From the Star Ledger:
Gov. Chris Christie warns N.J. districts school aid could be cut 15 percent in next budget
With school districts still reeling from the midyear budget cuts he announced last week, Gov. Chris Christie said today he has asked districts to prepare for a 15 percent reduction in state aid in the budget he will propose next month. If enacted, it would be the largest-ever cut in state aid to schools, officials said. Frank Belluscio, spokesman for the New Jersey School Boards Association, said it would be the first reduction in aid to schools of any kind in at least 30 years.
Christie and Acting Education Commissioner Bret Schundler said at a meeting with school officials in Union County that their goal is to keep K-12 education aid flat in the upcoming budget, which Christie will propose March 16 and must be signed into law by July 1. But they said, with an $11 billion deficit looming, they wanted to give advance warning so school officials would not be caught off guard if steep cuts are necessary.
“This is about us telling the truth,” the Republican governor said. “I’m not going to spend this state further into debt and I’m not going to tell you a happy story on July 1st, only to come to you in February and say, ‘Well, more bad news.’ I think that’s much more unfair to school districts.”
Total formula aid to schools is currently about $7.5 billion, according to a spokeswoman for the state Department of Education. A cut of 15 percent of that would be about $1.1 billion.
“I don’t know how we would survive it,” said Perth Amboy Superintendent John Rodecker. “There would be massive layoffs. It would in turn mean that everything we’ve built up to this point, to make us what I consider to be an outstanding school district, would be lost.”
Frist
From the Daily Record:
Pension bills advance in NJ Legislature
Three bills that sponsors say are needed to rescue New Jersey’s ailing public worker pension system by tightening payouts to future retirees and requiring workers to contribute to their health care costs have advanced in the Legislature.
A Senate committee approved the bills unanimously Thursday. Senate President Steve Sweeney fast tracked the measures for a vote Monday in the full Senate, where they are virtually assured of passing.
The changes were first proposed four years ago, but never enacted. The pension system is underfunded by about $34 billion and at risk of becoming insolvent unless fixes are made. Retirees are now being paid from the fund’s $68 billion principle rather than the interest.
“Our present system is no longer sustainable,” said Senate Majority Leader Barbara Buono, a prime sponsor of one of the bills. “The reforms approved today will enable us to fulfill our promise to provide a dignified retirement for our hardworking, full-time career public servants while creating the long-term, cost-saving changes needed to shore up our system for future employees.”
The bills cap at $15,000 the amount of unused sick days retiring employees can cash out at retirement; require public workers to contribute at least 1.5 percent of their salary toward their health insurance costs; and bar part-time workers from enrolling in the pension system.
Public worker unions have asked lawmakers to put the brakes on the bills. However, representatives of local governments applauded the measures, which would save towns money.
From the Philly Inquirer:
Orleans Homebuilders defaults on senior loans
Orleans Homebuilders Inc., of Bensalem, the Philadelphia area’s oldest residential-construction company, is in default of loans to its senior lenders.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Orleans said the company and its 17 lenders had failed to agree on temporarily modifying the loan agreements or reaching other accommodations, meaning that “the final maturity of the credit facility occurred on Feb. 12, 2010, and the company is now in default, which entitles the lenders to all rights available to senior secured creditors.”
Orleans officials did not respond yesterday to requests for comment.
In its SEC filing, the company said that it did not have the assets to repay the 17 lenders, which were said to be owed about $375 million.
…
Starting in the late 1990s, Orleans – typically the No. 2 home builder in the region after Horsham’s Toll Bros. Inc. – was on the acquisition trail, first taking over Parker Lancaster, which builds in Virginia and North Carolina; then Masterpiece Homes outside Orlando; and then Realen, at that time a Philadelphia-area builder with land in Illinois around Chicago.
Stocks poised to drop
U.S. stock futures tumbled early Friday, as the Federal Reserve’s decision to raise its emergency funding rate triggered worries about tighter credit.
Christie promises business tax cuts
Speaking to a group of South Jersey business owners, Gov. Christie promised yesterday to do away with a 4 percent tax surcharge on corporations and keep it off the books for as long as he is governor.
He thanked the business owners for “hanging in with New Jersey.”
“I know the government has not made it easy for you,” he said. “In fact, we made it worse.”
Christie and Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno made other promises, including more convenience when dealing online with state agencies and fewer headaches in the environmental-permit process.
From the WSJ:
Obama to Unveil Additional Homeowner Aid
President Barack Obama will announce plans Friday to provide an additional $1.5 billion to a state-assistance program for homeowners worst-hit by the downturn in U.S. housing values.
The program, which Mr. Obama will announce in Las Vegas, is for states where the average home value for all homeowners in the state has dropped more than 20% from its value at the height of the housing bubble. About a half-dozen states qualify, including Nevada, Florida, California and Michigan.
…
The money would be distributed by state and local housing finance agencies, or HFAs, in each state. The $1.5 billion would be allocated according to a formula based on home-price declines and unemployment.
HFAs could use the money in a variety of ways, including unemployed homeowner assistance, mortgage workouts or new home purchase assistance. But the Treasury Department, which would bankroll the program with unused money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, must approve a state’s plans.
Hey, Anon E Moose:
Consider this my fourth threat on your life. You know nothing about nothing (obvious from your posting), and you have no standing to say anything about my business. I have no problem with anyone who believes it should be cleaned up and more heavily patrolled, but I think I’ll be taking my marching orders from an entity that has slightly more brainpower than a rabid ocelot.
Skeevball.
Moose-
How old were you when your uncle first bent you over?
did they make Perth Amboy a foreign zone yet?
I’m still giggling over the Perth Amboy superintendent claiming he has an “outstanding” district.
Perth Amboy is an Abbott district.
Cutting aid to Perth Amboy schools will probably make them better. Less $$$ there for the crooks to steal.
what happens when %50 of the country becomes eligible?
The program, which Mr. Obama will announce in Las Vegas, is for states where the average home value for all homeowners in the state has dropped more than 20% from its value at the height of the housing bubble. About a half-dozen states qualify, including Nevada, Florida, California and Michigan
Schumpeter, you are correct, it is hilarious that the Perth Amboy super considers his district “superior.” PA High School currently ranks 270 out of 316 public high schools in NJ. You wouldn’t wanna get much more superior than that!
NGator – 132 yesterday…Decisions are being made about the district budget here in Clovis CA as well.
Some particulars: About 5,000 full time employees – 38,000 students.
Hiring freeze in force for three years. No raises for four years.
We have managed to cut $13 million over the past two years with no layoffs and need to cut $15 million more for next year’s budget.
The final decision on the health insurance isn’t out yet, but it sounds like they will increase the copay from $25 to $35 and charge more for families on the plan while setting maximum payouts per individual.
Three furlough days and a 2% across the board salary reduction for 10-11 with 75 layoffs.
11-12 – Three furlough days – 2% more in salary reductions and 75 more layoffs.
We used to have 20 to 1 in primary/ now 24 to 1 going for 25 to 1 by 2011/2012 – 35 to 1 in upper grades.
We are the largest district in the state with no layoffs this year but clearly, we have no other choice now.
No…actually….the choice was made not to cut any extra curricular activities.
We have music, band, drama, etc. We also have after-school intervention and summer school. We field A and B teams in sports down to the primary level (grades 4/5/6) three times a year. The coaches and extra-duty folks will have a 5% reduction in co-curricular pay going forward.
Non-union – The motto of “Mind, Body and Spirit” would be violated if we did away with co-curricular activities.
That is where we stand for now…
#2 –
“provide a dignified retirement for our hardworking, full-time career public servants”
Well that’ll save a HUGE amount of money, if they can identify the hard working public ‘servants’. But all the rest will complain mightily!
Cindy,
Sports have a place in education BUT (and speaking as someone who was saved by sports and only got a college education because of major-college atheltics) intramurals can teach the same lessons, at a lower cost, and without the negative aspects of interscholastic athletics.
Does anyone have a link to the HS rankings? The last one I saw, maybe a year ago, was a NJ Monthly list that showed my HS closer to the bottom edge of the list than a root canal as a first-date option.
Great tie in for the show this week from John Stossel about the government school monopoly, and the unions/bureaucrats who fight against freedom in education.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columns/John-Stossel–84692012.html
I’m sure the Perth Amboy school district is great – for the teachers union and the educrats. Who cares about the customers, they have to pay, no matter what, based upon the assessed value of their house, whether they use government schools or not.
we have improving declines in housing .
quote of the day
16 – Shore
There are many who would never be able to afford to participate in sports (low income) were they not offered at our schools. It is simply our district policy that we need to offer viable after-school choices for our students.
Some also join club teams. Believe me, it is a sore spot just now with the pay cuts coming. Some folks are saying, “Teams are offered within the community.” The problem is, they cost money. Many low-income students in my school would miss out entirely. Then, what would they be doing after school?
There may be a fight over this issue yet. The pay cut information is only now being released. We shall see….
http://cop.senate.gov/reports/library/report-021110-cop.cfm
Elizabeth talking about CRE – 6 minute video via CR.
Maryland has county-wide school districts and places like Kansas have “unified” districts where the state combined many small districts into larger entities.
There is little benefit in every little district inventing its own curriculum, at least nott for many subjects. Duplication in purchasing, HR, and myriad functions is hard to justify in the current fiscal environment.
Cindy,
How many HSs does your district have?
Stossel video on govt school well worth watching:
http://www.therightscoop.com/watch-stossel-february-18-2010-education-imprisoning-kids/
9.freedy says:
February 19, 2010 at 6:56 am
did they make Perth Amboy a foreign zone yet?
When they finally finish that Arc Tunnel, I will be my pleasure to express train past that stop on NJT…
Perth Amboy was turned over to the Mexican population long time a go.
23 – Shore
38,000 students
5 high schools
5 intermediate
31 elementary
“Gov. Chris Christie warns N.J. districts school aid could be cut 15 percent in next budget”
Cut, cut and cut, they should cut 50%. What other job pays you $80K/year for 4 hours/day and 8 months a year?
cooper (12)-
Nothing legit about that program. It is simply buying votes.
When the money runs out, it runs out. And, the Ds will have bought a massive amount of votes in the biggest states in play.
Shore (16)-
We have reached a point where NO money should be put toward ANY sport. If the parents/boosters want it, let them pay for it…100%.
Many sports (hockey, soccer, field hockey) in NJ are also played at the club level, and frankly, played better.
I’m as big a sports nut as any, but we are in a crisis & this stuff is not necessary.
Consumer prices excluding food and energy fall
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Consumer-prices-excluding-apf-1789869500.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=2&asset=&ccode=
So let’s summarize here…..Items that we need everyday like food and gas are going up and everything else is going down.
So many people on this board called this 3 years ago. Kudos to all of you.
Sas
your inflation data
http://tinyurl.com/ykmbc3g
Shore (16)-
My daughter is going to get a college education because of sports.
The only problem is, it’s still not worth it. I am biting my tongue- and haven’t shared my opinion with her yet- but I may at some point.
Oh yeah, 1 more thing….
Myself, Ms. Hype and three other people waiting in line at the grocery stroe were commenting how much food prices went up recently.
My daughter would get a better education, make money and avoid getting into debt if she went to work for me the day she graduates HS.
Cindy (20)-
They can get a job. Any job. Sweeping floors, bagging groceries, paper routes.
We are in a depression. It’s time to admit it.
“It is simply our district policy that we need to offer viable after-school choices for our students.”
Cindy (21)-
I’m still waiting for Warren’s mysterious car crash to occur.
#17 Shore –
http://njmonthly.com/articles/towns_and_schools/highschoolrankings/top-highschools08.html
Cindy 27 – That is other extreme compared to NJ,
According to NEW JERSEY PUBLIC SCHOOLS – FACT SHEET
NJ has 605 Districts for 1.38 million students. That translates to 2281 students per districts. I dont think most districts are similar number. Some are large and some are small.
Yikes just in case you missed this buries in the last thread…
Yikes: The first thing you notice with clot is the tinted bifocals and the dyed chest hair spilling out over his butterfly collar, buttoned-down paisley shirt that needs two more fastened. Then there is that unusual smell….I couldn’t place it, but I realized that it was smoking wood the he keeps in the back waist of his pants. When he produced them for me, I noted that he had sharpened the ends. When I inquired as to the reason, he mumbled something about impailing fascist bureaucrats…..I knew at that point to keep my distance….
Fight the power!
Impale the fascists!
“Perth Amboy was turned over to the Mexican population long time a go.”
net positive effect on your Churro sales.
do they teach in english in the Pert Amboy
schools?
I want to say that I met the flat out most brainless fool yesterday. I will be vague on purpose. He was 51 and wife 49. Both union with gold benefits. He makes $120K and she $95K, they both have full pensions, and seriously they must max out at IQ 90 or so. With all of that income, they still can’t find a way to save. They are trying to figure out how to pay for college for two kids.
Was bragging about lowering his mortgage down to some modest level, and it took about 20 minutes to figure out that a fully drawn HELOC, $32K in car loans across 4 cars, $20K in CC debt and $10K in Buy Direct debt.
Was happy to buy a $600 piece of furniture for $450 through this service that has a $175 subscription cost….
His lecture for his son who has spent 3 years at the local community college and wants to get a bachelor’s….”…if you want to get a bachelor’s you need to do homework…” WTF???????????????
I love talking to people, and have never been that livid in my professional career in the past…..
I thought Perth Amboy HS was the town’s MS-13 clubhouse.
14 Cindy
Sounds like your district, while it doesn’t make everyone happy, still has a decent plan. One problem we have in NYC is that we see money being spent on frivolous things rather then being directed to the classroom. So the union says, if you have money for these things, then things can’t be as bad as you make them out to be. So the struggle continues.
Cindy – We’re facing budget cuts too and I’m trying to figure out what I can do to help the classroom teachers. Offering to buy supplies is the only thing I can think of. What do you think?
chi (44)-
I’m amazed that people like that would even listen to someone other than their gubmint masters.
how many teacher aids do we have in NJ? and how much of a scam is in the deal?
#44 chifi
Were they business and math teachers?
Analysts warn of foreclosure crisis in commercial real estate
Not only did community banks issue a higher proportion of commercial loans, but they also have held on to them rather than sell them to other investors.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/18/AR2010021805904.html
We should stop mainstreaming all these kids who are too disabled to learn. I shudder to think how many millions are burned up in curriculum planning, paying minders to accompany them though the day, etc. I sure know they slow down every classroom’s pace to an absolute crawl and deprive other students of a better and more challenging education.
These kids eat up money and resources, then leave HS unable to hold any but the most menial of jobs. My guess is that they are net economic burdens to their families and the state from cradle to grave.
Why don’t we instead spend the money used in “mainstreaming” by putting these kids in more appropriate programs? A Midland School or Matheny School-type model must be reproducable…and don’t most NJ ESCs have programs tailored for those too mentally disabled to take advantage of conventional education?
“Analysts warn of foreclosure crisis in commercial real estate”
Total BS, there’s strong demand for properties now, there are bidding wars for these things.
Chi, you should ask that pair if they think lottery tickets are an investment vehicle.
I ask that question of potential clients sometimes. I do get some “yes” responses, too.
frank (53)-
I list distressed properties at distress-level pricing.
I often get multiple offer.
Duh.
36 – Clot
We shall see about the sports.
They have never given out a pink slip – layoff – or shut down a program – not in 50 years of being a unified district. The layoffs start next year, maybe program cuts will as well.
In my area, we do try to attract ADA by offering programs other districts have cut. You can come from another district to attend Clovis schools. We have actually had to increase our intervention programs because those coming to us from Central or Fresno are not prepared for our rigorous curriculum. Those who come to me from Fresno Unified as second graders are doing work our students completed in first.
As I understand it, some sports actually generate money. Our facilities are also used for track and swim meets.
I don’t know…this is all just happening. My next faculty senate meeting should be a doozie.
53 Clot
There are a lot of schools and programs out there for the students you speak of. The issue is, that they have to be deemed to have a certain level of disability. IF a child is tested and can function at a certain level, they are supposed to be put into a program at their level. They don’t put kids in programs for the severely disabled when the child has a disability but it is not severe enough for those programs.
