PC LOAD LETTER: I went into college with intentions on getting a degree in History. I rapidly realized that I would be an alcoholic professor

... and the problem would be?

/planned to be a prof when young
//discovered the hard way I have no aptitude for academic research

Gaseous Anomaly: badaboom: How does destroying some else's yacht make your rowboat better? Unless of course you plan on stealing the yacht by force. Should everyone be in a rowboat? Would that be "fair"?

It appears you think Communists still exist. We won that cold war, you know.

To continue the metaphor: What would be nice is a fleet of Coast Guard tugboats to help some of the rowboats get farther from the sandbars. (stimulus, safety nets) Or some warning buoys around some of the lower ground (predatory lending regulation). Or maybe some dredging of the sandbars (automatic stabilizers like unemployment insurance).

A lot of good could be done with those things without having to increase yacht registration fees very much. And who's going to give up their yachts because registration fees go up a bit?

All for the safety nets. No who determines what the minimum of safety is? What is the threshold?

I bought a fajita, and it didn't have enough tortillas.

I am the 99%

badaboom: All for the safety nets. No who determines what the minimum of safety is? What is the threshold?

Hmmm... we could just ask everyone and average it all out.

But that might get unwieldy, especially as situations develop over time. Hmmm...

I've got it!

We create a board of a few hundred people to decide on those sorts of things. We parcel up the country into districts, and have everyone living in each district decide who will be their Representative on this board.

Who am I kidding, that would never work.

/Back to the drawing board

anahole: badaboom: Leeds: An in depth look of these "Occupiers:"
[i268.photobucket.com image 500x375]

"I'm determined to break the racial mold and the American racist cycle"
She's determined to "break the racist cycle" (whatever that means). We can all support that I suppose.

"I earned a Masters Degree in Minority Women's studies"
She earned a Masters degree, ok. Again, that's cool and all, just remember that if you aspire to a career in a field that doesn't pay well, you had better have a big nest-egg and make sure you don't rack up student loans since you'll never earn good money in that "career."

"I owe $150,000.00 for my EXCELLENT education"
Uh oh. She racked up $150k in debt trying to obtain a degree that qualifies her for zero jobs. Again, I hope she has a big nest egg to support this terrible decision.

"The corporate fascists refuse to acknowledge the legitimacy of my scholarly efforts when considering me for a job."
Wait, what? She's calling the people who won't hire her "fascists" simply because she has no marketable skills? Really? Fascists? Does she use that term in interviews?
Since she's in such dire straights having chosen to rack up massive debt pursuing a career that even in the best of times would not be able to support her, I hope she's at least being responsible about the rest of her expenses.

"My high-speed internet and NEW car loan are crushing me"
Uh oh. She's broke, jobless and paying for high-speed internet? And she's bought herself a NEW car? Lady- sell the damn car and learn how to use easy-tether to tie your computer to the web. You're on the damn internet, why not google for suggestions as to how to reduce your number of recurring bills?


"especially when added to the two different child support payments I am FORCED to pay by our CORRUPT legal system."
Oh snap. You not only borrowed 150k you can never pay off, educated yourself in a field that will never be worth a decent salary, you pay out the nose for nice things you can't afford, you insult the people who won't hire you and you decided to have multiple babies on top of all of that??? WTF is your major malfunction? And you blame the legal system for your idiocy??? Wut?

Lady, (or guy, I mean no offense if I guessed wrong there)- You have basically branded the word loser on yourself so many times over that no one will ever see past it. Stop wasting money. Get rid of your new car and see about buying a junker if you really do need a vehicle. Use the internet to train yourself to do something that can pay the bills. By the time you have a skill that people will pay you for, the economy might just be on track again.

And for God's sake, stop complaining about the system. You have not shown evidence of making a single correct decision in your entire life. Unlike some of the poor souls who have been hit by this economy, the system hasn't failed you. You failed you. And you haven't stopped failing you.

LIBERTY and PERSONAL FREEDOM are present in the current system. These idiots CHOSE their path. Some win. Some lose. I prefer a society where we have the freedom to succeed. And Freedom to be an idiot and take a chance. And yes, some will fall short. We all pursue what we believe is best for us. Whether is the best looking woman in the room, training for a marathon, or studying to be a lawyer. What boggles my mind is that the OWS people think that there should be zero chance of failure. Everyone is entitled to success. Regardless of work ethic. And don't get me wrong. I fully support a safety net. No one should starve or lack the basic necessities in life. And yes there are the disabled and weak than any compassionate society should support. But not everyone gets a plasma TV, an iPhone, and a trip to Hawaii.

