#4

You looked a long time ago then Since 2011 the highest has been 26.3 and currently 14.

That's bad enough on it's on I have to wonder why you feel the need to exaggerate it so much.

Now, I know it is a burden on their that boomers neglected to hand them a democratic and economic paradise where they wouldn't have to lift a finger

Average cost of in state tuition 1985/86 - 8,604 in 2016/17 dollars
Average cost of in state tuition 2015/16 - 19,488 in 2016/17 dollars

Rent inflation has been .7% higher than overall inflation.

So they have to work harder for less than you did at that age but sure the lack of social protest is because they are lazy not because they are working 60 hours a week to keep up with college loans and rent.

Ok Boomer.

Neither patients nor doctors have been notified.

That is quite frankly terrifying.

The problem is that schools are funded by property taxes. Rich neighborhoods get better schools than poor neighborhood and who needs after school care more?

Mostly no.

Rich neighborhoods parents donate more to the PTA, can afford fees for after school activities so those don't have to come out of the budget, frequently have better hours so they can be more present for their kids, and have advanced degrees so they can actually help with homework. Sprinkle in the effects of being raised affluent vs. poor in terms of life expectations (this may be the largest factor) and add a dash of teachers preferring to work in "rich" schools and you get vastly different outcomes with similar budgets.

Do you think I would have gone to those jobs if someone handed me $1000.00 every month?

First when you were young 1000 a month would have been equivalent to around 8000 a month today and sure almost nobody will work if they can get 96k a year for sitting on their rumps.

Second those jobs you hated did you do a good job or would you leaving them have opened a slot for someone who might enjoy the work. Also do those jobs even exist today or did automation take them away?

Rents would not go up 1000 a month that's just not how the market works. The competition would keep the rents inline. Yes they would increase they would have to as you won't be able to hire maintenance staff for 7.25 an hour no one will work for that anymore. So rents will go up to cover higher costs but the many competing landlords would balance that out to only a modest increase.

I think Yang's numbers are too high but with the wave of automation about to come crashing down on us we need to do something. 10% of the nations work force works in transportation what happens when self driving long haul trucks are a thing? You think all 10% can re-train? You think the market can absorb all 10% of those workers in different jobs? The time to talk about that issue is now not in a decade when gangs of teamsters and SEIU members are roaming the streets desperate and angry.

#9

That's actually a good idea.

Crime and poverty are so closely linked so take criminals give them employment and training and I'd be willing to bet recidivism rates would drop, If employers knew the criminal had on the job training and experience they might be more willing to hire people with a record as well.

Sorry but commercials for politicians have always been filled with half-truths, the rapid dissemination of information is the only change and if that destroys democracy then that says something more about the voters than it does the method of information release.

#2

If you are Gen X, like me, you will never come into political power. We are smaller than the boomer and the millenniels so just as the boomers influence wanes the millennials will step in. On the plus side we can gain influence by siding with one or the other during the transition.

Sure they aren't "cinema" as he defines it.

They are a lot of fun though. Also mad respect for their ability to do long form story telling with cohesion throughout over a decade and multiple directors.

#44

Well it is if you can sell your house pay off the mortgage and buy a new house free and clear with cash left over. Something I could do if I was willing to give up space and location. If I am not working any more I would give up location without a second thought and I would also give up space. I could deal with a house half this size right now let alone in a few years when the kids are gone.

I am working on building up a nest egg independent of the house but since I still have MS and am still suffering the effects of being wiped out it's taking time. I have enough that a 400 emergency or two won't wipe me out but that's about it. Fortunately I have 20 years to work on it (I hope, MS always makes that a question).

The thing is while the economy is working (somewhat) for me I can see that it's not all roses you seem to ignore the stuff that's broken because it hasn't affected you. That makes talking about it with you somewhat frustrating.

A 100 dollar cordless power tool that can cut concrete and steel I call shenanigans.

A cordless angle grinder will cost you 130 for a cheap one and abrasive blades are base price 10 bucks. So you have 140 in the job not 100. That would pretty much be 1 time use as well because it's so cheap you would jack it up on one job. A good one with good blades that could do it multiple times would hit close to 300.

You are welcome smugglers.

I went through checkpoint Charlie the day before it closed. The countries had not merged yet so we were required to exchange like 100 marks into east German marks. Prices were so low we got an entire meal for 4 for like .75 marks. We had so much East German money left as we were driving back from Berlin through East Germany the dad of my host family stopped and gave a stack of bills to an east German family. Their minds were blown I think it was enough to buy a new car in east Germany and enough to buy a beer in west Germany.

A couple weeks after checkpoint charlie came down Germany won the worlds cup also. Wild time to be in Germany.

I did go to the Berlin wall while I was there and beat on it with a piece of re-bar and knocked off some chunks which I took home myself. I still have a couple of them and I gave a few away. Lots of vendors on the street selling "pieces of the Berlin wall" my host family told me most of those folks just spray painted concrete and called it Berlin wall, since I broke my own pieces off I know they are real.

