Politics

[JOHN GRENZ]

 

[Zambezi]

I (and the army) paid for my undergrad degree.. I paid for both of my masters.. and I have paid for my doctorate (still not complete.. 1 more year to go)...

It genuinely pisses me off that people think student loans and other student related debt should be forgiven.. the banks are indeed getting paid back... the tax payers are just the ones doing it now rather than the individual students that took out the loans..

So.. I have worked my hind parts off for the better part of the last 40 years.. managed to pay the entire cost of all of my education.. which at times during my younger years required me to work a "career" job, a part time job, a military job (stayed in the guard), and pick up side/occasional work whenever I could find it..

All so I can now also pay for a whole bunch of other peoples education?

Ive got 1 kid that has completed college.. he came out with very little debt (scholarship student).. another 2 kids in college that are amassing very little debt (also scholarship students).. and another that will be going to school in a few more years that is also very well positions for scholarships...

They busted their humps all through HS.. and college.. and all have had PT jobs while in school.. so that they wouldn't have to amass a ton of debt..

But they (as taxpayers) should have to pay for other peoples educations also?

Pretty ridiculous....

Thanks Dave! No wonder unemployment is so high with you working multiple jobs! Very selfish of you to support yourself and to pay taxes on those jobs just so the young snots can enjoy free education!

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

Having lived through the greatest hyper inflation in the history of the world, and survived, a few lessons were gleaned:
1, The cause is very simple - you don't have enough real worth to pay for what you are using, so you print more representative denomination. Call it the 'New US dollar'.
2. Obviously, but astoundingly the government misses the point, the represtative denomination's worth simply reduces in direct proportion.
3. You can't do anything more or do anything meaningful with the extra New US dollars that are created, because their net worth is just the same!
4. Ironically the net worth in fact goes down, because companies close and creativity goes down.
5. The cure is dead simple and quick, stop spending and shrink the New US dollar number fast. It will hurt even more than inflation because the population has to absorb the shrinkage.

In summary the Dems sacrificed the US economy for their stupid ideals. The bar tender called the tune and they followed without thought.

 

[Wheels]

Coming to the currency you use soon.

 

[steve white]

Having lived through the greatest hyper inflation in the history of the world, and survived, a few lessons were gleaned:
1, The cause is very simple - you don't have enough real worth to pay for what you are using, so you print more representative denomination. Call it the 'New US dollar'.
2. Obviously, but astoundingly the government misses the point, the represtative denomination's worth simply reduces in direct proportion.
3. You can't do anything more or do anything meaningful with the extra New US dollars that are created, because their net worth is just the same!
4. Ironically the net worth in fact goes down, because companies close and creativity goes down.
5. The cure is dead simple and quick, stop spending and shrink the New US dollar number fast. It will hurt even more than inflation because the population has to absorb the shrinkage.

In summary the Dems sacrificed the US economy for their stupid ideals. The bar tender called the tune and they followed without thought.

But at the end of the day the little guy picks up the tab rung up by politicians at the trough--by the way, WE HAVE A BARTENDER in congress...literally. Her moniker is AOC

 

[PARA45]

 

[Wheels]

https://twitter.com/ScottAdamsSays
Scott Adams

@ScottAdamsSays


Congratulations to Brian Stelter for being the only person to ever leave CNN for a non-penis-related reason.


5:41 PM · Aug 19, 2022·Twitter for iPhone

 

[Brent in Az]

 

[steve white]

You know the political scene is bad when the contributions to "Politics" start to outstrip the ones to "On A Lighter Note"

 

[Brent in Az]

Totalitarianism.

 

[Brent in Az]

 

[Marc Ret]

You know the political scene is bad when the contributions to "Politics" start to outstrip the ones to "On A Lighter Note"

"Politics" or "On A Lighter Note"? I can't decide.

 

[JOHN GRENZ]

 

[Dragan N.]

Something like USAFA, USMA, USNA, etc... but for other career fields...

I could go for that...

Wanna be a doctor? Not a problem.. the USG will pay 100% of your tuition.. upon graduation, you will work for XXX years either as a civilian doctor at a US Military hospital or at the VA.... when your service is up you're free to do whatever you like... leave service early, not a problem.. you owe 100% of your tuition back, with interest, within YYYY years..

