Human Events has a bit of free advice for those in the 99% club who apparently thought that the keys to success were:
1) Accumulate massive college debt.
2) Learn nothing useful.
3) ????
4) Profit!
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Free AdviceBy lex, on October 8th, 2011
October 8th, 2011 | Tags: Gratuitous slap | Category: Gratuitous slap
72 comments to Free Advice |
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The fact that they have learned nothing useful says it all. They are mostly untrainable and afflicted with a sense that a path must be cleared for them. They are unable to apply logic and reason in any useful way. I met more than a few of them across the lectern when I taught college level finance after I retired.
Go up to any of the “99%ers” and demand that you be given their laptop, cell phone, designer jacket, etc. After all, you deserve one, so you should get theirs. It would be fun to watch them sputter and try to justify denying you what is your due.
Well, there is the argument that:
1. The student loan situation is another “Bubble” or “Crisis” or “opportunity”
2. The magnitude of the debt is “too big to fail”
3. So… today’s kids should LOAD UP on student loan debt and bet that the government is going to forgive all student loans and they’ll come out way ahead.
Obviously we aren’t worried about morality or outdated crap like that because, after all, it is just government money.
And…what about those that got paid by those student loans who never bothered to ensure the quality of their product, instead of just writing more papers to publish, while sending grad students in to lecture for them?
And, I keep telling myself in drive time I’ll photoshop up a pic of these morons, with arrows and circles indicating the clothing, cars, cell phones, watches, etc, on their person, made by big, evil corporations….not to mention the places that get food to them, and the ISPs they use, and Google for their research, and yada, yada, yada…..these people are truly stupid beyond belief…but then again, their “do it if it feels good parents<" who have become neo-capitalists, did us no favors by making these latch key kids in front of the idiot box…
And in other news, know the scientists have figured out there is no evil…just mis-wired brains for no empathy…gonna have to remake all those signs, no aren’t we? But, I ask the cagey, brilliant scientist: How to you figure “evil” of a non-tangible entity, that the protestors are so convinced there is “evil.”
From The Mail Online: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2046586/Occupy-Wall-Street-Shocking-photos-protester-defecating-POLICE-CAR.html
Yep, green and peaceful.
That whole link can be boiled down to this. They took $40,000 to $250,000 of other people’s money, and now they don’t want to repay it.
I can’t get over the “printer repairman” guy. I agree with Human Events, that the second half of his story sounds contrived. The first part though is so weird, that I think he’s not kidding. If I read it correctly, he spent $87,000 to learn to repair printers. I spent less money to get a degree in engineering. Who needs a repairman with $87,000 in training? What institution is ripping this kid off by charging that much money to teach printer repair?
That is about like the various culinary schools now. Costs between $30,000 and $100,000 to get through one. Unless someone is VERY lucky, they will spend the first few years of their culinary career peeling and chopping onions and carrots at $10/hour and working 80 hours a week.
Of course, they do get a set of knives out of the deal too.
Joe, you ever think you are in the wrong business?
After reading that link and your comment; I keep thinking I should go into teaching. I need to open a little private school were I teach people to do ordinary tasks and charge them $1000 tuition per class. I might even write my own textbook, which I’ll require for the class at a cost of $250 a copy (new version each class, got to keep current on the latest printer and cooking advances!). I’ll even throw in a free membership to the awesome gym/spa down the street; but fees might go up by $200/semester. But, hey, for another $100/semester in fees; I’ll let the students hang out together in clubs. Oh, and I’ll sell t-shirts, $30/ea, to help give the students pride in the school.
But I don’t know. Perhaps the tuition is a bit low?
Totally plausible. There are some (note, I said, “some”) for profit schools that really soak their students. For example, where I am, NAU charges about $80K for a BSN. So I can see someone running up that kind of debt at an unscrupulous for profit school. Or, he kept taking out the max in student loans over and above his tuition needs and lived off of that money, running up his tab with no thought of tomorrow. I spent about the same, but I ended up with two bachelors, a MA and a JD. (Still, poor decisions on my part in hindsight, caused by what my father calls the Irish tradition of making bad decisions in groups of three.)
OMG that is one of the best links ever about these nut cases. thanks for posting it
They paid how much, and for what? If these losers were honest about correcting injustices, they might consider protests at their esteemed institutions of higher learning.
More usable skills are obtained in ET A School.
I’ve long believed that federal student loans should be restricted to those majors that actually benefit the country. Things like hard sciences, engineering, pre-med, perhaps a lottery for a small number of history and pre-law students. If you want to study 15th century French literature do it on your own dime.
I’ve told my sons, they can major in whatever they want, and I’ll pay for it, if they can tell me their long term plan with their major. None of this, “I’m majoring in English and I’ll figure it out from there.” I’m not dissing English majors, I just want to know the long range planning. If they don’t have one, they can pay for their own college. I’ll cash in the money I’ve been saving for them and go on a great vacation somewhere. I don’t owe them anything, but if they want my money, they DO owe me some long term planning that holds water and an explanation.