Guess what else, Frank?
Today’s distress price will seem like a 2005 price five years from now.
All the suckers buying short sales and REO now will be the next wave of this collapse.
The real investors are still on the beach, sipping fruity drinks. They’ve been wearing sandals for years and don’t even know where their boots are, nor have they even thought about putting on the boots or lacing them up.
“Total BS, there’s strong demand for properties now, there are bidding wars for these things.”
Frank, there is about a 70% vacancy rate near me.
one strip mall near me has four stores in a row with FOR LEASE signs in the window.
Maybe my anectdata isnt representative of the overall commercial market. i dont know that market very well.
Veto, 51
Let me see if i can take a shot at a future press release.
We are shocked at the rapid and substantial decay in the stability of a large portion of outstanding commercial loans. Despite our best efforts there is no way this could have been foreseen. As a result President Obama has released plans to help stabilize the commercial real estate industry by authorizing the treasury to assist current commercial loan holders who meet our criteria (which will remain unspecified).
While it may be unfortunate that the government needs to lend additional assistance to ensure the stabilization of the market, we feel it is necessary in order to maintain the continued economic improvement for the benefit of all American citizens.
I’m SHOCKED! SHOCKED i tell you, at this unexpected decay of commercial loans!!!!
47 – Outofstater
The best gift I ever receive from parents is a Target card. I’ll be honest. I have sometimes used it for pencils and erasers….and there have been months I used it to buy shampoo and detergent. See what I mean?
If we want to talk about overpaid useless “professionals,” instead of teachers, lets talk about realtors.
At least teachers could improve a child’s life. What do realtors provide? A useless middle man adding to transactions costs simply because they have a lock on the MLS?
Some of the most brainless people I have ever met in my life driving a mercedes are realtors. But they really know how to use those lock boxes! They deserver 6% for that, for sure!
Chicago – If I can save money, anyone can save money.
Schump 52,
That is my wifes specialty. She actually has a long history with midland.
I think you are exactly correct, but many including my wife feel that its not socially acceptable to essentially segregate that population.
The thought is that you are depriving the disabled child of the chance to experience a “normal” life.
From the number i have seen it would be cheaper to go the midland route as well as more cost effective. It would also be likely to produce a better outcome for the disabled students as their specific needs can be better tailored to.
lost (57)-
Well, all those standards need some dumbing down (so to speak). Because both my kids are in class after class with absolute drooling idiots and violent quasi-criminals who should probably be strapped to a board. This, in a “blue ribbon” district.
Sorry to be so blunt, but the way things are ain’t working.
I am thrilled to contribute my share of taking care of kids with disability. However, I consider the current system to be one that taxes me and my children repeatedly: first, for the basic costs of a failed program, and then, in bearing the practical costs of that program’s failure (lost educational opportunity for my kids, prisons, remedial programs, etc). It is a subtle form of double, triple and quadruple taxation.
plg,
whats your point? most people on this blog, Schump included has essentially make the same point as you.
The average realtor is a waste of space. Like school administrators, most are a waste of space, but a handful are worth their weight in gold. The trick is how to separate the good from the bad.
plg (62)-
Nice try at going to the ad hominem. However, you are still a putty-lipped eunuch.
#44 I’m guessing he’s a cop and she is an education bureaucrat, not a classroom teacher.
Mr Hyde,
Same goes for teachers, don’t ya think.
Some are a waste of space, some actually are shaping our future by educating kids. Some of them actually work year round 7 to 10 hours a day. I know some that work tirelessly.
So lets not paint with too broad a brush.
#11 Schump-You could the West New York school district in the same category as Perth Amboy. An Abbott school district that receives millions in stated aid annually yet they have 126 administrative positions making over $100k a year. I heard the one of the higher paid administrators was a long time florist in WNY with no education background but made a nice contribution to a campaign and was later made either an assistant principal or asst. superintendant after the election.
Lost 57,
You should see what schools in NJ are starting to do. Since they are facing budget cuts , they are now refusing to classify some students who have legitimate needs, as they dont want to dea with the increased cost.
Unless you show up to the case meeting with an attorney and your own private evaluation there isnt much you can do to prevent this.
Cindy (56)-
If your district had been in existence during the Great Depression, it would have.
“They have never given out a pink slip – layoff – or shut down a program – not in 50 years of being a unified district.”
65 Clot
I completely understand what you’re saying. What I don’t understand, and this isn’t a dig at you, is exactly how bad off these kids are that you speak of. I mean, there’s a huge difference between the child who gets frustrated and huffs and puffs over a math problem and the child who curses the teacher out and throws a chair at them. So how bad are these kids in your kids’ classes? If a child has severe learning and/or emotional disabilities, they should have an IEP and be in a program designed to deal with that. However, a parent must agree to an evaluation and then they must agree to placement in that program. If the parent does not agree, the school must leave the child where they are and should continuously try to convince the parent to go ahead. Sometimes, a hearing is the route that the school takes to convince the parent that their child needs help. Sometimes, children’s services is called in. Sometimes, the kids classmates’ parents confront the parents in denial. I know if my child continuously had problems with a kid that obviously needed more help, I’d have no problem talking to their parents.
plg (69)-
So, what corner do you work?
plg,
your a little slow arent you?
The dominant argument on this blog is that we should kill the teachers unions and hold them all individually accountable for their performance therefore sinking the bad ones and allowing the good ones to rise.
its nice to know that you might finally be listening to some reason.
hyde (71)-
I have seen this very thing happen with friends of mine who have a kid who is obviously both troubled and incapable of learning in a regular classroom.
They had to spend thousands on both lawyers and outside diagnosis.
#53 Hey frank. Take a drive up and down Rt’s 4 and 17 from one end of Bergen Co to the other, and see all of the empty avalable commercial space. Then drive north on Kinderkamack Rd from River Edge to Montvale and behold all the empty retail stores and small office buildings. Finally swing over to Ridgewood and stroll by one shuttered shop after another.
Than talk to me about demand.
71 Hyde
We have paras. I guess in NJ they’re called assistants. These are the people who follow the kids around for either learning or emotional issues. I’ve seen for a long time where a child needs this person but there isn’t money in the budget so the kids don’t get them. However, if they know the child will transfer to another school, then they’ll put a para on the IEP because the money to pay that person will come from the other school’s budget, rather then the school doing the evaluation. If a parent really wants it, there are several routes a parent can take including a hearing. There are parent advocates out there that are more vicious then any lawyer they could bring to the meeting. Those people are less expensive then a lawyer and know the family’s rights inside and out.
Schump,
The schools playing that game are creating a lucrative little cottage industry for her. She does some of those assessments
A Look at the Tax Returns of the Top 400 Taxpayers – Wall Street Journal
The top 400 U.S. individual taxpayers got 1.59% of the nation’s household income in 2007, according to their tax returns, three times the slice they got in the 1990s, according to the Internal Revenue Service. They paid 2.05% of all individual income taxes in that year.
In its annual update of the taxes paid by the 400 best-off taxpayers, who aren’t identified, the IRS also said that only 220 of the top 400 were in the top marginal tax bracket. The 400 best-off taxpayers paid an average tax rate of 16.6%, lower than in any year since the IRS began making the reports in 1992.
To make the top 400, a taxpayer had to have income of more than $138.8 million. As a group, the top 400 reported $137.9 billion in income, and paid $22.9 billion in federal income taxes.
About 81.3% of the income of the top 400 households came in the form of capital gains, dividends or interest, the IRS data show. Only 6.5% came in the form of salaries and wages.
Over the past 16 tax years 3,472 different taxpayers showed up in the top 400 at least once. Of these taxpayers, a little
more than 27% appear more than once. In any given year, about 40% percent of the top-400 returns were filed by taxpayers who weren’t in that exclusive club in any of the 15 years .
In all, the IRS received nearly 143 million individual tax returns for 2007, the year that ended with the onset of the worst recession in decades.
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2010/02/17/a-look-at-the-tax-returns-of-the-top-400-taxpayers/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
It truly is a wonderful time to be astonishingly wealthy! And they have an army of Fox News watchers making about 1/1000th of what they make to defend their lower tax rates! Amazing.
72 – Clot – I hear you -
The Sh!t is only now hitting the fan.
We had a surplus…..Things are different now.
I will keep you posted.
The law changed regarding special needs children when I was teaching in Oregon years ago – 80s? Not sure of the details but the end result is that parents of special needs children can request the “least restrictive environment” for their student and districts must pay for any necessary accommodations.
Lost 78,
there are advocates, put from what my wife tells me more parents then not, are not interested in the process and just go with what the school says.
The you have the issue of the single mom who works 60 hours per week and just doesnt have time to read up on the process and what resources are available.
many parents also assume that the school is essentially acting as their advocate and therefore run with whatever the school tells them.
81 Cindy
But we know the parent’s idea of what the LRE is for the child and the reality of what the LRE is for the child can be 2 very different things.
lost (73)-
I hear you, but the big problem in our district is that the system just isn’t working in the way you describe. Administrators want to completely mainstream the borderline OK kids, parents who have some $$$ want their kids classified- then, mainstreamed- and everyone else thinks their kid is Einstein.
I’ve met the parents of the kids in my son’s class. I wouldn’t want to tell 70% of them that they had lint on their shoulder…much less drop the hint that they need to put Junior into Midland School. I spend all day giving bad news to people who pay me to do so; I do not think it’s my job to deliver bad news on behalf of a school.
OT Alert:
Your federal tax dollars at work (and a small diversion from the pileup on plg)
“A federal judge has ordered the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to pay an Iowa trucking company’s $4.56 million legal bill after dismissing what she characterized as a pattern and practice sexual harassment lawsuit brought by the federal agency in 2007 on behalf of female drivers.
Although “not unprecedented,” a fee award to a prevailing defendant is discretionary with the judge under the relevant statute, and one of this magnitude “carries a message,” partner John Mathias Jr. of Jenner & Block tells the ABA Journal.
His firm, along with Iowa-based Simmons Perrine Moyer Bergman, represented defendant CRST Van Expedited Inc. in the sexual harassment case, notes a National Law Journal article about the $4.56 million award.
In a key ruling (PDF) in the case last year, the Northern District of Iowa granted CRST’s summary judgment motion and dismissed with prejudice the EEOC’s pattern and practice claim, according to a statement from the law firm.
Another order (PDF) followed earlier this month, in which Chief Judge Linda Reade of the Northern District recaps the blistering criticisms she made of the EEOC’s handling of the case in earlier rulings and renders an opinion on October 2009 filings that sought roughly $8.5 million in attorney fees, expenses and costs on CRST’s behalf.
“The EEOC believes the court’s decisions in the case were wrongfully decided and the agency will be appealing,” EEOC Deputy General Counsel James Lee tells the National Law Journal.”
Allow me to translate: EEOC brings a BS case against a trucking company, alleging that they don’t do enough for women drivers. Federal judge (who is the Chief Judge in that court) thinks EEOC is full of it, so full of it that she takes the extraordinary step of telling EEOC, you jerked this defendant around, dragged them into court on the flimsiest of pretexts, and made them spend lots of money. That’s BS so you pay it.”
Why is this a waste? Activist EEOC not only wastes our money bringing frivolous actions (I won’t opine on their motives), and further wastes it by being so frivolous and intransigent that the judge orders them (us) to pay millions to the lawyers (come to think of it, maybe it isn’t such a bad result).
Some of the most brainless people I have ever met in my life driving a mercedes are realtors
You, my friend, have never worked at an FX desk!
Hyde,
I was responding mostly to Franks comment:
“Cut, cut and cut, they should cut 50%. What other job pays you $80K/year for 4 hours/day and 8 months a year?”
plg, you can consider most realtors useless middlemen but most jobs can be reduced to the same – teachers too, especially in the higher grades. Give the kids a book and allow them listen to the lecture online and then test them on the material. If they dont pass the comprehension tests, they dont go on to the next grade. You dont need a teacher breathing over their neck to accomplish this. If they have a question about the material, they can send a chat text to one teacher sitting in a central location who simply answers the questions.
In the lower grades kids will need more interaction and special attention but overall this model should be good for cutting 70% of our teaching jobs.
82 Hyde
Then those sh!tty parent advocated shouldn’t be used. There are lots out there. While I completely sympathize with the parent that works 60 hours a week, there are some things that just have to be done. Just like we talk about the way people budget their money, a concerned parent will learn how to budget their time.
Cindy,
parents of special needs children can request the “least restrictive environment” for their student and districts must pay for any necessary accommodations.
This is part of the issue we are debating.
The Midland school is a school here in NJ that specializes in teaching children with physical and mental disabilities. They are very good at what they do and are generally considered an excellent school for that population.
Such a school can more efficiently provide for students with special needs then a standard school could ever hope to. They can generally provide a more constructive environment and better resources for a cheap price since that is their only focus. Schools like midland also make substantial efforts to prepare its students for independent life or as close as may be possible depending on the student. They work on everything from math to spelling to grocery shopping independently.
These schools are nothing like institutionalizing children with special needs like happened historically.
plume (85)-
EEOC sounds like just the kind of agency that should be shut down during a depression.
grim, 90 in mod.
veto (88)-
You just described by daughter’s “blue ribbon” HS.
84 Schump
This problem is everywhere. I remember the parent of the kindergartener last year who’s child was in a small special ed class. The child was behind, not just the general ed kids but the kids in his own class. He couldn’t meet the reduced standards for promotion. His mother thought he was a rocket scientist so she pulled him out and put him in a private school where the curriculum is more challenging. I wonder how much he’s struggling now.
You wouldn’t be the first person telling these parents this. These parents have heard all the problems going on with the kids since day 1. The problem is, these parents will blame the school, the teacher, the classmates, anyone else other then take responsibility and admit the problem lies with the child/family.
Lost
Something else my wife has to deal with:
But we know the parent’s idea of what the LRE is for the child and the reality of what the LRE is for the child can be 2 very different things.
The majority of parents are apparently convinced that even with an IQ of 70 little johnny could still make it to MIT.
[80] plg
In case you haven’t figured it out, the explanation for the lower effective tax rate is quite clear:
“About 81.3% of the income of the top 400 households came in the form of capital gains, dividends or interest, the IRS data show. Only 6.5% came in the form of salaries and wages.”
Let me know when you decide you are going after cap. gains, dividends, and muni. interest. I’ve got a country to short, and clients to help into the lifeboats.
88 Veto
That only works assuming all kids learn the same way. This is not true. Different people have different styles of learning. Giving a person a book and telling them to read doesn’t work for the visual or hands on learner.
#52 –
A friend went back to school a while back to get her teaching degree. Teaches 7th grade science and mostly loves it. But she says the mainstreaming and no child left behind stuff are really killing her classroom. The bright kids are pretty much left to teach themselves. She spends almost all her time on the mainstreamed kids and the discipline problem kids, which maybe make up 20% of her class. The average-to-good students get whatever time she has left, and are really getting shortchanged.
95 Hyde
It’s nice to have high hopes but realistic hopes serve us all so much better.
Veto,
“you can consider most realtors useless middlemen but most jobs can be reduced to the same – teachers too, especially in the higher grades.”
I could not disagree with you more. At least in my experience is that teaching is an art. So not all teachers accomplish this, but it is the goal.
The term educate come from a root word educere, which means to “bring out,” from ex- “out” + ducere “to lead.”
Clearly to educate is to educe, or to “bring out.” Certainly we are all capable of learning on our own, but an educator is skilled at bringing out knowledge and leading us to knowledge and betterment. It is the reason that the educational system all the way through the doctorate level involved the mentorship and guidance of educators.
hyde (95)-
I have a mortgage acquaintance who has a pre-school kid with some pretty severe learning issues.
This assclown wants me to find him a house in a district where “they can clean up this problem by the time she’s in first grade”. Just no f-ing clue what he’s dealing with here. How can a person like this be allowed to reproduce?
lost (99)-
Better to expect nothing. That way, whatever happens is a pleasant surprise.
90- Unfortunately, Midland School was losing funds and recently had to lay off some of its teaching and admin staff. It’s hard for me to believe but apparently the regular public schools were able to accomodate some of their students and Midland didn’t get enough revenue to pay all their staff. I don’t really know the whole story, but I do know of two teachers who were laid off from the school last year. I was very surprised, given the stellar reputation that Midland has.
