texas has the lowest graduation rate in the entire country, probably flat-out the worst record for education in general, and the highest rate of teen pregnancy, so no, it's really not solidly ahead of anyone!
it rolls many of the worst social-conservative policies and legislative effects into a puffed-up and deeply confusing sense of self-righteousness. there's a reason for all those "just let them secede already" jokes
i mean i come from new jersey, home of guidos and jewish organ thieves
at least i'm willing to admit that burning my state to the ground would count as gentrification
Lowest graduation rate belongs to Nevada. Texas is about ten places behind. source
Texas is an average red state when concerned with its social conservatism. The libertarian movement at least keeps it from going as crazy as Kansas. The secession Perry spouts is just rhetoric, a political strategy to draw a distinction between him as the conservative hero and his primary opponent Hutchinson as the liberal from Washington D.C.
The only reason we got gerrymandered so bad this year was it happened right as Republicans took control (started beginning in 1996, now our legislature is 50/50).
As for the textbook thing. That is only concerning the textbooks Texas buys, not all of which that are produced. The reason Texas produces so many textbooks? No income tax and we have a fund (the Texas Enterprise Fund) to bribe businesses to come into Texas.
I have some issues with the state, but I have close to the same amount of issues with the federal government. I would say Texas is below average but not rock bottom.
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KageraImitating the worst people. Since 2004Registered Userregular
Also, to the line you quoted; I don't think wanting is the human condition. People in Europe do not buy useless shit at nearly the rate that people in the USA do.
Yeah, well, Europe is kind of a shithole.
You, my friend, have never been to Europe.
I went to school over there for my undergrad. As well, all my inlaws live there.
I've been there.
Poor taste then. To describe it as a shit-hole in its entirety shows a lack of reason and pure emotional out lash.
Not really.
In an economic reality, my life in America has far greater purchasing power than anything I could hope for in Europe. I have a suitably large home near a major urban center, and my wife and I both have well-paying jobs that do not require too much time away from home and did not require copious amounts of money or time spent in gaining the requisite education. We both have new cars, we travel frequently (New Orleans in two weeks, Scotland later this fall), and we go to the cinema or theater sometimes weekly.
As my wife would say, it's not that people want for less in Europe. They're just used to having less.
Eh, yeah that basically describes my life as well. My first year in college cost me €900, this year cost me €1500, cheap enough that I could earn back the fees several times over by working during the summer. My family has two cars and our home in the Dublin suburbs comfortably houses our family of six.
As has already been said, Europe has it's problems and like everywhere else is struggling with the economic downturn but the idea that it's a "shithole" is stupid.
texas has the lowest graduation rate in the entire country, probably flat-out the worst record for education in general, and the highest rate of teen pregnancy, so no, it's really not solidly ahead of anyone!
it rolls many of the worst social-conservative policies and legislative effects into a puffed-up and deeply confusing sense of self-righteousness. there's a reason for all those "just let them secede already" jokes
i mean i come from new jersey, home of guidos and jewish organ thieves
at least i'm willing to admit that burning my state to the ground would count as gentrification
Lowest graduation rate belongs to Nevada. Texas is about ten places behind. source
Texas is an average red state when concerned with its social conservatism. The libertarian movement at least keeps it from going as crazy as Kansas. The secession Perry spouts is just rhetoric, a political strategy to draw a distinction between him as the conservative hero and his primary opponent Hutchinson as the liberal from Washington D.C.
The only reason we got gerrymandered so bad this year was it happened right as Republicans took control (started beginning in 1996, now our legislature is 50/50).
As for the textbook thing. That is only concerning the textbooks Texas buys, not all of which that are produced. The reason Texas produces so many textbooks? No income tax and we have a fund (the Texas Enterprise Fund) to bribe businesses to come into Texas.
I have some issues with the state, but I have close to the same amount of issues with the federal government. I would say Texas is below average but not rock bottom.
Actually, it's because CA doesn't assign its textbooks uniformly, so Texas is the most powerful market.
texas has the lowest graduation rate in the entire country, probably flat-out the worst record for education in general, and the highest rate of teen pregnancy, so no, it's really not solidly ahead of anyone!
it rolls many of the worst social-conservative policies and legislative effects into a puffed-up and deeply confusing sense of self-righteousness. there's a reason for all those "just let them secede already" jokes
i mean i come from new jersey, home of guidos and jewish organ thieves
at least i'm willing to admit that burning my state to the ground would count as gentrification
Yeah and I'd still rather be here than anywhere East of here and South of the Mason Dixon Line. Though I'd rather be in parts of Europe, Canada, MA or WA than here for sure.
