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The opposition


PDITF is a single author blog. Ninety-five percent of the articles are written by me, the other 5% are guest posts. Today, I thought I’d mix it up even more and allow a few unsuspecting people to hijack today’s post. My article about student loans being forgiven has quickly become one of my most popular. It currently has 87 comments, and counting. I thought I’d share with you a few of them.

Let’s get right to it….

If you forgive one type of debt, you kind of have to forgive all debt. Who’s to say that one debt is greater or more important thus needing forgiving then another. It’s just all so stupid. If in the end you can’t pay for something, don’t sign the paper work in the beginning stating you can.

Pretty reasonable first line right? The banks were bailed out so students should be too. WRONG. The banks shouldn’t have been bailed out, and students shouldn’t be bailed out. Goes back to the age-old adage “Two wrongs don’t make a right.” You do realize if your student loan is forgiven the balance doesn’t disappear in to space. No, instead YOUR student loan balance now becomes MY headache (via taxes). I don’t want to pay for your student loans any more than I wanted to pay for my neighbor’s house.

And then there is my personal favorite, this one came in late last night while I was watching an episode of Pretty Little Liars (warning: the commenter’s thoughts are difficult to follow)

So… back to the Iphone that was made by worker bees in China…. Did you keep it/are you using it? The answer to that question pretty much illustrates the rest of any of your like mentality. You’re either hypocritical or you’re not. Your response to the whole OWS movement seems based from a pretty “world is roses” and overall very ignorant stance. Somewhat parallel but not as dumb as the dirt poor Republicans who keep voting against themselves. You seem to not realise the point that you cannot truly “function” in society without some/most items made in deplorable conditions (even bums use discarded Starbucks cups and wear Nikes). Protesters include nurses, students, all types of professionals. Just because these are again – a function of modern day society – virtually inescapable in Modern Day America – doesn’t mean that you can’t disagree with how they are made. In fact, it should outrage you more. The corporate greed that has gone into their making at the expense of the natural habitat and the 99% if you will for the benefit of the fattest is what people are making a statement against. If you are outraged about the working conditions in China for a product you buy in America, yet seem to think the protesters are silly and infantile you are just another dirt poor Republican voting against yourself (just on a different scale). You seemed more intelligent than that.

First, please for the love of bacon, learn how to use a freakin’ comma. I had to re-read this garbage a handful of times before I could even understand what it was you were trying to say.

Second, yes I did keep the iPhone (which is probably worthy of a blog post in and of itself). Mainly because of these comments. It seems that just about everything, from the TV I watch to the clothes I wear are byproducts of questionable work conditions. Unfortunately, (almost) everything in America was made somewhere else. Anyone know of a cell phone manufacturer that doesn’t outsource? It was a lose-lose situation. Check out this article for more information.

Lastly….what? Are you drunk, high, stupid, or a combination of all three? What does this sentence even mean “Your response to the whole OWS movement seems based from a pretty ‘world is roses’ and overall very ignorant stance.”? If you are going to insult me and call me things like “a dirt poor Republican” please at least have an agenda or reason for doing so. I’m all for people posting their opposing point of views (Stacking Cash and Larry can testify to this), but at least have some meat and potatoes along with your comment. To the anonymous commenter that wrote the above, click here.

I’m totally glad my post got people thinking and brought both sides of the table to discussion. Although, I do particularly enjoy reading comments from people who agree with me (haha, it’s true). Like this one…

Besides, the inherent “unfairness” of forgiving student loan debt, it just doesn’t make sense as a stimulus. I’m an economist, and here’s how that idea stacks up to me:

A Keynesian stimulus is concerned with short-term spending increases – the usual cutoff is about 24 months. So the question that must be asked of anything that is claimed as a stimulus is: “how much marginal (i.e. extra) money will be in the national pockets if it’s implemented?”

Let’s say that Joe Occupier has $60,000 in student loan debt and has payments of $500 a month. If the government forgives his loan, it costs them $60,000. Assuming Joe spends *all* of the money he saves (which is a crazy ambitious assumption), he’ll put an extra ($500*24)=$12,000 in to to economy. So the federal government is paying $60k for $12k in stimulus.