An idea for an education: find the best business in the area and apprentice out your kid. Pay the owner, say a 100 bucks a week, to train your kid. If the kid won’t work, tell his father and fire him! All the men I know who do plumbing, HVAC, mechanics, body shops and other “services” would jump at the chanch. Free help. In 4 or 5 years the kid would, if he applied himself, know enough to start his own business or work for pay for the guy what taught him. 20 to 25 grand well spent.
Unfortunatly there are laws to prevent this.
This is a great idea.
It’s also illegal in most states.
There’s a direct correlation between the first observation and the second.
(hit return too soon)
Our masters want us in
jailsschools to learn our place, this business of the young learning how to be independent entrepreneurs instead of pliant consumers, well, that’s un-American.Actually, funny you should say that, we have a couple businessmen in town that know my husband that have offered to have my eldest come work for them, just to show him the ins and outs. We’re thinking about it.
We’ve also put on the radar, getting a business degree, an MBA and learning a trade. Right now my boys are scattershots. They’re all over the road, trying to figure out what they want. I’m fine, but they better figure it out when it comes to my dime…
Looks like, at least in Boston, they are getting a free ride: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1371593&format=text
The Hub’s hands-off approach to unpermitted Occupy Boston protests has Tea Partiers up in arms and has even rankled a top civil libertarian who said all groups should be subject to the same rules — regardless of the cause.
“It’s always a dangerous precedent when the city treats one group differently than another,” said civil rights attorney Harvey Silverglate. “I’m opposed generally to these requirements, but if they are required of one group, then they should be required of all. The precedent (the city is setting) is, if there are so many people joining a demonstration that the city doesn’t want to tangle with them, then they will waive the requirements.”
Organizers of the Occupy Boston tent city in Dewey Square have never sought nor received any permits from the state, the city or the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy, which controls the property.
What do you think about the Occupy movement? Join in a live chat about Occupy Boston today on the Friday Throwdown.
To avoid unrest, the Conservancy, like the city and Boston Police Department, has not booted the campers off the 1⁄2-acre plot. Conservancy chief Nancy Brennan called the makeshift campsite “an extraordinary situation” and said it would not pave the way to allow people to randomly “camp out” on the Greenway.
“In addition to supporting free speech, we’re aware that asking the protesters to leave will create conflict and significant expense,” Brennan said. “Should circumstances become unfavorable, we will work with the Boston Police Department to determine the appropriate response.”
Christen Varley, spokeswoman for the Greater Boston Tea Party, said she’s “miffed” by the laissez-faire attitude of city and state officials. The Greenway has provided electricity to the protesters, while other groups, such as the Tea Party, have to pay for power at events, she said.
“I think public safety is a huge issue here,” Varley said. She added that the Tea Party will seek the costs of the Occupy Boston protest and cleanup and “will be looking into recouping those costs for the taxpayers in the city of Boston.”
Looks like they have set the precedent for any group to do anything without a permit. And to supply power for free.
Most interesting are the comments about avoiding conflict and unrest. In other words, they are afraid of the usual left wing riots breaking out.
Boston can look forward to more of the things they reward. If the Boston protestors were really victims; their assailants can be found at Harvard.
I’m hoping that various conservative groups will hit Boston for their own protests. Just put out the word and show up. Then, when the City Parents of Boston try to run them out or make them get permits, cite this and demand equal treatment.
Basically, Boston has set it up so that no permits can be required of any public gathering.
I’m sure the Boston Fire Department needs to test the hydrants and their equipment. I’m also sure that the grass there needs watering pretty badly. We also know that watering is more effective if done in the late evening.
If it makes their sleepy place a bit damp, then, the planet must come first. Doncha think?
While waiting for Says You to come on this AM, on Wisconsin Public Radio, I heard about the gray water treatment system that has been set up for the protesters in Boston. They also have field kitchens set up, with companies donating food, mostly pizza, of course. I think that there must be some serious money behind these “spontaneous demonstrations”.
Cui Bono?
Joe, the 99% /”Occupation” movement has simply learned from the Muslim protest experience in Europe and Canada where feckless PC police physically retreat from brick-throwing Muslim crowds and handle them with kid gloves, but arrest law-abiding peaceful counter-protesters in a nano-second. (You-Tube is replete with just such examples) What do you think would have happened to TEA-Party protesters had they acted in a similar manner? To even ask the question is to answer it..
Thank you Lex for that wonderful link to direct and plain-speaking advice to the sheeple who were lead down the primrose path of the Gramscian March.
I have immediately sent it to all my friends and surviving family who will find it hilarious.
Unfortunately, I also have friends and coworkers who would consider the advice to be “heartless”.
You guys are unusually mean today, blaming victims and putting a selectively bad face on a serious and growing problem.
The American dream is slipping away! It used to be if you studied hard, went to college, got a good job, bought a house, raised a family, became a productive member of the middle class, you would enjoy a better life than your parents. Sadly this is no longer true.
You can’t get into college if you can’t afford today’s outrageous tuition; only unless you have a scholarship, family wealth, or the GI bill. No longer can kids “work their way through college.” They must take on debt!
