tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3481083477379506990.post6731002435649893414..comments2023-10-30T05:28:11.795-04:00Comments on All Education Matters: Readers' Responses: Good Point/Wretched PointCryn Johannsenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08452412213997621242noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3481083477379506990.post-84394636049694875282010-06-24T21:42:48.627-04:002010-06-24T21:42:48.627-04:006:02, you really misunderstood me. It happens. I&#...6:02, you really misunderstood me. It happens. I'm with you in total solidarity.Knuthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07112680089244322542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3481083477379506990.post-78857468181054611902010-06-24T19:13:55.404-04:002010-06-24T19:13:55.404-04:00No problem! I was just seeking clarification.No problem! I was just seeking clarification.Cryn Johannsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08452412213997621242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3481083477379506990.post-16402176652156539982010-06-24T18:02:50.667-04:002010-06-24T18:02:50.667-04:00@Knut: I honestly don't see that having gone t...@Knut: I honestly don't see that having gone to a "prestigious" institution has anything to do with this. I went to a semi-"Prestigious" institution for a year (Macalester), then finished my undergrand and grad at state universities (presumably cheaper, but when you figure in living costs, etc...still expensive) CU Boulder and UC Davis. This crisis is hitting graduates of ALL institutions across the board. We're sons and daughters too, and not welfare queens. Though i have been on unemployment for a year.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3481083477379506990.post-67125083975231028482010-06-24T17:52:56.920-04:002010-06-24T17:52:56.920-04:00from Anonymous - my comment about "mysterious...from Anonymous - my comment about "mysteriously have money for trips abroad" wasn't directed at you! Sorry, realized that after i wrote it. I live in Santa Fe, NM....my comments were just about not feeling like i belong to a middle class or could - i know a lot of people who are struggling, and then here in Fanta Se, there are alot of ppl with money (granted less so since the "crash")...it's an odd demographic and admittedly not like the rest of the country. I just find it odd (from personal experience - i was raised by a single mother, i have been struggling my whole life, but i was also raised in predominantly affluent areas) that alot of posters speak about what "will" happen to the middle class, nor am i speaking about what a healthy society SHOULD be - i agree wholeheartedly on the IDEAL, but what i see on a day to day and year to year basis isn't IDEAL or abstract, its just simply the have's and have-nots.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3481083477379506990.post-85896010542234622922010-06-24T16:11:17.489-04:002010-06-24T16:11:17.489-04:00Crap - browser crashed and lost my comment. Anyway...Crap - browser crashed and lost my comment. Anyway, I'm reminded of a recent edition of NPR's "On Point with Tom Ashbrook" where the guest was Harvard professor (History and Business Administration) Niall Ferguson. He's apparently positioning himself as the modern-day Hayek to Krugman's modern-day Keynes. He argues that the only hope our economy has of returning to growth is essentially a massive austerity program - destruction of "entitlement" programs and welfare that will supposedly restore "business confidence." Mr. Ashbrook repeatedly pointed out how much suffering this would inflict on our nation's vulnerable population, but he always shrugged this concern off, saying that it would be better to create jobs.<br /><br />I just don't understand why the haves don't have to suffer or sacrifice (in fact, if you increase their taxes, it'll supposedly ruin everything) while the have-nots get to suffer even more in order to make things work. It's this kind of crap that makes me very, very pessimistic about the future.Spekkiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07469918029692401764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3481083477379506990.post-21179455373161301822010-06-24T14:27:28.151-04:002010-06-24T14:27:28.151-04:00Haha. Fair enough. I wish you had . . . I mean, yo...Haha. Fair enough. I wish you had . . . I mean, you could fool me, because I'm out of the country. :)Cryn Johannsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08452412213997621242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3481083477379506990.post-32343732941636064652010-06-24T14:23:52.255-04:002010-06-24T14:23:52.255-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Knuthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07112680089244322542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3481083477379506990.post-68736571494283362332010-06-24T14:03:37.936-04:002010-06-24T14:03:37.936-04:00I'm not sure I agree. I mean that may be true,...I'm not sure I agree. I mean that may be true, but there are plenty of places without a middle class, and there isn't outright class struggle. Sadly, those who suffer the most are the have-nots.Cryn Johannsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08452412213997621242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3481083477379506990.post-9586340053403492982010-06-24T14:02:07.951-04:002010-06-24T14:02:07.951-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Knuthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07112680089244322542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3481083477379506990.post-25537162581761911912010-06-24T11:08:14.000-04:002010-06-24T11:08:14.000-04:00First Anonymous poster - what do you mean when you...First Anonymous poster - what do you mean when you say you only know people who mysteriously always have enough money for their trips abroad? Also, I disagree. The middle class is being destroyed. A healthy society nowadays includes a strong middle class. I'm not saying I'm a fan of a society that's based upon a consumer-driven economy (I'm absolutely not in favor of it), but that's what I'm talking about when describing its disappearance. It doesn't bode well for the U.S.Cryn Johannsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08452412213997621242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3481083477379506990.post-33109103845912900802010-06-24T10:59:20.186-04:002010-06-24T10:59:20.186-04:00If we are already attacking ppl for choosing to ha...If we are already attacking ppl for choosing to have children before paying off the state, then we are saying to them: your body belongs to us first. I say this with grave sadness b/c i just turned 40 and I don't have children and it is largely due to my student loan debt (which is default and i haven't been able to pay off anyway). And honestly, all i ever wanted was to have kids. But I did knowingly go to school on their dime, and I shouldn't have. It just frankly makes me sick that its in people consciousness that owing the government is supposed to be more important than their own lives.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3481083477379506990.post-43176015885948227272010-06-24T10:54:04.418-04:002010-06-24T10:54:04.418-04:00Hmmm. Regarding your comments and "Frank the ...Hmmm. Regarding your comments and "Frank the underemployed"'s comments about the middle class, etc. I first went to a private college but dropped out in my second year b/c my single mother was trying to pay for two children in private colleges on her own. I worked as a nursing assistant, making $6.02 an hour (best wage of anyone i worked with at the time). This was 1991-1994.I did NOT want to go into debt to go to college, but i did not want to be dependent on my mother either. On $6.02 an hour I could not even move out of the apartment I shared with her, buy a car, etc... So I went back to school. Worked three jobs, did workstudy, and still had to take out loans (universities are not often located in low rent areas). Had trouble finding work WITH a BA. Did 2 years in Market Research, miserable, and went back to grad school (located in an even higher rent area and you're not ALLOWED to WORK when you get grants - still had to take out loans). A long time friend of mine said to me: "I don't know if you even WANT that - referring to a "middle class life". It has absolutely nothing to do with want, and everything to do with being exhausted. I don't know any middle class people anyway. I know who people who struggle, and people who mysteriously always have enough money for their trips abroad. Not much in between.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3481083477379506990.post-34281967182351893812010-06-24T10:52:58.636-04:002010-06-24T10:52:58.636-04:00Knut - I am sadly not surprised that Fox News is b...Knut - I am sadly not surprised that Fox News is blaming the unemployed. It's despicable, and frankly makes me glad that I'm abroad. That way, it's even more filtered. Rest assured, that doesn't mean that I'm ignoring this hateful s--t, but the distance helps. It's kinda like getting your "bad news" via the Daily Show. There's more of a buffer.<br /><br />I've been reading your blog, and - as I said already - delighted that your on our side. We need more voices for peole who are struggling. <br /><br />I am also from prestigious schools (U. of Chicago, Brown, and was even an exchange scholar at Harvard), so I know what you mean. Speaking of that, are you familiar with Ivy Leagued and Unemployed? Perhaps it's on your blog list, I can't recall. If it's not, I highly recommend you adding it. It's fantastic. <br /><br />http://ivyleaguedandunemployed.wordpress.com/Cryn Johannsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08452412213997621242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3481083477379506990.post-30587935150506934342010-06-24T10:48:40.287-04:002010-06-24T10:48:40.287-04:00Cryn, the situation is not acceptable at all; but ...Cryn, the situation is not acceptable at all; but look at who is shaping popular perception. I see programs on Fox News where they are literally blaming the "lazy" unemployed and the labor movement for our problems. <br /><br />You and Frank are doing a public service by raising awareness of the moral and economic rot that is tormenting this country.<br /><br />You should all understand that this crisis is not just hitting the "welfare queens" that are maligned so much but is actually reaching graduates of prestigious institutions like me and Rose, Esq. from http://rosecoloredglassesjd.blogspot.com/ <br /><br />In other words, we're your sons and daughters.<br /><br />For more on the "law school scam" please, please visit my blog: http://firsttiertoilet.blogspot.com/Knuthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07112680089244322542noreply@blogger.com