I've heard good things about Gibraltar, although it uses the same fucked up school system as Britain.
Most of the school I took was in London and Paris. My inlaws live around London and around Edinburgh.
Yes, there are differences between all those cities, but without fail every time I encountered more progressive and civilized society, I was met with higher costs. In none of those places could I live the way I live now.
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KageraImitating the worst people. Since 2004Registered Userregular
edited January 2010
Well yeah I'm sure I'm could live like a sheik in Russia but then I'd feel like shit for being party to the exploitation/degradation of others.
Capital cities aren't exactly known for cheap cost of living either.
I'd also say cost of living is often proportionate to standard of living. For example, Ross could live like a prince in Turkmenistan or a king in the south.
Most of the school I took was in London and Paris. My inlaws live around London and around Edinburgh.
Yes, there are differences between all those cities, but without fail every time I encountered more progressive and civilized society, I was met with higher costs. In none of those places could I live the way I live now.
So you're saying that the primary means by which you judge your standard of living is by how much of your income can be used to consume
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AtomikaLive fast and get fucked or whateverRegistered Userregular
Most of the school I took was in London and Paris. My inlaws live around London and around Edinburgh.
Yes, there are differences between all those cities, but without fail every time I encountered more progressive and civilized society, I was met with higher costs. In none of those places could I live the way I live now.
So you're saying that the primary means by which you judge your standard of living is by how much of your income can be used to consume
I, for one, do not consider any housing with less than 2500 square feet and three full bathrooms a proper house.
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AtomikaLive fast and get fucked or whateverRegistered Userregular
So you're saying that the primary means by which you judge your standard of living is by how much of your income can be used to consume
Is there another way to judge actual living standards?
I have a nice house that cost relatively little, my education didn't put me deep into debt, I don't have to work all the time, and I want for very little.
What standards would you offer?
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KageraImitating the worst people. Since 2004Registered Userregular
edited January 2010
Look if I can't afford a Chevy Suburban there the place is a shithole.
So you're saying that the primary means by which you judge your standard of living is by how much of your income can be used to consume
Is there another way to judge actual living standards?
I have a nice house that cost relatively little, my education didn't put me deep into debt, I don't have to work all the time, and I want for very little.
So you're saying that the primary means by which you judge your standard of living is by how much of your income can be used to consume
Is there another way to judge actual living standards?
I have a nice house that cost relatively little, my education didn't put me deep into debt, I don't have to work all the time, and I want for very little.
What standards would you offer?
Quality rather than quantity?
Fairness instead of convenience?
There are a numbef of ways to be fulfilled that do not involve having more.
The central message of this thread is that your desire to own things is a lifestyle that has been sold to you
Edit: i want for a lot. I'm poor. I can't find a job that pays a living wage. I had to put myself into massive debt to get a second-rate education (it was that or no education). I have no health insurance because I can't afford it and my employer refuses to provide it.
You and I, we live in vastly different Americas by sheer accident of birth.
So you're saying that the primary means by which you judge your standard of living is by how much of your income can be used to consume
Is there another way to judge actual living standards?
I have a nice house that cost relatively little, my education didn't put me deep into debt, I don't have to work all the time, and I want for very little.
I, for one, do not consider any housing with less than 2500 square feet and three full bathrooms a proper house.
This highlights a big difference in mentality. It seems to me a very American thing to not be anybody until you own your own home instead of renting, &c &c.
So you're saying that the primary means by which you judge your standard of living is by how much of your income can be used to consume
Is there another way to judge actual living standards?
I have a nice house that cost relatively little, my education didn't put me deep into debt, I don't have to work all the time, and I want for very little.
What standards would you offer?
Free health care.
Low violent crime rates.
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AtomikaLive fast and get fucked or whateverRegistered Userregular
Look if I can't afford a Chevy Suburban there the place is a shithole.
To frame it in the context of my wife's life before she moved here, she had eight years' experience in financial advisement, made a decent wage, but still had to have a second job just to afford the mortgage on her apartment on the outskirts of London. She didn't even own a car.
Here, she has a 2200 sq. ft. house, a new car, and brings home more than she ever did in London. Sure, some of that is a function of being married, but I already had the house before she moved in.
America just isn't all that expensive to live in. I'm not sure why so many take offense to this.
