Wall Street protesters: We're in for the long haul

[Razgovory]

Any oligarchs who happen to pass by must be laughing their ass off.  Because these protests are not just slightly misdirected, they are self-marginalizing.

Teabaggers also started off as a joke.  Who's laughing now?  Nobody, of course.

I thought the teabaggers started out as a large grass roots political movement protesting government waste and taxes and became well I am not sure what they became.

That's the myth.  Some people wanted the Tea Party to be something it was not, and when they found it was not what they wanted they decided it had been "Hijacked", rather then admit that they had been wrong the first time.

[HVC]

From the toronto star yesterday

1982 — 11 per cent total unemployment, 18.2 per cent unemployment for 15 to 24 age group

1992 — 11.2 per cent total unemployment, 17.2 per cent unemployment for 15 to 24 age group

2009 — 8.3 per cent total unemployment, 15.2 per cent unemployment for 15 to 24 age group

August 2011 — 7.3 per cent total unemployment, 17.2 per cent unemployment for 15 to 24 age group

Source: Statistics Canada

the youth unemployement as a whole hasn't changed much in the last 29 years in canada, but what has changed is that the overall level of unemployement has dropped so the perception of today's youth is that it's harder to get a job since their older counterparts are now more likely to be employed in comparisson to themsleves.

[Ed Anger]

Oh Ide!

http://whitewhine.com/

Read it and enjoy. You'll enjoy the entitled rich folk on there. 

[dps]

The higher education system in the U.S. involves the poor allocation of resources, one driven by unchecked market forces validated by a technically inept government,.

The problem is, the system isn't driven by unchecked market forces--much like the housing market, it's been distorted by government policies that encourage lenders to make unsound loans, and the all-too-often-real perception that  the government will act as the guarantor of last resort.  The problem isn't that there is too little regulation, but that the regulation that exists isn't appropriate regulation.

I'm not saying that a pure market system is the best model for financing higher education, but we'd be a lot better off is the government quit subsidising and backing student loans and expanded grants instead.

[HVC]

Oh Ide!

http://whitewhine.com/

Read it and enjoy. You'll enjoy the entitled rich folk on there. 

"And that, your honor, is why I was in blackface."

[Neil]

I am focusing on the Ide's of the world that think just because they paid for an education that they should be living the good life and since they are not they should get a refund.

Well, I think being conned into overpaying for college is a contributing factor to the angst of the younger generation.

If the "Con" was that they thought they simply by going to University they would be get a good job then I have no sympathy for them.

No, the con was the amount they paid.

[Jacob]

From the toronto star yesterday

1982 — 11 per cent total unemployment, 18.2 per cent unemployment for 15 to 24 age group

1992 — 11.2 per cent total unemployment, 17.2 per cent unemployment for 15 to 24 age group

2009 — 8.3 per cent total unemployment, 15.2 per cent unemployment for 15 to 24 age group

August 2011 — 7.3 per cent total unemployment, 17.2 per cent unemployment for 15 to 24 age group

Source: Statistics Canada

the youth unemployement as a whole hasn't changed much in the last 29 years in canada, but what has changed is that the overall level of unemployement has dropped so the perception of today's youth is that it's harder to get a job since their older counterparts are now more likely to be employed in comparisson to themsleves.

That would seem to indicate that any such whining in Canada would be misplaced. Especially since student loans and medical insurance/ costs for individuals haven't increased hugely and there hasn't been a huge crash in real estate wiping out a lot of savings and equity.

The question then, to me at least, is how the numbers compare in the US.

[Razgovory]

Oh Ide!

http://whitewhine.com/

Read it and enjoy. You'll enjoy the entitled rich folk on there. 

Found this linked to it.  http://www.newswise.com/articles/whites-believe-they-are-victims-of-racism-more-often-than-blacks?ret=/articles/list&category=life&page=1&search%5Bstatus%5D=3&search%5Bsort%5D=date+desc&search%5Bsection%5D=30&search%5Bhas_multimedia%5D

[Ideologue]

Is it true? I don't know, but I think the question of whether it is is much more interesting than making fun of Ide.

On the one hand: it involves me, so it's by default more interesting than the non-me alternative.  On the other hand:

Ed: looks a lot like First World Problems.  (I think FWP has the catchier title, also.)

I left the remote on the other couch and can't be bothered getting out of my blanket to get it.