The mainstreaming issue is the same issue with schools no longer willing to fail children or hold them back.
The point is equal opportunity not equal outcome. Apparently society got confused somewhere along the way.
plume (96)-
Pity the fool who is long dividend stocks on Jan 1, 2011. That will be the day that the depression takes another dive toward oblivion.
“Let me know when you decide you are going after cap. gains, dividends, and muni. interest. I’ve got a country to short, and clients to help into the lifeboats.”
plg (100)-
So why the hell did you turn out to be such an idiot?
Comrade,
I understand the reason for the lower effective tax rate.
We tax passive income on capitol gains at a much lower rate than we tax income earned through labor. In effect, are’nt we discouraging work, while allowing the already wealthy to accrue more wealth on passive income? All this sure makes it easy for the rich to get richer.
Im not sure of the macroeconomic effects of all this, but it is, in principle, disturbing.
98 tbiggs
I remember when I was a kid, classes were grouped by perceived academic ability level. I also remember that because I was a discipline problem in second grade, I was placed in one of the most bottom performing third grade classes. My teacher said I didn’t belong there and got me switched. The problem is, that today, this doesn’t exist. With the exception of the gifted & talented or delta or whatever they changed the name to today, all kids at all levels are grouped together. A lot of people, including teachers, would like to see the system go back to the old way of grouping children in classes.
House,
The local public schools are accommodating them by declassifying other students in order to conserve resources. They then pat themselves on the back for helping the declassified student “overcome” their “challenge”.
What they did was dump the issue into the classroom teachers hands.
“That only works assuming all kids learn the same way. This is not true.”
Lost, im going to be rude in responding to the idea, not you, when i say that is total bs.
Its the same argument that says standardized tests dont test smarts because it doesnt test creativity and reflect the nuances of classic literature. that whole model is not cost effective and its going out the window in the new economy.
The same way that subway ticket sales windows are being replaced with computers.
plg (107)-
Now I get it. You’re Pol Pot.
102 Clot
That might work for some as an adult. But it only makes a child believe that they will achieve nothing.
lost (108)-
Will never happen, as it involves teachers needing to make distinctions and exercise judgment.
Veto plg
I hate to say it, but i agree with plg
At least in my experience is that teaching is an art. So not all teachers accomplish this, but it is the goal.
teaching is a 2 way street that requires an engaged student and a capable teacher. Truly talented teachers are rare and i would say i have only ever had 2 of them in my lifetime.
“teaching is an art. So not all teachers accomplish this, but it is the goal.”
plg, that is nice but art is not cost effective. Only the affluent and privileged will be able to afford quality, hands-on education. No different than the system today where the affluent have access to superior education.
In the future, the massess will be taught by robots, chat rooms, youtube and the kindle. Maybe its not the same quality but it will be 80% as effective and will cost 80% less.
#98tbiggs- This has been going on for decades. Teachers always spent the most time with the slower kids to get them up to speed.
Wow no internet (well there was internet my $hitty dell laptop wasn’t working) on my business trip and it doesn’t look like I missed much. PLG is still a misinformed troll, Clot is one step closer to going postal, and the rest of you are trying to navigate the new paradigm. Did I miss anything the last few days? FYI talked to a few folks in the airport and on the plane yesterday, people are starting to get F$(king panicked.
Hey Ket there are an inordinant amount of our types in RTP couldn’t throw a rock without hitting one at the hotel bar.
Yeah, I know a couple a teachers in NJ and they said all the board meetings are talking about layoffs, or at least cuts in the budgets to certain programs. I myself been seeing a new wave of School layoffs and closing its stunning to say the least, but something has to change.
I don’t know if anyone looks here but not bad place to get some info.
http://www.dailyjobcuts.com
I hate to say it, but i agree with plg
I agree with that statement too but i think its going away, the whole model.
lost (112)-
The way we’re headed, most of them never will. I still have this gnawing feeling that 80% of today’s youth will be conscripted into the front lines of one of our endless wars.
In the brave new world, survival may represent the ultimate achievement. And, that’s not an unprecedented thing.
Hell, my Dad felt this way scarcely 60 years ago. 2/3 of his college class was killed in WWII.
Lost 108
hallelujah!
veto (115)-
Bingo. IMO, we are at this point. Education is rare and priceless.
The rest is- at worst- conditioning. If you’re lucky, you receive training.
Lost 108,
i had a similar experience.
I was considered too defiant.
[270][prior thread] lisoosh says
“Nope. Thought never crossed my mind. If you didn’t compartmentalize people according to preconceived notions of what you think they think based on the label you assign them you might realize this.”
Sad. If you read (and understood) what I wrote, you’d see that I thought you were quick enough to see the inherent contradiction in what I posted.
I guess I was wrong.
110 Veto
I must also disagree with you. And unfortunately, the way I need to explain it to you, cannot be described as well as in person. So please forgive me if the point doesn’t come across well.
In biology, you can give a kid a book and tell them, learn all the insides of this frog. The kid reads it and reads it and can’t get it. Then the kid goes to lab where they disect a frog. Now the kid gets it. The kids gets it because they are a hands on learner, not one who learns just by reading. You may disagree with me, but as someone who works in education, I’ve seen this over and over again. There are some short vocational tests people can take. It tells them what kinds of learners they are and what kinds of jobs would be good for them based on those results.
[118] pain,
RTP???
You aren’t with GSK by chance?
Pain 117
re RTP;I know. Have had a few job offers. Cant get the jersey girl out of jersey.
Besides, while i know the NJ Pharma ship is sinking, i am getting pain to well to go else where at this time. At the moment it may actually pay for me to ride the ship down to the water line.
113 Clot
Well I’m grateful that my third grade teacher had enough good sense to help me. Good teachers are out there. Unfortunately, there are so many that give a bad name. Same as in any profession I suppose.
#123 A little defiance is a good thing. I’d rather have independent kids than compliant ones – they are less likely to be pushed around. Of course, it makes the teen years he## on earth but it pays off, eventually.
[107] plg
” In effect, are’nt we discouraging work, while allowing the already wealthy to accrue more wealth on passive income?”
Hallelujah!
Hyde – How much does it cost to send a child to Midland school? Since the school district pays the cost of sending a child out of district, a lot of districts are resistant to doing this.
In fact one of the big economic arguments for Montclair’s new school is that it will enable the district to bring many special ed students currently sent out of district back to be educated in house at a lower cost.
#108 – Was there some sort of major shift in the perceived function and role of teachers between the 70s/80s and today?
I’m not in education so I’m not sure what the changes in theory etc are. I do know that *something* is different.
Modern schools seem to be much more about breaking the will and preparing children for life in office cubicles. Pardon the hyperbole there, but I can’t think of any other way of describing it.
I know there is lip service provided to the idea of each child being ‘empowered’, but I never see it. It is far more about conformity then it was when I was a kid, and it was stifling then.
120 Clot
You might be right. Some will never amount to anything. But if you tell a child repeatedly that they will never amount to anything, odds are they really won’t. They will constantly feel like ch!t. How does that help them? Give them something to strive for. Anything.
123 Hyde
This is why I end up on the sh!t list at every school I work at. I advocate too much for my kids. They won’t want any big mouths rocking the boat. This is another reason why the time has come for me to really get out.
[107] plg
Now that you see this, consider what is more fair? Imposing higher taxes on earned income, which tends to be earned by those who aren’t in the top 0.5% or on capital wealth? I suspect I know where you’d come out.
Problem is, by soaking the uber rich, you drive them off, and raise your cost for capital. We are already seeing this, interest rates notwithstanding because they are being held down artificially by the fed and a lack of aggregate demand.
Wouldn’t the better choice be to get the fiscal house in order by restraining nonproductive spending and debt, and reforming the tax structure to encourage participation rather than avoidance?
132 Tosh
There’s been a huge change. Back then, teachers had a more human function. They had a lot more input. Today, everything goes by test scores. Teachers teach to the test. This is why so many complain about a lack of teaching spelling, vocabulary, science, history. If it’s not on the tests that are used to decide how much money the school/district get, its tossed to the side. The kids don’t learn it.
Lost, 125 – yes definately – i agree there will be exceptions and subjects which still require a physical classroom setting where children can touch beekers and cut pigs.
Thats why online classes will only replace 80% of the education experience and not 100%.
Another example is gym. Cant do that online.
Social interaction can probably be replaced with skype and blogs like this – especially since social interaction in the business world will be based on skype and blogs and email anyway.
lost (125)-
I distinctly remember that they “way to learn” when I was growing up was the teacher’s way.
No to pooh-pooh the “different ways of learning thing” (which I think is 100% legit), but we are in wartime/crisis mode. Gotta trim down and maybe even accommodate learners who can absorb stuff with as little assistance/repetition as possible.
lost (125)-
Just to be clear, I do not like that it may have to be this way.
Stater,
Both my brother and i were considered DEFIANT. The funny thing is that as a result the usual teen rebellion stuff held little interest for either of us. We both walked our own paths in that manner, and it was surprisingly trouble free for our parents with a few minor exceptions.
#129 – A little defiance is a good thing. I’d rather have independent kids than compliant ones
From the child’s perspective though this is awful. Defiant, non-compliant, non-conformist children get sent to year after year of child study teams and diagnosed with whatever behavioral disorder is currently fashionable. This is almost always followed by prescription drugs, forced upon terrified parents trying to do the right thing.
Sorry, I’m not slamming you or your idea. I agree with most of it. There is a lot of fall-out in life for being a child like that. I’ve wondered if it is something I would want for my own kids or if I would just want them to be happy….
kind of a conundrum there.
Gator,
dont know off the top of my head, will dig around later tongiht
137 Veto
I agree that online courses will be the wave of the future. Unfortunately, its being met with a lot of resistance. Look at the online universities. Many are not taken seriously by employers because it doesn’t follow the old idea of what school should be. I personally don’t care as long as the learning is real and follows a complete curriculum.
Oh and as far as gym goes, get this. The last high school I worked in had an independent gym class. This was for kids who were medically excused- maybe the broke a leg, had severe asthma, whatever. The kids were required to read sports articles and write summaries and then do a big paper (5 whole pages) at the end. So I can even see gym being replaced with an online class.
#136 – thanks lost. It doesn’t sound like teaching is much fun as a job if it’s something you actually care about.
lost (128)-
I wish teachers were empowered to use discretion and judgment more, not less. Sadly, TPTB are such liberal gubmint tools that they have tossed common sense out the window.
A brainwashed, controlled population has to first be convinced to distrust common sense and their own judgment. Schools are the ideal place to begin that attack.
Tosh,
141
In elementary school, they tried to classify me. The school psychologist told them no, they just had a defiant little boy on their hands who doesnt work well with “because i said so”.
School sucked until i learned how to play the game
“the way I need to explain it to you, cannot be described as well as in person. So please forgive me if the point doesn’t come across well.”
Lost, this was good, to your point…
lol.
plume (130)-
You have to keep in mind that in plg’s fantasy world, accumulation of wealth is evil.
Clot 138 & 139
I understand what you’re saying. But I see that as being destined to fail. The only way to make that work is push students who are hands on and visual learners to go into trades or something where they work with their hands. These vocations always require hands on learning. The problem is that vocational learning has been looked down upon for so long, along with the whole everyone goes to college bs, that there are far less programs now then there used to be. I’d love to see more vocational programs in high schools, more shops in middle schools.
tosh (132)-
Bingo.
Cindy says:
February 19, 2010 at 9:40 am
Chicago – If I can save money, anyone can save money.
Cindy: Just trying to move beyond a visceral reaction, I think what always riles me is anyone who has a fundamental lack of appreciation for life and what it has handed them. I hate to sound like clot, but there are just so many zombies out there……these people are just prima facie evidence that some will never be happy no matter how much money they have…it is pouring money down a sinkhole….further they are a face of the plague that infests NJ.
lost (133)-
Sounds like just the kind of mindset you’d want in a large, hostile and mobile forward infantry.
#145 – Schools are the ideal place to begin that attack.
Boy, you know… I absolutely agree with you clot. I wish there were some way of discussing the public schools as an engineered larval stage for corporate America without sounding like Jello Biafra’s spoken word stuff. There isn’t though.
try troll pot…..you’ve been down this path before and with the same person no less…..
Schumpeter says:
February 19, 2010 at 10:16 am
plg (107)-
Now I get it. You’re Pol Pot.
141 Tosh
Defiance is one thing. A teacher with a clue can see the difference between defiance and true emotional instability. An experienced teacher will be able to experiment with different methods and try to make them work with the child. But when you have the teacher with the attitude that its my way or the highway you have a problem. I’ve been in many situations where the teacher wants the kids evaluated and I’ve had to step in and say that a personality conflict does not mean the child is dangerous and is not mentally ill.
lost (134)-
It’s hard to advocate for kids within a system designed to turn their brains into mayonnaise.
[141] hyde
All my report cards said “doesn’t play well with others.”
[154] chifi
Troll Pot vs. Pol Clot???
144 Tosh
When you see a system fail kids that you really care about, its very difficult to detach yourself. The older teachers seem to be able to do it more easily. I think it comes more easily to them because its a defense mechanism they’ve learned to use. Otherwise they would have burnt out years ago, like I’ve been doing for the last few years.
“as long as the learning is real and follows a complete curriculum.”
Lost, EBAY universities are probably inferior right now, in this stage of their development.
But in my personal opinion, the online learning experience will be vastly superior – with so much more time for academics and less time shuffling through the hallways, taking roll call, being interupted in class by the class clown, etc. It basically will take the babysitting and interuptions out of the experience.
i think about my avg hs day. If i took out all the bs and just left the lecture and work, i could probably do all the work in 3 hours, instead of 8.
BTW, this is jut my opinion. I’m not in education.
Lost
We need to redevelop respect for trades. I work with tradesmen ona regular basis and a skilled metal worker or machinist takes the trade to the level of an art.
i have worked with machinists that can mold metal like it was made of putty.
Competence in trades takes skill, no different then being a good engineer or artist. It would be in our long term interest to develop a strong trade industry similar to what germany does.
tosh (141)-
I hope that my kids are a little happier because I’m encouraging them to be defiant. For sure, they are becoming a lot more aware of the absurdity surrounding them.
“I’ve wondered if it is something I would want for my own kids or if I would just want them to be happy….
kind of a conundrum there.”
145 Clot
Agreed. Maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise the Mussolini was a teacher. I guess he was spreading the word early.
[148] clot
I know, and plg has to understand that attempting to confisc@te wealth, including measures that attempt to lock it in so it can be slowly expr0priated, are doomed to fail, and that draconian measures will not only fail but scare off additional capital needed for growth.
One would think that the collapse of the USSR was proof enough.
147 Veto
Sorry. We’ll have to agree to disagree then. :)
#146 – School sucked until i learned how to play the game
Yeah, I never learned that. It would have been *much* easier if I had.
#155 – Lost – Honestly, where were you when I was a kid?
As a culture we’ve gotten so used to prescribing away these behavioral issues without any thoughts to the long term emotional or physical consequences of such actions.
Nom,
The new tagline for the NJREReport?
doesn’t play well with others.
156 Clot
I was warned several times that if I really cared about kids not to go into education. They were right. And this is why I’ll be leaving.
[160] veto
Had a weird experience with that. When I went to NYU, they were starting their on-line offerings.
They’d videotape a lecture, and use it later for the on-line folks. I was in a class that was taped, and someone in another class, who was taking that class on-line, remembered seeing me in the tape (she thought I asked good questions) and in retrospect, I thought it was a good way to present the material. But it made questioning hard. After all, I could ask my (good) questions right there, but the on-line folks had a disadvantage: Not only did they have to submit the questions, the professor had to know what they were talking about as the question was based on a lecture given months prior.
160 Veto
You may be absolutely right. Only time will tell. But again, online universities are met with resistance. It’s going to be a while until they prove themselves. When they do, you’ll see a big swing in the way we think about education.
161 Hyde
I couldn’t agree more. I myself sometimes wish I would have gone into a trade. But women in skilled trades is a whole other discussion.