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AtomikaLive fast and get fucked or whateverRegistered Userregular
So you're saying that the primary means by which you judge your standard of living is by how much of your income can be used to consume
Is there another way to judge actual living standards?
I have a nice house that cost relatively little, my education didn't put me deep into debt, I don't have to work all the time, and I want for very little.
What standards would you offer?
Free health care.
Eh, right now, I have good insurance because I have a good job. That may not be fair, but I still enjoy my higher standard of living despite that fact.
So, you're wrong.
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KageraImitating the worst people. Since 2004Registered Userregular
edited January 2010
Who the hell owns a car in London?
Like, might as well own a car in NYC.
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AtomikaLive fast and get fucked or whateverRegistered Userregular
Look if I can't afford a Chevy Suburban there the place is a shithole.
To frame it in the context of my wife's life before she moved here, she had eight years' experience in financial advisement, made a decent wage, but still had to have a second job just to afford the mortgage on her apartment on the outskirts of London. She didn't even own a car.
Here, she has a 2200 sq. ft. house, a new car, and brings home more than she ever did in London. Sure, some of that is a function of being married, but I already had the house before she moved in.
America just isn't all that expensive to live in. I'm not sure why so many take offense to this.
So she's able to afford a house because she married a guy who owns one? I'm honestly unsure if you know what a purchase is.
Come to think of it, she also married into her citizenship. Is there anything that she hasn't married into?
So you're saying that the primary means by which you judge your standard of living is by how much of your income can be used to consume
Is there another way to judge actual living standards?
I have a nice house that cost relatively little, my education didn't put me deep into debt, I don't have to work all the time, and I want for very little.
What standards would you offer?
Free health care.
some kind of safety net, period
This would be nice
The $200 a month in food stamps I get are nice but you have to realize that in order to qualify I basically can't afford my own damn food in the first place
That tells you a lot about how low you have to fall to get caught
On the plus side, my cable internet costs me about $5 a month
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KageraImitating the worst people. Since 2004Registered Userregular
So she's able to afford a house because she married a guy who owns one? I'm honestly unsure if you know what a purchase is.
Come to think of it, she also married into her citizenship. Is there anything that she hasn't married into?
Her income enables us not to have to scrimp and save to be comfortable. We could theoretically afford three times the house we have, and trust me, we considered that. But we were more sensible, so we didn't go crazy.
As for the citizenship thing, hey, beats waiting in line. My Canadian friend is still waiting for hers, ten years later.
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AtomikaLive fast and get fucked or whateverRegistered Userregular
As if your comments from the various movie threads weren't enough proof of your bad taste.
A place can offer amazing things and still be a shithole. New York is crowded, dirty, and expensive. My rent there was twice what I'm paying now for my mortgage for a fourth as much space.
Just because it has the MOMA and the Guggenheim doesn't acquit its negative aspects.
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KageraImitating the worst people. Since 2004Registered Userregular
Average Income for U.S. Family Income Groups , 2004:
Bottom 20% made an average of $10,264
2nd 20% made $26,241
3rd 20% made $44,455
4th 20% made $70,085
Richest 20% made $151,593
The richest 5% make $157,185
As if your comments from the various movie threads weren't enough proof of your bad taste.
A place can offer amazing things and still be a shithole. New York is crowded, dirty, and expensive. My rent there was twice what I'm paying now for my mortgage for a fourth as much space.
Just because it has the MOMA and the Guggenheim doesn't acquit its negative aspects.
You're still judging entire countries (and cities with the population of a small country) by your ability to acquire more for the same amount.
Do you hold to any values that aren't directly related to your wealth?
Average Income for U.S. Family Income Groups , 2004:
On that note I recall reading a poll somewhere that concluded that 20% of Americans think they belong to the top 5% on income. (Numbers pulled out of my ass, but it was along those lines.)
I can totally understand someone preferring the status quo here because it's a more comfortable lifestyle. What bugs me is calling not just another country, but an entire other continent a shithole because it doesn't match up to your standard of living.
Just to maintain some perspective, I think people in the middle and upper-middle classes should lower their standards considerably and not be blowing their money on the next hi-def 3d plasma televisions. Is that fascism? I guess so but I stick by it because they've only been given (no I don't think they earned it) that lifestyle through the exploitation of people across the globe and by fucking up the environment and that it isn't sustainable anyways so they'll have to make do with less eventually.
So she's able to afford a house because she married a guy who owns one? I'm honestly unsure if you know what a purchase is.
Come to think of it, she also married into her citizenship. Is there anything that she hasn't married into?