You’ll never find an economist to back this plan up.

Am I terrible blogger for calling out some of the very people who read my blog? Perhaps. But if you really believe I’m a “dirt poor Republican” I’d rather you just not read my blog at all. At least then it’s a win-win for both of us 🙂

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46 COMMENTS

  1. Funny that that comment caught my eye earlier tonight. At first I was like “oh, another opposing viewpoint, I’m interested.” Then I was like WTF…I hope Ninja doesn’t read that post…LOL!

  2. I don’t typically comment, but I’m baffled with this post. The answer to your question if you’re a terrible blogger isn’t no, but I do feel that you could have written about something more financial based instead of bickering with a reader you don’t feel is coherent.

    • I’m aligned with Melissa.

      Some days I envy your comment count and readership. Then there are days like today where you get drawn into a black hole of time-suck.

      Respond to comments in the comment section. That diatribe of trolling non-sequiturs was hardly worthy of reply, let alone a post.

      Overall your post seemed self-aggrandizing (“My article about student loans being forgiven has quickly become one of my most popular. It currently has 87 comments…”) and simply unnecessary.

    • I have to agree. You took a comment that was so poorly written I thought it had been translated from another language, and raised it to a level of serious debate by highlighting it in a post. Also, the sign-off comes across as “if you don’t agree with me, don’t read my blog,” even if that’s not how you meant it.

      I look forward to more posts like the original student loan one, that gets people talking and debating.

      • It’s not so much, if you don’t agree with me stop reading my blog, as much as it is “if you think I’m really stupid, don’t read my blog.”

    • Sometimes I like to break up the monotony of financial posts, that’s why I’ll write about Girl Ninja, or things I want to punch in the face time. Today was a different way of mixing it up. And apparently not in a way you enjoyed. Can’t win em all.

      • Ninja, I like your blog. I really do.

        Even when you post controversially, you seem to do it knowing that you are likely to offend people and to stir up a thoughtful (or at least interesting) discussion.

        Unfortunately, my takeaway from this post was “if you don’t agree with me, you must be stupid.” And you posted a less-than-intelligent comment to prove your point. I realize that the poster called you names, but really….you’re the one with the popular blog and large readership. Shouldn’t you have let this roll off of your shoulders? Or perhaps, not tried to do things at once- poke fun at unintelligent comments you receive AND the fact that you don’t care if people disagree with you?

  3. I’m going to disagree with a lot of the comments above. I know from experience that when you start criticizing OWS people or people who just in general want a lot of free stuff from the government, you will get some trolls who post nasty and/or incoherent stuff on your site. I think it’s important to highlight what these people are saying, because it demonstrates how dangerously uninformed they are.

    These people can’t even unscramble the thoughts inside their own head, and yet the media gives them attention. It’s blogs like this where you get the other side of the story. And if you don’t want to hear the other side of the story, then don’t read PDITF.

    • If you write anything contentious on the internet, there will be a lot of people who disagree with you, some of whom are borderline illiterate. This is not limited to the OWS protesters. I understand disagreeing with them, but I don’t understand why you feel so compelled to insult them personally.

  4. I don’t know if I should comment here or on the student loans post…

    As a future economist: Basic macroeconomics has a concept of a multiplier — for every dollar of stimulus, a multiple of that amount is what the actual impact to the economy is. The “stimulus” of forgiving student loans would be 60 000$ which would then be multiplied into a larger sum.

    While I would never support a student loan forgiveness plan, from an economic standpoint, it is a good idea since part of the reason that the US economy is so stagnant is because people aren’t spending due to the large amounts of debt that they are trying to pay off.

  5. Just what is a ‘dirt poor Rebublican’? I have no idea what that means.

    No you are not a bad blogger for using comments in your blog.

    I agree that forgiving studen loan debt is a very bad economic idea but it seems a very good political one. SImilar to the ‘underwater mortgage’ refinance plan currently in the works from BO.