Surging Tuition vs Stagnant Income
College debt used to be “good debt.” It was an investment in your future that would pay dividends for the rest of your life. This is no longer true. There are not enough jobs for new graduates. The jobs went overseas, or were cut during downsizing and productivity increases. The loss of the middle class also results in a loss in demand of goods and services, which further reduces job opportunities. A vicious circle indeed!
The for–profit trade schools are even more of a scam. Promising jobs they charge excessive rates for mostly a sub-standard education, leaving graduates with no jobs and huge debt. They account for a large portion of default, the taxpayer is saddled with. Fortunately their are now efforts in Congress to reign them in.
It is impossible to buy a house without a job. Worse, many who did in recent years are losing theirs – both jobs and their houses.
The middle class is rapidly disappearing, and with it, our former high standard of living. The victims are not the cause. They are the symptoms. Look elsewhere for the causes rather than berating a few ne’er-do-wells for your personal enjoyment.
Who’s the victim? The person who deliberately chose a degree with little to no marketability? Unemployment for STEM graduates is significantly below the national average. Anyone who is capable of abstract thought would recognize that a degree in $MINORITY Studies isn’t going to be very marketable. Of course if they were capable of abstract thought they wouldn’t fit in very well in a $MINORITY Studies department.
The reason college costs are so high is because the government has been pouring money into higher education. When you add more money to a system prices inflate. It’s not terribly complicated.
The middle class is fine. We are seeing a bit of realignment where non-skilled factory jobs are falling back to their proper place in the lower class, but over the last 30 years everyone’s real income has increased, and the things you can buy with that money have gotten better and cheaper.
Decisions have consequences. I screwed up in college so I joined the Navy. I bought a condo in 2006 so now I can’t move to work the job I want. I wasn’t abused by the system and society doesn’t owe me a damned thing. If
JG – “…but over the last 30 years everyone’s real income has increased…”
“Everyone’s?” Horsefeathers! Only if you were already rich.
Income Gains at the Top Dwarf Those of Low-and Middle-Income Households
You see that symbol in front of the numbers? The one that looks like a cross? That’s a plus sign. It means that the number following it is positive. In other words incomes have gone up for everyone. Now think about all the things you can spend that money on. Everyone is wealthier now than the were 30 years ago. I’m going to stand by that statement until somebody shows me a significant population where that isn’t true.
Yes, the top 1% have seen their wealth go up more than everybody else’s. Who cares? The fact that you’re eating porterhouse doesn’t make my T-bone any less delicious. This whole argument boils down to envy and petulant cries of “it’s not FAIR”. It’s pathetic.
You can’t get into college if you can’t afford today’s outrageous tuition
Indeed, now explain something to us; how is the high college tuition the fault of Wall Street?
Why must Wall Street pay more because colleges charge more?
flit, my friend …As many people do at times, you’ve constructed an inescapable trap for yourself on this. One of the walls of that trap is the concept that everyone must own his own home. Instead, that ‘rule’ came into being in the U.S. in 1978 with the Community Reinvestment Act, a Democratic Party idea that everyone has a right to own his own home, even if he/she can’t pay for it, and has a lousy credit rating and, possibly, a very modest income. So folks with a yearly income of $35,000/$40,000 decided they wanted a $240,000 house to live in, and the banks, which had always before done due diligence on research of these people before they loaned them money, were instructed by the government to disregard the bankruptcies and other indications of failed understanding of basic financial wisdom and just loan these folks the money for that house.
Naturally, the predictable mess happened. The irresponsible buyers defaulted on the mortgages. The banks were stuck with the results. They then bundled these bad mortgages and put them on the market.
The above explanation is extremely simplified, but quite accurate. You probably don’t agree with my description, but I’ll hazard a guess that some of Lex’s readers do.
When one starts with a false premise, the conclusion is generally flawed.
By the way… in Canada, there is a different picture. A much greater proportion of its citizens rent homes or apartments, rather than buying them. Then when recession strikes, the individual who has lost his job or has gone on part time work, can more easily move to a more modest house or apartment that the family can afford.
In our family, my father was the executive vice president of the second largest bank in Wisconsin. In his peregrinations through the economy, he traded jobs, always upward, until he reached that level. We lived in rented houses during that period, and he never bought one outright until he reached that level of responsibility. I don’t recall that I ever felt badly treated because we lived in rented houses, but I will say that sometimes felt like a gypsy because we moved back and forth from Chicago to Milwaukee and back again so often that I attended eight grade schools.
It did hone my social skills, however.
Marianne
Thank you Marianne! I figured this out right after the collapse. You forgot to mention that the Clinton administration put “teeth” into the act by making banks offer a certain number of sub-prime loans or pay fines. Some still declined and paid the fines. Others made the loans, (With the help of mortgage brokers), and quickly sold them off to Freddy and Fanny who would buy anything. Then they bundled the mortgages, and because they were backed by the full faith and credit of the Uncle Sam, they got a AAA rating automatically. Wall Street, that is in business of selling financial stuff, did. A lot of countries and individuals bought these “securities” because of the high interest they paid. A few individuals bought some sort of insurance offered by AIG that would cover any losses. (I don’t remember the name given to this insurance). They smelled something rotten and made fortunes and sunk AIG.