Some of us don't want the plasma TV, the iPhone, and a trip to Hawaii, though. I'm $60k in debt right now due to school loans and honestly, I'd love to just find a job in a field even somewhat relating to my degree (social welfare and justice-- social work in other words), my husband to have a nice secure job (which he finall ...

Do you think there is anyone out there who does NOT want to see you and other like you succeed? Do you think there is a conspiracy to keep you down? What personal freedoms and liberty are you willing to sacrifice to ENSURE that you get what YOU want (which is not an iPhone etc). Where would YOU draw the line on the bare minimum each human has an absolute right to?

mrshowrules:
the other is: we are highly intelligent and creative people who want to work

My life experience has shown people who have to say they are intelligent and creative, generally are not.

I have a canker sore in my mouth, and I keep poking it with my tongue but it only gets worse...

I am the 99%

Gaseous Anomaly: badaboom: All for the safety nets. No who determines what the minimum of safety is? What is the threshold?

Hmmm... we could just ask everyone and average it all out.

But that might get unwieldy, especially as situations develop over time. Hmmm...

I've got it!

We create a board of a few hundred people to decide on those sorts of things. We parcel up the country into districts, and have everyone living in each district decide who will be their Representative on this board.

Who am I kidding, that would never work.

/Back to the drawing board

Because elected representatives are always fair, benevolent, and brilliant. No, they would never do favors for some and not others. We should allow them to make every decision for everyone else all the time. They just know better.

anahole: Leeds: An in depth look of these "Occupiers:"
[i268.photobucket.com image 500x375]

"I'm determined to break the racial mold and the American racist cycle"
She's determined to "break the racist cycle" (whatever that means). We can all support that I suppose.

"I earned a Masters Degree in Minority Women's studies"
She earned a Masters degree, ok. Again, that's cool and all, just remember that if you aspire to a career in a field that doesn't pay well, you had better have a big nest-egg and make sure you don't rack up student loans since you'll never earn good money in that "career."

"I owe $150,000.00 for my EXCELLENT education"
Uh oh. She racked up $150k in debt trying to obtain a degree that qualifies her for zero jobs. Again, I hope she has a big nest egg to support this terrible decision.

"The corporate fascists refuse to acknowledge the legitimacy of my scholarly efforts when considering me for a job."
Wait, what? She's calling the people who won't hire her "fascists" simply because she has no marketable skills? Really? Fascists? Does she use that term in interviews?
Since she's in such dire straights having chosen to rack up massive debt pursuing a career that even in the best of times would not be able to support her, I hope she's at least being responsible about the rest of her expenses.

"My high-speed internet and NEW car loan are crushing me"
Uh oh. She's broke, jobless and paying for high-speed internet? And she's bought herself a NEW car? Lady- sell the damn car and learn how to use easy-tether to tie your computer to the web. You're on the damn internet, why not google for suggestions as to how to reduce your number of recurring bills?


"especially when added to the two different child support payments I am FORCED to pay by our CORRUPT legal system."
Oh snap. You not only borrowed 150k you can never pay off, educated yourself in a field that will never be worth a decent salary, you pay out the nose for nice things you can't afford, you insult the people who won't hire you and you decided to have multiple babies on top of all of that??? WTF is your major malfunction? And you blame the legal system for your idiocy??? Wut?

Lady, (or guy, I mean no offense if I guessed wrong there)- You have basically branded the word loser on yourself so many times over that no one will ever see past it. Stop wasting money. Get rid of your new car and see about buying a junker if you really do need a vehicle. Use the internet to train yourself to do something that can pay the bills. By the time you have a skill that people will pay you for, the economy might just be on track again.

And for God's sake, stop complaining about the system. You have not shown evidence of making a single correct decision in your entire life. Unlike some of the poor souls who have been hit by this economy, the system hasn't failed you. You failed you. And you haven't stopped failing you.