  6. i think the point of this post was to highlight the different opinions reprsented within the student loan post, not to be-little or promote certain comments from it. As for the iphone thing… we are all guilty of doing things contrary to our beliefs or moral structure and we all will continue to be unless you become a nun. The point about most products not being made in America is valid for most items and if thats a big deal to you great dont buy them but dont tear down some one who does purchase the products. you can express your opinion and support it with facts but resorting to insults and name calling will not help your point or your cause. Should you rub your dogs face in a mess they make on the carpet because that will “teach” them that its bad? or praise them for goo behavior? You catch more flies with honey

    my opinion on student loan debt is that there needs to be a commitment from the state and federal government to our education system, including financial resources. This will ensure that American college stay relevent in a global economy and that our students are not held back by the debt they incure trying to make something of themselves.

    being realistic about your your career path (and potential compesation) would also be smart, dont spend 40K on a degree that will only let you earn 30k

  7. “Am I terrible blogger for calling out some of the very people who read my blog?”

    No, I don’t think so. I think you wrote exactly what people need to read. It’s very easy to see the stories about student loan forgiveness and think, “OMG, that’s exactly what I need!” and jump on the bandwagon supporting it. All this without thinking of the true ramifications of such a thing.

    Sure, I’d love to have my student loans forgiven. However, I am the one who took the loans. I am the one who spent the money. I’m going to have to be the one to pay them back. That’s the honest and ethical thing to do and that’s how things should work. Is it hard? Yes. But it’s right, and that’s what matters.

  8. I don’t see why so many people are up in arms over you stating your honest opinion or calling out some fool. It’s not self-aggrandizing, nor is it a big deal.

    This is a blog, so people should take it for what it’s worth. It’s a very entertaining blog that is also very educational. Should people take everything you say as gospel? No. Should they take everything you say seriously? No.

    Bottom line, keep doing what you’re doing. This blog is seriously entertaining, stirs up fantastic conversations, and is educational. Please also continue calling out seriously stupid comments, because these are some of the most entertaining posts.

  9. It’s always frustrating to see such name calling on comment boards – but that seems to be the problem with a lot of rhetoric nowadays, particularly political rhetoric. Everything is so hyperbolic and critical that it’s difficult to have productive conversations.

    However, even though I may disagree with some of your opinions about OWS, I find your blog really interesting, honest, and humorous. I hope you don’t mind if I DO keep reading, even though we don’t always agree =)

  10. The post quoted was not well-written, but it is neither “garbage,” “drunk, high, or stupid” (Ninja), “dangerously uninformed” (Kevin), nor “foolish” (tom). If I extract some of the main points from the comment, I am left with this:

    a) Products used in America are made by exploited workers in other countries to create massive profits solely for the top 1% in the corporations involved.

    b) Only that top 1% is thriving, whereas all others are stagnating or declining.

    c) Even though the Republican party exists solely for the benefit of that 1%, supporters deceive themselves into thinking the party exists also for their benefit, and are therefore voting against their own best interests.

    A few days ago, a poster named Andrew quoted a passage from an article that makes similar points:
    http://www.vanityfair.com/society/features/2011/05/top-one-percent-201105

    That article was by Joseph E. Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize-winning professor of economics at Columbia University who is presumably neither drunk, high, nor stupid, and I daresay a lot better informed than any of us writing here. Stiglitz wrote his comments before the OWS movement started, but I suggest that anyone inclined to sneer at these protestors ought carefully to read that article, and that if they’re still inclined to sneer, to read it again.

    • I read the article, and re-read it. I still disagree with the OWS protests for 1 overarching reason: They should be rallying against the government, because they are the ones who are making the rules. Essentially the entire article is about the government not investing in people and succumbing to the will of the 1% because of their influence.

      The wealthy will be wealthy and they will continue to get wealthier. They will continue to exert their influence on Congress. Until OWS directs their message at government, it will not make a meaningful impact. It’s in their name… Occupy Wall Street. Why Wall Street? Because that is where the money is. I disagree… the money is in DC. If they really want to make a statement, hold a massive, million man march on DC demanding campaign finance reform and massive investments in education, technology and infrastructure (as Stiglitz suggested and I agree). Make meaningful reforms to Medicare/aid, Social Security and scale back defense programs that make little sense (F-35). DC is the only entity that OWS can have an impact on. They cannot do anything about corporate boards give out massive severance packages or poor decision making (the whole financial crisis).