So here we are. The bubble burst and those most responsiible have polished up their fingers all the better to point with.
I apologize if I’ve gotten a few things wrong, but if so, very little.
In short, Congress wrote the rules and everybody played by them. Some, right up to the edge to be sure, but still within. A few others, smelling the BS, stayed away. This was a government caused swindle from the start.
Ms. M – Partially agree. While I personally don’t believe in “the concept that everyone must own his own home,” I also do not believe “that ‘rule’ came into being ” with the 1978 Community Reinvestment Act. It far preceded that.
Home ownership has been part and parcel of the American Dream since the 1930s, if not before. While few in the Old World were homeowners, property and land were important to new immigrants for that reason, even if they could not afford it at the time.
Then post war, with the economy booming and veteran’s loans available, places like Levittown sprung up overnight. Soon home ownership was seen not as a luxury, but nearly a necessity. And perhaps an imagined right for the best and most exceptional people in the world. Hadn’t they earned it as a country?
Solely blaming people who hoped they could, but found they could not afford homes does not give a clear picture of what happened. Certainly people were lured into bad decisions. But with people getting “rich” on paper all around them, they were easy marks. The banks and lenders knew what they were doing, and it was fraud on their part. No income, no doc loans they obviously knew were bad. That’s their business.
That is why they quickly bundled them and got rid of them to unsuspecting investors like a hot potato – and for huge commissions. Meanwhile investment banks were playing both sides, leveraging the loans with even more leverage and selling them quickly to even greater fools, again pocketing huge commissions. Greed hog wild! The rating agencies were complicit too, giving over-leveraged and extremely risky derivatives AAA ratings, instead of the junk they were. Indeed the banks were selling crap to investors while they were privately “shorting” those investments unethically and illegally, because of relaxed government regulations.
Certainly there were many honest, smart, hard working individuals who bought homes during the past decade they easily could afford. But many have since lost their jobs. Those that haven’t have still seen their equity plummet. Indeed many are under water. Did they make a mistake? Were they foolish? [Did I make a mistake 37 years ago buying the house I still live in, only to see its value plummet over 30%?] Or were they some of the many victims of unregulated and casino-like banking operations that has put most of the world into recession?
Those banks were all but required to make those loans, Flit. If they didn’t make them they would have found themselves in court for “red lining.”
There was a reason certain areas were red lined, and those reasons were quite reasonable, if your business is making sure the loan is repaid. The law required they forget about it, and you see what it got them.
As for the rest, the “liar loans” made to illegal immigrants making, if they were lucky, $35K/year, for $250-500K, which were then packaged and rated AAA by Moody’s and others, yeah, those were fraudulent. All blessed, I might add, by the leftists in charge of watching over things.
The left runs both parties, not just the Demonrats. I think people are starting to wake up and realize that both parties are stupid and evil.
DING!DING!DING!DING!DING! We have a winner!
What Flit also ignores is the reason the (bad) bundled debt sold well was that the US government guaranteed the loans by way of Sallie Mae & Freddie Mac. If the bad debt wasn’t guaranteed, it wouldn’t have been snatched up.
So, yes, the government is responsible.
Again as I said in another comment thread…there is no “good debt” – anyone saying so needs to shut their mouths because their the ones screwing over the next generation with that kind of thinking. You want to go to college? Work your but off and get it paid for on scholarship. If a kid fails to do that, then he/she needs to work a job to pay as they go. 50% of people who start college never finish so why go in debt instead of paying as you go? If a kid has to work to pay his way, he learns to appreciate and value his classes and education and will likely not fail out AND if he doesn’t finish he doesn’t owe a PENNY! If the U.S. government wants to do ONE thing right, they need to ask Dave Ramsey to have his Financial Peace classes taught in school. We teach nothing in our public school systems on finance (and the few that do usually teach it wrong)…and we wonder why we have all this debt.
Good Debt vs Bad Debt
So the person here, in this comment section, complaining about the banks goes to a banking site to bolster his argument. Apparently, you missed Adam’s point. Don’t get the debt. Dave Ramsey has been railing about the evils of Bank of America long before anyone heard of Senator Obama.
If you’re unwilling to accept the wisdom of a free education; I assure you that the more expensive one will not help.
Leland – Didn’t say it was, but since you asked:
It is not only the cost of an education, but more importantly the ability to pay.
Corporate and investment bank earnings have continued to rise immensely, despite the recession, just as has college tuition has. Unfortunately income has not! Income absolutely needed to keep up with these rising costs.
So why is middle class income stagnated while corporate profits and tuition surge?
Because corporations profit by sending jobs overseas to cheap labor and less regulation. Corporations increase productivity by making remaining workers work more hours with less benefits, rather than hiring new employees. Corporations can finance political campaigns and lobbyists, making politicians beholden to them rather than we the people.