Some of us don't want the plasma TV, the iPhone, and a trip to Hawaii, though. I'm $60k in debt right now due to school loans and honestly, I'd love to just find a job in a field even somewhat relating to my degree (social welfare and justice-- social work in other words), my husband to have a nice secure job (which he finally seems to have), and to be able to raise our growing family as well as I can. I don't care about having things like a fancy car, or having the most up to date tech or, at least for the time being, even owning a house.

I'd just want to be secure that the next day I'll be able to wake up and have food in the fridge and not have to worry about the bills piling up. And for the future, I'd want a world where we don't lie to people to get them to spend $150,000 on schooling, because that is what the higher education field and that bootstrappy Baby Boomer generation did to my generation. I'd just hope that in 18 years or so, when my little ones consider college or a technical school, that they're able to pick a direction to go and know the steps to do that. I think part of the problem today stems from the steps to success in a field being intentionally obscured by the ones already in the position of power, with crap stories like "I went from a bag boy to being on the board of directors!" sort of thing instead of just telling people "And I also did that when the company was just starting, that won't really happen to you because I'm passing this position down the family tree"

I feel for you Ana. But surely you realize that we are in a recession. When we are in a recession and jobs are lost, the jobs that add the most value are kept and those that add less value (perceived value anyway) that are cut.

You racked up $60K in debt to become a social worker. That is a wonderful and noble profession, but you can't have been told that it was a high paying career, regardless of the economy.

And whom do you believe did the lying when that rocket-surgeon racked up $150,000 on a degree that has never been worth more than about 12K a year? Was she unable to, I don't know, speak with someone who had a degree in "Minority women's studies?" Because if she had taken 20 minutes out of the 6 years it took to get that degree to actually ask around, she would have already known that.

People saying that they were "lied to" really pisses me off. I demand to see where either of you were ever told that you were going to earn big salaries with liberal degrees.

badaboom: Because elected representatives are always fair, benevolent, and brilliant. No, they would never do favors for some and not others. We should allow them to make every decision for everyone else all the time. They just know better.

The alternative would be what? Philosopher-kings?

You have some better model than letting a society decide for itself how much support to provide to the less fortunate? Or a better model for implementing that than democracy?

Are there Nobel Prizes in political science? If so you should probably claim one.

/Where I'm going with all this: The US government is not an evil mutant. It's us. (Imperfectly, sure).

Gaseous Anomaly: I was attempting to debunk "unregulated capitalism is a Good Thing because it rewards the risk takers".

Where do we have that?

These are the same people who check the envelope for cash before reading the birthday card from Grandma.

And they're always disappointed, and kind of mad.

Gaseous Anomaly: badaboom: Because elected representatives are always fair, benevolent, and brilliant. No, they would never do favors for some and not others. We should allow them to make every decision for everyone else all the time. They just know better.

The alternative would be what? Philosopher-kings?

You have some better model than letting a society decide for itself how much support to provide to the less fortunate? Or a better model for implementing that than democracy?

Are there Nobel Prizes in political science? If so you should probably claim one.

/Where I'm going with all this: The US government is not an evil mutant. It's us. (Imperfectly, sure).

And here is where I am going. I do not think the US Government is an evil mutant. I just believe there are certain (if not most) aspects of our lives that do not need Government involvement. Without the Government we would not have traffic lights and we could not drive to work safely. Without speeding laws we would be placed at risk by some idiot who want to drive 120 miles per hour. But seat belts and fines? That starts to cross the line. I will err on the side of personal freedom over complete power being given to a small few. I do not wake up in the morning and say "I wish I had MORE government in my life" or "I wish there were MORE rules and MORE restrictions"

I wanted a pony

I didn't get one


...I am the 99%

itsfullofstars: [25.media.tumblr.com image 500x400]

I'm surprised to learn that 99% of people are pre-op trannies. I wouldn't even have gone with 1% on that one.

#learnsomethingneweveryday

I think he/she? actually meant to write Trans-am which would make her/him? Turbo Teen. I can get behind government subsidies for helping half man/ half car hybrids, unless it turns out that they DO make up 99% of the population, in which case this is some sort of sad Truman Show where everyone around me has managed to NOT transform into a car for my entire life.

Good job keeping it up carsheeple!

Gaseous Anomaly:
Are there Nobel Prizes in political science? If so you should probably claim one.


I would be just as qualified as Obama for his Nobel "Peace" prize. Let's protest Gitmo, but remain silent when we launch a few drones and kill civilians without a trial.

trappedspirit: [i141.photobucket.com image 225x210]

Oh great, now I have that stuck in my head.

beesknees: [moonbattery.com image 500x498]

BRAVO!