      The OWS movement, in response to this, would say… we are in DC. I say BS. I’ve seen very little on the DC movement. There are nowhere near as many people in DC as there are in NYC. If the OWS movement wants to be taken seriously… let’s go to DC. In the next election cycle, maybe put up a candidate or two backed by OWS to actually get in government and start writing bills to change things. Only then can OWS say, hey look, these greedy thugs are voting against smart decisions (we know that already, but let’s have some straight forward bills addressing OWS’s issues). If the Tea Party can do it, certainly OWS can do it.

      So, until then, I will continue to sneer at the OWS movement.

      • Sneer away. Your objection, in fact, is one I support, and was identical to the one made by Barney Frank when he was interviewed on the topic on Rachel Maddow’s show. Frank pointed out that no organization in this country is better politically organized than the NRA, and if the OWS protestors want to have an impact, they will similarly have to become part of the political process.

        But that objection doesn’t invalidate everything Stiglitz says. Far from it. Remember, he wasn’t commenting directly on the OWS movement, and his other points are largely sound. Where the OWS people really shoot themselves in the foot, however, is the pretense that capitalism in itself is evil, while at the same time they cannot divorce themselves from using the tools and products of capitalism. I myself can hardly reject capitalism when whatever financial success I may have is largely a result of investing in greedy capitalist corporations.

        It is extremely difficult to convince an opponent of your point-of-view, and especially so when the opponent is probably not really listening to you but rather trying to formulate clever ways to destroy your argument. But if persuasion is at all possible, it comes about when you can get your opponent to see that his cause is your own. That’s what Stiglitz gets – that greater income equality is not inimical to business but supports growth and profits. This point is also made in a recent article from the NY Times by Nicholas Kristof:

        “Economists used to believe that we had to hold our noses and put up with high inequality as the price of robust growth. But more recent research suggests the opposite: inequality not only stinks, but also damages economies.

        “In his important new book, ‘The Darwin Economy,’ Robert H. Frank of Cornell University cites a study showing that among 65 industrial nations, the more unequal ones experience slower growth on average. Likewise, individual countries grow more rapidly in periods when incomes are more equal, and slow down when incomes are skewed.

        “That’s certainly true of the United States. We enjoyed considerable equality from the 1940s through the 1970s, and growth was strong. Since then inequality has surged, and growth has slowed.”

        http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/16/opinion/sunday/kristof-americas-primal-scream.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

        Still sneering?

        • At OWS? Yes, definitely.

          At Stiglitz’s points? No

          Stiglitz makes excellent points that I agree with. One may argue that they are the same points that OWS is trying to make. I disagree. OWS doesn’t have a cohesive voice other than sheer numbers demanding all sorts of ridiculous things. The Tea Party, when it started growing before it splintered, quickly developed a cohesive voice. Sure there were still ridiculous demands, but they had a message and that message was directed at the one place that could make change: Government. OWS’s message is that 1% controls 99% of the wealth. Duh, so what are you doing about it?

          So I agree with Stiglitz and, to an extent, Kristof in that income inequity is not beneficial. I still think OWS is going about it the wrong way, especially now that they have full media attention and massive numbers. They need to pick up and move to the steps of Capitol Hill. Until then, I sneer :).

          • Also the sheer numbers of the OWS should be frightening. Ever since the recession started I’ve been worried of a violent revolution in America. From the isolated cases of the Oklahoma bombing, the attempted assassination of Gabrielle Giffords, even the shooting at the Las Vegas federal courthouse, I fear these cases might not be so isolated anymore.

  11. I agree that student loans should not be forgiven. Nor should companies be bailed out. It’s time that Americans quit the whining about the situation we find ourselves in and start exercising some personal responsibility.

    Yes, big banks have some blame in all of this, and so does the government. But they could not have done it without us. We bought the houses with no down payment and adjustable rate mortgages, we ran up the credit card bills, we spent more than we made, and we overleveraged ourselves just like the banks did.

    I know a lot of people don’t want to hear this but the truth can be painful. We have to remove the log from our own eye first.

    I have post on my blog today entitled “Dear Occupy Wall Street- A Letter by Dave Ramsey” that is getting a ton of interest because of this type of viewpoint. You can read it here (http://www.cfinancialfreedom.com/CFFwordpress/?p=625).