The problem would be when "I wanna be a Gender Studies Specialist" or "I wanna get a liberal arts degree in ancient viking symbolism".. and because you cant employ me within the USG.. you're a racist/bigot/homophobe/nameoftheday and I now wanna sue..

Im amazed at the number of people these days that knowingly and willingly went and got some degree that has somewhere between little and zero career application.. that amassed tens of thousands of dollars in debt... that now are upset because no one other than Starbucks or Walmart will employ them... and they cant afford to pay the debt because.... "UNFAIR!!!!!"....

Well... if you wanted to get paid like an engineer.. you probably should have thought about an engineering degree... if you wanted to do the work of a business executive.. maybe a BBA would have been a prudent route... if you wanted to design computer animation.. maybe some sort of certificate or training program in... wait for it... COMPUTER ANIMATION would have been a good idea...

What exactly did you think you were going to do for a living with a BA from Cal State at San Marcos in Womens Sexuality Studies? And if there is a career field for that degree (working as a social worker? or at a battered women shelter?) how many people do you think are actually employed in that field? and... how many of those jobs are filled by people with.. I dunno.. degrees in sociology, psychology, clinical counseling, etc?

I don't know how exactly it is in the US but I can give some observations from what I've seen in Canada.

A lot of people who get "useless degrees" do so because they want to go to law school, medical school, pharmacy school, etc... There are a number of very well paid professions in Canada which require a 4 year undergrad in pretty much whatever, underwater basket weaving if you wish, before you can apply to that professional school. You see a lot of people who study say history or political science with the hopes of going to law school. You also see people doing degrees in biology, life sciences etc... with the hopes of getting into medical or pharmacy school. To get into these schools requires a pretty crazy GPA, high score on the entrance exams set by those professional schools etc... If you fail to get in, the degree you have is fairly useless and you've essentially wasted 4 years of your life getting this degree. In most European countries you can apply to say medical or law school right out of university. You are not forced to do a useless 4 year degree. This is part of the issue.

Another thing is that its not just people with degrees in say women's sexuality studies that are struggling to get jobs. You have people who have degrees in biology, international relations, some of the more theoretical mathematics, astronomy etc.... that are struggling to find jobs in their field. For instance, a person with a degree in IR should probably be working for the government. However, the number of graduates the universities pump out is far greater than the number of government positions that open up. Making the entrance requirements more stringent would probably help solve this issue. So that at least if you graduate with that degree you would have a realistic/reasonable shot at getting a job in your field. Better to get rejected from university then spending 4 years earning a degree which may end up being quite useless.

But the universities love all of this extra money they are getting...

 

[Marc Ret]

 

[wesheltonj]

Well it looks like my three university degrees and and my daughters are not the only college degrees I will be paying for.

Frankly, if I am going to have to be a sugar daddy for someone else’s college, it should be a female and I should be getting the benefit of being the sugar daddy. Instead, I am on the receiving end of this relationship along with the rest of working Americans.

 

[PARA45]

Well it looks like my three university degrees and and my daughters are not the only college degrees I will be paying for.

Frankly, if I am going to have to be a sugar daddy for someone else’s college, it should be a female and I should be getting the benefit of being the sugar daddy. Instead, I am on the receiving end of this relationship along with the rest of working Americans.

Oh, and remember that we will not get any lube or a reach around. Just saying.

 

[mdwest]

I don't know how exactly it is in the US but I can give some observations from what I've seen in Canada.

A lot of people who get "useless degrees" do so because they want to go to law school, medical school, pharmacy school, etc... There are a number of very well paid professions in Canada which require a 4 year undergrad in pretty much whatever, underwater basket weaving if you wish, before you can apply to that professional school. You see a lot of people who study say history or political science with the hopes of going to law school. You also see people doing degrees in biology, life sciences etc... with the hopes of getting into medical or pharmacy school. To get into these schools requires a pretty crazy GPA, high score on the entrance exams set by those professional schools etc... If you fail to get in, the degree you have is fairly useless and you've essentially wasted 4 years of your life getting this degree. In most European countries you can apply to say medical or law school right out of university. You are not forced to do a useless 4 year degree. This is part of the issue.

