Occupy Wall Street Protests

It seems impossible for kids to pay as they go, even with multiple jobs, assuming young people can find multiple jobs in a college town, which they are unlikely to do. Even community colleges are prohibitively expensive, not to mention the outrageous cost of books and supplies. I don't think we'll be able to solve this problem unless we as a country can get our leadership to admit it is a huge problem for the youngsters, another bubble waiting to burst much as the housing bubble built and burst when folks realized that the cost of the product far exceeded its value. I fear that day is coming soon for the student loan bubble.

 

You have the Right-wing matra down pretty well. If the middle class fights back against the the attack from the wealthy, only then is there a class war. For some reason, it's OK if the middle class just loses and continues to lose as long as they just keep quite about it.

 

Higher education used to be subsidized for the middle class because it benefited all of society. As the real cost of education has been transferred to the individual, it has priced many right out of the market. Pretty soon, only the very wealthy will be able to send their kids to college.

 

Gee golly, work multiple jobs-- it all makes so much sense now! The solution to getting out of insurmountable debt in an economy with stagnant wages and near-record unemployment is to just get more imaginary jobs that don't pay anything! Why didn't I think of that sooner?!? It took me a year to find one job that pays next to nothing and barely makes ends meet when the whole time I should have been looking for two jobs that pay next to nothing! That way, I can work twice as long to not make ends meet, but I'll get the millionaires their money faster! Well, first thing tomorrow, I'm going to take off work to go look for another full-time job. Sleep is for the weak anyway

 

Yep, time to put on your big boy pants & bite the bullet. Sometimes personal responsibility dictates we do what we don't want to do in order to meet our obligations. You know, there are a lot of people out there working multiple jobs. Know why? Usually it's because 1 job doesn't pay the bills (heck, I've worked 3 jobs at a time before). Stop whining & go achieve!

 

Yep, we should all accept personal responsibility for our actions. Unless we're rich, right? If you're rich in this country, the republicans can't wait to line up to give you handouts. Tax breaks, subsidies, bailouts, you name it, it's yours. But only if you're already rich. If you're struggling to make ends meet, that just shows that you lack character and need to put on your "big boy pants" and "man up" and all of the other cliched nonsense that republicans spew to others but rarely adhere to themselves. When the rich stop getting richer off the sweat of others' brows, I'll stop "whining."

 

Many of your far left friends here have labeled me as "rich". I can assure you I have not benefited from the items you listed above. No one is offering me anything. I pay out virtually 1/2 of what I make in taxes yet for people like you that is not enough. How much is enough? I've paid my dues. I've worked hard & sacrificed to get to where I am now..my only goal is to make sure my family gets to lead a better live than I did growing up. It's not greed, it's the motivation of the American Dream, where if you work hard and make the right decisions you can enjoy the fruits of your labor & enjoy a comfortable life. You have fallen victim to the bogeyman of class warfare BO has created in order to deflect attention from his failure as President. His plan was to make you feel better about your condition by making it someone eles's fault. Well, guesswhat? It isn't anyone else's fault.
I took responsibility for my actions when is was struggling & that hasn't changed since I've achieved a measure of success. I suggest you stop looking for areas to lay blame & take care of yourself.

 

Like paying for college yourself without blaming the schools themselves for the cost of education? You really love to play both sides of the issue don't you David? If you didn't put enough away for your kids college, it must be the fault of the schools. If your kids don't want to work 3 jobs and take a full load of classes, they must want handouts. Put your big boy pants and buck up, work another job and put your kids to work too. Stop whining about the cost of education and the price of student loans and go & achieve. Yeah, that's the answer David. Just like a Nike Advertisement. Just do it! It's so simple. Why didn't the rest of us think of that? Just do it!