This is a definite FWP winner.  Potential solutions are:

    Purchasing a snuggie
    Wait until someone comes into the room, and ask them to change the channel
    Buying more remotes
    Getting fewer couches

[crazy canuck]

Do you not think the need for strong fit kids has something to do with it as well?

Isnt that my point.  You need to have the skills necessary for the position and the ability to work hard to be successful no matter what piece of paper or connections you might have - absent the nepotism that was posed earlier as a possibility.

[Ideologue]

The problem is, the system isn't driven by unchecked market forces--much like the housing market, it's been distorted by government policies that encourage lenders to make unsound loans, and the all-too-often-real perception that  the government will act as the guarantor of last resort.  The problem isn't that there is too little regulation, but that the regulation that exists isn't appropriate regulation.

I'm not saying that a pure market system is the best model for financing higher education, but we'd be a lot better off is the government quit subsidising and backing student loans and expanded grants instead.

That's what I said... I know it's not easy, but sometimes we can agree, man.

[garbon]

I'll tell you who's entitled, though.  Those veterans.  By law.  I probably shouldn't have decided to pursue a career in the civil service during a tanking economy and in the immediate aftermath of two wars.

Not that a Canadian would know anything about two wars.  Or, to an extent, a tanking economy.  Free.  Rider.

Don't you still have a criminal record?

[garbon]

Regarding the rest, I think there is a distinction to be drawn between the misery caused by how scewed up the US health care system is and other causes.  The misery caused by a failure to provide adequate medical coverage despite the fact they spend more per capita then anyone else is, imo, a different issue.

I am focusing on the Ide's of the world that think just because they paid for an education that they should be living the good life and since they are not they should get a refund.

I think focusing on Ide's flippant comments misses what seems to be the real issue, namely that a variety of factors are screwing over a larger segment of the American middle class more severely than it has in the past. It has been claimed for a while that the poorer are getting poorer and that the trend of improving quality of life for the majority of the US has been replaced by one of decline.

Is it true? I don't know, but I think the question of whether it is is much more interesting than making fun of Ide.

I think I saw figures (for US) that unemployment has been rising sharply for those who dropped out of highschool and then those with only a highschool diploma. For those who acquired a undergrad degree, while still not lovely, the unemployment figure doesn't look as bad.

[Gbeagle]

No, the con was the amount they paid.

Definitely, I'm Ph.D. student in a hard science. At least in my field I'm not sure the services that the department provides to the undergraduates are really worth the ever-increasing tuition costs they pay. A lot of professor's in my field don't really care if their students learn anything. For class they just copy lecture notes onto the whiteboard that they wrote 15 years ago. The good ones still understand what their notes are talking about. The bad ones on the other hand... The whole teaching aspect of their job is an annoying distraction. Their raison d'être is to bring in federal grant money to the university to most efficiently waste your tax dollars fund their grad students (like me) to do research and write more papers, so the professor can bring in more grants. The university gets its cut from all the grants that are brought in, so they are happy.

Of course on the other hand a ton of the undergraduate students can't do basic arithmetic properly, and are in math intensive majors. Most of that might just be a reflection on how deeply dysfunctional the public schools are in Jerry Brown land. Of course my experience comes from one of the sh*ttier UC campuses (hints: Pulp fiction and late 80s vampire movie), so it's definitely not getting the best California has to offer. These mathematically-challenged engineers and scientists generally graduate with their degrees of course. Then they wonder why all the jobs in Silicon Valley end up going to H-1Bs instead.

It is dumb to expect that just receiving a college degree will get you a good job. Even more so if the quality of the degree is shit. No argument there. I'm just not sure though that the quality of the degrees given still justify their price tag. If you paid any money for a degree from a university that graduates bachelors from the departments of Electrical Engineering or Physics that think 2/5 = 1/3, you got ripped off.

I shouldn't really laugh though, since I'll have a Ph.D. from that sort of university. They paid me to get the degree at least. Hard sciences generally pay you to get a Ph.D. in them, so that right there should tell you something...

[Malthus]

It is a fact of life that successful people always underestimate how lucky they were to become successful, and unsuccessful people always overestimate how unlucky they were to be unsuccessful.

As I said, I got my break because of the pattern on my tie at the interview. 

OTOH, it was a reasonable amount of work to get into the position of having the interview.