to help if something happens. It is far more rational to expect people who move to the US to learn our language, rather then Americans learning particular languages to be able to function in these liberal inspired ethinic ghettos.



So you base your opinions from anecdotal evidence I take it?
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At least his opinion doesn't involve allowing children to burn to death.
 
OxymoronP said:
Oh great the old my friend debate strategy. Well my friends who are firefighters think multiple families living in illegal apartments risk everyones lives, especially that they cannot communicate to the emergency responders who come to help if something happens. It is far more rational to expect people who move to the US to learn our language, rather then Americans learning particular languages to be able to function in these liberal inspired ethinic ghettos.
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What's an "ethinic ghetto"?
Speak English.
 
OxymoronP said:
Instead of addressing my points, you go with childish games. In any case I think I made my point clearly enough, good day.
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If your point is that you're on the losing side of history, yeah. I'd say so.
Good day.
 
1069 said:
If your point is that you're on the losing side of history, yeah. I'd say so.
Good day.
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You mean the same history that saw Italians, Irish, Poles, Jews adapt and become real english speaking Americans?

If these Immigrants currently dont start getting their act together and assimilating they will continue to live in poverty and Ghettos.
 
OxymoronP said:
You mean the same history that saw Italians, Irish, Poles, Jews adapt and become real english speaking Americans?

If these Immigrants currently dont start getting their act together and assimilating they will continue to live in poverty and Ghettos.
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Globalism, not Nationalism, is the future of the human race.
The rest of the industrialized world looks down on Americans because most of us aren't multilingual.
Our obstinate defense of our ignorance as somehow patriotic makes us look as silly in the world's eyes as if we were arguing for our right to wear dunce caps and clown noses to international functions.
 
Globalism, not Nationalism, is the future of the human race.
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Well that is possible, but so are a million other scenarios. In my opinion nationalism will maintain power for at least another 50 years if not another century.


The rest of the industrialized world looks down on Americans because most of us aren't multilingual.
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Honestly I am not against having Americans be bi-lingual(Any kind of extra knowledge is valuable), but I am against the lack of Bi-lingual abilities of our immigrants. They should learn the English language, there is no excuse.
 
OxymoronP said:
Well that is possible, but so are a million other scenarios. In my opinion nationalism will maintain power for at least another 50 years if not another century.




Honestly I am not against having Americans be bi-lingual(Any kind of extra knowledge is valuable), but I am against the lack of Bi-lingual abilities of our immigrants. They should learn the English language, there is no excuse.
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There is an excuse: most of them come from developing nations and live in substandard conditions.

What's your excuse?
 
OxymoronP said:
Well that is possible, but so are a million other scenarios. In my opinion nationalism will maintain power for at least another 50 years if not another century.




Honestly I am not against having Americans be bi-lingual(Any kind of extra knowledge is valuable), but I am against the lack of Bi-lingual abilities of our immigrants. They should learn the English language, there is no excuse.
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I suspect many of them are working on it. It's pretty tough. Learning English is like... learning another language or something! :rofl

(English is actually considered one of the harder languages to learn, because our language is a mishmash of like nine different previous languages. It doesn't make any sense from a technical standpoint)
 
1069 said:
Globalism, not Nationalism, is the future of the human race.
The rest of the industrialized world looks down on Americans because most of us aren't multilingual.
Our obstinate defense of our ignorance as somehow patriotic makes us look as silly in the world's eyes as if we were arguing for our right to wear dunce caps and clown noses to international functions.
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Globalism is & will be the downfall of the U.S.......:hm
I cannot fathom how anyone can welcome it.......:roll:
**** the rest of the industrialized world.....
How do you think they learned the techniques to manufacture most of their wares?.....
50% of the world would still be living in mud huts if not for the U.S.A.......:usflag2:
 
1069 said:
There is an excuse: most of them come from developing nations and live in substandard conditions.

What's your excuse?
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I speak 2 languages fluently, and am learning Spanish.

My parents came from a ****-hole as well, they speak English, they write in english and read in english. Any more excuses for them?
 
OxymoronP said:
Honestly I am not against having Americans be bi-lingual(Any kind of extra knowledge is valuable), but I am against the lack of Bi-lingual abilities of our immigrants. They should learn the English language, there is no excuse.
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What I don't understand is why you think it is so inexcusable? I agree, it would be in the immigrants best interest to use the language that is most commonly used, but to say it should be required is arrogant, at best. Beside the fact that there isn't an established "national language," requiring the knowledge of a certain language would be an imposition on a citizen's (I am referring to legal immigrants) liberties, specifically freedom of speech. Again, any hardships due to lack of knowledge of the English language would of course be the burden of non-English speaking immigrants.
 
Yes, let's give already overpaid Federal workers pay raises in the face of record deficits. It'll appease and please the growing Hispanic sector of the electorate, afterall, and boost the chances of reelection for some pandering politicians who like their jobs!
 
American said:
Not if it's not part of their job.
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That's specified in the bill.

" ... if he or she is required to use languages other than English at work ... "

If a particular skill over and above the norm is required to do their job, then they should be paid for it.
 
