tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19838051.post8773082754648921057..comments2024-01-28T22:16:50.852-06:00Comments on Mr. Dilettante’s Neighborhood: Hope I die before I get oldMr. Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13920907647566015611noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19838051.post-57048967205582171312012-07-18T01:41:15.062-05:002012-07-18T01:41:15.062-05:00Mr D: education and college is a nice luxury for y...Mr D: education and college is a nice luxury for your kids to have.<br />but from what i'm seeing out there, if you want them to actually afford a luxury or two for themselves, i suggest trade schools.<br />auto mechanics would be a start...Ginohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09606046924332159076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19838051.post-8407198314317510792012-07-17T20:39:00.092-05:002012-07-17T20:39:00.092-05:00A lot of justice issues in America are a luxury. ...A lot of justice issues in America are a luxury. I recognize that this statement would be perceived by many in America as a nasty thing to say, especially from a white male. What right do I have to speak about someone else's justice? As much right as anyone else, as it happens. And I think it's important to speak for generations to come. Our selfishness and pet projects are destroying their world before they have a chance to live in it. We have busily been destroying the family, respect for civic institutions, and the financial future. Our intentions have been good. And it's not as if we don't have anything to show for it; we've certainly made cultural changes that have been beautiful and true. But what the right has been giving the left hand has been pilfering.W.B. Picklesworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03187309512838841997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19838051.post-82213062178275471662012-07-17T15:53:28.862-05:002012-07-17T15:53:28.862-05:00I'd argue that's an easy thing to say from...<i>I'd argue that's an easy thing to say from--and please excuse me, I don't pull this one out very often or lightly--a place of privilege: specifically that of a non-immigrant, straight, white male. Which over half of the country is not.</i><br /><br />To which my response would be the same as I posted earlier, to wit:<br /><br /><i>YMMV, but I'd say this -- it's easier to chase away a bluenose than it is to chase away a bill collector, especially if the bill collector has the power of the state behind it.</i><br /><br />And to which I'd also add, "non-immigrant, straight, <b>middle-class</b> white male." Because there are a hell of a lot of people who fit the other categories who don't have much in the way of privilege in this country. Which is the larger point of Kotkin’s piece, of course — the path to the middle class is getting a lot harder.Mr. Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13920907647566015611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19838051.post-68291595268624250602012-07-17T15:25:43.105-05:002012-07-17T15:25:43.105-05:00He mentions that in his article,
Right you are......<i>He mentions that in his article,</i><br /><br />Right you are...didn't get that far in my speed-read (obviously). <br /><br />As to this:<br /><br />"the social issues aren't going to mean much if people are wage slaves to a leviathan government and crushing debts."<br /><br />I'd argue that's an easy thing to say from--and please excuse me, I don't pull this one out very often or lightly--a place of privilege: specifically that of a non-immigrant, straight, white male. Which over half of the country is not.Brianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06799024060528185282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19838051.post-53114369243977316972012-07-17T15:24:52.666-05:002012-07-17T15:24:52.666-05:00Brian, eventually living under slave like conditi...Brian, eventually living under slave like conditions imposed by the state is going to be a deal breaker for the under 40 crowd as well.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19838051.post-23696780703931495302012-07-17T15:09:59.704-05:002012-07-17T15:09:59.704-05:00But in America, you really cannot overestimate the...<i>But in America, you really cannot overestimate the extent to which the GOP's intransigence on social issues is a deal-breaker for an awful lot of the under-40 crowd. Really.</i><br /><br />I'm sure of that, Brian. He mentions that in his article, although I didn't pull that part -- heck, I'd pulled enough.<br /><br />My point would be this -- the social issues aren't going to mean much if people are wage slaves to a leviathan government and crushing debts.<br /><br />YMMV, but I'd say this -- it's easier to chase away a bluenose than it is to chase away a bill collector, especially if the bill collector has the power of the state behind it.Mr. Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13920907647566015611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19838051.post-58083292997133176212012-07-17T14:09:17.810-05:002012-07-17T14:09:17.810-05:00I don't think Kotkin is wrong--or at least not...I don't think Kotkin is wrong--or at least not completely wrong--about what has pushed the younger generation to the left, globally. But in America, you really cannot overestimate the extent to which the GOP's intransigence on social issues is a deal-breaker for an awful lot of the under-40 crowd. Really.Brianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06799024060528185282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19838051.post-28473282488842267962012-07-17T12:10:17.136-05:002012-07-17T12:10:17.136-05:00those of us still in the personal wealth building ...<i>those of us still in the personal wealth building stages got hosed, and will be getting even it further...</i><br /><br />Yep. Good and hard.Mr. Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13920907647566015611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19838051.post-75804783940974272862012-07-17T11:53:26.803-05:002012-07-17T11:53:26.803-05:00its the preboomers and early boomers that are cash...its the preboomers and early boomers that are cashing in.<br /><br />basically, anybody who sold their home and retired before 2006.<br /><br />those of us still in the personal wealth building stages got hosed, and will be getting even it further...Ginohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09606046924332159076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19838051.post-71281988434541084892012-07-17T09:38:14.246-05:002012-07-17T09:38:14.246-05:00I wonder what would happen if the US simply repudi...<i>I wonder what would happen if the US simply repudiated its bonds held in the Federal Reserve?</i><br /><br />You want to tell people holding bonds, many of whom are individual investors, that their investment is Charmin? Really?<br /><br />Not gonna happen. We'll handle the problem the responsible way -- inflate the currency so that the bonds are paid in full, with dollars that are the equivalent of Weimar Republic deutschmarks.Mr. Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13920907647566015611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19838051.post-61419285990546722922012-07-17T09:14:57.941-05:002012-07-17T09:14:57.941-05:00If there are any real economists out there, I wond...If there are any real economists out there, I wonder what would happen if the US simply repudiated its bonds held in the Federal Reserve? Most of them are of the phony, "printed money" kind, anyway, money that's already been spent by Obama and his cronies. So what's the harm in simply getting that debt off the books? Then, reform Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and the student loan program, and the problem is largely solved. And if you want the economy to take off you cut back on regulations and enact a simple flat tax or FAIR tax.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19838051.post-3879569803339961592012-07-17T08:11:29.840-05:002012-07-17T08:11:29.840-05:00This is the true moral issue that we face today in...This is the true moral issue that we face today in our times.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com