    I put up a similar post last week from a college student that tells the occupy wall street whiners how he has worked hard and made good decisions that have allowed him to begin succeeding in life despite the economic downturn. You can find that one here (http://www.cfinancialfreedom.com/CFFwordpress/?p=572)

    Ninja, never be afraid to tackle something controversial and take a little heat. Keep up the good work! And remember…

    “When you help me with money, you help the world prosper.”- J.M. Dumont

    • I’m the dark and evil troll. I like and agree with your comment, didn’t read your blog post, but your comment was nice, well written and even headed. It is the kind of stuff more people should be saying, but what do we DO about it?

  12. Herman Cain said this “I don’t need a rich person to lose something before I can gain something”. That’s the beauty of America. We all have the opportunity to be successful, but we’ll never reach our goals if we are waiting for a handout.

    The OWS protesters, while they certainly have the right to be heard, just seem like whiners looking for a handout. I don’t need to be an economist or a Nobel prize winner author to know common sense – if you took out a student loan, you are responsible to pay it off….if you want to succeed, work hard….let’s change this culture of entitlement to a culture of personal responsibility.

    And Ninja – keep up the awesome work – I love your humor and way of looking at things. Don’t let nasty commenters get you down. I wish online commentors could remember that we can all disagree without being disagreeable.

    • ha, i’m a girl. funny. thanks. and yes, there is, check the bible belt…aka, why g bush the second terrible was in office TWICE

  13. Has anyone here ever taken out Federal student loans? If so, then your loan balance (even if you repaid the loan) was already “everyone else’s headache.” Why? Because those loans become a part of the national debt… which gets paid with…. (drum roll) the federal taxes we pay.

    And even if you paid it all back with interest, you likely didn’t pay as much interest as you’d pay in the private sector. So thanks to the hard work (and tax dollars) of other Americans, you got your education financed for less than the market rate.

    And you know what…. I think that’s a good thing. Because an investment in educated Americans is an investment in America. While the middle (and aspiring middle) class tears itself apart fighting over crumbs, large companies pay lobbyists to essentially craft laws in their economic favor. These laws then get passed by the people WE vote into office. And no one blinks an eye. If you understood that you were fighting the wrong enemy, you’d understand why the 99ers are important— even if their message is less than coherent.

  14. Way to ruin it, Ninja.

    I have more than enough sources of class warfare debate on the internet and otherwise to keep me busy/infuriated. This blog was not one of them. Apparently now it is. Thanks.

  15. Ninja…I’m disappointed. I read through the comments on your student loan debt post and found a good number of your readers making valid points both for and against. But instead of highlighting the reasonable ones, you pick out 1) a simplistic argument that’s easily knocked down 2) a rambling incomprehensible troll who none of your readers would have taken seriously anyway and 3) the self proclaimed “economist” to save the day.

    The general sentiment I get from you and your PF friends is; Joe Schmo takes out a $60,000 loan, can’t get a job, can’t pay it back, what do? A: “Stupid Schmo shouldn’t have taken the loan!” ….but….Banker makes risky loan, no questions asked, get’s burned, what do? A: “It’s not the bankers fault, the government made the rules, the poor bankers can’t be blamed for making bad loans, blame the government!”

    Maybe your next post could focus on what can actually be done to fix the problems in higher education. Rather than ask “Who in their right mind would take out $100,000 for an English degree!?” you could ask why a college can charge the same amount for an English degree as it does an Engineering degree. Or what private student loan company in their right mind would loan a student $100,000 without asking any questions whatsoever. Or why For-Profit Colleges can mislead students into overpaying for degrees they can’t use and then stick the Federal government with the bill/default risk (where is the “I-don’t-want-my-taxes-paying-for-this” argument on this one?)

    Seriously, Ninja, you and your PF blogger friends need to step down from your financial high horse sometimes and take off the blinders. You can’t just boil this complicated issue down to “Don’t take a loan if you can’t pay it back”. For every irresponsible OWS’er with an overpriced Art degree there are thousands of students with Science, Social Science and other practical degrees who could otherwise manage repayment if they could just find a damn job! I think this “OWS’er are irresponsible” argument is BS. Yes in a perfect world people wouldn’t have borrowed more than they could repay, but this isn’t a perfect world and the institutions involved on all sides need some serious overhaul. I think this is what your troll was so in-artfully trying to get at.

