by Patrick Appel
"Until conservatives once again hold Republicans to the same standard they hold Democrats, they will have no credibility and deserve no respect. They can start building some by admitting to themselves that Bush caused many of the problems they are protesting.,” – Bruce Bartlett. The whole article is a must-read.
(Hat tip: E.D. Kain)
by Chris Bodenner
As Brownback and his fellow NIMBYs stomp their feet over Gitmo detainees, they betray a long history of brave and proud Kansans who tolerated foreign enemies in their midst. For instance, during World War II, thousands of Nazi and Italian POWs were confined in camps throughout Kansas and the Midwest. Most famously, 14 Germans convicted of murder while in custody were executed at the Fort Leavenworth prison. In fact, many state and local officials lobbied the federal government to set up camps in their area. With that tradition in mind, Kansas historian Virgil Dean writes:
Then, as now, unfounded fear and prejudice helped Americans justify the inhumane and unjust treatment of a “suspect” ethnic minority simply because they were perceived as being different and untrustworthy; but for whatever reasons, Kansans of the “greatest generation” did their duty when it came to captured German enemy combatants. Why not do so this time? […] Kansans should step up, show some courage, as we have often done in the past, reject the scare tactics being used by too many of our political “leaders,” and help the Obama administration take the necessary steps to close the shameful prison camp at Guantanamo Bay.
by Chris Bodenner
A reader writes:
As the owner of a small business, I have to correct the reader who wrote that since he paid unemployment tax throughout the years, he should not feel guilty about claiming unemployment benefits. The reality is that employers pay unemployment taxes, not employees. The federal tax rate under FUTA (the Federal Unemployment Tax Act) is 6.2% of the first $7,000 of income per person. Each state also has a state unemployment rate. Here is Minnesota, it's an "experiential" tax rate, which means that if I had any ex-employees file to claim unemployment benefits, my tax rate automatically goes up.
I sadly know of several friends who are indeed milking the system. They have been unemployed for almost a year now, enjoying the unemployment checks, making no real effort to find a job. They are hurting not just their former employer, but other businesses such as myself; I've seen rate increases every year, even though I've never laid anyone off in the five years we've been open. The kicker is that since I am self-employed, if we were to go out of business, I could not claim unemployment benefits.
Arlington, Massachusetts, 8.45 am
by Patrick Appel
Fallows sketches the limits of GDP:
In his post Heineman talks about how the "idolatry of numbers" — worship of the spurious precision of mathematical models — can lead to terrible real-world misjudgments. This was a powerful lesson I took from my time in graduate school studying economics: the formulas were so neat and powerful, yet their connection to the real world was so hit-and-miss. In a way this is also a theme of Liaquat Ahamed's outstanding book Lords of Finance, about the way financial "experts" helped bring on the Great Depression. They had great faith in their models; unfortunately, the models and principles didn't match reality.
by Chris Bodenner
A reader writes:
My partner and I started our own architecture firm in Miami about five years ago, after many years of working at other large local firms. During the last ten years we were involved in designing many of the condominium high rise projects that fueled the latest construction “boom”. For a couple of years, until 2007 – Miami resembled Hong Kong or Shanghai- the pace of new construction was insane. Our firm ended up growing to sixteen people at the height of the craziness- we had four towers at one time, over two million units in one year. We were published in many of the local magazines and newspapers. We won numerous design awards, and life was very good. It was not just us- everyone seemed to be doing really well.
Needless to day, those days are over and we are living through what is the worse slow down in our industry that anyone can remember. Even the “old timers” are shocked at how bad it has gotten.
Our newer projects have almost all stopped or been put on “indefinite” hold. What we hear from the developers and other clients is that money is frozen, banks are not financing. This may actually be a good thing for the City of Miami and other places, as a lot of bad buildings got built too quickly and in some cases, very poorly. But it is killing our profession and anyone connected to real estate or development.
Every couple of months we had to reluctantly let go of our employees. We were down to two last month, now it looks like even those will need to go as we have run out of work. The rest of the firms are doing just as badly. One of the larger firms are down from 150 to 20 people, most of the smaller ones are down to the principals and one or two others. Very little administrative people are left, everyone is trying to cut, cut, cut and survive. Most firms are closed Fridays or reduced their hours by 20%. Many, many offices stand empty. No one is paying health benefits, or 401 K plans. We can’t even afford our taxes and will have to as for a payment plan.
We are hanging on by a thread. We moved our office from the downtown office. We cut our space by over half. We try to go on and stay positive but it has been a grueling two years. We owe money to just about everyone, and have gotten into quite a bit of debt as every month we bill less and less and get paid late, if ever. It is not like we can go and quit to get another job. There are no other jobs to be had. We haven’t been this broke since college. It is really, really scary. And we hear the same thing, almost every day, from every single one of our architect friends.
We have in recent months (before August- which is always dead) started to see a few, tenuous “green shoots”- luxury single residential projects seem to be doing OK. That is about it. The very, very rich that do not need financing are doing just fine. We hear stories from these clients of the amazing deals that they are making. One bought a 93 foot yacht at a fraction of the price from some unlucky soul who needed cash fast. Another got a brand new BMW for $40,000 less than list because the dealer was desperate.
