Ignorance and regional America...

Don't feel so bad...

Hey, I for one am married to a gorgeous woman from around the block (the block in Michigan anyway) and am very content. Nubile virgins are probably media hype anyway.

On a serious note we do need to make some effort to understand these nuts if we are to counteract their indoctrination of the not yet nuts.

Don't feel too bad, most Democrats are not like the carpet bagger that started this thread. I live in a Democrat county surrounded by a lot of well educated, common sense people who just don't know any better.

On many issues they are more conservative than I am but politics is about more than one's political beliefs. A lot of it is inherited and that is one reason political change comes slowly absent a massive inflow of new residents.....

 

Re: That shows your ignorance of the tax code...

I do not know what is "a lot of money" for a family of four. What I do know is that, as one starts out in life, one should look at how much one is making and judge whether that is enough for a family of one. Once one makes "a lot of money" for a family of one, then one can make some assessessments as to how much is "a lot of money" for a family of two or three or four. I have little sympathy for idiots who never do any family financial planning and then cry to me that $50,000 or $70,000 or $100,000 is broke. Like I say, give me that standard of brokeness.

 

My experience of New Mexico coincides with your description. I found the people there uncommonly friendly, but not in a syrupy southern baptist sort of way. Plus you have that cool symbol that appeals to a sun-worshipping heathen such as myself.

I've lived in several states myself, including Mississippi (the red mud, ticks and chiggers state.) I was born in Washington state and our family moved to Meridian, MS when I was in the 1st grade. Talk about culture shock - I don't think I had ever seen a black person in my life.

I've seen racial hatred in the South (focused on blacks), and when I moved to the central US I've seen the same hatred, except focused on Mexicans. (I'm sure it's focused on some other group in other states.) People I encounter, even in professional settings, will sometimes talk to me about those damn Mexicans, as if I'm part of their little white clique. I like to watch their faces when I tell them I love Mexicans.

Kansas has some features that make it appealing. The air is clean for the most part, the wide open sky has an appeal for me at times. But the climate here sucks. It's hot, then bam...it's cold. Tornadoes? phbt... 80 mph straight winds and golfball-sized hail have been more of a problem in my experience.

Of all the places I've lived before, Greensboro, NC is my favorite. Good mix of people from all over, good climate, lots of water and trees and good looking women, mountains one way and a beach the other... I think as soon as my son graduates I'm going to head back down that way.

Just rambling...

dcv

 

People forget...

The average family of four making $70k has 2 breadwinners. Along with that comes child care expenses, dual cars and insurance, etc. That further cuts into that so called great salary. Take a look at how a family in NYC earning $70k lives. They are probably not that much better off than a person making less than half that that qualifies for government health insurance and supported housing. Neither will the qualify for a lot of other government supported programs.

I make a lot more than $70k per year and still budget. I rarely spend money on designer clothing, haven't bought a new car in 25 years and I have the cheapest cell phone I can get (free). On the other hand, I notice that a lot of the temps around here have $100 flip phones, as good or better cars and clothing brands I would never buy. Poor decisions keep a lot of people poor so don't expect me to shed too many tears for some of them.

My neighbor works his butt off as a truck driver, rarely making it home more than 2 days every 2 weeks. His partner has a seriously ill wife and their insurance only covers part of her treatment costs so he has to work just as hard. They both draw down pretty close to $60k per year but ain't getting rich. They work in an industry that doesn't even require a high school diploma yet they still have a shortage of people willing to do the job. However, you can still find people on the dole crying that there just isn't a job out there for them. Then you have people like Rasberry (a columnist) that equates truck driving, construction work and trash haulers ( a unionized job in my community for goodness sake) as "slave labor" unfit for people to work at. His quote from a column a month ago. Give me a break......

 

Re: Ah Abner, you again....

 

Re: Ah Abner, you again....

 

So? Regardless of whether our broke family of four making a measly $70,000 a year is doing so based solely on the man's income, solely on the woman's income, or on both the man's income and the woman's income, certainly there ought to have been certain hard financial decisions made at some point in time. Such as: Can we afford to get married at this time? Can we afford one more child right now? Etc., etc., etc. You say that $70,00 is broke. Nobody put a gun to Mr. $70,000 a year's head and forced him to get married. Nobody put a gun to Mr. $70,000 a year's head and forced him to have kids. Nobody put a gun to Mr. $70,000 a year's head and forced him to live in the most expensive area of town. Perhaps Mr. and Mrs. $70,000 a year should have asked themselves whether the second spouses' income would cover the expenses of child care, the second car + insurance, etc. By the way, are you really telling me that there are actually jobs paying $70,000 a year (~ $35 an hour) that do not have health insurance benefits?

 

That's some serious butt-kicking, JoAnn. I take back every bad thing I've ever said about you.

 

Re: People forget...