    P.S. Ninja, I think your a cool cat and a good guy. I honestly like your blog…99% of the time 🙂

  16. Protests, speaking out is part of our history, but it is not the best way for change. There are much better ways to change government, Wall Street and society. More people should vote, write letters to Congressmen and change theri own lives.

  17. Hi,

    I am actually the original poster of that comment. Perhaps I will try to explain myself more coherently here for you to all judge/critique/comment upon, after all this is a public forum, is it not? Read it with an open mind, it will serve you better :).

    1. I never called you a dirt poor Republican. If you want to critique my use of the English language so greatly, perhaps you should familiarise yourself with the difference between a simile and metaphor. I said you were LIKE dirt poor Republicans who vote against their own self interest. This is actually DIFFERENT than calling you a dirt poor Republican. Sensitive much – you did bring it to light not once, but twice? And, by the way, we’ve seen your financial figures, I don’t think anyone would say you ARE a dirt poor Republican. The parallel here is again, a group or demographic that is against their own self interest. Let’s say for example “dirt poor Republicans” i.e. those who will vote against tax cuts for themselves while voting FOR them for the top 1%. Ah, yes, clarification. Moving on.

    2. The actual point of the entire post was that you seem to come from a “world of roses” viewpoint. I know this seemed to irritate you too though your response didn’t quite make sense. Another commenter pointed this out in response to the original Iphone post (something like, look at your nikes, the rock on your wives finger etc. why is this bothering you now?) etc. You seem to only be bothered about this Iphone purchase, why exactly? Do you live in a world where the other items that you buy don’t have any of these same types of impacts? In that case, you are either, 1. wilfully ignorant or 2. much less intelligent than you seem to be. Either way, it seems as if you are choosing what upsets you re: where your market goods originate and consequences that arise from such.

    #3. Let’s proceed with an understanding and clarification from #1 and 2 combined. My point about your attitude about OWS movement is that you CANNOT ESCAPE the conditions that cause these goods to be brought into this world in this way. I don’t care how many New Balance shoes and organic socks a person purchases (even these have negative impacts), there is NO WAY TO ESCAPE the fact that so many of the goods are manufactured in deplorable conditions. There just isn’t.

    Let’s all calm our tempers, open our minds and contemplate the fact that.
    1. I own an Iphone. I’ve bought two in my life. Both new. The shock, the awe. (the 2G I think (first one on the market) when it first came out and a 3G later on. The 2G for my boyfriend, 3G for me. I haven’t bought the new version because I have a sick plan for 76.00 per month which includes unlimited data and I can stream Internet from my phone, I’m not a huge nerd either and phone is mostly for calling people).
    2. Almost every single thing I purchase comes from a corporation and is purchased new from said corporation. My favorite are, Anne Taylor Loft (not Anne Taylor, too expensive, not worth it and I don’t like dry cleaning) Banana Republic and probably lots of other useless crap I buy directly from the mouth of all sorts of different corporate Satans. Mostly I buy clothes. I’m a minimalist but this is more a self-centred aesthetic than an “I can’t bear to think about the 50 Somalian babies that had to make that coffee table.”
    3. My corporate job, included in being a Financial Controller for a small sized corporation (5 mill. revenue) is the direct purchasing control and primary influence of all our corporations goods from China.

    Can you stomach it?

    Ah, okay, let’s move on.

    The point (which somehow got misconstrued into me calling you a dirt poor Republican – again – important difference between simile and metaphor 🙂 ) is that you can’t, you never will, YOU CAN NEVER ESCAPE (for emphasis now) this corporate greed of deplorable conditions for the lives of workers which our decisions impact so wholly.

    For the record and to clear up a lot of misconstrued BS from other commenters – I’m not actually “part” of the OWS in so much as I’ve been to NYC twice since it’s inception and preferred to stroll down 5th Avenue in the Banana Republics and the Anne Taylors than to visit Zuckati (not sure how to spell it, too lazy to google it) Park. So, I think it’s safe to say I’m not part of it…..