I have an AA from a community college. I did not take out ridiculously high student loans to go to an ivy league college just so I could say I went to _______ University because truth to tell, I could not give a shiate less about such things; physics is physics whether it is from Podunk Community College or Harvard. I paid for my tuition by working full-time and going to school. My husband has a BA in business management - I make more money than he ... go figure.

Our home has been paid off, as have our cars (which we bought at a rate we could afford and did not go out and pile on options.) We will drive said cars until they fall apart because maintenance is cheaper than buying new.

We pay our own way and don't ask for an allowance from Uncle Sugar. If you are sitting in my way while I try to go to work I will run over you; get out of my way or get stepped on. It's a jungle out there my friend and only the strong survive.

mrshowrules: beesknees: mrshowrules:
the other is: we are highly intelligent and creative people who want to work

My life experience has shown people who have to say they are intelligent and creative, generally are not.

I'm basing my conclusions on the creativity of their signs not on their individual claims.

Lol wut?

Typical Tea Party Sign:


Typical Occupier Signs:

Goimir: pxlboy: They'll give you a paycheck, free health care, job training, and they'll even pay for your groceries, housing, and education.

except that in these economic times, they've actually tightened their recruiting criteria.

Yeah, I'm 32 with sciatica, 5'9" tall and 220 lbs (most of it IS actually muscle), but I'm also a Quaker. That whole "non-violent" thing kind of gets in the way of the "travel the world, meet interesting people and kill them" thing, and the "everyone is equal" think kind of interferes with the whole "rank" thing, even if I did manage to meet their physical requirements, it's morally objectionable to participate in such an institution.

Sucks to be you

Spanky McStupid: We pay our own way and don't ask for an allowance from Uncle Sugar. If you are sitting in my way while I try to go to work I will run over you; get out of my way or get stepped on. It's a jungle out there my friend and only the strong survive.

*shakes head* You and beesknees win gold and silver in the Unclear on the Concept Olympics.

Gaseous Anomaly: badaboom: Because elected representatives are always fair, benevolent, and brilliant. No, they would never do favors for some and not others. We should allow them to make every decision for everyone else all the time. They just know better.

The alternative would be what? Philosopher-kings?

You have some better model than letting a society decide for itself how much support to provide to the less fortunate? Or a better model for implementing that than democracy?

Are there Nobel Prizes in political science? If so you should probably claim one.

/Where I'm going with all this: The US government is not an evil mutant. It's us. (Imperfectly, sure).


Favors for some. Not for others.

Link (new window)

IgG4: "First they ignore you, then they laugh at ridicule you, and then they fightattack you and want to burn you. then you winAnd then they build monuments to you."

--GhandiNicholas Klein

FTFY

Suckers for everyone ripping on (the minority of protester) people who accrued mountains of student debt in fields of study wherein they'd never find a job.

NEVERTHELESS, working within your field of study and having your student loans paid off doesn't preclude you from being fed up with the two party system, tax code, money in politics, etc.

/just descended from the 13th floor of my ivory tower to join Occupy MN
//haven't seen this many hotties since the Girl Talk show
///no, I'm not Warren Buffett

badaboom: Communism/Socialism: In theory: We are all equal. No winners. No losers. No one will ever have to worry about food/medicine/shelter

Reality: Corruption. Little to no innovation. Lowers the truly gifted/motivated among us to the lowest common denominator

Capitalism: In theory: Those whose services/products are desired will prosper. There will be winner and losers.

Reality: Yes, there are some losers. There are winners who make and have more than they could possibly need. Some of those winners are evil basterds. Some are not. But this system rewards the risk takers. It produces things we all want. Wonder how many of those protestors have an iPhone. Wonder how many flew there.

Wonder how many had a sandwich. They do know that the guy who started that sandwich shop took a risk. It might fail. He may lose everything. But he knows that going in and the rewards are worth it. If he makes sandwiches we all love than everyone wins. We eat delicious sandwiches and he makes a profit. But force him to pay the kid making sandwiches $20 an hour and force him to pay for his healthcare how much do you think it will he need to charge to stay above water. Would any of those protestors be willing (or able) to pay $25 for a turkey sandwich?

