Germany will do fine without having to prop up the bond ratings of the PIIGS. The Germans have no problems with austerity as they have shown at least three times in the last century.
Hang On: "Greece, the warm-up act for Spain, Italy, and maybe, the way things are going, for France."
Germany will have gone down somewhere between Spain and Italy. Do you imagine for a second if this comes true, we won't be in the toilet as well? · 9 minutes ago
@waynebob 1 - you should try Coffee and Markets from Ricochet's own Ben Domenesch, especially the Monday and Friday editions with Francis. They give a great idea of economics coupled with how markets actually work.
Rupert Murdoch: Does the new budget go far enough to really balance the books? · 11 minutes ago
No the budget does not go far enough. Californian bureaucrats are counting on proposed revenues. Their current budget shortfall verifies this and they've shown nothing that should change anyone's mind that they have now become any more serious regarding their budgeting, spending or revenue generation.
I think it's a bid to get some free TV time. Easy for the President to look 'presidential' when he's telling us to be nice to a beleaguered minority. As usual he'll be short on specifics and the media won't be too inquisitive about the long term effects of his pandering. If you give one group of people privilege then other groups tend to become irritated. No one will equate this with how well he has done as a healer in terms of racial division. If he can keep most of the sanctimony out of his voice it ought to work out great for him.
What kind of oversight is there for who receives loans? Do you actually believe that someone from the federal government is making certain that these loans go to individuals that pursue degrees that will pay well enough to repay the loan? Otherwise why don't we give every high school grad $60,000 in 'party' money and hope for the best?
Trace Urdan
Crab bait:
I agree that a worthy function of the federal government is to invest in the education of the population, however some oversight as to what those funds are used must be used.
56 minutes ago
If the student is responsible for paying the money back then who better to decide than she what she should study. Moves toward "forgiving" student debt for certain careers are anaethma but the truth is some English lit major go on to work at Goldman Sachs and some to work at Starbucks. They have to decide for themselves if the loan is worthwhile. Surely you are not suggesting that this job should belong to Congress? Or worse still the Department of Education? · 2 hours ago
I liked Stephens Op/Ed piece too, as did my 14 year old son.
Copperfield: For members giving Stephens a hard time, have you worked with some of the young people these days? There are some very good ones (mostly from state schools, I find.. no BS, no sense of entitlement, hard workers), but many are ignorant and, much worse, dogmatic about what little they actually know, much of which is simply wrong. Not since the 60's have we had a generation (again not all, but...) so ignorant of life in general, so reflexively liberal in their sensibilities, so sensitive about the least little slight, and so dogmatic and judgmental. And when learned, experienced people try to engage them in thoughtful conversation, as soon as one of their cherished liberal assumptions is challenged, they want to classify the person as racist, sexist, homophobic, or any other pejorative they can use to avoid a real conversation.
For the constituency in this population he was targeting, Stephens dosen't seem to be out of line. It's a message they need to hear and take to heart.
Of course, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. · 2 hours ago
I would argue with you in that the subsidy comes in the form of an artificially low interest rate assumed by the student. For example if a master of fine arts candidate in english lit came to you and asked to borrow $25,000 at 3.4% for 15 years what would be your response?
I agree that a worthy function of the federal government is to invest in the education of the population, however some oversight as to what those funds are used must be used.
Trace Urdan: And though you've used the term "subsidized" in your essay. Subsidies only come in the form of delayed interest charges based on need. Most student loans are unsubsidized and the only subsidy comes from their low interest rate relative to the market. But of course even the super low 3.4% rate that the President wants to preserve still affords the government a nominal profit relative to its own borrowing costs.
There are, of course the costs of collection and default but these go unmeasured. (The defaults you read about are percentages based on students, not dollars, and only measure a finite point of time.)· 2 hours ago
Crab bait: Labor market regulation tends to effect the employer not the employee.
This is fallacious.
I run a small, but very dynamic and exciting company. We could, in theory, employ a few dozen people. But we don't want to face the constraints, and so we ONLY have contract labor and consultants. My intention is that we will grow to hundreds of millions in sales - and still not have a SINGLE employee.
Having employees is more trouble than it is worth. · 30 minutes ago
I think you've enhanced my point rather than rebutted it but I will reiterate and try to enhance. Labor regulations are written to restrict employers never the employees. I was not attempting to use regulate as a word with any sort of positive connotation whatsoever as I do not believe there is much in the way of positive regulation.
As an aside: don't you just love when some gormless applicant starts an interview or tries to monopolize with discussion of their putative benefits and completely ignores duties and responsibilities?
I agree with the premise of free labor markets but I don't see that as the key problem in the United States. Labor market regulation tends to effect the employer not the employee. I would argue that the housing market is having a large effect on the free movement of labor. If you are tied to an underwater mortgage moving to a new town/state to take a new job is very difficult. I would also look at education. Most applicants that I see don't come with enough to perform nontechnical labor consistently. I don't know how some of the applicants I see could have finished school. Lastly I would argue that the false floor put down by high minimum wage and exorbitant welfare benefits inhibit productive. It plainly isn't worth it to seek entry level employment when you can be paid not to. The drugs are free too!
Re: Europe is Revolting
Germany will do fine without having to prop up the bond ratings of the PIIGS. The Germans have no problems with austerity as they have shown at least three times in the last century.
Hang On: "Greece, the warm-up act for Spain, Italy, and maybe, the way things are going, for France."
Germany will have gone down somewhere between Spain and Italy. Do you imagine for a second if this comes true, we won't be in the toilet as well? · 9 minutes ago