Her income enables us not to have to scrimp and save to be comfortable. We could theoretically afford three times the house we have, and trust me, we considered that. But we were more sensible, so we didn't go crazy.
As for the citizenship thing, hey, beats waiting in line. My Canadian friend is still waiting for hers, ten years later.
Haven't you also argued that the immigration system isn't too arduous, or not arduous enough? Is your entire philosophy "I got mine, Jack?"
Really, I can't any reason to want more than ownership of a floor in a triple decker or two family home, although, I'll probably end up getting more because they don't really exist in the areas with the best schools.
Average Income for U.S. Family Income Groups , 2004:
On that note I recall reading a poll somewhere that concluded that 20% of Americans think they belong to the top 5% on income. (Numbers pulled out of my ass, but it was along those lines.)
But if you ask the American people, you'll get yet another response. According to statistics from the National Opinion Research Center, as reported by Baker, large numbers of American define themselves as "working class" or "middle class," including:
50% of those families who earn between $20,000 and $40,000 annually
38% of those families who earn between $40,000 and $60,000 annually
16.8% of those families who earn over $110,000 annually
(compare these numbers to the chart of average income)
Average Income for U.S. Family Income Groups , 2004:
Bottom 20% made an average of $10,264
2nd 20% made $26,241
3rd 20% made $44,455
4th 20% made $70,085
Richest 20% made $151,593
The richest 5% make $157,185
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AtomikaLive fast and get fucked or whateverRegistered Userregular
Oh, for sure. But at least it's comfortable shithole.
Plus, it's clean, cheap, and has plenty of available entertainment. I also have one of the world's largest international airports 10 minutes away.
Yes, the average educational rate in Texas isn't great. Yes, the teen pregnancy rate is high. There is an unreasonably high percentage of religious fanatics. Yet none of those things pertain to the argument at hand.
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AtomikaLive fast and get fucked or whateverRegistered Userregular
Just to maintain some perspective, I think people in the middle and upper-middle classes should lower their standards considerably and not be blowing their money on the next hi-def 3d plasma televisions. Is that fascism? I guess so but I stick by it because they've only been given (no I don't think they earned it) that lifestyle through the exploitation of people across the globe and by fucking up the environment and that it isn't sustainable anyways so they'll have to make do with less eventually.
That's not a very coherent argument, though. "People should have less despite their ability to afford it because I think they didn't earn it."
What are you, my grandfather? You going to tell me a sob story about working in a steel mill next?
Posts
Lowest graduation rate belongs to Nevada. Texas is about ten places behind. source
Texas is 5th in Teen Pregnancy. source
Texas is an average red state when concerned with its social conservatism. The libertarian movement at least keeps it from going as crazy as Kansas. The secession Perry spouts is just rhetoric, a political strategy to draw a distinction between him as the conservative hero and his primary opponent Hutchinson as the liberal from Washington D.C.
The only reason we got gerrymandered so bad this year was it happened right as Republicans took control (started beginning in 1996, now our legislature is 50/50).
As for the textbook thing. That is only concerning the textbooks Texas buys, not all of which that are produced. The reason Texas produces so many textbooks? No income tax and we have a fund (the Texas Enterprise Fund) to bribe businesses to come into Texas.
I have some issues with the state, but I have close to the same amount of issues with the federal government. I would say Texas is below average but not rock bottom.
Eh, yeah that basically describes my life as well. My first year in college cost me €900, this year cost me €1500, cheap enough that I could earn back the fees several times over by working during the summer. My family has two cars and our home in the Dublin suburbs comfortably houses our family of six.
As has already been said, Europe has it's problems and like everywhere else is struggling with the economic downturn but the idea that it's a "shithole" is stupid.
Actually, it's because CA doesn't assign its textbooks uniformly, so Texas is the most powerful market.
I've heard good things about Gibraltar, although it uses the same fucked up school system as Britain.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqEcLlp_Big
Also consider Hulu's advertising model of "Choose the ad that will be the most effective."
Budapest. London. Paris. Vienna. Dresden. Berlin. Dusseldorf. Prague. Brussels.
Most of the school I took was in London and Paris. My inlaws live around London and around Edinburgh.
Yes, there are differences between all those cities, but without fail every time I encountered more progressive and civilized society, I was met with higher costs. In none of those places could I live the way I live now.
I'd also say cost of living is often proportionate to standard of living. For example, Ross could live like a prince in Turkmenistan or a king in the south.