I'll take Capitalism, with all its flaws, over Socialism/Communism any day. When was the last time you heard about a raft going FROM Florida to Cuba? How many people were shot running FROM Western Germany TO Eastern Germany?


How can that small sub shop owner compete with corporate giants like Subway and Jimmy John's and all those others? The point is that we can't even have true capitalism when corporations kill all their competition.

Leeds: anahole: Leeds: An in depth look of these "Occupiers:"
[i268.photobucket.com image 500x375]

"I'm determined to break the racial mold and the American racist cycle"
She's determined to "break the racist cycle" (whatever that means). We can all support that I suppose.

"I earned a Masters Degree in Minority Women's studies"
She earned a Masters degree, ok. Again, that's cool and all, just remember that if you aspire to a career in a field that doesn't pay well, you had better have a big nest-egg and make sure you don't rack up student loans since you'll never earn good money in that "career."

"I owe $150,000.00 for my EXCELLENT education"
Uh oh. She racked up $150k in debt trying to obtain a degree that qualifies her for zero jobs. Again, I hope she has a big nest egg to support this terrible decision.

"The corporate fascists refuse to acknowledge the legitimacy of my scholarly efforts when considering me for a job."
Wait, what? She's calling the people who won't hire her "fascists" simply because she has no marketable skills? Really? Fascists? Does she use that term in interviews?
Since she's in such dire straights having chosen to rack up massive debt pursuing a career that even in the best of times would not be able to support her, I hope she's at least being responsible about the rest of her expenses.

"My high-speed internet and NEW car loan are crushing me"
Uh oh. She's broke, jobless and paying for high-speed internet? And she's bought herself a NEW car? Lady- sell the damn car and learn how to use easy-tether to tie your computer to the web. You're on the damn internet, why not google for suggestions as to how to reduce your number of recurring bills?


"especially when added to the two different child support payments I am FORCED to pay by our CORRUPT legal system."
Oh snap. You not only borrowed 150k you can never pay off, educated yourself in a field that will never be worth a decent salary, you pay out the nose for nice things you can't afford, you insult the people who won't hire you and you decided to have multiple babies on top of all of that??? WTF is your major malfunction? And you blame the legal system for your idiocy??? Wut?

Lady, (or guy, I mean no offense if I guessed wrong there)- You have basically branded the word loser on yourself so many times over that no one will ever see past it. Stop wasting money. Get rid of your new car and see about buying a junker if you really do need a vehicle. Use the internet to train yourself to do something that can pay the bills. By the time you have a skill that people will pay you for, the economy might just be on track again.

And for God's sake, stop complaining about the system. You have not shown evidence of making a single correct decision in your entire life. Unlike some of the poor souls who have been hit by this economy, the system hasn't failed you. You failed you. And you haven't stopped failing you.

Some of us don't want the plasma TV, the iPhone, and a trip to Hawaii, though. I'm $60k in debt right now due to school loans and honestly, I'd love to just find a job in a field even somewhat relating to my degree (social welfare and justice-- social work in other words), my husband to have a nice secure job (which he finally seems to have), and to be able to raise our growing family as well as I can. I don't care about having things like a fancy car, or having the most up to date tech or, at least for the time being, even owning a house.

I'd just want to be secure that the next day I'll be able to wake up and have food in the fridge and not have to worry about the bills piling up. And for the future, I'd want a world where we don't lie to people to get them to spend $150,000 on schooling, because that is what the higher education field and that bootstrappy Baby Boomer generation did to my generation. I'd just hope that in 18 years or so, when my little ones consider college or a technical school, that they're able to pick a direction to go and know the steps to do that. I think part of the problem today stems from the steps to s ...

I'm not talking about making a high salary. I didn't mention wanting to make a high salary, and neither did the sign holder. What is being argued for is the cost of the education should be relative to the job the degree is actually for, for starters. And for another, not being told things like, "You'll be able to get a job just about anywhere with a degree" when in reality, not quite the case unless you're really really good at networking (which is a sorely need to be taught skill). I'm sorry that I can't apparently go back in time and record the conversations I'd had with various advisers and adults along the way where they gave me that sort of line, but suffice to say that college degrees are being pushed to people for the sake of them having degrees.

badaboom: Do you think there is anyone out there who does NOT want to see you and other like you succeed? Do you think there is a conspiracy to keep you down? What personal freedoms and liberty are you willing to sacrifice to ENSURE that you get what YOU want (which is not an iPhone etc). Where would YOU draw the line on the bare minimum each human has an absolute right to?