[167] hyde
I want that on a T-shirt and bumper stickers.
I also thought about getting a bumper sticker that said “Baby and Her Attorneys On Board”
Tosh, 166
My mother sat me down one afternoon and had a little chat with me about how to play the game so as to avoid uneeded confrontation with the system.
She did say that if i felt it was needed and not destructive, then go right ahead.
My parents were very supportive int hat manner and the school quickly learned it was a losing battle to try and have my parents “deal” with me.
There were so many times in college where i wish my teacher would shut the hell up and let me just go home and read the chapter so that i could actually understand the material.
166 Tosh
I was probably sitting behind you in class writing a note to my friend. :)
#162 – I hope that my kids are a little happier…
I hope so too, for both you and them. Being a child and being different is no easy task. Again, hard choices to make, even if some of them are made for you.
Nom – I was at GSK but haven’t been for a long long time.
Hyde – probably riding it out as well, but unlike most folks we know doing it with my eyes wide open. Hey by the way did LM and BB head west or are they still with you know who remotely?
Lost 171,
over the summer i worked with a SMOKING HOT female machinist. Not common, but you do see it.
She was actually one of the best machinists i have worked with and made very good money due to her skill as a machinist.
lost (149)-
I think the current economic conditions will force more and more kids into vocational paths. Indications are, it’s already happening.
My daughter has made a few visits to some liberal arts schools that are between 1K to 3K enrollment…with absolutely stupid high tuitions. I really wonder if they will make it another five years. The local community college enrollment just keeps growing, and I know a goodly amount of these kids are coming because their parents just can’t afford to keep sending them to these overpriced institutions.
Pain,
did LM and BB head west
E-mail me
Well guys I’m off for a while. Great conversation this morning. I’m glad I stuck around for it.
Now I’m off to Wegman’s. Or I’ll watch Tiger Woods make a bigger d!ick out of himself at his press conference.
nom: to be functionally accurate, I should have wrote Troll Clot
Comrade Nom Deplume says:
February 19, 2010 at 10:48 am
[154] chifi
Troll Pot vs. Pol Clot???
To be more blunt: what the hell purpose does Muhlenberg, Gettysburg, F&M, Kean, Rowan, etc. serve?
And, let’s assume they do serve a purpose. Do we need ALL of them? Which will survive, and which will close?
#151 chifi
these people are just prima facie evidence that some will never be happy no matter how much money they have…
They are not showing off wealth, they are displaying loneliness.
We found out who Freedy is!
“Wayne Bryant and his wife have just stopped paying the mortgage on their home in northern California, even though they can afford to pay. The reason? Because, Bryant says, the value of the house is less than what they owe.
CNBC.com
——————————————————————————–
“We are 45-50 percent under water,” claims the 61-year-old Bryant, who works in airport management. “At this point we are 20 years away from being even. We’re walking away because it’s a good business decision.”
Bryant bought his home three bedroom townhouse in 2006 for $582,000 and says it’s worth about $315,000 now. He says he has never missed a payment on any of the homes or cars he’s bought over the years. But that’s changed.
“I thought about the moral hazard,” Bryant admits. “But look at what’s going on. Big banks are not helping anyone out. Big investors are walking away from debts. I’m angry how the system works. There’s no way I’m going to feel guilty about this.”
Analysts say Bryant is joining an increasing number of homeowners across the county who are “walking away” or making a ‘strategic default’ on their mortgage payments.
“About 25 percent of mortgage defaults across the country are the strategic kind,” says Greg McBride, senior financial analyst for Bankrate.com. “That not a small number.”
And it appears to be a growing option for homeowners.
“It’s somewhat substantial,” says Bob Walters, chief economist at Quicken Loans. “We are talking about it more in the industry and it’s becoming more accepted among homeowners.”
/snip
Hyde lost your email, well the entire list, send it to me at my name the short version firstname_lastname@yahoo. I’m just curious I may be out there in April and would like to say hi to a few folks
CNBC also has a slideshow on the worst drivers by profession (worst=most accidents reported).
No surprise here (at least not to me).
No. 1 worst? Attorneys!
Hyde sorry I meant it for Hype still getting my brain back together fromthe trip. Too much scotch
Tosh, clot
Hyde Jr will have this song memorized by the time he enters kindergarten. I look forward to the phone calls from school.
Killing in the Name Of
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkuOAY-S6OY
[182] chi fi
Groan. I saw that coming. I was hoping it wouldn’t.
Pain
that makes more sense.
cheers
#161 Most parents do not want to say my child is a plumber, carpenter etc. it does not sound prestigious (although the prices these tradesmen charge certainly are prestigious). No much better to go work for ‘the man ” put 20 years or so in, get laid off, and have to start all over again later in life.
One of my own children (finishing college soon) wants to start his own business,and I encourage that constantly. It may be hard work, and it may not even work out, but if it does, you at least have some more control over your own destiny,and if it does not, at least you tried, won’t spend your time wondering what if.
For myself when I told my father 20+ odd years ago I was going to college, and asked his opinion, he said go into civil service, put your 20 years in and get out; perhaps I should have listened to him.
[179] schump.
“My daughter has made a few visits to some liberal arts schools that are between 1K to 3K enrollment…with absolutely stupid high tuitions. I really wonder if they will make it another five years.”
Those with exclusive reputations (think Williams, Middlebury, Bard, etc.) will continue just fine.
Those in the second tier will continue due to overflow from the first tier, but may struggle a bit.
Those in the lower tiers are toast and can survive only by discounting heavily and positioning themselves as an alternative to increasingly expensive state universities.
lost (159)-
How much of this is due to the fact that we now have a generation of the uneducated now trying to “educate” the next?
TPTB has had great success in dumbing down the populace. One more generation, and the job will be done.
back to RE:
- Mortgage Bankers Association: 15% of US mortgages were in foreclosure or delinquency (remains a record); with loans 90 days past due also a record
That works out to about 10% of US homes are in foreclosure or delinquent assuming that 70% of US homes are mortgaged.
The trades are also probably the base from which actual, viable businesses- rather than Ponzi pyramids- can be built that will end this awful depression.
I’d say Buddhism’s stock just rose.
The answer is parochial school. How parents could even tolerate sending their kids to communist indoctrination camps is beyond me.
Back in the good ole days Catholic school had 3 distinct classes.
1. The gifted who were allowed special freedoms and were able to goto special classes.
2. The regular class.
3. The morons.
It worked well. Now everyone gets a trophy and well if you want to take a look at the consequences for society go watch the people walking into your neighborhood Walmart.
CNBC cuts back to Crudlow after Tiger. What a bunch of ho’s.
…and Crudlow is huffing a big, fat line, a la Tony Montana!!!
I made that up/
plg,
Most of your errors are the result of your premise that altruism is the essence of morality, and that government should enforce it.
I suggest that you feed yourself to the hungry people hanging out along the Camden bike paths that you frequent. They’re hungry, so what right do you have to selfishly withold your flesh from them? You’re so much richer than them too, so bring your wallet with you, you hypocrite. Don’t kid yourself and claim that humanity still needs you to advocate the causes and principles you hold dear. As Immanuel Kant said, if you feel good about your “virtuous” actions, it’s no longer virtuous. According to his philosophy, to be moral, you have to feel the pain of self-sacrifice on behalf of the needy.
When everyone is a public servant, everyone becomes a “servant of the public”. Eventually the spokespeople for “the public” will ask to feed even on you.
hyde (189)-
Enjoy your time on the watchlist.
#198 – The answer is parochial school.
Have you ever spent any time in Catholic schools?
Substituting one set of indoctrinations for another set is not a solution for some.
[192] 3b
” Most parents do not want to say my child is a plumber, carpenter etc. it does not sound prestigious (although the prices these tradesmen charge certainly are prestigious).
No sh1t. I just paid some joker with a fine reputation over $400 to change out a sensor and pilot assembly that I could have changed myself for $90. Based on time spent, I figured out that his billing rate was comparable to mine.
I am seriously thinking of starting a side business making wine racks and doll houses in my garage. Really!!
Ket,
Pvs thread – that school/laptop case is bananas.
“”If You Have A Dream, You Have To Try It”
“If there is one thing I have learned in going around the world, it`s that societies become rich, swagger around for a few years, decades, or centuries, and then their hour is done.
More important, I have also learned that if you have a dream, you have to try it; you must get it out of your system. You will never get another chance. If you want to change life, do it.”
Jim Rogers
Guess thats why he moved to Singapore.
3b (192)-
I get nothing but stick for being a Realtor, but I pretty much charge surgeon-like fees.
When things get especially nasty, all I can do is laugh when I think of this.
They are schools? I thought they were just names made up by Champion Clothes…kind of like seeing Hollister on a shirt…….
Schumpeter says:
February 19, 2010 at 11:01 am
To be more blunt: what the hell purpose does Muhlenberg, Gettysburg, F&M, Kean, Rowan, etc. serve?
Things should get alittle more interesting when the market takes another big step down and/or a new round of bailouts starts
The founding document of the United States, the Declaration of Independence, states that governments derive “their just powers from the consent of the governed.” Today, however, just 21% of voters nationwide believe that the federal government enjoys the consent of the governed.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 61% disagree and say the government does not have the necessary consent. Eighteen percent (18%) of voters are not sure.
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/february_2010/only_21_say_u_s_government_has_consent_of_the_governed
[201] west
Your post reminds me of a former colleague in banking, who was a rabid liberal (white guy who was working on the Jesse Jackson prez. campaign). He was married to an associate at a prestigious Boston law firm, and when he and his spouse decided to settle down, I asked them where they were moving.
I figured, given his politics, he’d be in Jamacia Plain, or Somerville, known for their liberalism and rubbing shoulders with the common man.
His response? “Wellesley”
So he loves the downtrodden, but doesn’t want to be anywhere near them.
Government to pay 1 billion dollar settlement to black farmers.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/02/18/black.farmers.lawsuit/index.html?hpt=C2
Commercial Real Estate Collapse – Midtown Manhattan Gerald Celente was Right
One sees this every day. Storefronts on Park Avenue South where overpriced restaurants sat two years ago are empty with “For Rent” signs, something one never saw in such neighborhoods. Traditionally in NYC, property changes hands in private deals, never through the posting of rent signs. With 1% down payments, commercial real estate makes the subprime meltdown look outright responsible.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VcyxmF89ns
I was listening to Bloomberg radio today and the propaganda was stunning. Everything is getting better good times ahead. Its tough to argue with Gerald Celente. The greatest collapse is just heating up.
#179 I just don’t understand (with perhaps the exception of the Ivy leagues), how anyone can spend 40 to 50k a year, for 4 years, to obtain a basic BA/BBA degree. And them saddle themselves and or their children with that staggering kind of debt.
west (201)-
Hear, hear.
The Freakonomics guys always say good gubmint economic policy encourages and incentivizes certain behaviors, not mandates them.
Whatever the gubmint mandates, they get the opposite result. Time after time after time.
Schump,
i would image a number of the regular posters on this blog have been on that list for a while.
tosh (203)-
My brother went to Catholic school. All he learned was how to take a beating. From the Jesuits.
#210 That is the classic Liberal.
“your inflation data”
thanks bloke.
SAS
Nom,
“Wellesley”????
HAHAHAHAHAHA
you have to love sunny day principles
Yay, the library just delivered me a new set of the Internal Revenue Code and regulations.
They take up an entire shelf.
And, in what I consider to be quite appropriate, the cover of this year’s edition of the Code is Brown.
Of course, he was able to parlay that into four years of barfighting in college…and a degree in biology.
He now lives with his girlfriend in the middle of nowhere, doesn’t work and runs his truck on pilfered farm diesel.
Actually, he is the real Clotpoll.
#216 – My brother went to Catholic school
I went to Catholic school, it cured me of religion.
looks like we got a hot debate on the boards about teachers.
I think some you blokes are too harsh on teachers. too much animosity.
I can tell you alot of teachers goto work everyday with their back against the wall cause of alot of govt or bureaucratic red tape. no doubt some are saps or burned out and need to change lines of work.
How do you rate a good teacher vs. a bad one? with a standard test score? ha! that means nada.
SAS
#221 – He now lives with his girlfriend in the middle of nowhere, doesn’t work and runs his truck on pilfered farm diesel.
Hmmm… trying to decide if that’s good or bad. If he has a telescope and clear night skies I might be up for it.
[219] hyde
And I bet he probably bills himself as an environmentalist because he and Andree (and she would pronounce “accent agiu” when she spelled her name) probably drove to work in matching 4 cylinder Land Rovers instead of the 6 or 8.
3b (217)-
Not quite. The classic liberal is so brain-damaged, he doesn’t understand the disconnect when you point it out to him.
Safe, i hope your post 211 is a joke.
53: There are bidding wars in FL, NV and AZ too. At 50% of what’s owed.
[219] hyde
Seriously, he and his wife, but especially he, were two of the most pompous, self-righteous, self-important liberals you never wanted to meet. Worse than Washingtonians and they are bad. His friends would mock him about it.
He was also one who insisted on being called “Jonathan.” Never John or (gasp) Johnny. One of our mutual friends and I called him “Jo Jo” in part to mock him about it. He took it well, but I am certain it rankled him to be mocked by someone of such inferior intelligence and breeding.
We didn’t stay in touch.
i remember back in the day, I had to serve probation (we tried to buy off the judge so I won’t be charged with anything, but it didn’t work).
In any case, I did some basic math tutoring to a bunch of Mexican kids in one of our local municipalities. Not only did I teach basic arithmetic. I told them stories, and stoked encouragement, next thing we know… my little Mexican kids took some test scores. They scored very high in the state. Higher than most of the white & rich schools districts (and some privates).
next thing I know, I get phone calls from district superintendents, city council members, the god damn chamber of commerce. They ALL suppressed the data, cause they didn’t want to upset the Blue Ribbon apple cart education cartel.
I asked one superintendent, why you doing this? in his words..not mine:
“we can’t have wetback kids outscoring us”.
I learned many lessons after that.
so, this whole Blue Ribbon system and paying more for a “good” school. is a TOTAL fraud, and parameters are set in place to make things what they are a “class” room.
SAS
#212 Al
How can Midtown Manhattan CR be dropping in value? It is so close to Manhattan!!
How could a company borrow 7 billion dollars with 1 per cent down to purchase what had to be cash flow negative property?
Mind boggling.
No surprise there, sas.
“probation”
I was hired to do a little white collar stuff for an agency, They said do what you gotta do..so I did.
local LE didn’t like it. so tried to make an example out of me, while the Fed agency hired me stood idle.
This compartmentalization drives me crazt sometimes.
SAS
safe (231)-
Good thing they had the CMBS mechanism to “smooth” all that risk across a giant pool of investors.
Doh!
“How could a company borrow 7 billion dollars with 1 per cent down to purchase what had to be cash flow negative property?”
Just for grins, I googled Jonathan and Andree. No hits for Jonathan—guess he doesn’t rate.
But I see Andree never made partner anywhere:
http://www.choate.com/people.php?PeopleID=158
#227 veto,
I was surprised when I read it on CNN’s site.
Im on the blue list. Go check the color of the paint on your mailbox.
231. I thought Manhatten was so close to Bergen County and Bergen County.
Safe, Veto
from the link
He described a two-track process in which black farmers could receive a flat $50,000 payout with minimal proof linking discrimination to the denial of federal farm support.
Where do i file the paper work for my 50K?
“Im on the blue list”
Al, i could have sworn you disapated at impact after yesterday’s breaking news.
Anyone know when the next treasury auction is? Cant wait to see the direct bids.
I once worked in a 3 man research team. One guy was hard left, from some kind of union family. He was always talking about how without unions, everyone’s pay would be $1 per hour, and how the rich do this or that. He genuinely hated people, of course, and admitted that humans were less important and worse than dogs to him. In his personal life, he had no integrity – either at work (he promoted internet stocks and himself as an internet stock guru in 1999 when any sane person knew it was a bubble), or personally (he was constantly trying to have affairs, though he admitted he only lasted about 30 seconds with the ladies).