So you're saying that the primary means by which you judge your standard of living is by how much of your income can be used to consume
Oh please.
I, for one, do not consider any housing with less than 2500 square feet and three full bathrooms a proper house.
Is there another way to judge actual living standards?
I have a nice house that cost relatively little, my education didn't put me deep into debt, I don't have to work all the time, and I want for very little.
What standards would you offer?
Free health care.
Quality rather than quantity?
Fairness instead of convenience?
There are a numbef of ways to be fulfilled that do not involve having more.
The central message of this thread is that your desire to own things is a lifestyle that has been sold to you
Edit: i want for a lot. I'm poor. I can't find a job that pays a living wage. I had to put myself into massive debt to get a second-rate education (it was that or no education). I have no health insurance because I can't afford it and my employer refuses to provide it.
You and I, we live in vastly different Americas by sheer accident of birth.
some kind of safety net, period
This highlights a big difference in mentality. It seems to me a very American thing to not be anybody until you own your own home instead of renting, &c &c.
Low violent crime rates.
To frame it in the context of my wife's life before she moved here, she had eight years' experience in financial advisement, made a decent wage, but still had to have a second job just to afford the mortgage on her apartment on the outskirts of London. She didn't even own a car.
Here, she has a 2200 sq. ft. house, a new car, and brings home more than she ever did in London. Sure, some of that is a function of being married, but I already had the house before she moved in.
America just isn't all that expensive to live in. I'm not sure why so many take offense to this.
Eh, right now, I have good insurance because I have a good job. That may not be fair, but I still enjoy my higher standard of living despite that fact.
So, you're wrong.
Like, might as well own a car in NYC.
Yeah, we both used to live there when we met.
Kind of a shithole, too. We love it still, but a shithole nonetheless.
So she's able to afford a house because she married a guy who owns one? I'm honestly unsure if you know what a purchase is.
Come to think of it, she also married into her citizenship. Is there anything that she hasn't married into?
This would be nice
The $200 a month in food stamps I get are nice but you have to realize that in order to qualify I basically can't afford my own damn food in the first place
That tells you a lot about how low you have to fall to get caught
On the plus side, my cable internet costs me about $5 a month
Standard of living only applies to me.
As if your comments from the various movie threads weren't enough proof of your bad taste.
Her income enables us not to have to scrimp and save to be comfortable. We could theoretically afford three times the house we have, and trust me, we considered that. But we were more sensible, so we didn't go crazy.
As for the citizenship thing, hey, beats waiting in line. My Canadian friend is still waiting for hers, ten years later.
A place can offer amazing things and still be a shithole. New York is crowded, dirty, and expensive. My rent there was twice what I'm paying now for my mortgage for a fourth as much space.
Just because it has the MOMA and the Guggenheim doesn't acquit its negative aspects.
Great, so Dallas is a shithole too.
You're still judging entire countries (and cities with the population of a small country) by your ability to acquire more for the same amount.
Do you hold to any values that aren't directly related to your wealth?
On that note I recall reading a poll somewhere that concluded that 20% of Americans think they belong to the top 5% on income. (Numbers pulled out of my ass, but it was along those lines.)
Just to maintain some perspective, I think people in the middle and upper-middle classes should lower their standards considerably and not be blowing their money on the next hi-def 3d plasma televisions. Is that fascism? I guess so but I stick by it because they've only been given (no I don't think they earned it) that lifestyle through the exploitation of people across the globe and by fucking up the environment and that it isn't sustainable anyways so they'll have to make do with less eventually.
Haven't you also argued that the immigration system isn't too arduous, or not arduous enough? Is your entire philosophy "I got mine, Jack?"
Really, I can't any reason to want more than ownership of a floor in a triple decker or two family home, although, I'll probably end up getting more because they don't really exist in the areas with the best schools.
http://www.pbs.org/now/politics/middleclassoverview.html
(compare these numbers to the chart of average income)
Average Income for U.S. Family Income Groups , 2004:
Oh, for sure. But at least it's comfortable shithole.
Plus, it's clean, cheap, and has plenty of available entertainment. I also have one of the world's largest international airports 10 minutes away.
Yes, the average educational rate in Texas isn't great. Yes, the teen pregnancy rate is high. There is an unreasonably high percentage of religious fanatics. Yet none of those things pertain to the argument at hand.
That's not a very coherent argument, though. "People should have less despite their ability to afford it because I think they didn't earn it."
What are you, my grandfather? You going to tell me a sob story about working in a steel mill next?