I honestly couldn't say what the motivations of a lot of people making decisions are. If I were a mind reader, I wouldn't be complaining about not having money, I'd be in Vegas playing poker. As for what personal freedoms and liberties I'm willing to sacrifice so that I could ensure that I get to live a comfortable existence, I'd have to ask you first to define what freedoms and liberties you consider to be actual freedoms and liberties, because I get the vibe that you're a conservative, so things you consider basic I would not, and vice versa. I'm willing to, for instance, pay more in taxes to ensure that I have things like decent health care (including reproductive health care), and I'm willing for things to be regulated such as tobacco, alcohol, unhealthy foods, if that's what it takes so that I'm taken care of when I get sick, or if something like a pregnancy comes along.

But then that becomes the rub when it comes to bare minimums. Food, shelter, sound health, standardized education-- those are basics. But we can't survive on basics alone.. some things like happiness and love are required or else we as humans fall apart (I remember reading about the children in the orphanages in Romania during the Ceascescu reign that illustrated the point well enough.. children given the very basics but no affection, which caused them to suffer immensely).

TheDirtyNacho: NEDM: TheDirtyNacho: Our own little arab spring.

Do you really want this? Remember exactly what the Arab Spring entailed. You really want to kick off a revolution that kills thousands of people? Revolutions are not pretty things.


Why is it symbolism gets lost on Fark and everything is taken at a literal black/white face? It's as if you assume the situations are 100% identical. They are not, nor do they have to be to learn lessons from it. There's not going to be tanks in streets or secret police kidnappings. The point is a dramatic change in society takes place. Some will lose and unfairness will take place - there's no angels here.

But overall, the current system will change. It can and must. And, despite the problems that will occur, we'll all be better off for it.

It's not lost on us. It's a laughable proposition to say these protests are like the Arab spring which protesting was done under great of death.

WTFDYW: DirkTheDaring: This is what happens when you take scoring out of school sports, and everybody gets a "participant" trophy.

Yep. Ana now that they got smacked right the fark in the face with reality they have no life lessons on how to deal with it. They want a trrophy anyway.

This is a win for liberal school districts everywhere!

ITT, people pretend it's somehow a graduate's own fault for graduating into such a shiatty economy.

I really understand where those people are coming from. I have two bachelor's degrees in subjects that now seem ridiculous. At the time when I was in school I absolutely *loved* what I was studying and the possibilities seemed endless. After I graduated and was looking at pursing a master's degree, one professor sat me down and went over the reality of what I wanted to study. She told me I basically had no hope of having a good career in this field, and that plenty of those with PHd's could not find jobs. It was probably the best thing someone has ever done for me.

I think the possibilities for even a liberal arts degree seemed unending before the economy dropped out from under us. Those with degrees in music, art, minority studies, whatever are now facing the fact that in the bad economy, spending on those areas will be non-existent. No one thought about how just maybe, the future may not be so bright.

bootstraps!

badaboom: I will err on the side of personal freedom over complete power being given to a small few. I do not wake up in the morning and say "I wish I had MORE government in my life" or "I wish there were MORE rules and MORE restrictions"

It seems smarter to evaluate new rules on their own merits than to just say "OK, today there are enough rules; the total number must not increase, so GTFO, net neutrality (or whatever) proponents."

anahole: Leeds: anahole: Leeds: An in depth look of these "Occupiers:"
[i268.photobucket.com image 500x375]

"I'm determined to break the racial mold and the American racist cycle"
She's determined to "break the racist cycle" (whatever that means). We can all support that I suppose.

"I earned a Masters Degree in Minority Women's studies"
She earned a Masters degree, ok. Again, that's cool and all, just remember that if you aspire to a career in a field that doesn't pay well, you had better have a big nest-egg and make sure you don't rack up student loans since you'll never earn good money in that "career."

"I owe $150,000.00 for my EXCELLENT education"
Uh oh. She racked up $150k in debt trying to obtain a degree that qualifies her for zero jobs. Again, I hope she has a big nest egg to support this terrible decision.