After not talking to me for about 6 years he tried to hire me to run some crappy hedge fund he though he could suck investors into, giving me pie in the sky figures. He was living in a big house financed with an interest only in a prestigious gated community, driving a leased Mercedes with his secretary/mistress. He was also trying to get his friends to invest in a horse/airplane upscale housing development in Ocala Fl back in 2007.
In short, his constant blabber about caring for the poor and oppressed was his attempt to buy back some self-respect, and help him forget that he was a lying cheating pos. So of course he had to convince himself that all people are bad, they can’t help it, the government needs to control everybody, so don’t blame him for all his own faults and choices.
I’ve met a lot of people where liberalism is their “get out of jail free for my own personal ethical faults, because I care about humanity in general”.
This just in from the NJEA.
Issue 26 February 18, 2010
Bad pension and benefit bills fly through committee
Full Senate vote scheduled for Monday, February 22
A package of four bills was introduced last week, and heard in the Senate State Government Committee today. These bills will reduce public employee pensions & benefits, while doing nothing to alleviate any of the current problems with our under-funded pension system.
The five members of the State Government Committee voted unanimously to release these bills from committee, allowing them to be put to a full vote in the Senate on Monday, February 22. In over two and a half hours of testimony, including remarks from NJEA President Barbara Keshishian, NJREA President Ro Jankowski, and several of your peers and colleagues, the committee did not ask a single question of those testifying.
Clearly, your legislators don’t know what questions to ask! With the vote on these bills coming up on Monday, we need you to call your Senator and explain to them the impact these bills will have on thousands of working families in New Jersey. In addition, with these bills being likely to pass in Monday’s Senate vote, we need you to call your representatives in the Assembly and let them know what is in these bills!
Here’s what you need to know about this package of legislation:
S-2 – The Pension Bill – would eliminate defined-benefit pension plans for future part-time employees, and change the formula used to calculate pensions to reduce pension values by at least 8.3% for future employees.
>>Learn more
S-3 – The Health Benefits Bill – would require all active employees to contribute 1.5% of their salary towards benefits, all new members to contribute 1.5% of their pension when they retire, and eliminate benefits for future part-time employees.
>>Learn more
S-4 – The Leave Time Bill – would cap sick leave compensation at a maximum of $15,000 and limit vacation leave carry-over to one year for future employees. S-4 also replaces ordinary and accidental disability under TPAF and PERS with purchased private disability insurance.
>>Learn more
SCR-1 – The Constitutional Amendment – would mandate under-funding the pension system for the next eight years, by allowing to State to contribute only 1/7th of its full contribution each year until it reaches 100%.
>>Learn more
mike
The horror of having to contribute 1.5% of your pay for your health benefits. In the private world most people would be delighted to only pay 1.5% of their gross towards benefits.
Anyone remember that Nick Nolte movie “Teachers” I think it was called. The union was trying to protest something that would cut into their time by 3 minutes. the leader kept saying “Those are our 3 minutes”
Sas,
I can believe that story. I suspect a lot of what kids actually learn “in school” actually gets tought at home.
Teachers unions and bureaucracies for years blocked the teaching phonetics in elementary schools, dooming lots of kids to never read capably. Standardized testing forced their hand and they half-heartedly teach it in a few places. Insanity. Teaching to the test wouldn’t be a bad thing if the test is measuring important capabilities. Sometimes that means knowing how to add or subtract, write a sentence gramatically, etc. I know the teachers would rather teach about polar bears and global warming stories, or Kwaanza, or sing Native American songs, but that doesn’t help little Johnny in the long run, other than prepare him for a job in politics/govt.
I know there are some good teachers out there but I bet they’re working outside the bureaucratic box a lot. They too are probably not popular for making the tenured lifers look bad.
Schools would be incredibly better if they had to compete for customers and demonstrate results.
Safe 244 I’ll take 1.5% all day long. It’s a gift.
clot: Do you remember the Greek/GS FX swap that I took a WAG about several days ago. You thanked me for dumbing it down….it appears that I was right on the money (no pun intended). The keys are here:
“Goldman helped Greece pull off a lucrative cross-currency swap in which some $10 billion in Greek debt, issued in dollars and yen to international investors, was swapped for euro debt using a “historical” (and very favorable) exchange rate”
Note: all they have to say is something other than spot market rates….
“Goldman also extended a $1 billion up-front payment to Athens as part of the deal”
Note: nothing shady about the deal in itself; I am sure it was an economic equivalnece…obviously with a generously padded margin for GS.
Goldman Stars in This Greek Tragedy
The firm’s currency and bond deals for Greece have drawn fire
By Elisa Martinuzzi
BW Magazine
March 1, 2010
Goldman Sachs (GS), Wall Street’s most profitable securities firm and a boon to conspiracy theorists the world over, has angered EU regulators over its role as Greece’s enabler—helping the Greek government mask the severity of its debt problems early last decade. Goldman designed an off-balance-sheet currency swap deal that delivered a windfall to the Greeks shortly after they entered the euro zone.
Now there’s evidence Goldman may have also misled investors when it managed the sale of $15 billion worth of Greek bonds in subsequent years, according to a review of bond prospectuses by Bloomberg News. No mention was made of the Greek currency swap in sales documents for the bond offerings in at least 6 of the 10 sales the bank arranged for since the 2002 currency transaction.
Failing to disclose the swap may have allowed Greece, Goldman (a co-lead manager on many of the sales), and other underwriters to get a better price for the securities, says Bill Blain, co-head of fixed income at Matrix Corporate Capital, a London-based broker and fund manager. Goldman has earned about $24 million underwriting the bonds since 2002.
That year, Goldman helped Greece pull off a lucrative cross-currency swap in which some $10 billion in Greek debt, issued in dollars and yen to international investors, was swapped for euro debt using a “historical” (and very favorable) exchange rate, says Christoforos Sardelis, then head of Greece’s Public Debt Management Agency. (Greece entered the euro zone at the start of 2001.) The swaps used by Greece to manage debt were “at the time legal,” Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou said on Feb. 15, adding the government doesn’t use such swaps now.
Athens got far more money than it would have at the prevailing exchange rates for the euro back in 2002. Further, the currency deal didn’t show up in official debt statistics—and did not affect the debt-to-GDP limits for countries in the euro zone. Goldman also extended a $1 billion up-front payment to Athens as part of the deal.
This complex transaction was until recently news to EU regulators, who last week launched an investigation into the Greek currency swap. Goldman could face legal liability “if it could be established that they were knowingly hiding risk, and therefore knew or had reason to know that the bond disclosure documents were misleading,” says Thomas Hazen, a law professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “But that would be a tough hill to climb, in terms of burden of proof. There would have to be some sort of smoking-gun memo.” Michael DuVally, a spokesman at Goldman Sachs in New York, declined to comment.
Legal niceties aside, Goldman’s image in Europe may take yet another hit. “The price of bonds should reflect the reality of Greece’s finances,” Blain says. “If a bank was selling them to investors on the basis of publicly available information, and they were aware that information was incorrect, then investors have been fooled.”
With Maria Petrakis in Athens, Aaron Kirchfeld in Frankfurt, Ilias Antoniou in London, and David Scheer in New York
Martinuzzi is a reporter for Bloomberg News .
I suspect there will be a World War within 2 years starting with an Israeli attack on Iran.
Either Iran or China will be provoked into a nuclear response. After a brief nuclear exchange, there will be a ceasefire. The world will be thrown into fear and chaos – all carefully engineered.
The extreme state of tension will be used to justify heavy social and military controls in all western first world nations. This is the reason for the executive orders.
During the nuclear ceasefire, there is planned to be a covert release of biological weapons. These will initially be targeted against the Chinese. Biological warfare will spread further, to the west. Infrastructure will be critically weakened.
After this, a full nuclear exchange would be triggered: the “real” war, with widespread destruction and loss of life.
The planned population reduction through these combined means is 50%.
“The Anglo Saxon Mission”
The real goal is to set up the post-catastrophic world. The New World Order.
This is my prediction of what will happen if people dont wake up.
Note: “very favorable” for whom? Obviously GS, because they were willing to give Greece cash….the article is vague.
“Goldman helped Greece pull off a lucrative cross-currency swap in which some $10 billion in Greek debt, issued in dollars and yen to international investors, was swapped for euro debt using a “historical” (and very favorable) exchange rate”
AL,
So the “anglo saxon’s” are the illuminati? or do they just want to control the remaining 3.5 billion slightly radioactive people
Hyde, no, thats not really Al. he is just reading from his comic books.
#243 NJEA is out of touch with the working teachers and are out to protect the overpaid administrators. I know a couple of teachers who have no problem contributing 1.5% toward health care. They actually understand that most people who work in the private industry contribute much more their healthcare.
What is amazing to me is that there was no vote on eliminating employees from the League of Municipalities and other private lobbying groups from participating in the public pension system.
#80
“It truly is a wonderful time to be astonishingly wealthy! And they have an army of Fox News watchers making about 1/1000th of what they make to defend their lower tax rates! Amazing.”
People defend them because they believe in PRIVATE property, not because they are rich. If you save some money, you can structure your investments so you will only pay the capital gains rate too.
250.
You nailed it Hyde. I think their real goal is 500 million though.
toxic avenger to be specific…
skep-tic says:
February 19, 2010 at 12:36 pm
If you save some money, you can structure your investments so you will only pay the capital gains rate too.
or buy muni bonds….
also commonly known as a Limousine Liberal
Comrade Nom Deplume says:
February 19, 2010 at 11:24 am
[201] west
Your post reminds me of a former colleague in banking, who was a rabid liberal (white guy who was working on the Jesse Jackson prez. campaign). He was married to an associate at a prestigious Boston law firm, and when he and his spouse decided to settle down, I asked them where they were moving.
I figured, given his politics, he’d be in Jamacia Plain, or Somerville, known for their liberalism and rubbing shoulders with the common man.
His response? “Wellesley”
So he loves the downtrodden, but doesn’t want to be anywhere near them.
129: Man, am I hoping this is the case.
Of course, it makes the teen years he## on earth but it pays off, eventually.
#107
“We tax passive income on capitol gains at a much lower rate than we tax income earned through labor. In effect, are’nt we discouraging work, while allowing the already wealthy to accrue more wealth on passive income? All this sure makes it easy for the rich to get richer.”
another way to look at it is that we are wary of double taxation; that is, much of the money that is invested has already been taxed once when it was earned as ordinary income so it is unfair to tax the profits in respect of these income-based savings at the same rate. in other words, it is just as logical to say there should be no taxes on investment/savings as taxing investment income at ordinary rates
“Head Of Greek Debt Office Replaced By Former Goldman Investment Banker”
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/head-greek-debt-office-replaced-former-goldman-investment-banker
Al,
And the non-anglo Illuminati are OK with this?
First, I’d like to thank you for this informative article. Secondly, I would like to ask where I can get more information regarding your post. I came here through Bing and cannot find any other relevant pages on there. Thanks in advance! :)
Cindy,
When I got my high school transcript, I realized for the first time that we were being *rated* on extra-curricular activities on a scale of 1 to 5. 1, if you were a class officer, varsity athlete, etc.; 5, if you were a dis-interested or non-participating member.
When I looked through my yearbook for the first time in decades, I was struck by all of the “clubs” that I didn’t remember – the huge Spanish club, the physics club. I had jobs after school, and didn’t hang around after hours.
It was all for the college apps.
By the way, I and my brothers ended up doing better than most because we all worked.
chi (247)-
Thanks. I bet Lay and Skilling would be amazed to find that their shenanigans spawned financial practices that will hasten the end of the world.
Impressive, guys!
I am far from a limousine liberal. My car gets 40 mpg. I have lived in Jersey City, Camden, Hartford, and Philly. I have found that these communties, which are both ethincally and economically diverse, are incredible rewarding places to live. The more I got to know these neighborhoods the more I realized they were not as scary as many people thought. To as great an extent as I can, I live my life to reflect my views. Now that we have that out of the way, lets discuss this private property claims.
Taxes are part of the price of a civilized society. I can think of a long list of examples of societies in which taxes are paid and society functions relatively well. Essentially, all of the western world.
If we want to consider low-tax, libertarian style societies that have succeeded I cannot think of one. Somilia, Afghanistan have very weak central governments, low taxes and very high levels of individual freedom. I would not want to live in anyone of them.
#183
“To be more blunt: what the hell purpose does Muhlenberg, Gettysburg, F&M, Kean, Rowan, etc. serve?
And, let’s assume they do serve a purpose. Do we need ALL of them? Which will survive, and which will close?”
second and third tier private liberal arts colleges will either increasingly enroll rich foreigners who can pay full tuition or go out of business. there is no correlation between price and value at these places.
Veto (255)-
You mean, Toxic Avenger isn’t true?
skep (259)-
Understand that you’re speaking to someone who thinks it’s OK to tax that money as many times as necessary to make it disappear.
Al 248 Crazy as it sounds in my book it or something akin to it is on the table.
Don’t think it will play out that way but a war is coming. To many people not enough
resources here we go. Humans as dominant species by nature are designed to kill each other off. Nothing on the plant can kill us off in the numbers needed to keep us in check. So nature made us ready ,willing & able to kill each other. That is just the way it is. Now that we can throw nucs around it gets scary. Biological weapons really make me sh*t my pants. This will not end well.
#248This is my prediction of what will happen if people dont wake up
And if they wake up, than what?
plg (265)-
Dunno. I think I’d have a helluva run as the king of Mogadishu.
Also, I’d like to put you on a bicycle and just have you ride around Camden for 3-4 hours a day with a minicam recording everything that happens. So we can understand how “rewarding” the experience is.
plant = planet
#209
“A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 61% disagree and say the government does not have the necessary consent. Eighteen percent (18%) of voters are not sure.”
just read a history of n-azi germany. similar lack of public confidence in the weimar republic prior to n-azis taking control. when things get real bad, people will galvanize behind any alternative.
skep (266)-
Where are these “rich foreigners”, pray tell? And, rich foreigners tend to by hyper brand-conscious. I don’t see them ponying up in numbers for anything less than Ivy League-level schools.
I don’t see some rich copper baron in Rio jumping with joy over sending young Falcao to Muhlenberg.
#242 They should be ashamed of themselves for even publishing that nonsense
Mike,
at least with a population of 7 billion there is a statistical chance that a few people survive a mass release of bioweapons due to genetic diversity.
Falcao = Graydon
Besides, all the Brazilians just want to go to Disney, then go back home.
Shumpeter,
I have ridden my bike all over those neighborhoods. There is some seriously disturbing social problems going on, but there are also incredibly dedicated people living in communities that they care about. I respect them because even though everyone else has given up on these communities, including everyone in this discussion who thinks we should bomb camden, they have not.
There are “evil” community organizers, people from that evil group Acorn, trying to improve the lives of people you all write off as a lost cause.
You can try all you want to forget, ignore, pretend these problems will go away, but they won’t. There are many people engaged in those problems. Taking the problems on. Which is more than I can say for anyone here who says blow it up, forget about it, let it rot. At least they are trying.
3b-
Why? The NJEA pretty much runs this state. If Christie can crack them, he deserves major props.
Note that I do not think this will happen.
ahh…
love that smell of radon in the air from my granite counter tops.
My lungs just love it.
SAS
3b 270 Same thing by my premise. It is not about waking up Al it is the way humans have evolved in order for the species to continue. If we don’t kill each other off in large numbers what will.
Mike I would be more afraid of Nukes, biologics generally have a fast burn rate and can be contained. This is why Ebola never really makes much noise outside of African outbreaks, but if that bug or any other type of hemorhagic phage mutates into something more communicable look out.
On the other hand 10 megatons can ruin your whole day. I’ll just give you the same advice I give everyone else. The world won’t truely end until the sun reaches the end of its life cycle, we just won’t be here to see it along with the dinosaurs trilobites and other extinct species that came before us.
and the mix of statin niacin drug combination fortified in my local drinking water is wonderful.
The grand kids just love it… they wear a bib cause they drool alot. but, don’t let that bother you.
What time is the Olympic games on? I need to get some more BBQ chips.
SAS
#280 I would like to think in this environemnt, they would lay low, the proposals/reforms are modest. They should know enought to stay silent. The fact that they are challenging this is shocking although you are right, not surprising.