We are holding on and do our best to survive and we pray to God that this recession ends soon.
by Patrick Appel
A reader writes:
Megyn Kelly and Fox News and their ilk completely supported the Bush administration's practice of trolling entire ISP's and email accounts for anything the NSA wanted to search for, but now they think that asking people to forward emails to the White House about healthcare is a dangerously scary government practice that will kill free speech?
They have to be kidding, right?
by Chris Bodenner
Scott Roeder, the guy who killed George Tiller, is currently sitting in Sedgwick County Jail, a minimum-security facility in Wichita, Kansas. How can Senators Brownback and Roberts allow this unrepentant terrorist with knowledge of future attacks endanger the good people of Wichita?
by Chris Bodenner
A reader writes:
I can relate to what this reader has to say. I worked in a big chain grocery store in high school and throughout college because I wanted my own financial independence. I never begrudged my peers whose parents always picked up their tab, but I never wanted to be one of those who had to continually ask their folks for money. I now have a well-paying job in the corporate world along with sizable benefits, and I'm thankful for the life it affords me. But there are times when I actually miss stocking shelves and cleaning the aisles. Being able to see the results of your labors, no matter how low-brow society may deem them, will always trump the do-nothing work and inner office politics.
Another writes:
My father was a blue collar worker, by grandparents were janitors and maids, and I've worked two or three jobs during college to make ends meet. In fact, for most of my family's history in the U.S. (my family is originally from Mexico), the only jobs my family could find work was menial labor. Any work that you can get – whether it be "shitty" or not – is of course valuable. But those jobs are "shitty'" because they are often soul-deadening, heart-numbing and often don't pay a living wage.
Another:
I had the opposite experience most do with manual labor. I found it liberating and deeply fulfilling. I was strong, fit, healthy, and happy. And my mind was free to wander in those long, wordless hours on the warehouse floor.
Another:
There’s nothing like being berated for doing something stupid by a high school dropout who happens to be your supervisor at your shitty job. It humbles you. The classic comment made to me was “ya got all that book learnin’; but ya ain’t got no common sense. Why, you’re nothin’ but an educated dummy.” It makes you realize that you don’t have all the answers, and the world doesn’t revolve around you. I have a sneaking suspicion our Commander in Chief never worked a truly shitty job.
Another:
I worked weekend custodial crew in college. You would not believe what students would leave behind in the stairwells when the everything including anchovies pizza that seemed like a good idea after two pitchers of beer made an untimely upward exit before the kid could make it to the restroom. I became well-acquainted with the peppermint-scented product that is used to absorb the moisture in vomit.
Another:
Before attending college, I never had a shitty job. I had a roof over my head and had basically everything I ever needed or wanted. When I was in college, I picked classes I liked and was interested in, not really thinking about what kind of job I could get with a degree in sociology or psychology. After a 2-year-long tenure at my shitty bartending job, the grad school program I applied to was dependent upon what would be best career-wise. I eventually graduated with a PhD in pharmacology and immediately had several job offers. If college kids today worked even one shitty job and were responsible for paying their bills/rent from that shitty job income; we would see far fewer liberal arts graduates and more graduates in the sciences, pharmacy, medicine, math, engineering, and technical fields.
Another:
I spent part of my senior year in high school working as a pharmacy tech. It taught me much more about the state of American healthcare than anything I've read. I remember the day that Medicaid's claims system went down, and we had to withhold everything but a 3-day supply of needed medicine for people who often lacked transportation. I remember insurance companies forcing people to get different perceptions from their doctors. One doctor fought the company, and our customer called back jubilant after two weeks of back-and-forth to announce that the company would cover her drug. I ran the claim through the system and the "coverage" was for about 15% of the total price. I imagine it's the same with any job – those in groceries stores learn about agriculture prices, those in retail learn about the retail field, and so on. The problem is that our specialized knowledge never gets out of our head. How many times, in the course of the healthcare debate, have you heard a quote from a pharmacist? What about a doctor who isn't in charge of a lobbying firm?
Another:
I firmly believe that unless one knows what it is to be on the other side of things, one cannot appreciate the gifts one has been given. From 12 to 16 when I was mowing grass for money I never felt that there was dignity in what I did. Working retail, and having people look down their nose at me because I had a job with my name on my shirt didn't give me any prestige, but it did teach me how to fight.
Another:
The Fall after I received my degree, I started up a job that paid me nearly twice as much as most other people my age. But I hated it. The workplace was horrible, the people despicable, and the work, at best, menial. I had no intellectual stimulation, even though the minimum requirement for the position was a Bachelors. So I left my well-paying position to go further into debt and start working towards a Masters and Doctorate. Whether it's as a cashier at McDonalds or a web ad writer, working at a job you hate shows you what you don't want to do. It gives you the impetus to find something else. That, I think, is the real value.
The Dish 