"The corporate fascists refuse to acknowledge the legitimacy of my scholarly efforts when considering me for a job."
Wait, what? She's calling the people who won't hire her "fascists" simply because she has no marketable skills? Really? Fascists? Does she use that term in interviews?
Since she's in such dire straights having chosen to rack up massive debt pursuing a career that even in the best of times would not be able to support her, I hope she's at least being responsible about the rest of her expenses.

"My high-speed internet and NEW car loan are crushing me"
Uh oh. She's broke, jobless and paying for high-speed internet? And she's bought herself a NEW car? Lady- sell the damn car and learn how to use easy-tether to tie your computer to the web. You're on the damn internet, why not google for suggestions as to how to reduce your number of recurring bills?


"especially when added to the two different child support payments I am FORCED to pay by our CORRUPT legal system."
Oh snap. You not only borrowed 150k you can never pay off, educated yourself in a field that will never be worth a decent salary, you pay out the nose for nice things you can't afford, you insult the people who won't hire you and you decided to have multiple babies on top of all of that??? WTF is your major malfunction? And you blame the legal system for your idiocy??? Wut?

Lady, (or guy, I mean no offense if I guessed wrong there)- You have basically branded the word loser on yourself so many times over that no one will ever see past it. Stop wasting money. Get rid of your new car and see about buying a junker if you really do need a vehicle. Use the internet to train yourself to do something that can pay the bills. By the time you have a skill that people will pay you for, the economy might just be on track again.

And for God's sake, stop complaining about the system. You have not shown evidence of making a single correct decision in your entire life. Unlike some of the poor souls who have been hit by this economy, the system hasn't failed you. You failed you. And you haven't stopped failing you.

Some of us don't want the plasma TV, the iPhone, and a trip to Hawaii, though. I'm $60k in debt right now due to school loans and honestly, I'd love to just find a job in a field even somewhat relating to my degree (social welfare and justice-- social work in other words), my husband to have a nice secure job (which he finally seems to have), and to be able to raise our growing family as well as I can. I don't care about having things like a fancy car, or having the most up to date tech or, at least for the time being, even owning a house.

I'd just want to be secure that the next day I'll be able to wake up and have food in the fridge and not have to worry about the bills piling up. And for the future, I'd want a world where we don't lie to people to get them to spend $150,000 on schooling, because that is what the higher education field and that bootstrappy Baby Boomer generation did to my generation. I'd just hope that in 18 years or so, when my little ones consider college or a technical school, that they're able to pick a direction to go and know the steps to do that. I think part of the problem today stems from the steps to s ...

I'm not ...

Degrees are overly priced largely because of BIll Clinton and the Democrats opening of the flood gates to cheap student loan money. Increasing demand without increasing supply at the same rate creates a scarcity. This typically causes the price of the desired item to rise.

Nemo's Brother: Degrees are overly priced largely because of BIll Clinton and the Democrats opening of the flood gates to cheap student loan money. Increasing demand without increasing supply at the same rate creates a scarcity. This typically causes the price of the desired item to rise.

Yep, there's all kinds of red tape you have to overcome to found a university, amirite?

CourtroomWolf: ITT, people pretend it's somehow a graduate's own fault for graduating into such a shiatty economy.

That's funny, I see it a bit more clearly than you seem to.

I see people in this thread (nice people mind you, I'm not attaching their character) who paid up to $150,000.00 each for something without even once checking to see what the value of that investment was.

If I paid $150,000 for ANYTHING I would spend at least a week determining if it was going to be worth my investment, and probably months and months. The people in this thread had 4 to 6 years to ascertain what they were buying and not once did they even consult anyone who had taken that path previously.

So who is at fault when someone bends over backwards to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars on something that has a value of $10,000, all the while choosing to actively bury their heads in the sand and not listen to the advice of people who know the value of the investment they are purchasing?

I was strangely moved by TFA. Maybe there is hope for our species after all.


/interesting times

Jebus Slaves: I was strangely moved by TFA. Maybe there is hope for our species after all.


/interesting times

Yes, tying energetic mindless youth and religion together always goes GREAT!

coughcoughChildren's Crusadecoughcough
coughcoughSuicide Bomberscoughcough

senzasord: badaboom: Communism/Socialism: In theory: We are all equal. No winners. No losers. No one will ever have to worry about food/medicine/shelter

Reality: Corruption. Little to no innovation. Lowers the truly gifted/motivated among us to the lowest common denominator

Capitalism: In theory: Those whose services/products are desired will prosper. There will be winner and losers.