Another thing is that its not just people with degrees in say women's sexuality studies that are struggling to get jobs. You have people who have degrees in biology, international relations, some of the more theoretical mathematics, astronomy etc.... that are struggling to find jobs in their field. For instance, a person with a degree in IR should probably be working for the government. However, the number of graduates the universities pump out is far greater than the number of government positions that open up. Making the entrance requirements more stringent would probably help solve this issue. So that at least if you graduate with that degree you would have a realistic/reasonable shot at getting a job in your field. Better to get rejected from university then spending 4 years earning a degree which may end up being quite useless.

But the universities love all of this extra money they are getting...

The real issue is.. many of the universities in the US are going broke... despite insanely inflated tuitions..

like most governmental-run institutions, in the US they have been mismanaged and misaligned with the actual public need..

A good friend is a senior administrator at a large state university in Ohio.. while COVID is getting most of the blame.. freshman enrollments are WAY down for the last 3 years running.. and more and more kids, if they chose to go to college/university, are choosing to go online..

the problem with online enrollments is.. the universities in the US have built their business models around making the bulk of their cash from the sale of dormitory housing, students eating in the dining facilities, sale of parking passes, etc..etc.. and they have huge sunk costs in building crap like lazy rivers, climbing walls, huge food courts, etc.. that were supposed to attract students to an on campus lifestyle (but have nothing to do with education at all), that they arent recovering their investments on..

Since universities cant cover the cost of their newly built on campus apartments and climbing walls.. many of them have resorted to cutting staff.. the Ohio university mentioned above has a plan to release almost 25% of its staff by the end of 2022.. they are putting larger numbers of kids into classrooms, running more and more of their curriculum online where they can assign significantly larger numbers of kids to the same class, etc..

In short, the entire US public education system is in a pretty dismal place these days.. from the grade schools to the post graduate programs..

There is further concern that all of the "tuition relief" efforts will just further incentivize universities to increase tuition (why not.. the students arent paying.. the govt is (ie the tax payers)...)... which just leads them further and further down the same rabbit hole (less freshman enrollment.. because many young people in the US are disenfranchised by the entire racket and are now seeing the fallacy of the millennials and all of their gender studies degrees that now work at Home Depot and Starbuck after graduation.. if they work at all...


As a lifelong student and someone that actually really enjoys the learning process, seeking knowledge, etc.. I find it pretty sad (and in many ways revolting)...

Analysis: Why Did 6 Colleges Shut Down Over The Past 12 Months? - SPDR S&P 500 (ARCA:SPY)

On March 23, the students and faculty of New Jersey’s Bloomfield College received a letter from the school’s president, Marcheta P. Evans, addressing concerns that the financially struggling college might be forced to close its doors.

www.benzinga.com

More colleges face bankruptcy even as top schools experience record wealth

Steep enrollment declines are forcing some colleges into bankruptcy while the country's most elite institutions are faring better than ever.

www.cnbc.com

How Colleges Make Money

Colleges, universities, and other schools face funding challenges for a variety of reasons. Learn how schools make money and how they use it.

www.investopedia.com

 

[Wheels]

 

[Vashper]

There was such an old movie, still in black and white, "Angel Day". The plot there is as follows: a cargo and passenger steamer is going from America to Europe. She gets caught in a storm, she is carried away from the route, she loses part of the boats and the radio station, but the storm ends, and everything seems to be fine. But then an unknown person comes to the captain. This is an illegal passenger, a revolutionary, he was hiding in the hold. He says there's a fire in the hold. And it turned out that in addition to the cotton, which is smoldering, there are several barrels of bertolet salt in the hold, which the first mate loaded secretly from the captain. It is impossible to open the hold and extinguish the fire - with the influx of oxygen there will be an immediate explosion.
And now the passengers are having fun, and the crew is dragging logs and building rafts - the passengers were told that the captain will have a name day (Angel's Day), and he arranges a holiday for passengers with boating and rafts. In general, the passengers managed to be removed from the steamer an hour before the explosion, and they realized what was happening only at the last moment.
I really want to hope that there is a captain and a team who know what is going on. But there is no certainty.