 

Nice try. I graduated business school & earned my MBA. My wife has a Masters & has gone back to nursing school. I have fully funded college funds for both of my kids so I obviously do not have a problem with higher education as you love to claim. I'll repeat it again (for the newbies, because you know it), a university is a business. Their product is a degree. The degree costs money. People can't afford their product so the schools offer credit, in this case a student loan, to make it "affordable". The sales pitch is made & the naive students fall for it. After graduation, despite the promises from the student loan pushers, the school doesn't deliver on their promise to deliver high paying jobs. People become disenchanted. Some of these stories we're hearing now, moen, aren't simply "anectdotal" as you claim, are they?
See, folks, moen has a vested interest in student loans....they are the lifeblood of the vacuum in which he resides....and he has a history of advocating for the industry (even though, as he admits, he wouldn't do it to his kids).

 

I have not labeled you rich. In fact, I have said that you should have achieve more than you have. I think you have failed. You haven't paid enough dues. You haven't worked hard enough to achieve what I have achieved. I am living the American dream because I have made the right decisions. You have fallen victim to the bogyman. From my perspective, you have failed. It isn't your fault, you just weren't up to the task. You should pay more in taxes so I can pay less. I am in the upper 5% and I deserve what I have and you deserve the little you subsist on and you deserve all the debt you have to take on putting your kids through school. Stop trying to blame us wealthy people because we have achieved. I took responsibility for my actions when was struggling & that hasn't changed since I've achieved a measure of success far higher than you have. I suggest you stop looking for areas to lay blame & take care of yourself.

See how easy it is to look down your nose at someone from above? And the reality is that I am in the upper 5% and I don't blame those less fortunate than myself for their situation because I recognize that teachers, firemen, nurses, etc didn't crash our economy and put millions of people out of work. I don't see them as greedy blood suckers but hard working average Americans just trying to provide for their families and the wealthy making that as hard as possible because they have plenty and just want more. How much is enough? How much more do they want to take from the middle class? No one disputes that there is class warfare going on. The only real question is when does the middle class start fight back against the onslaught from the wealthy greedy class?

 

True! But why, in your world, is this credo only good for a few and not all? Is it because the the far left needs to create an indebted, dependent class of voters they can exploit & control?

 

I will repeat because you obviously don't understand business. Schools do not provide student loans, banks and government agencies do. No one forces anyone to take out student loans. In fact what schools do is offer scholarships, community services, tuition waivers, grants, free courses, and countless other awards that help students. But that money only goes so far and that is when a bank or government agency steps in to help students pay their tuition. The school gets the tuition but doesn't profit off of the need like the banks profit for the next 10 to 20 years. So figure out who you are railing against before you whine on and on about students being duped by schools. You clearly don't know what you are talking about yet again.

You remind me of the guy who blames the car manufacturer for duping people into buying a car because he has to pay the bank note for the next 5 years. A. Buying the car was his choice and, B. He agreed to the terms of the loan before he bought the car. How is that the car manufacturer's fault?

 

That's a Right-wing talking point and you know it. If a person votes for the party that has their best interests in mind, they must be dependent on that party. If they vote for a party that works against their best interests, they must be Republicans.

 

So.....is this your response to all the OWS protesters whose major concern seems to be insurmountable student loan debt?

 

The Flea Party is asked to leave Oakland, CA because of rats, public urination and acts of violence:

http://news.yahoo.com/oakland-tells-protesters-pack-immediately-011048933.html

I encourage the Flea Party to protest whatever they're against, but do they have to be so filthy and violent? The spokeswoman in Oakland said the city can no longer ensure public health and safety. Now, THAT'S getting out of hand!!

 

Exactly. It's only class warfare when we fight back. Which is true in a way. No opposition, no war I guess. And no opposition is what they've gotten used to.

 

moen has gone silent after realizing he actually said this regarding student loans & the folks burdened by them!

 

Conservatism breeds greed and takes pride in greed and predatory behavior against fellow citizens. But that is how it has always worked.

 

Greed & predatory behavior are hardly restricted to conservatives.

 

OWS has it right - people who have been out of work for going on two years, who no longer qualify for unemployment benefits, then, who when they try to apply for a job opening - they are confronted with language saying, "To qualify for this position, you must currently be employed." Real smart. Good way to grow employment numbers.