1069 said:
Fortunately, that's not how they feel.
It's their responsibility to save as many lives as they can.
That's why they risk theirs daily.
That's why they take Spanish classes and learn to communicate with members of the community they serve.
And that's why they get pay raises for doing so: because their communities appreciate the effort.
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If I am bilingual in german, but live in a southwest town, would I qualify? I am infact bilingual. It just might not be the most common second language?
 
Manc Skipper said:
That's specified in the bill.

" ... if he or she is required to use languages other than English at work ... "

If a particular skill over and above the norm is required to do their job, then they should be paid for it.
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then it would be part of the job description. Classifiers would grade it out accordingly. No new bill is required.
 
jamesrage said:
Federal workers should not get a pay raise for being bi-lingual.It does not encourage immigrants and illegals to learn English.


Washington Times - Pay raise sought for bilingual fed workers

A key member of Congress says federal workers should be paid more for using their bilingual skills at work, and he's introduced a bill to boost those folks' pay by 5 percent.

Rep. Michael M. Honda, California Democrat and chairman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, said those bilingual workers deserve to be rewarded for their extra skills - something the government doesn't regularly do right now.

"I understand the difficulties that immigrants face communicating in English while they acquire fluency," Mr. Honda said. "The bill addresses these challenges by promoting the use of bilingual skills throughout the federal work force in order to better serve the public and accomplish the mission of federal agencies."

It's unclear whether the bill will get any traction, particularly with Congress working on so many other issues, though it could pop up as part of a broader immigration debate.

Mr. Honda's bill would boost a federal employee's base pay by 5 percent if he or she is required to use languages other than English at work, but who get paid the same as other federal workers who hold similar jobs but do not have bilingual skills.

K.C. McAlpin, executive director of ProEnglish, said the bill amounts to taxpayers subsidizing multilingual government. He said polls repeatedly show Americans oppose that and instead want English to be the official language.

"At a time when the federal government has racked up a $12.5 trillion debt, Rep. Honda's legislation has to rank as one of the most irresponsible bills ever introduced in Congress," he said.
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I like the idea. These folks already have to use another language, so if they can speak it fluently instead of relying on a pocket guide, it seems they're earning their money. I know the military gives a token kicker to soldiers who can speak a second language while in those respective regions, so it seems there's some precedent for this.
 
mike2810 said:
If I am bilingual in german, but live in a southwest town, would I qualify? I am infact bilingual. It just might not be the most common second language?
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In the fire department in my city, "spanish/english translation" (ie, bilingualism in Spanish and English) is considered a "specialty skill", and bilingual firefighters receive an extra $150 per month in "specialty skill pay".
Bilingualism in other languages may be useful, but firefighters bilingual in other languages do not receive any extra pay.

My county is 30% hispanic; 22.3% of residents speak Spanish as their primary language at home.
Of that 22.3%, 54% speak English very well, 17% speak English well, 18% speak English not well, and 11% don't speak English at all.

So, when the fire department hires Spanish/English bilinguals, they are actually acquiring someone with a very useful skill that will be used on a daily basis in saving lives.

I do not believe we have enough residents that speak languages other than Spanish or English to make bilingualism in other languages crucial.

In another place, where there were a large population of non-English-speaking Germans, your skill might very well be worth money to the community.
 
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1069 said:
In the fire department in my city, "spanish/english translation" (ie, bilingualism in Spanish and English) is considered a "specialty skill", and bilingual firefighters receive an extra $150 per month is "specialty skill pay".
Bilingualism in other languages may be useful, but firefighters bilingual in other languages do not receive any extra pay.

My county is 30% hispanic; 22.3% of residents speak Spanish as their primary language at home.
Of that 22.3%, 54% speak English very well, 17% speak English well, 18% speak English not well, and 11% don't speak English at all.

So, when the fire department hires Spanish/English bilinguals, they are actually acquiring someone with a very useful skill that will be used on a daily basis in saving lives.

I do not believe we have enough residents that speak languages other than Spanish or English to make bilingualism in other languages crucial.

In another place, where there were a large population of non-English-speaking Germans, your skill might very well be worth money to the community.
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What county is this, Jalisco?.....:lol:
Seriously, what county?......:confused:
 
Partisan said:
What county is this, Jalisco?.....:lol:
Seriously, what county?......:confused:
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I live in one of the whitest- if not the whitest- counties in a border state.
I will PM you the name of the county, and a link to a fact page which contains information on the ethnic and language demographics of my county.
I will also PM this to anyone else who is interested.
I do not care to reveal my exact location on the public board.

* edit: PM sent. :2wave:
 
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Thanks for the info.....:)
That said, I don't think any accomodations should be made for non-english speakers, period......;)
Half of them are here illegally & the other half are anchor babies...
The only bilingual federal employees that should get paid extra are ICE agents, so they know exactly where to ship the illegal dirtbags back to......;)
 
jamesrage said:
Federal workers should not get a pay raise for being bi-lingual.It does not encourage immigrants and illegals to learn English.
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Do you own a business? If you have what you have stated is quite ridiculous and you should know this.
 
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