Ket 276 Always looking at the bright side!
Maybe better off with bio than nucs now that I think about it. Nucs we know what will happen with bio stuff you have no idea what they have cooked up. That I guess makes it more scary to most.
#279 Why should we have to pay to clean up someone else’s mess, be it bankers or gangsters?
sorry Tiger Woods, you didn’t let me down.
I could give a rat’s ass about you and your slave labor Nike gloves.
This Tiger Woods, bring in almost a billion in jack, and he still has to pay to get some nook.
Total amateur.
SAS
plg (279)-
Actually, I’m an advocate for conscripting the entire population of a place like Camden to be front-line cannon fodder in the next endless war we start.
That’s how we did it in ‘Nam.
You think Acorn is there for anything other than buying votes and dirty tricks, you really are naive. Acorn is an insult to every community they try to “help”. There are drug dealers and mobsters who do more for those places than Acorn.
Folks, I think we’re getting closer to the true nature of plg.
not all rich foreigners can get into an Ivy (except Brown). Some also want to go to a school where the chicks don’t look like dudes. Most are in no real need of an education since they will never work a day in their lives.
Pain 283 not in fear or running around that the sky is falling. There will be a war because that is what we do. This time we have weapons that are plant killers ,not a good prospect. I would be happy with a nice conventional war.
Pain (283)-
Hold up, dude. plg is proof that trilobites aren’t quite extinct.
“…we just won’t be here to see it along with the dinosaurs trilobites and other extinct species that came before us.”
Shumpeter,
What is amazing is the gulf between the confidence with which you speak and your knowledge and experience.
Have you ever worked with Acorn? Do you have any idea what they do, besides what Fox News tells you to think about them?
245- Remember back in the day when we were taught to diagram sentences? It was a pretty strict kind of discipline. I can still remember my middle-aged English teacher drilling us every day. At the time I didn’t enjoy it but I think this teaching method was effective. Looking back, I think my teachers who raised the bar and challenged us were the most effective. Heck, even my Chorus, (yes, I had Chorus in high school) teacher was amazing. I learned music theory and he forced us to be quiet and learn.
rich foreigners: no one is better at propping up real estate prices and middling liberal arts colleges (TM)
plg,
Your repeated tactic of holding up Somalia or Afghanistan as some sort of free society is simply ignorant. These places are ruled by random thugs. Who cares about taxes, officials steal your food and your daughters as they like.
In your mind, exactly what is the price of civilized society? 70% of one’s wealth? 50%? 20%? I suspect your view is that whatever the take, you still will want it to go higher. It certainly doesn’t cost more than 15% of GDP to provide courts, police, and defense – the foundations of civil society. Was the US civilized between 1776 and 1900?
Back to reality though. Over long periods, countries that allow people to mostly work for themselves, not “the good of society” are more productive and prosperous.
Read up here:
http://www.heritage.org/index/Download.aspx
Top tax rate in Hong Kong is 15%, in Singapore 20%. They’re pretty civilized, and have done great economically, thanks mostly to economic freedom, though they certainly aren’t laissez-faire. Their governments’ focus on property rights and low taxes have been key in attracting people and companies focused on generating wealth.
plg (293)-
I don’t watch Fox News.
Actually, I did work with multiple local charities. I stopped when I realized they’re all gaming the system (especially United Way). And, a lot of the recipients were looking at us with contempt, as they saw the charity as a sign of personal weakness.
The more plg tries to force each of us into a stereotype, the more it becomes evident that he’s a living stereotype.
Al, since you like pissing your bed so much i have a fun research topic for you.
Google what they are secretly building under the new d enver airport, and make sure you take a close look at the painted murals on the wall.
rich foreigners = deus ex machina
A.West,
Unfortunately, according to your logic and if you follow your argument all taxes are illegitimate, right? It is all stealing? It all undermines private property, right? These are extreme arguments.
Now you are saying that there is an acceptable level of taxation. One that provides “courts, police and defense.” In theory these could be privitized as well.
So which is it. Are taxes stealing or not?
PLG – Acorn had long had a bad reputation long before Faux news came along. Ask people folks from Mchigan about all the wonderful things acorn has done for Detroit.
Mike Never said you were nor am I commenting on human nature, we are an wful warring species, but effective biologics are very difficult to create. Nukes are a more bang for the buck deivery system. Just one biologists take.
Schump I stand corrected
Shumpeter,
So because you had a bad experience with a charity, all charities are corrupt?
Painhrtz,
Do you have any support for your claim that Acorn had a bad reputation before Faux News?
I notice how you use vague charges like a “bad reputation.” There is nothing substantive, just a “bad reputation.” With who? For what?
#294 House Whine: Totally agree. I had a math teacher my junior year of high school that all students hated b/c she was challenging. I enjoyed every minute of her class b/c I finally felt like I was learning.
If you are actually interested in knowing more about how claims about ACORN have been exagerated have a look at this little break-down by an impartial group, factcheck.org:
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/acorn_accusations.html
plg (303)-
Not what I’m saying. But thanks for again trying to put words in my mouth.
However, Acorn is a corrupt, POS gang of thugs.
plg is gonna be awful surprised when- after we are all consumed- his idols eventually turn on him, too.
Shumpeter,
gang of thugs…do have any support for this claim?
#306, factcheck is not a neutral source to say the least.
Either way enough with ACORN,and enough with Camden.
If you really care, than move there, and become involved. And you can raise your children there too.
Pain
the “good” thing about nukes is that as our targeting systems and miniturization have improved, major powers have shifted from giant tsar bomb type nukes to smaller Hiroshima type nukes.
This is a huge potential benefit to those immediatly outside of the target range of a few dozen miles. And while it may not be pleasant there is evidence we would survive a fair amount of fallout (as a species).
The case of wildlife around chyrnoble is an interesting example
3b,
If fact check is not a neutral source, is there such a thing?
Between Fox News, the two presidential campaigns and all the other people weighing in ACORN, can we at least agree that factcheck.org is the LEAST biased?
Damn in moderation, PIG your answer should show up when JB gets back
Hyde unfortunately much of the arsenals in Russia and China are about twenty years behind current technologies.
#312can we at least agree that factcheck.org is the LEAST biased?
I honestly cannot say that it is. Either way, what about ny idea of you moving to Camden, since you care so much about it? Put you money where your mouth is.
3b,
I have lived in many neighborhoods similiar to camden. I live in a very diverse neighborhood both ethincally and economically. My wife has worked in some of the worst public schools in the country. My money is exactly where my mouth is.
The problem here is that there is a bury your head in the sand obstinence in the face of information. If the facts don’t agree with you, you say the facts lie.
Acorn is bad because I say so. I ask, why? You say, because I say so.
Well you are wrong, but you are obviously incapable of being swayed by information. If factcheck is too biased for you to rely on, you ave serious problems with reality.
3b (314)-
You’ll get about as far with this as BC did pinning bi down to his investment calls.
plg would be robbed blind, tarred, feathered and ridden out of town on a rail the first day he set foot in Camden.
They HATE do-gooder whiteys there.
Great; he’s a m@sochist, to boot.
“I have lived in many neighborhoods similiar to camden.”
I just got off the phone with an administrator in Montclair. There were two bits of good news. The first piece is that my address is in the, shall we say, economically challenged zone. This means that I now have just as much a chance to get my first choice school as a black family has for the past 30 or so years. The second piece of good news is that Christie has scared the bejeezus out of the school system. When I asked if she could tell me what the number of openings were at each of the kindergarten schools, she said that the recent news will change all of the numbers and they won’t know now until much closer to registration day. It appears to me that they me cutting the number of teachers in our township. I can only hope they cut some administrators as well.
[265] plg
I don’t think anyone here thinks of you as a limousine liberal. We have pretty much figured out that there is no limousine there.
As for Philly, I lived there 5 years and enjoyed it immensely, and was not worried about urban issues. Of course, I did have my carry permit—that dispels a lot of worry (or at least transfers it to the sketchy dudes that I tailed while walking my pooch. Something about the sound of a round entering the chamber that dissuades your average thug from doing something Darwinian).
#315 You are putting words in my mouth. You say Fox news is baised, but ACORN is not, I say ACORN is not a neutral organization, you agree but say it is less baised than Fox. Says who? Says you? Based on what? I at least acknowledge that I cannot honestly say which organization is less biased. However factcheck has liberal sympathies to say the least, to hold them up as somehow better than Fox is rich in my opinion.
As far as where you live etc. who cares, really so what, you are going on about Camden and bike paths in a place that is a war zone. If you care so much about Camden than live there.
As far as teachers and bad schools, my sister teaches in a NYC inner school, she has been beaten up twice by parents. She stays because she cares. The parents should be executed, and the parents are the real cause of most of the problems in Camden and else where in society form top to bottom. If we require people to license dogs, than we should require that parents have a license to have children.
[315] plg
“My money is exactly where my mouth is.”
So was ours, when we were in Vietnam.
I applaud your willingness to put yourself out to help people that (increasingly) have no interest in helping themselves. I only ask that, if there is a solution to be found, that you use the least amount of my money as possible.
When it comes to Camden, I think that concertina wire is far more cost effective than a bike path.
“This means that I now have just as much a chance to get my first choice school as a black family has.”
Stu, something is not pc about this. but i just cant put my finger on it.
3b,
“You are putting words in my mouth. You say Fox news is baised, but ACORN is not, I say ACORN is not a neutral organization, you agree but say it is less baised than Fox. Says who? Says you? Based on what? I at least acknowledge that I cannot honestly say which organization is less biased. However factcheck has liberal sympathies to say the least, to hold them up as somehow better than Fox is rich in my opinion.”
Wait a second, slow down. We need to seperate two seperate organizations. ACORN is very different than FactCheck.
First, I am not saying ACORN is “neutral.” They clearly have an agenda. Their agenda is to empower the poor. They are a community organizing non-proft. This is different than saying ACORN is corrupt or a bunch of thugs, which Shumpeter and Fox News are claiming.
I am saying that FactCheck, which is a non-partison group within the Annenburg school at the University of Penn, is much less biased than Fox News. They have no profit motive, that have no political agenda. Fox News has both. According to FactCheck, ACORN has not done anything illegal and all of the allegations against them are unfounded.
Clearly the Republicans have a motive to smear a group like ACORN. Acorn registers poor voters, which is well within their rights. Republicans don’t want poor voters registered so they smear ACORN. Fox News, as the propoganda arm of the Republican part, runs stories smearing Acorn.
FactCheck has no skin in this game and they say it is all BS.
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride my bike
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride it where I like
Stu,
cutting administrators? Token ones at best. I predict that the educrats will maximize the perceived customer impact of budget cuts, so that they can claim that Christie has “devastated public schools”. Meanwhile, the administrators will remain highly paid, secure in their bunkers, waiting for the public to cave in their war against our children and our tax money.
Schumpeter, what are your bona fides anyway. Seems like plg is at least earnest while you spout the endorsement of wiping out segments of your fellow citizens. When was the last time YOU were in Camden. I’ve taken my kids to the aquarium and the ballpark and had dinner nearby and wasn’t raped or murdered. Comrade and I have had similar discussion on the “wasteland” that is Trenton, where I live in a house in a strong, diverse neighborhood and use public schools. You want to string up concertina wire around me? Wipe me out? I have a job/pay taxes/etc. Am I a waste in your eyes? It’s one thing to be boorish. Everyone was that right (obviously from some of the posts here) but the hate you spew is pretty high up on the nasty scale.
Re: Mainstreaming special-ed kids
Long time lurker, rare poster. Just had to chime in on this debate.
My younger sister has Down’s Syndrome and was one of the last of her “kind” to be in a special ed class with all Down’s Syndrome children. She was not mainstreamed but their class was always included in assemblies, etc. She and her friends are all now in their early 20s and still hang out all the time and hold down jobs. There’s always social activities and the parents are all close and support each other.
Nowadays special ed classes are all autistic children and the Down’s children are mainstreamed. Many of these parents insist that their children are just like the regular kids and want them in regular classes. But you know what? They’re not just like regular kids. Once they graduate, they are no better off than my sister and her friends… their schoolmates have moved on to college, etc., and they are left without a support system since these parents insisted that their children be around “normal” kids all these years instead of with their “own kind” (as un-PC as that sounds, it’s true). It’s really very sad.
There’s an interesting question with the Woodbridge Township school system, and I haven’t seen anyone broach it, probably because the generation that settled there in the 1950′s and 1960′s – and their children – are long gone.
There are 3 high schools. The main one was always Woodbridge proper. In the 1960′s, they built two more to accommodate the baby boomers. JFK in Iselin opened first – around 65. Colonia was last – opened for the 68/69 school year.
Before Colonia, JFK had huge classes. ’68 was about 550, ’69, about 440.
But the school population is much lower now. My niece’s class in ’02 was about 180 kids.
So .. couldn’t they re-combine the populations of JFK and Colonia into one high school?
There must be situations like that all over NJ – and lots of underutilized grammar schools that were built for the baby boomers, too.
has. You got my Irish up.
scribe,
yep.
guess how many admin and staff they would have to fire? that will never happen voluntarily
328
Howell just closed an elementary school this past year. After dispersing the kids and staff to other schools I think about 20 teachers were let go or not replaced due to retirement. Two administrators were not replaced.
Trenton,
Isn’t it easy to just $hit all over everything and say it isn’t worth it like Shumpeter does! The sky is falling, blow up Camden, kill everyone who disagrees!
Its a bit more difficult to actually try to improve things or deal with the problems in a constructive manner. Thankfully, there are people who actually care enough to try to make things better, regardless of how daunting the problems are.
plg says:
February 19, 2010 at 12:52 pm
I have lived in Jersey City, Camden, Hartford, and Philly.
Hmmmm…how about Hoboken, suburbs of Camden, suburbs of Hartford, and Philly…..and distant suburbs of Baltimore?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpcADlZVtqY
not sure if thsi was discussed here but its definitivelty worth a look.
Bus fight down in AC!!!!Very Funny.
[326] trenton takes, period.
“Comrade and I have had similar discussion on the “wasteland” that is Trenton”
????
When was that? Don’t know your sock, and don’t recall discussing Trenton, at least not for a long time.
Still, I must have discussed something, and it is an accurate portrayal. When I worked in the USDC there, the parts near the courthouse were referred to as Little Beiruit. Did not see very much of Trenton, but what a good portion of what I did see was a wasteland.
Good to hear your ‘hood is doing fine though.
“Bomb Explodes Outside JP Morgan Athens, None Hurt”
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/02/16/world/international-us-greece-explosion.html?_r=2&dbk
[333] chifi
I will give plg his props if he ever lived in Sandtown or Dundalk.
[309] plg
“gang of thugs…do have any support for this claim?”
For my small part, I suggest you file a FOIA request with Jennifer J. Johnson, Secretary, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, for all correspondence from ACORN concerning applications under Section 3 of the Bank Holding Company Act.
Then compare their assertions with the actions of ACORN and the targets.
I think you will find an interesting correlation.
BTW, when ACORN, NRCR, Greenlining, Rainbow Coalition, La Raza do this, it is protected speech. If you or I did this, it is extortion and racketeering.
#323 I th
Their agenda is to empower the poor? Empower them to do what? I think ACORN’s first agenda, and the Tea Baggers for that matter is to enrich themselves.
If the power want to empower themselves, they need to stop engaging in self destructive behavior.
The interesting thing about Congress is they can not do anything any more that is not sponsored by some outside Lobby Group. If 12/20/2012 becomes a reality, and we need more then 2 Senators and 5 House Members to make a decision to save us, we are toast, unless their is a powerful Anti 2012 Lobby Group to activate Congress. It’s as though they are 99.9% automatons continually waiting for instructions. Maybe we can survive by throwing out the Robots in 2010 & 2011, but doubtful. Most people vote based upon what they thought was true years ago.
I’m just glad the tea baggers terminology stuck. I still giggle at the thought of these sheeple dropping trow and planting their sack on each others faces.
Comrade,
I am sorry but I cannot read through the haze of the conspircy thoery bomb you dropped in 338. The haze is thick…very thick.