Remember when the taxpayers bailed out the banks? Where did that money go? Not to jobs, wages, or entrepreneurs. It went into executive bonuses…. bonuses paid for their failure and much remains in corporate coffers – our tax money!
fliterman:
As I usually just lurk here without commenting, so you don’t know me. But let me just comment on these points:
- Remember when the taxpayers bailed out the banks? Do YOU remember how many of us (the taxpayers) disagreed (loudly) with that notion of “too big to fail” and the use of taxpayer $$ to accomplish it?
- Corporations can finance political campaigns and lobbyists, making politicians beholden to them rather than we the people. this sounds /smalls like crony capitalism to me, and it’s something I also disagree with. But, if I recall correctly, aren’t the largest contributors to politicians’ campaigns unions, specifically, “public-sector” unions? If the “workers” are allowed to lobby the gov’t, why can’t “management” (A.K.A., corporations)?
- As a contributor to a 401(k) retirement plan, I own a percentage of some of those corporations, and as such, OF COURSE I want them to make a profit and increase my wealth. Many have not done such a great job, and we have ALL paid the price, but I STILL have more than I started with.
- Like Marianne, my family and I also moved around to and from rental apartments / houses, both while on active duty, and during the worst of the bubble this past decade. In other words, not only couldn’t my wife and I AFFORD to buy into that market, we didn’t even try, because there was “too much money chasing too little real estate.”
- Many of these 99% bought into the same kind of thing; they pursued degrees in fields where they cannot gain employment to pay back the loans. As an alternative, I employed my active duty “benefit” to pay a large percentage of my tuition, and worked a “deal” with my family for books / materials. (costs were much less and spread out, as I didn’t have the time to take a “full schedule” of classes). But I graduated with no debt, and a degree I used to earn much more than I did previously. (Yes, it’s a STEM degree)
Income absolutely needed to keep up with these rising costs.
Explain why this statement is true. In the previous sentence, you argued that bank earnings are too high and need to be lowered. Why do you think bank earnings can be lowered and salaries can not?
It is not only the cost of an education, but more importantly the ability to pay.
You do realize that the lower the cost of education, the easier it is to pay for that education? If you don’t think a lower cost education is adequate for today’s job market, then explain why the cheaper overseas labor is adequate?
Colleges and Universities do cost too much. When we consider what faculty and staff are being paid at some institutions, most far beyond their worth (particularly those that rail against evil capitalism and/or teach Womyn’s Studies, or Black Studies, or Anti-American or Anti-Colonial studies {all of the foregoing and more}).
I have serious problems paying a College football or basketball coach more than a faulty member, or a College president more than about $80K per year. I’m all for going to limiting the majors we make grants and loans for. STEM majors and little else. We may need a few that can teach about Shakespeare, but don’t need anyone teaching anything with “Studies” in the name unless it’s something like Middle Eastern which involves the actual study of the languages, history and cultures of the region. If you want to blame it all on the evil uncle Sam, then you don’t get a penny from our taxes.
If you think college costs too much…then don’t attend. No one is forcing you and thats the beauty of a free market economy. If a college charges too much, people will stop paying, but until that point, they’re going to charge as much as they can and still stay packed with students. This is just another reason why college loans are ludicrous because, more often than not, when a student gets a loan it’s wasted on beer, a party house, an expensive computer, etc. You’ll find that getting an education is actually very affordable when a kid actually stays in a dorm, eats AT THE CAFETERIA (unheard of in college – i know). And guess what, if a kid has to work a job to pay as he goes, suddenly he drinks less, studies more, buys a reasonable computer instead of a fancy one, walks to class instead of getting a stupid loan for a car, etc.
Those college football coaches deserve everything they make because they MAKE MONEY for the school. If you hire someone to run a company and the companies profits ramp up are you going to claim he gets paid too much?
Finally, if you get a full ride to a college, would you still complain about it costing too much? Funny how the people who complain about this are usually the kids to figured life out too late and slacked off in high school. Studying 3 hours a night (think of it as a job) during high school and getting a free ride is completely doable…why do you think there are families that have multiple kids get full rides? Thats because it’s not luck, just work ethic
One more saved round….most people I hear complaining costs being too high for school are those that having even considered community college or even state schools in some cases. If going to Notre Dame is going to put you in debt when you could pay your way through University of X state, then you are an idiot if you choose the first.
Faculty members are paid out of tuition and taxpayer money if a State school. Football coaches are paid out of athletic association money which is revenue from ticket sales and donations to the AA. Coaches also make money on TV/Radio shows and endorsements. Comparing with faculty is apples and oranges.
Indeed, colleges do cost too much, and I can’t come up with a valid reason for it. For example, this is not a valid reason: “UT head football coach Mack Brown, of course, remains the highest-paid employee in the [Texas employee] database, earning $5.1 million annually.”
But there are cheaper colleges, if someone really needs a degree. I look at my wife’s story, which could easily match those on the 99 cents website. She became pregnant at 17 by a man (not me), who got several other women pregnant about the same time. Realizing her own responsibility in the matter, she put herself through college (the first in her family to go to college) with the aid of student loans. She understood she’d be responsible for the loans, so she minimized them by going to a local college and getting a degree that would pay well. She earned an Associate’s RN degree, and started off making 4 times minimum wage. By the time we met, she didn’t need me or anyone else to help her with her finances. She certainly didn’t blame anyone else for her situation. She is now the operational administrator for our local hospital, which means she runs the place during her shift. So her cheaper degree didn’t prevent her from being successful (though to be honest, she did take some online classes to finish up her BSN, which was both inexpensive and easier to afford with her job).