#40

I was lower income I am not now, not high income but not lower.

While I was lower income It took 9 years to save up 7k which MS wiped out in 2 months.

My nest egg is almost entirely the house that factors I had nothing to do with caused it to more than double in price.

If you are lower income you don't have a net worth.

I mean if I just paid all my bills and have a 100 bucks in my pocket I guess you could say I have a net worth of 100. If I then go and buy a bottle of vodka a couple packs of smokes at 10 lottery tickets then I have "lost" 75% of my net worth.

#36

Not really. I think the highest deductible I saw last year was 7500 and that was also the out of pocket max so worst case would have been 18,300 including premiums.

Now for a family the deductible was 15000 on that plan so yes if 2 people on the plan hit the max it would have been "tens of thousands" but that was worst case on the marketplace last year. Haven't looked yet this year so I'll see on Sunday.

As far as "junk" plans go I agree that it is mostly junk because of insurers trying to hide the exclusions. The nice thing with Obamacare plans is you didn't have to worry about being an insurance attorney to understand what you were getting. Thanks to MS I have basically become an unlicensed insurance attorney so for me I'm not worried about falling into one of those traps but I know plenty of folks who easily could.

Or you can pay for insurance for years and have them drop you when you get health issues then use your pre-existing condition to never have to insure you again.

Frankly as a nation we do horribly by our children and it is catching up with us.

It is long term in the best interest of the nation to have well educated healthy thriving children yet we scrimp at every penny that goes to education and health care. Long term I would bet that every penny of education and health care spent on a child would pay at least a dime. Remember these are the people who will be paying for roads, police, military, and our retirements.

I would love for all of them to be super healthy and as well educated as possible.

#22

Because so far your answer seems to be f'it not my kids not my problem.

I think some here are hoping that you actually care about American kids enough that you don't actually want them to go without healthcare just cause their parents are bad at the job of being parents.

2 belts and a shirt?

There is just so much stupid in this story I don't even know where to begin.

#41

I think you are being too harsh in your assessment. Did you read the article or just see Heyer and declare it crap?

It was a pretty decent article and ended in this line "Perhaps the best solution would be for society to reject the 2-gender dichotomy, accept that gender is a spectrum, and be more accepting of individual differences in feelings and behaviors that fall anywhere along that spectrum." Which I pretty much agree with 100%.

Jeff isn't Boaz and you have a potential ally in him, with calm rational discussion. I feel like you do trans rights a disservice going off on him every time the subject comes up. I have seen his stance softening over the past year or so but if you keep calling him a bigot he might just say fine I'm a bigot and start really acting like one.

#24

Thanks Jeff sorry I just got a chance to read it, I have been super busy last few days. It got cold for like 5 min. so everyone needed their fireplace fixed.

From what your link said, I didn't follow links in the article to the actual studies, I am not super surprised. Although I will point out that it was 77% of boys not 80% total. That is all in pre-adolescence at which point kids are living in a world of make believe. Heck one of mine wanted to be a dog. We even built him a dog house. I have no problem with parents letting the kid be the opposite sex at that age but no medical intervention. The same article pointed out that by adolescence those numbers reversed with 75% where the gender dysphoria persisted.

It really depends on the child and so I don't think there can be any hard an fast rules but starting puberty blockers years before puberty would even start seems excessive in pretty much all cases. In our cases we made our son wait till 18, many of his trans friends parents went ahead in high school and in hindsight I probably would have agreed at 17 to start hormones. He lived as a boy from either late 15 or early 16 although my financial situation at that time really wouldn't have supported it.

We mostly agree, however you tend towards fewer trans rights, which your past posting has caused people to assume you are anti-trans.

#22

That is a teen not a 7 year old. My kids are still young enough that I remember those ages and there is a vast difference between a 7 year old and a teen.

Jeff

You keep posting this Given over 80% revert back to their biological sex post puberty. 2 things, Laura asked for a link and I would like one to. For one thing not sure when the study was done. Current trends I think would reduce that number. For another the methodology would be interesting to study. As someone who has dealt with trans-kids for years now I might have some insights into that aspect as well.

Bring the kids in with you...never leave them in a car unattended.

True I forgot about that factor. Heck bring the 4 kids in. Especially ones that were raised by the kind of woman that throws food at McDonald's employees, she wouldn't have been ignored long.

#9 No I know at least one trans-woman who is a lesbian now. Also all of the trans-men I know are either gay or bi.

So no, who's parts you want stuck where has very little to do with it.

The president also revealed that U.S. forces seized "highly sensitive material and information from the raid, much having to do with ISIS " origins, future plans, things that we very much want."

Seems to me the best thing to say would have been "We were hoping to also seize sensitive material but unfortunately it was destroyed during the raid" Or ya know nothing.