Schumpeter says:
February 19, 2010 at 9:00 am
My daughter would get a better education, make money and avoid getting into debt if she went to work for me the day she graduates HS.
college costs are out of control but damn college was 5 really, really fun years. i did get lucky and my parents paid, but im of the opinion (minority on this board, probably) that if possible try to let your kids experience undergrad.
#339 If the power want to empower themselves, they need to stop engaging in self destructive behavior.
It should have read if the poor
want to empower themselves, they need to stop engaging in self destructive behavior.
“Why don’t we instead spend the money used in “mainstreaming” by putting these kids in more appropriate programs? A Midland School or Matheny School-type model must be reproducable…and don’t most NJ ESCs have programs tailored for those too mentally disabled to take advantage of conventional education?”
Of course! Where do you think frank got his ‘schooling?’
3b,
I beleive they seek to empower the poor by helping them to (1) register to vote; (2) get involved in their community. Really scandalous, scary stuff.
Why don’t you read up a little and see what everyone is so afraid of:
http://www.acorn.org/index.php?id=12439&tx_ttnewstt_news=22661&tx_ttnewsbackPid=12387&cHash=8a7beac972
“i did get lucky and my parents paid. try to let your kids experience undergrad.”
Yikes, any situation where someone else is paying for you to ‘get lucky’ is bound to be a memorable and joyous experience.
No wonder you stretched it out the extra year, you devil you.
Stu (318)-
Why don’t you just tell the schools you’re black?
3b (320)-
Truth be told, American society values dogs more than children.
3B (192):
“Most parents do not want to say my child is a plumber, carpenter etc. it does not sound prestigious”
I can hope and dream that little Gator grows up to be a plumber or an electrician. I see what they charge and what they drive. Plus it’s almost an all cash business. You also make your own hours and after about ten years, never get your hands dirty again as the good ones end up training apprentices who will perform the work for ya.
After negotiating a cash deal with the guy who installed my water heater, I learned a lot about the business. I also saved $50 by putting in the hot to cold ground wire and clamps myself.
Trenton (326)-
Trenton is a viper pit of cravenness, larceny, petty crime, backstabbing and thievery.
Now, let’s discuss what goes on OUTSIDE the State House…
#346 They need somebody to help them do this?
“Why don’t you just tell the schools you’re black?”
I actually suggested to Gator that we do that. If they question it, which would be incredibly uncomfortable for them to do, I would just say that, “I got soul, and I’m super bad!”
Actually I would just say I made a careless error.
http://www.roxannegennari.com/about_me.html
This agent pretty much trolls the whole county.
Her picture here is way too upbeat.
She needs a new one that better reflects the current market.
Like this one for example…
http://images.frontdoor.com/FDOOR/Generic_Images/026-Bad-credit-miserable-mortgage-payer.jpg
plg (332)-
At some point, when do you say enough money has been thrown down the sinkhole? When do you say enough good effort has been wasted after bad? When do you say that enough is enough?
Trenton and Camden deteriorated in slow motion over the better part of two generations, and every societal panacea that was the rage at that time was employed to try to turn these places around. All they succeeded in doing was to lock subsequent generations into a pattern of dependency and sloth.
Now, on top of all this, add a gazillion illegals, virtually all of whom look at the US as a giant cash-ho, begging to be r@ped.
When do we admit that some people just aren’t worth it and don’t deserve any more of our “help” (that isn’t really help, anyway)? When do we admit to ourselves that most of our ideas of what aid even is just serve to invisibly enslave the people it’s meant to help?
So dumbassed kids being mainstreamed NOW are a problem to the rest of the smarter and more compliant kids…..but as an ADULT now, posting here in NJRERE, YOUR ranking in a lower level class back in the day was NOT evidence of you being a dumbass, but rather a foreshadowing of your nonconformist abilities that have allowed you to get farther in life and see through the smoke and mirrors that society, gubmint, etc are selling.
Got it!
Or something like this…
http://janeheller.mlblogs.com/miserable.woman.jpg
plume (335)-
Dude probably lives in Chambersburg or West Trenton.
Good thing we built that aquarium and Tweeter performance center and baseball field down in Camden. It really turned the economy around down there.
Good thing we built that aquarium and Tweeter performance center and baseball field down in Camden. It really turned the economy around down there.
Stu,
wait until we built a bycycle rout that connect Trenton and Phili. That will spur some economic activity.
yikes (343)-
Honestly, in retrospect, I took four years to get the amount of learning- and do the amount of partying- that I could’ve easily compressed into one year.
It also took me the better part of a decade to rid my brain of all the fcuked up ideas I got in college, too.
That we actually agree on Schumpeter.
Comrade, I got defensive awhile back re:Trenton and leveling it and you mentioning the “animals” that live there but then we talked it out. BTW, This old House magazine just named one of the neighborhoods here one of the most desireable in the country if you like old homes. Some great housing stock here if people can get over their misconseptions:
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/0,,20343297_20738506,00.html
Stu (353)-
I’d dare them to prove I’m not black.
Besides, Oprah says we’re all black.
stu (360)-
I like the way that the police form a human cordon out of all those attractions so that nobody dare wander off the main drag on the way out of town.
Make money, there already is one. I’ve been on it. It goes through Trenton. If you came out of your suburban hole/mall/bunker wherever you are, you would see that people use this stuff. Of yeah, you’re not making money off of it so what does it matter?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Coast_Bicycle_Route
[342] plg
Geez, now I have to connect the dots for you?
It isn’t really conspiracy theory, but simple economics. To make any structural change, banks need to apply to their regulators for permission (the Fed is one).
The applications are subject to public comment.
Groups like ACORN go to the banks (via the CRA officer) and tell them “donate to our cause or we’ll protest your application, and get all our friends to join us and lean on the regulator to either deny your app. or force you to ‘commit’ to lend to our consituents.”
Bank will usually make some token payola. Then the group (be it ACORN or another group) will announce its “partnership” with the bank. It may even testify on behalf of the bank to rebut the groups opposing the bank.
Contrast that with Joey Knuckles, going to a business and telling them “pay me or I will make youse life miserable.”
Now, is it sufficiently clear as to how ACORN would try to shake down banks? Don’t believe me, write to J3 (as we called her) and request the docs for yourself. Or the OCC, FDIC, or OTS—the docs are on file there too.
Barb,
i am going to guess that was directed at me.
Actually i tested into G&T. The teachers (one in particular actually) didnt like being challenged. The one i apparently pissed off had some pull at the school and wanted me classified because i wasnt compliant.
Dont forget, I AM a highschool janitor and this is the internet. Believe nothing that you read here.
Oh, and i drive a Ferrari have super models constantly bothering me and like to swim in my money bin while admiring my lucky dime.
I’d bet $10,000 nobody in Montclair schools would challenge your claim of being black.
You could also probably claim to be a Tibetan refugee.
Liberal rule #4: never challenge someone else’s victimhood.
[366] trenton
The trail goes along the river.
Hardly qualifies as the ‘hood. I’d bike that route in a second (but only in daylight).
[363] trenton
I know that neighborhood. Yes, there are some nice old houses, but quite a few ready to fall down in some neighborhods.
Same thing in Washington, DC. I was stunned by the beautiful architecture there that was going to seed.
But, as with DC, I would never live in Trenton, and for the same reasons: There is too much crime, no ability for me to defend myself, and with tax (and gun) preferred PA (or VA) right across the river, well, it’s no contest.
Mr Hyde,
it was two posts and a general “mmmm hmmm” around the topic of the day, no single poster, just a blind spot that I found amusing.
[342] plg
I will, however, confess that the street went two ways. Once the groups like ACORN were in the stable, they gave the banks cover, and could be leaned on to go against their buddies (or, as was usually the case, sit that one out and leave the field to the true nutjob protesters).
I recall one time when Citi was engaged in a major deal, and it was being mass-protested. I noticed that one of the protestors was also a “partner” in Citi’s CRA effort. I pointed it out to the CRA officer, who told me “Yeah, I saw that. They’ll be getting a call from me about next year’s contribution.”
no prob barb,
i have a thick hyde ;)
y: there are less expensive ways for your kid to learn life lessons……and in the end, you allow them financial freedom as a young person…
Yikes says:
February 19, 2010 at 3:02 pm
Schumpeter says:
February 19, 2010 at 9:00 am
My daughter would get a better education, make money and avoid getting into debt if she went to work for me the day she graduates HS.
college costs are out of control but damn college was 5 really, really fun years. i did get lucky and my parents paid, but im of the opinion (minority on this board, probably) that if possible try to let your kids experience undergrad.
[365] clot
“I like the way that the police form a human cordon out of all those attractions so that nobody dare wander off the main drag on the way out of town.”
I know, isn’t that hysterical? I guess they are there to protect the blameless citizens from those thuggish, suburbanite hoodlums who just want to drive through Camden streets with reckless abandon and no good on their minds.
Hyde I always knew you were Scrooge Mcduck!
I was thrown out of G&T because I called out the teacher on the absurdity of her assignements and turning the rest of the nerds against her.
Also was thrown out of Catholic school if anyone cares, which you probably don’t. I just seem to have problems taking orders from people I hold an intellectual advantage over. I have gotten better I just ignore them now.
#1 blow me
#2 dude?
Schumpeter says:
February 19, 2010 at 3:26 pm
plume (335)-
Dude probably lives in Chambersburg or West Trenton.
Pain
I always knew you were Scrooge Mcduck!
It would be my pleasure to buy you a beer, for making that connection ;)
I got in trouble for ignoring the boring drivel.
Back to moping the floors…..
357; Barb, you mean there were parents talking about how we (I) would never amount to anything and what a waste of resources we were? Perish the thought.
[342] plg
And here’s a tidbit from ACORNs own website, dated right after I left the firm that handled all the application work for Citi, and not long after Citi completed a major acquisition (that ACORN did not protest–go figure).
http://www.acorn.org/index.php?id=2082
The defense rests.
Hyde thanks I have been drinking Victory Prima Pils lately a six pack would be fine and I’m willing to share ; )
That and it means I watched way to many cartoons well into my teens
Submitted for your approval:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/feb/16/why-liberals-are-lawyers-puppets/
“Also was thrown out of Catholic school if anyone cares”
Im beginning to see a trend here.
Tosh was thrown out of Catholic school too.
Kept turning the crosses upside down or something like that.
plg, Jersey City? Where’d you live Newport? Real Jersey City does not take kindly to whitey do-gooders(considered weak, an easy mark). I have to agree with Clot, walk past the projects or section 8 in Jersey City and either they’ll sell you drugs or rob you, most probably by a brick to the back of the head. I’ve had my car chased by hoards of 12-15 yr old kids yelling white people(What do you think this was about)! Same goes for Camden; Rutgers and the waterfront is like a fortress and is pretty nice…if only the rest of unsubsidized Camden were like that.
Camden is not a place anyone really wants to live, serious social issues, dangerous, real lack of true neighborhoods etc. It’s like living in the third world! How many times were you robbed and how long did you live there, were you armed at all? or are you a large person(I.E doesn’t look like an easy mark!)
Philly and Jersey City both have some positive qualities and areas(real neighborhoods with conveniences) that could be pleasant to live in, even non yuppie neighborhoods.
This little beauty in Hightstown was bought in Dec 2005 for $254k.
They are asking 209k today. Taxes are about $7k. Schools are kind of bad i think (dont know).
At least they are being reasonable about it. They dont seem as greedy and blatant as many dilusional sellers out there.
For that reason, I hope they get full ask price. Unfortunately they will not.
http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/Mercer-County_NJ_08520_1110910714
#386 – Tosh was thrown out of Catholic school too.
Indeed I was, for a variety of fun and exciting reasons!
“I’d dare them to prove I’m not black.”
Go for it. I know you like to pinch pennies, but spring for a DNA ancestry test just in case. Multiple generations and six degrees of separation and it’s a good bet you’ll find some real soul in there.
The results would be something I’d pay to see – Montclair Board of Ed v. Stu, with BoE asserting that 1/x ‘blackness’ is not adequate to get the white little gator into the minority school.
We will have come full circle on the social engineering idiocy with that one.
I called nun an F’n penguin beat that tosh
#391 – I started a fire in the gym during class.
Well played sir well played
#393 – Thank you, although insulting nuns does warm the traditionalist in me!
261.
Hyde, Good question. Im sure their are rivals.
If the people wake up they lose. They dont control everything but can influence events on a timeline. In other words they have to achieve one event in order to advance to the next event.
Getting the war started in the Middle East is their top priority. If and when that event happens I personally will probably set up shop in South America depending on how things play out.
Thats why we cant let Obama get manipulated into starting a BS war.
On a bright note, was away for a few days skiing with the kids. Saw my parents. My father and I (over each of our wives’ objections) decided it was time the boys learned a little about rifles so purchased them a .22.
Little guy, 9, nailed the target a few times (25+ yards out) despite the weight of the rifle making him a bit unsteady. Big guy, 12, is a marksman.
“See, Dad, COD4 isn’t totally a waste. I’m a sniper on there, too!”
Good times.
Comrade,
So you rest your case that Acorn entered into an agreement with Citi to:
“Form an affordable mortgage-lending program between Citigroup and ACORN Housing Corp. (AHC) to develop a specialized mortgage product for all AHC’s homeownership centers, and make mortgages available to immigrants who have previously been shut out of credit markets.
Work together to expand access to the Earned Income Tax Credit, and, in immigrant communities, expand access to Citibank’s Access Account and low-cost remittance program.
Expand financial education to assist low- and moderate-income consumers in saving, obtaining credit, and using credit wisely.
Focus on community-development lending to increase affordable housing in areas where the Citibank Community Development and ACORN footprints coincid
Provide borrowers with access to the best combination of loan product, price, service, and attributes.
Establish a net-benefit test for real estate secured loans.”
Wow, that is truly devestating stuff. This organization sounds really evil.
Yes, Acorn is guilty….guilty of empowering the poor.
That being said, I believe in the viability of cities and think that actually rehabbing cities is a fantastic idea. I am somewhat familiar with the trenton area you are speaking of and it has positive qualities, unfortunately there is a small group pof people who will impede the progress, i.e thugs and drug dealers. If they could manage crime and eliminate the negative element, and make it financially viable to live there these cities would rise again.
jcer,
I live downtown JC, which has its fair share of projects. Its not exactly “unsafe,” but there were drug dealers about.
I think most urban areas are victims of fear more than anything else. White-flight and the years of fear have made these places unattractive for businesses, homeowners and the like. The reality, I have found, is quite different.
Yes, there is a risk of being robbed. I had my apartment robbed once in Hartford, had my car broken into in Philly, but never had a problem anywhere else.
The fear is completely out of proportion with the actual danger. 90% of murders are gang-related or by someone the victim knows. It is exceedinly rare for someone to be randomly murdered, even in the worst cities.
Jcer 398,
only if reasonably paying jobs are available. For a rise of any city such as camden, newark, trenton, you would need a number of employers in the area that provide reasonable wages.
NJ doesnt exactly have new businesses lining up to move into the state.
you need to fix both local culture and local commerce
#391 and #392 are simultaneously troubling and hilarious.
401 Clot
This blog is troubling and hilarious.
Half my pleasure in coming here lies in being able to admit how fcuked up I am and knowing my issues don’t amount to a hill of peas in comparison.
Agreed jcer. I can understand that some people like Comrade would be scared and not want to participate in the process, which is fine. But why then advocate the abandonment, no wait, the annihilation of other people? I understand that lots of people on here get their rocks off being some sort of Libertarian Lenny Bruce. Whatever. It starts to get creepy with the whole, “I can’t wait to start shooting people from my compound!” cr@p.
With that, here’s an interesting development smack dab in the middle of Trenton. Suspend your prejudices and you might see there is some interesting things happening in this state:
http://trentonferry.com/quality.php
plg
careful, you getting close to some uncomfortable crime stats.
Hint: violent crime stats broken down by race
plg (397)-
Pardon me for underestimating how pluperfectly stupid you truly are.
299.
Veto, where do you get off saying Im pissing myself. I have repeatedly said I know longer give a f#ck because Americans have devolved in to some subhuman form of existence. They are dumbed down so much they lack the ability to get mad.