Perhaps the reason why construction workers, garbage men, and truck drivers make as much as they do despite the fact that they don't require much in the way of education to get the job is that so many people who could do the job won't do the job because they are afraid of getting dirty, thereby limiting the supply of labor for those particular jobs, thereby increasing the price of labor so long as the demand for labor for those particular jobs stays constant.

 

I love Kansas, have lived here 22 of my 41 years.

If you don't like what you see in Kansas, just wait until next Spring and those features you most despise will likely be blown somewhere into the vicinity of Colorado or Oklahoma.

 

Las Cruces

Well, the summers ARE a bit brutal. Not like Phoenix or (horrors) Yuma AZ, but we do get about six weeks of triple digit temps. The REST of the year, though, is quite pleasant.

And we really haven't developed our tourism assets (yes, they exist). On the OTHER hand, Santa Fe and Taos have been made utterly unliveable by tourism.

I think that L.C. is a nice place to live but you wouldn't want to visit here!

 

Way to go hero..

 

Undesirable jobs...

True, I have done at least one of those jobs and come summer and 90+ degree temperatures it is BRUTAL! It really got me though when Rasberry made the comment because he did it in an article where he said that illegals only took jobs no one wanted and that Americans expected and deserved better. What, labor isn't honest work anymore? It sure isn't something that can be shipped overseas so it is at least steady.

Meanwhile, a college educted, laid off middle manager friend of mine is making ends meet working as a drywaller. I guess he doesn't know that kind of work is beneath him.

I never said $70k was poor, I said it isn't rich and can involve some struggle to make ends meet and do right by your children. Not everyone living at that wage intended too and if it is okay for people on welfare to have children so should the working poor....

 

Re: Re: Ah Abner, you again....

Abner, I found your comment to be very appropriate. Corporate welfare is always at the expense of the citizen or at the expense of other (usually smaller) corporations. It’s cheating. Corporate welfare turns businessmen into political entreperneurs. In 1999, for instance, Microsoft paid no tax at all despite having reported over $12 billion in profit. One can’t help but wonder why they spent all those resources in litigation anyway…..

Don´t listen to this idiot. Although he uses the majestic plural he only speaks on his behalf. And tell him to read about George Stigler and his Economic Theory of Regulation. And Adam Smith. Naaah, forget it, his two brain cells would collide and he might pass out.....

 

Re: Re: Re: Ah Abner, you again....

Yes, you go read that theory and when you truly understand it you came back on and talk again. That particular theory may or may not have anything to do with what we are talking about which is whether or not corporate welfare is totally for the benefit of the worker or the firm (it in fact benefits them both, ask a Boeing worker if you have any doubts). As workers are a regulated entity Stigler equally applies to them as to the firm. You two pea brains need to go play with the lesser intellects.....

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Ah Abner, you again....

You two pea brains need to go play with the lesser intellects..... [/B][/QUOTE]


Ah, spoken in true DTECH fashion. You are so predictable. When in doubt, attack peoples intelligence(Ad Hominem). Your attacks on me and others who state their opinions are comical. Thanks for making an ass of yourself and showing your true colors.

If you want to behave like an adult, maybe you should turn to Little Fauss for an example. He and I completely disagree on most issues, but he does not turn to Ad hominem. He displays, passion, integrity and class, unlike you.


Good day sir,

Abner

 

Re: Re: Re: Ah Abner, you again....

Ah,

Excellent points, well said!!!



Abner

 

Thanks for the ego boost..

So when would you know anything about class? You wouldn't, so spare us. Heck, I am still waiting for your factual response instead of the attacks you spewed (despite your claim you don't). And of course, you would agree with the Stigler response despite it having nothing to do with your point. It spares you the effort of actually having to come up with something beyond vague liberal platitudes on your own. Give me a break, again...

 

I would have to agree that Corporate America does not pay enough taxes. Yes, I know, there are so many variables involved, but to keep it simple I believe that businesses will always push to get concessions from local and state governments, all the while threatening to leave if they do not get their way. Of course, with globalization it is almost a requirement that businesses keep their holdings on foreign lands, especially when competing against companies that can easily use our research in order to enter the market without years of R&D and benchmarking, and in some cases government subsidies, cheap labor and cheap raw materials. This can make it difficult for American corporations to compete. Conversely, it could be argued that these corporations still have a payroll in America, and match the employees FICA and Medicare payments, and pay the unemployment insurance.

I do not think anyone argues against the fact that the IRC needs some changes.

William

 

Chris, forgive me for not taking you seriously. It’s not that you don’t understand the Economic Theory of Regulation. That’s way beyond your League. It’s not that you think that Adam Smith was a shoe maker either. Or that you have no clue as to what corporate welfare is. It’s just that I find hilarious to see the importance you give to yourself. Or how you resort to those childish and futile attempts to put other people down. Do you have any friend? If so, is that how he/she treats you? Can anyone put up with you for more than a minute?

Nevertheless, Reginstein has been successful to demonstrate regional ignorance in the US in this thread. Man, you can thank our guest star, Chris, ex DTechBA, without whose disinterested cooperation it would have never been possible