It’s amazing what happens when a person decides to take responsibility rather than blame others.
The motherlode of pantloads is here: http://wearethe99percent.tumblr.com/, if you can stomach it.
President Obama is correct in one way – the country has gone completely soft. The wearethe99percent posts are the evidence.
Losers – each one of them.
Some interesting comments here, as well as links: http://templeofmut.wordpress.com/2011/10/08/tea-party-pundits-attend-occupysandiego-rally/
Priceless. I actually ran across that blog yesterday and spent a few minutes perusing it. It’s likely to lead to either gales of laughter or an aneurysm, possibly depending on prior liquor intake. A few of my personal favorites…
She paid 25% taxes while making below the poverty line? So despite a 0% tax rate you managed to pay 25%? Invest in Turbotax, it’ll pay off, trust me.
This one paid more tax that GE. Which is impressive, because GE paid over a billion dollars in taxes last year. Apparently the 99% feel no need to research their claims, as they are tapping into a “deeper truth.” Along the same lines, she apparently did not find out that “Exonn” (sic) paid over $21b in taxes last year until after she took the photo.
This one actually, wait for it, did a cost/benefit analysis before going into debt! I think that ability to plan means she’s actually part of the 1%. Get out of that park, you financially-prudent pig!
Actually, the 25% girl’s scenario is possible, but only if you’re not talking about federal income tax.
Depending on what her income is/was, state and local taxes could rise that high. Sales tax, property tax, gas tax, etc. I could probably make the same statement, since my property tax is equal to about two months worth of full unemployment benefits.
Can you say “indoctrination?”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QZlp3eGMNI
I knew you could.
I bet you could have gotten up and recited
Credo in unum Deum Patrem omnipotentem, factorem cœli et terra, visibilium omnium et invisibilium; et in unum Dominum Iesum Christum, Filium Dei unigenitum, et ex Patre natum ante omnia sæcula; Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine, Deum verum de Deo vero; genitum, non factum, consubstantialem Patri, per quem omnia facta sunt: qui propter nos homines et propter nostram salutem descendit de cœlis, et incarnatas est de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria virgine, et homo factus est: crucifixus etiam pro nobis sub Pontio Pilato, passus, et sepultus est: et resurrexit tertia die secundum Scripturas, et ascendit in cœlum, sedet ad dexteram Patris, et iterum venturus est cum gloria iudicare vivos et mortuos; cuius regni non erit finis: et in Spiritum Sanctum, Dominum et vivificantem, qui ex Patre Filioque procedit; qui cum Patre et Filio simul adoratur et conglorificatur; qui locutus est per prophetas: et unam sanctam catholicam et apostolicam ecclesiam. Confiteor unum baptisma in remissionem peccatorum: et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum et vitam venturi sæculi. Amen.
The Creed of Constantinople. I like it. Sorry to say I had to look that up, but Google Translate works great!
Yeah, that, or the shahadah, or Shema Yisrael and they would have parroted it.
(did you notice that I used the version without the Filioque?)
I now have an urge to balance my mom’s checkbook.
You’re eastern Orthodox. Why are you using the language of those Roman Heretics?
Because I can find naught but jpgs of the text in Slavonic. And I have trouble reading the Greek.
Πιστεύομεν εἰς ἕνα Θεὸν Πατέρα παντοκράτορα
ποιητὴν οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς ὁρατῶν τε πάντων καὶ ἀοράτων·
καὶ εἰς ἕνα Κύριον Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν
τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸν Μονογενῆ,
τὸν ἐκ τοῦ Πατρὸς γεννηθέντα πρὸ πάντων τῶν αἰώνων,
Φῶς ἐκ Φωτός,
Θεὸν ἀληθινὸν ἐκ Θεοῦ ἀληθινοῦ,
γεννηθέντα οὐ ποιηθέντα,
ὁμοούσιον τῷ Πατρί,
δι’ οὗ τὰ πάντα ἐγένετο·
τὸν δι’ ἡμᾶς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους καὶ διὰ τὴν ἡμετέραν σωτηρίαν κατελθόντα ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν,
καὶ σαρκωθέντα ἐκ Πνεύματος Ἁγίου καὶ Μαρίας τῆς παρθένου,
καὶ ἐνανθρωπήσαντα,
σταυρωθέντα τε ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἐπὶ Ποντίου Πιλάτου,
καὶ παθόντα, καὶ ταφέντα,
καὶ ἀναστάντα τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ κατὰ τὰς γραφὰς,
καὶ ἀνελθόντα εἰς τοὺς οὐρανοὺς,
καὶ καθεζόμενον ἐν δεξιᾷ τοῦ Πατρὸς,
καὶ πάλιν ἐρχόμενον μετὰ δόξης κρῖναι ζῶντας καὶ νεκρούς,
οὗ τῆς βασιλείας οὐκ ἔσται τέλος·
καὶ εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον, τὸ Κύριον καὶ Ζωοποιόν,
τὸ ἐκ τοῦ Πατρὸς ἐκπορευόμενον,
τὸ σὺν Πατρὶ καὶ Υἱῷ συμπροσκυνούμενον καὶ συνδοξαζόμενον,
τὸ λαλῆσαν διὰ τῶν προφητῶν·
εἰς μίαν ἁγίαν καθολικὴν καὶ ἀποστολικὴν ἐκκλησίαν·
ὁμολογοῦμεν ἓν βάπτισμα εἰς ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν·
προσδοκῶμεν ἀνάστασιν νεκρῶν,
καὶ ζωὴν τοῦ μέλλοντος αἰῶνος. ἀμήν.