Reality: Yes, there are some losers. There are winners who make and have more than they could possibly need. Some of those winners are evil basterds. Some are not. But this system rewards the risk takers. It produces things we all want. Wonder how many of those protestors have an iPhone. Wonder how many flew there.

Wonder how many had a sandwich. They do know that the guy who started that sandwich shop took a risk. It might fail. He may lose everything. But he knows that going in and the rewards are worth it. If he makes sandwiches we all love than everyone wins. We eat delicious sandwiches and he makes a profit. But force him to pay the kid making sandwiches $20 an hour and force him to pay for his healthcare how much do you think it will he need to charge to stay above water. Would any of those protestors be willing (or able) to pay $25 for a turkey sandwich?

I'll take Capitalism, with all its flaws, over Socialism/Communism any day. When was the last time you heard about a raft going FROM Florida to Cuba? How many people were shot running FROM Western Germany TO Eastern Germany?


How can that small sub shop owner compete with corporate giants like Subway and Jimmy John's and all those others? The point is that we can't even have true capitalism when corporations kill all their competition.

Choice. People LIKE Subway. They either like the taste or the price or the colors of the seats, who knows. Personally, I love the local guys. But people choose subway over the small sub shop owner for some reason. It is reality. Better yet, it is freedom. Do you want to force people to go to the local deli? People go to Walmart to save a penny on that product made in China. Find another way to compete. Give better service. Use better cuts of meat. It is the small sub shop owners JOB to make people pick his/her sandwich over the other guy whether it is Subway or the other local guy. And we all win because they will compete. We have more choices. Tastier sandwiches at lower prices. What is it that people can't understand that the market exists to fufill what the consumer wants. If the consumer did not want it it would be gone. Do we really want the government want to decide how many sub shops exist and what products they offer at a given price?

Gaseous Anomaly: badaboom: I will err on the side of personal freedom over complete power being given to a small few. I do not wake up in the morning and say "I wish I had MORE government in my life" or "I wish there were MORE rules and MORE restrictions"

It seems smarter to evaluate new rules on their own merits than to just say "OK, today there are enough rules; the total number must not increase, so GTFO, net neutrality (or whatever) proponents."


Except when it comes to government and bureaucrats the ends justify the means. If they don't think of new rules every day and ways to enforce them they will be out of a job. Solutions looking for problems.

badaboom: Gaseous Anomaly: badaboom: I will err on the side of personal freedom over complete power being given to a small few. I do not wake up in the morning and say "I wish I had MORE government in my life" or "I wish there were MORE rules and MORE restrictions"

It seems smarter to evaluate new rules on their own merits than to just say "OK, today there are enough rules; the total number must not increase, so GTFO, net neutrality (or whatever) proponents."


Except when it comes to government and bureaucrats the ends justify the means. If they don't think of new rules every day and ways to enforce them they will be out of a job. Solutions looking for problems.

Sure, I'm aware of the politician's syllogism:

- Something must be done.
- This is something.
- Therefore, this must be done.

But the solution is still to evaluate proposed regulations on their merits. The rate of proposal isn't nearly as relevant.

Gaseous Anomaly: badaboom: Gaseous Anomaly: badaboom: I will err on the side of personal freedom over complete power being given to a small few. I do not wake up in the morning and say "I wish I had MORE government in my life" or "I wish there were MORE rules and MORE restrictions"

It seems smarter to evaluate new rules on their own merits than to just say "OK, today there are enough rules; the total number must not increase, so GTFO, net neutrality (or whatever) proponents."


Except when it comes to government and bureaucrats the ends justify the means. If they don't think of new rules every day and ways to enforce them they will be out of a job. Solutions looking for problems.

Sure, I'm aware of the politician's syllogism:

- Something must be done.
- This is something.
- Therefore, this must be done.

But the solution is still to evaluate proposed regulations on their merits. The rate of proposal isn't nearly as relevant.

There are certain things the government MUST do. In many ways, things like providing hospice or sponsoring orphan drugs it is the height of benevolence. I am not one of those hate the government types. But what worries me about this protest is that they are asking for the government to get involved in things it has no idea how to fix and many times makes it worse. and to do so with force if necessary. I trust the marketplace more than someone in DC who thinks they know "better".