I have done a lot of research into the holocaust. I came across a picture of a man sitting on the edge of a mass grave while a Nazi soldier held a pistol to his head. I asked myself what would make people that apathetic that they would refuse to fight. Strong religious faith? Or complete demoralization.
The guy that flew that plane yesterday got mad and decided to fight back. While I dont condone his action I admire the fact that he made a stand.
Regarding Denver airport. I am aware. Im not into symbols though.
By the way a good friend of mine had to see a shrink for punching a nun in the face in 8th grade.
i count only 10 real estate posts today.
4 were from me and stu’s were more about being ‘black’ than real estate so they really dont count.
But ACORN was mentioned 438 times.
For me, this is not a good day.
Can i please blame plg for this?
plg, stay on topic buddy. nobody cares if you want to win a debating trophy but at least try to make it about real estate. thx.
plg, would you rat on me to the school board if I claimed I were black?
Clot
Honestly, I love coming on here. Sometimes its to see the stupidity in poor arguments but most of the time, its because there is a great deal of intellect here. I may not agree with some statements, but I respect them when there is data or a compelling enough argument to back it up. Unfortunately, I think all of us are frustrated in waiting for the market to bottom/level out/home prices to be more affordable. I think there is bitterness that’s showing. And showing far more then it has in the past. Maybe it’s time for me to go do my Oms.
jcer (398)-
I think it’s pretty much settled that once US cities drive out their productive tax base, these cities die and can never be brought back to life.
I cannot think of one US city that has done this and recovered from it.
403.
I come to this blog to read Shumps comments. Otherwise Id probably drive off the road into a tree in despair.
Is that reinvestor101 in this article?
He always hinted he was going to do it.
I guess I never took him serious.
“Frustrated Owner Bulldozes Home Ahead Of Foreclosure”
http://www.wlwt.com/news/22600154/detail.html
the kicker?
check out the poll from the link I posted above.
SAS
Wow. The braintrust was busy today! Glad to see ya’ll sorted everything out.
Trenton (404)-
That thing is doomed to fail.
BTW, before I nuked Trenton, I’d give everybody a week to get out.
al (407)-
My FIL and MIL are Holocaust survivors.
They said the complicit Jews were much worse than any Nazi they encountered, including Mengele.
lost (410)-
Take plg with you.
BTW, drinking is more effective as a mood stabilizer.
“Maybe it’s time for me to go do my Oms.”
really hope this hasn’t been posted …
http://www.wlwt.com/news/22600154/detail.html
UNREAL!!
man bulldozes his own house before they foreclose on it. they want his business, too. OUTSTANDING
Hoskins’ business in Amelia is scheduled to go up for auction on March 2, and he told Fuller he’s considering leveling that building, too.
RiverHills Bank declined to comment on the situation, but Hoskins said his actions were intended to send a message.
NYC
Schumpeter says:
February 19, 2010 at 5:21 pm
jcer (398)- I think it’s pretty much settled that once US cities drive out their productive tax base, these cities die and can never be brought back to life.
I cannot think of one US city that has done this and recovered from it.
[397] plg
Yes, citi and Acorn do those things. At the point of a proverbial gun. Admittedly, it’s something of a popgun, but I have been in that trench, and see how these “partnerships” are forged.
It is the bank buying off the activists, pure and simple. Not a whole lot of altruism goes into that partnership. It is done to reduce “reputational risk” and to comply with CRA, which these groups wield like a sword to exact concessions.
I know. I made a nice living for 4 years fending them, and groups like them, off.
Besides, what did you expect the presser to say? That we successfully extorted $$$ out of citibank to fund our pet projects and keep our constituents happy?
[404] trenton,
Since when did I ever advocate annihilation? I am a live-and-let-live kind of guy.
I am all for letting Trentonians enjoy their city, and if I am misinformed about how wonderful it is, so be it. Besides, isn’t Trenton so much better without my ilk?
Now, seeing that Trenton (and places like Trenton) are such misunderstood diamonds in the rough, perhaps NJ and the feds can take that hose out of my wallet now?
From the FWIW File:
http://blogcritics.org/culture/article/those-who-cant-do-teach/page-2/
BC Culture Premium
Most people are quite familiar with the saying, “Those who can’t do, teach.” This statement suggests that people who have failed or would be failures in the world outside of academia end up as teachers.
The origins of this quote and various permutations of it are unclear. An early quote of similar meaning comes from George Bernard Shaw in “Maxims for Revolutionists” in Man and Superman (1903). The history of viewing the teaching profession with contempt or at the very least disregard may date back to the origins of the apple for the teacher custom.
In the Middle Ages, knowledge was viewed as God’s gift. Since it was God’s gift, it was seen as wrong to charge for it. As a result of this view, teachers at many institutions were not paid at all for their work. They had to rely on the gifts and charity of appreciative students.
Sometimes, a teacher was lucky to receive an apple so he’d have something to eat. It’s rather difficult to develop a mindset that a profession is pursued by people of high capability if that service is offered free of charge.
The value of the work being done as well as the education level required to perform that work is reflected in the salary, yet teachers are still relatively low-paid compared to other jobs with similar educational requirements. Additionally, teaching is one of the few professions that require a higher education, yet people commonly suggest those who take that career path are deficient in some fashion.
Being a teacher requires more than a standard Bachelors degree, but many people still view teaching as a profession for lazy or unskilled people. A favored chestnut among those who hold such views is the anecdotal story about the incompetence of teachers who teach topics related to professions in which they have never engaged.
example, a business teacher who has never successfully run a business can’t possibly know real world business well enough to teach the topic effectively.
The attitude that a teacher must have worked in the profession that his students will eventually pursue is a reflection of ignorance of the point of education. There is a difference between receiving an education and attending vocational school. A vocational or technical school teaches specific skills that a student carries over to a job.
Education is about equipping students with a broad base of knowledge they can draw on to become successful in the occupations they pursue.
It is up to the student to digest the information he receives and find an application for it in his life, not for the teacher teach him each individual step. Considering that each company and job demands a customized set of skills, this is certainly a more reasonable approach. Even similar jobs may require different approaches at different types of businesses.
The sales tactics for selling computers requires a different approach than selling cars. Also, companies in the same industry often adopt their own approach. Marketing at Apple, where the focus is on design and limited numbers of models, would be a very different job than marketing at Dell, where the emphasis is on frequent sales, different equipment combinations, and low price.
Universities need only teach the fundamentals of each discipline and the companies can do the rest.
If you feel teachers don’t know what they’re talking about when it comes to the real world, then you’re missing the point of education. The point is not to memorize a sequence of steps to be regurgitated as needed at a future job. Teachers are there to help you learn how to be smart enough to figure out those steps on your own.
yeah I’ve done the urban pioneer thing for about 20 years now. Here’s whatcha get: Fabulous vintage craftsman with exquisite details. Charming street with heirloom gardens and a lot of pride. Some great fellow pioneer neighbors, but not nearly enough to make the hood safe. Never walk more that a 4 block radius. Condoms on my front garden, disovered by youngster during Easter Egg Hunt and many times during gardening in years past (pimps like to park the Johns here because its quiet and unsuspecting). Drugs are just a short 6 blocks to the south. No retail, NONE outside of seeding bodegas which are often covers for the heroin trade, have to drive for a gallon of milk and everything else.
Corrupt city govt run by some daft white trash families that live like a clan on the other side of town, supported by the minority city workers that vote them in year after year. Taxes through the roof for a lousy and violent school system. Mexican gangs that have entrenched within the last 10 years. Unusable parks that serve as prostitute drops offs and pick ups (see above about related litter). Late night games of “Fire cracker, gun shot or car backfired?.” Good times. Pit bulls and Rotties…I could go on.
But the houses ARE nice.
NYC is more than Manhattan.
Been to Jamaica recently?
417…can you imagine waking up one morning only to be considered illegal by the state. Not only that but there is a death warrant out for you as well.
418 Clot
BTW, drinking is more effective as a mood stabilizer.
I used to think so too. But that doesn’t work in my case. As a matter of fact, since I started doing yoga, I have lost my tolerance for alcohol. My body recognizes it instantly as poison and treats me accordingly.
[416] clot
“BTW, before I nuked Trenton, I’d give everybody a week to get out.”
First, perhaps you missed the point of Trenton’s post. Trenton is much more appealing place than we give credit for, so perhaps nuking it is a tad much. Besides, Bucks is still in the CEP and fallout pattern.
Dynamiting the bridges over the Delaware is a much better plan. And if you are gonna nuke, dynamite them well in advance. Not that any Trentonians will want to slum it in Bucks County, but why upset the apple cart.
423. Did several years in ChiTown. Got to see a drive by one gorgeous summer evening…as we strolled along a ‘nice street’ in Lincoln Park….
Barb (423)-
You do have a way of cutting to the chase.
lost (426)-
Maybe it’s the other way around? :(
plume (427)-
OK, I’ll go with your idea. I still get to watch things go boom, so it’ll be fine.
Off to the Ashram for T. Woods??? “Buddhism teaches that a craving for things outside ourselves causes an unhappy and pointless search for security,” Woods said. “It teaches me to stop following every impulse and to learn restraint. Obviously I lost track of what I was taught.”
430 Clot
Could be. The only place I can drink the way I used to is when I’m in NOLA. Must be mind over matter. But my mind makes my body do bad things when I drink here in NY so its best I refrain. Of course, I was named the Beer Bottle Ninja so you could just try to get me drunk then point me at someone you can’t stand and see what happens. :)
sx (432)-
After looking at a few of those women, I’d say what he lost was his eyesight.
And the p0rn chick and cougar were just gross.
Essex
Woods is a Buddhist? I never would have guessed. One day I’ll tell you about the Buddhist monk that went to the S& M place and left because he wanted sex instead of a beating.
At the next GTG, I predict Clot gets Lost drunk and seeks out plg.
lost (433)-
I’m just gonna let that BP fastball run right by me into the catcher’s mitt.
Just made another 10% on my Chinese Rice.
Thats 30% after a 2 for 1 split. If America is finished Im gonna milk those Communist screaming Chinamen for every calorie they get.
[421] Sorry, Comrade, Schump was about annihilation, you were just advocating detention camps. When it comes to Camden, I think that concertina wire is far more cost effective than a bike path.. And re:to the hose—think the Feds might have to stop funding worldwide warfare and the state will have to do something about the state worker pension system before that happens, neither of which have anything to do with the city of Trenton.
[416] Schump, you can do better than that!
plume (437)-
Alas- like all trolls- plg will never show his face.
No troll here ever has.
I can’t believe it. This has now devolved into a guy from Trenton busting on Camden.
Time to go home. I’ve done my 20 minutes of work for today.
what’s a nice penny dutch girl with great taste to do? I hate the drywall boxes in the burbs, but can’t raise my kids here either.
438 Clot
Probably best for all involved.
443 Barbara
What’s the general area you live in? Unfortunately, it sounds like so many areas that have deteriorated over the years. Big beautiful houses in the middle of a sh!t area. I wish we could just pick them up and move them somewhere.
And don’t forget, if you dynamite the bridges how would all the double-dipping state workers get home to Bucks? Maybe they’d have to LIVE in the state they work for? http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/02/proposed_bill_would_require_st.html
Al.
The main reason that you irritate me is because you have a horrible habit of presenting extremely alarming yet totally vague, conspiracy-induced problems based on half truths – then followed up with you calling everyone stupid despite the fact that you couldn’t possibly have the full story yourself.
I hope when the sh!t goes down that you are the last man standing.
445. New Brumfus, NJ
440.
Sorry man but no one values state workers here. In the real world state workers are viewed as counter productive to prosperity which they are. The informed dont give 2 sh#ts about pensions either because you can fund it all you want but it wont buy anything. Pensions are for suckers. For example.
State worker(government tit sucker #1)
Job description: Seasonal employee. Sit on my ass all day, drink coffee at 10am, lunch at noon, home by 3. Dig a ditch, fill it back in. Make sure no self employed see ya because they will make us work harder. Gouge out their eyes if need be.
Gov Corslime: Im Goldman Sachs guru. Lets invest it in the market. Bye Bye pension fund. Lets hit up the taxpayers for the loss.
You are going to get screwed by the same people you think are protecting you ie the gov. Go look what George Soros (the man that killed the Bank of England) is doing. Then get back to me.
447.
I am vague because I want people to investigate themselves. Me simply presenting information to them is not going to help them understand that their government is not here to help them. It is here to control them. What may be alarming to some is not alarming to me. I understand that you are aware but many of these folks are not. When I presented the Copenhagen treaty (climate change) you called me an alarmist, conspiracy cook. I was right. When I told people not to get the swine flu shot you said the same. I was right. Novartis and the HHS secretary Sebelius have a 100 million dollar vaccine manufacturing plant in the south. They either produced the vaccine and scare for profit or as a test for something down the road.
Regarding calling people stupid. My generalizations are for Americans in general not this blog. There is a great wealth of information here presented by a population capable of critical thinking. It is wise to listen to them because historically the consensus is right over and over again.
I dont know exactly what is going to happen but I can identify BS.
Plant the fires in peoples minds and it will grow.
ulqin albani: booya..
http://www.mete.gov.al/doc/
[446] trenton
True, there is that. But if Clot was gonna nuke in a week, then I doubt they’d be in Trenton.
Wow. Barb lives in hell.
[440] trenton
As for the hose, one step at a time, mon ami, one step at a time. Recall the zeitgeist here is that there is no difference who is sucking our wealth away or why, just that they are and for reasons that don’t always benefit us.
I’ve paid my share. If I hit the powerball, I am so gone, you won’t see me leave. I’ll be sipping fruity drinks on a beach in a sovereign nation not encumbered by massive debt, and sending xeroxes of my ass to the White House and the IRS.
chi (451)-
Is that the Albanian gubmint’s official website?
I like the shout-outs to Macedonia, Russia, et al.
454 Nom
Don’t send a pic of your ass to the IRS. Send them a pic of a plane.
lost, #445
You can indeed move houses. There are house moving companies. I’ve seen it done. Pretty amazing.
Chi- My new favorite soccer team:
http://www.kftirana.info/club.html
Nice security fence around the pitch!
458 Scribe
I know a house can be moved. But after you pay say 500K for the house, you may have to spend another 300K or more for the land to move it to. For 800K, I’m not staying around here.
“Yet in a world of competitive devaluation, as Albert Edwards points out, “it is the nation that devalues last which suffers the deepest deflation.” We are confident that Ben Bernanke is all too aware of this mantra.”
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/timing-exit-competitve-devaluation-looms-euro-25-overvalued-more-thoughts-albert-edwards
“Wow. Barb lives in hell.”
“Hellish,” I really love my neighbors, good friends and I will be sad to move away from them. And I only scratched the surface on the city politics. Ok, I live in hell.
Citi getting ready for a bank run….
Seen on a recent Citibank (C) statement: “Effective April 1, 2010, we reserve the right to require (7) days advance notice before permitting a withdrawal from all checking accounts. While we do not currently exercise this right and have not exercised it in the past, we are required by law to notify you of this change.”
“There are no short cuts to cure a misallocation of resources.
When the economy slumps (and it will regardless of what the Fed does in my opinion), Bernanke will take the blame for tightening too early even though all he is doing is playing “Mother May I?” taking baby steps. He deserves a lot of blame of course, but not for a measly quarter point hike in the discount rate, or the stated desire to contract the Fed’s balance sheet, neither of which will kill the recovery.
Truth be known, there is no recovery to kill; it is simply a mirage fanned by liquidity that found a temporary home in the stock market and commodities. The sooner we adjust to that economic fact the better.”
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/02/as-credit-contracts-keynesian-and.html
I guess demand accounts aren’t really demand any more
Not YOUR demand, sucker.
Clot
might want to make another ammo run before the bank holiday. Then we find out how fungable .223 is
plg,
I’d like to see you hang out in front of Ocean Eddies in Jersey City for about an hour on a Saturday night. Let’s see how you much you embrace diversity after that ordeal. And you would’ve loved Curries Woods in its hey day! LOL
Hyde (463)-
It’s dated April 1. Maybe it’s an April Fool joke?