These people just boggle the brain cells. In my current situation, I could absolutely pull together a story like those whiners. But here’s the thing: I either made a bad decision at some point, or I consciously chose the difficult route for various reasons. Either way, I have no one to blame for the current burdens and challenges of my situation.
Today I am two years away from the financial/life nadir, though my situation is closer to those twits than should be acceptable for someone with my age and education/skills. I now have five months worth of living expenses saved on a VERY, VERY modest income and am beginning to look at investing some of that money while enjoying some of the occasional luxuries (i.e. spending $20 just because “I’ve had a bad week and I deserve X”) that I never considered before. It’s not what I want and it’s not what I will be in forever. But it’s reality and I sucked it up and fought back.
On second thought, those people don’t don’t boggle the brain cells. They make me sick.
And no, I’m not living the American dream yet–finances still constrain my lifestyle and would make me eligible to hold up a sign very similar to those twits… if I didn’t have any shame or sense of responsibility.
Read the first comment: http://hillbuzz.org/2011/10/09/rep-john-lewis-dissed-at-occupy-atlanta/#idc-container
Organized mob? Cognitive dissonance I’d say.
Dream: most desirable; ideal:
Nowhere in the various definitions of the word dream does it say it is a right.
The Oracle and I started married life with a combined household income of $31,000 in 1983; gave us enough to rent an apartment and buy a new car. Like probably most everyone else here – we saved our money, worked hard, dedicated ourselves to our jobs so we could move up and get raises so that we could buy a condo, then buy a house. The Oracle brought several thousands of dollars in student loans into our marriage which I, quite happily, paid off for him. We lived well within our means for a very long time so we could have our home and the other comforts. We made a deliberate decision NOT to buy the house we could afford so that we would be able to take vacations, buy new cars, etc…
And not once in 28 years did we ask anyone for a handout. When we hit a rough patch financially, we just re-trenched and pushed thru it. It never occurred to us that anyone should bail us out of our own self-induced debt … but ourselves.
Imagine – being responsible for your own actions. What an amazing concept.
OHH, Kris … I really like your story. Mine mirrors yours to some extent. When Downs and I married, I had been a widow for nineteen years [hardworking years] and I was 43 and he was 46 and divorced. We decided right then that we were going to “hold household” as the old expression goes, not spend what we didn’t have so to speak, and we have. We did buy a little house two years later — seventeen hundred square feet of tract house, the first house I had ever owned, and we own it, paid off completely. We are so grateful about that now, with the cold winds of irresponsibility blowing down the palaces of Wall Street. Our guiding principle has always been to avoid ostentation, and hope to fly under the radar. I guess that since we both grew up at the tail end of the Depression, it had left a deep and lasting mark on us. Our little house was built in 1956, after the second world war. Most of the houses around us have been bought and torn down, to make way for big, two and three storey houses with swimming pools. A lot of those are for sale and some are foreclosed.
And we’re still flying under the radar. Good training by my Dad and his.
Marianne
Marianne;
Here in Doity Joisey we call those kinds of houses MacMansions. And a lot of them are up for sale now too.
Marianne – you live the American Dream and you did it thru your own hard work and self-control. These are not traits that the infants demonstrating on Wall Street have any concept of.
I live in a small, rural town in CT; one acre zoning for residential and a building commission that sees fit to disallow all those mcmansions in our humble little country town, thank god. So in my small town we don’t have very many foreclosures; our property values have dipped but by a very small percentage compared to surrounding towns. Houses go on the market and are still being sold in 90 days or less (unless the seller is stupid and attempting to be greedy…).
We have lived in our home for nearly 22 years and now and, the Good Lord willing, we will remain here for some time to come. It will be paid off in about 5 years, after which our current monthly mortgage payment will be heavily invested in … something. Not sure what that will be but whatever it is, we hope it will pad our nest egg and give us some retirement income.
And by that I mean – money to pay for gas while we continue to commute to our jobs until we die.
Join the Underpants Gnomes!
I say we let them discharge the debt in bankruptcy. Only the school has to eat 25% of the write down. Oh, and we rescind the degree. The education they can keep, but the credential is now null and void.
One wonders if they could make a living off their “education”?