    But, your post about your reaction to the movement, that you should just put your money where your mouth is – to just not buy these things that once we open our eyes to the conditions, that how can we sleep at night and all Kumbaya members of the same human race if we know? seemed wilfully ignorant. If that is how you truly feel, you must completely disengage from capitalism and most likely America – remember, even the bums use Starbucks cups and wear Nikes. No one can just “put their money where their mouth is.” If you’ve figured out how to do that, in this society, while being a contributing bread winner, let me know.

    That, my friend is how I interpret the point of the protest. A lot of intelligent, and some maybe not as much, people are fed up with the status quo. They are sick of Nike and Starbucks and lots of other great corporations, profiting off the sweat of the Chinese/Taiwanese but moreover their own sweat. Things are right in this country, not sure if you’ve checked, but it is on the decline. Whether you want to believe this lack of option is fuelled by corporate greed or not is completely your choice, but tell me please, if it is not – educate yourself – and then tell me what is the cause? Read perhaps about the mortgage lending crisis, the crooks on Wallstreet. The “crap” that went down that we just all know wasn’t right. Tell me how we should just continue to function as a society and “put our money where our mouth is.” I think it must be much easier when the mouth is silent. Mine is fully of mostly garbled BS but I couldn’t even say “put your money where your mouth is” I have more of a conscience than that.

    To shut your eyes and your ears as I do is not a solution – I’m searching for one and I was asking you too, if you knew, if you had one. You seem intelligent. I read your blog, I actually subscribe to it. I will continue to do so even though I know now I am not welcome. I find it 70% interesting – which is higher than most blogs I read. Perhaps that is why I asked you in such a mumbled “stone/high/drunk fashion”….

    All that I aside, I commend the people of OWS for not lying down and taking it – even if they do so in 98% of the rest of their lives. They are voicing their disenchantment with the system they are saying something – anything. Is it always coherent? No. Is it always brilliant, no? However, I think you should even out the criticism, there’s been one post about Apple not maybe being the best. There have been now THREE posts – one about little old me and two about OWS and how it’s kind of not relevant. Posts, that while I understand why, you were reticent to even discuss. (Although forgive me, I haven’t read your entire archives – I said it was 70% interesting not deep dark hole internet interesting – I save that for LOL cats (not even sure what they are). I’m not singling you out, but come on, you “kind” of did to me first (actually you just outright did). Many Americans are like this – so willing to criticise protesters, those barely sticking their necks out there, while applauding, lauding giant corporations and the profits they make. That is the part that actually bothers me so far about you Ninja, you, along with so many others seem to have forgotten this country was founded on revolution. The founding fathers anticipated, expected, a revolution every 1-200 years, they thought it was necessary for a healthy democracy. (Go everyone, look up the misinformed internet quotes and lets bash that reference). How exalted are the founding fathers? They were revolutionaries. They claimed, staked and made their freedoms. It is up to us to uphold that dignity. I just fear we’ve just been nearly damn brainwashed out of it by Fox news. I look to you for hope and hope you can provide it.

    Thanks!

    PS:
    Forgiving student loan debt, in my personal opinion (if anyone would to were to have asked – instead of ASS-u-ming everything about me – is dumb. For the record I have student loan debt. But, being able to have ABSOLUTELY no way of or hope of having it forgiven in some circumstances (with consequence of course) is no better for our society either. Before Bush changed the law (re: discharge during personal bankruptcy) I’m pretty sure the economy was just fine (better…for those who haven’t been around the last 10 years).

    • Your english is tough to understand, are you chinese? I ask because I have many friends that speak like you and would understand you better if I knew a little bit about where you came from. I think we all would understand a great deal more because so much is lost in translation. Otherwise your attempts to convey your point of view will fail miserably…

      • She sounds like someone who writes as she talks, wthout editing. It’s coherent enough if you hear it as speech rather than expect to read it as well-edited writing.

  18. I don’t think you are a terrible blogger for calling out people on their comments, but I do think that you need to consider everyones different view point, or at least the entire comment.
    With that being said, I think you misinterpreted my comment. However I don’t really feel the need to explain it.

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