Maybe it’s because my twenties are so long ago, but I can’t help but think of those Wall Street demonstrators as spoiled brat whiners with no ‘get-up-and-go’. Reading all of the courteous and kindly commenters’ posts seems to indicate to me that many of you share my opinion. I was wondering what you all would think about this. It seems to me that the demonstrators are trying to hark back to the 1960s/1970s rebellions at various colleges, but those rebels had a different justification. Vietnam military men were drafted and didn’t want to go. Today’s military is strictly voluntary, so these kids haven’t got that as an excuse. They certainly aren’t behaving in a civilized manner — defecating on police cars, trashing the streets. All of their behavior seems to disrespect themselves as well as us. Can anyone explain this to me?
By a trick of fate, I was meeting with my mother-in-law and brother-in-law in the Chicago Hilton in 1968 during the Democratic Convention. We had made the reservations six months earlier so the hotel honored them, even though it was the headquarters hotel for the Democratic Party. We were sitting in the ground floor restaurant when the demonstrators broke through the windows, chased by the police and beaten with nightsticks in front of our eyes. We were stunned and horrified. We stayed in our rooms the rest of the night, while the halls were filled with National Guardsmen, whiffs of tear gas seeping under the doors, noises and uproar continuing through the night. It was my first taste of dictatorial brutality. Not the Guardsmen, I hasten to say, but the Chicago police.
It taught me one thing. Even here, in my wonderful country, dictatorship and corruption are only a few heartbeats away. And innocent folks can get caught in the backlash.
Marianne
Ms. Matthews – Although I spent considerable time fighting in Vietnam, I was also keenly aware of the ant-war protests of the time. I did not like them, obviously.
I have also witnessed the recent 99% protests personally. I see little if any, comparison. In fact, although obviously separate, these Occupy Wall St. protests are more akin to the recent Tea Party protests, rather than the ’60′s protests.
These protests seem to be quite eclectic and inclusive, and certainly non-violent. I know in my locale there has not been one incident, or one arrest. The police have been quoted as being quite impressed. (As they should, since they are also part of the 99% being short-changed by wall street largesse. ) I suspect the photo of someone defecating on a car was by someone against the protest, not part of it, just like anti-Tea Party infiltrators tried to put a bad face on that protest. Regardless, it is not representative and obviously published for it’s pure sensationalism.
It should not surprise anyone that most of the protestors are young. So are our soldiers, sailors, and Marines. It has been that way throughout history, and in every country demanding justice and fairness. But if you could view in person – rather than from the media – you would find diverse age groups and dress among the protestors. Indeed it should not surprise anyone that just as the young fight our wars, it is our young who lead protests. And it is and will be the young who suffer from our growing national debt, lose their Social Security, lose job opportunity, etc. more than you or I…. all due to what they are protesting. But there are a lot of suits, adults, and grandparents there too. Even kids in strollers.
Chicago in 1968 was bad, for many reasons, and with wide blame to spread around. Today is far different. But protest is still a time-honored instrument of change. Visit a 99% occupied territory. Talk to the people. See for yourself, rather than filtered by the media. See how mellow and catholic and needed their protest is. Then judge, rather than viewing some outlier defecating, that only helps to sell fish wrap and poison opinion with its outrageousness.
Ms. Matthews – Although I spent considerable time fighting in Vietnam, I was also keenly aware of the ant-war protests of the time. I did not like them, obviously.
I have also witnessed the recent 99% protests personally. I see little if any, comparison. In fact, although obviously separate, these Occupy Wall St. protests are more akin to the recent Tea Party protests, rather than the ’60′s protests.
These protests seem to be quite eclectic and inclusive, and certainly non-violent. I know in my locale there has not been one incident, or one arrest. The police have been quoted as being quite impressed. (As they should, since they are also part of the 99% being short-changed by wall street largesse. ) I suspect the photo of someone defecating on a car was by someone against the protest, not part of it, just like anti-Tea Party infiltrators tried to put a bad face on that protest. Regardless, it is not representative and obviously published for it’s pure sensationalism.
It should not surprise anyone that most of the protestors are young. So are our soldiers, sailors, and Marines. It has been that way throughout history, and in every country demanding justice and fairness. But if you could view in person – rather than from the media – you would find diverse age groups and dress among the protestors. Indeed it should not surprise anyone that just as the young fight our wars, it is our young who lead protests. And it is and will be the young who suffer from our growing national debt, lose their Social Security, lose job opportunity, etc. more than you or I…. all due to what they are protesting. But there are a lot of suits, adults, and grandparents there too. Even well dressed kids in expensive strollers.
Chicago in 1968 was bad, for many reasons, and with wide blame to spread around. Today is far different. But protest is still a time-honored instrument of change. Visit a 99% occupied territory. Talk to the people. See for yourself, rather than filtered by the media. See how mellow and catholic and needed their protest is. Then judge, rather than viewing some outlier defecating, that only helps to sell fish wrap and poison opinion with its outrageousness.
Nice double tap, Flit. Shame you are at about 9 o’clock just outside the 1 ring.
Nice Southpark reference!
Nice Southpark reference!