Is that the light at the end of the tunnel? (O.T. Thread)

[candyman93]

Charles Schwab might be in trouble too

 

[Bucketheadsdad]

My Contemporary History through Film class will be watching "The Big Short" in a few weeks.  The relevancy becomes even greater.  

[MWil23]

28 minutes ago, LETSGOBROWNIES said:

Pay the 250k to each depositor and move on.

This is 100% the biggest issue. Pay it out to each depositor and then see where the dust settles. Make sure nobody gets foreclosed on and then start prosecuting fraud by playing chicken with everyone's house, business, or pension/401K.

They won't do it because you'll see the men and women behind the curtain enabling it with pork bills and kickbacks for politicians and CEOs.

Major reform is needed here. I get we don't want another 1929-1933 bank run mayhem with rampant foreclosure, but this is ludicrous.

[MWil23]

24 minutes ago, Bucketheadsdad said:

My Contemporary History through Film class will be watching "The Big Short" in a few weeks.  The relevancy becomes even greater.  

I taught History through Film for 5+ years here as well.

I just read an awesome article with a lot of data about how the buying power adjusted for inflation for take home pay is better than it was in 1970, but the cost of living has skyrocketed over about 600% for housing, not to mention college tuition increasing over 800%.

It's an interesting way to look at "take home pay" not being a good indicator today for young people...fascinating stuff.

[LETSGOBROWNIES]

14 minutes ago, MWil23 said:

This is 100% the biggest issue. Pay it out to each depositor and then see where the dust settles. Make sure nobody gets foreclosed on and then start prosecuting fraud by playing chicken with everyone's house, business, or pension/401K.

They won't do it because you'll see the men and women behind the curtain enabling it with pork bills and kickbacks for politicians and CEOs.

Major reform is needed here. I get we don't want another 1929-1933 bank run mayhem with rampant foreclosure, but this is ludicrous.

The bigger issue is the trend of this becoming commonplace.

GM, the banks in ‘08, all the Covid industries, now this.  Hell even the airlines in ‘01.

Like Candy said, at some point these problematic industries are going to have to be reformed or make these services utilities and take profit out of the equation.

As it stands we the taxpayers are getting screwed repeatedly. Gotta pay high prices because they need record profits every quarter, but we also have to bail them out whenever they **** up.  Pick one.

[LETSGOBROWNIES]

10 minutes ago, MWil23 said:

I taught History through Film for 5+ years here as well.

I just read an awesome article with a lot of data about how the buying power adjusted for inflation for take home pay is better than it was in 1970, but the cost of living has skyrocketed over about 600% for housing, not to mention college tuition increasing over 800%.

It's an interesting way to look at "take home pay" not being a good indicator today for young people...fascinating stuff.

Take home pay has always been a dumb metric as it’s irrelevant.  What’s relevant is what you can do with that pay.

[MWil23]

2 minutes ago, LETSGOBROWNIES said:

The bigger issue is the trend of this becoming commonplace.

GM, the banks in ‘08, all the Covid industries, now this.  Hell even the airlines in ‘01.

Like Candy said, at some point these problematic industries are going to have to be reformed or make these services utilities and take profit out of the equation.

As it stands we the taxpayers are getting screwed repeatedly. Gotta pay high prices because they need record profits every quarter, but we also have to bail them out whenever they **** up.  Pick one.

And, let's be honest, we're always going to "feel it" until there's lasting reform. Tax hikes for the wealthy? Awesome! Until they just gauge us on the back end with pay inequity, cutting benefits, or raising prices for basic items to recoup that loss. I started just boycotting/refusing to buy a ton of stuff the last couple of years...but I also have to buy groceries and other items too, and eventually I just swallow my pride and pay to do some other things I "have to" because putting my life on hold forever isn't an option either.

1 minute ago, LETSGOBROWNIES said:

Take home pay has always been a dumb metric as it’s irrelevant.  What’s relevant is what you can do with that pay.

Yes, but quantifying it with data and graphs to show that "power" is valuable for young people who are borderline financially illiterate.

[NateDawg]

1 hour ago, MWil23 said:

Yes, but quantifying it with data and graphs to show that "power" is valuable for young people who are borderline financially illiterate.

At some point the educational system needs to evaluate why they don’t teach much over the course of 13 years that is useful for young adults who hit 18 YOA. Math is taught but people know nothing about a budget or how interest rates or financing work. Nothing is taught about fixing a plumbing issue or changing an outlet. A degree is a right of passage that gets you in the door but isn’t indicative of much in the real world.

Edited March 13, 2023 by NateDawg

[LETSGOBROWNIES]

 

17 minutes ago, MWil23 said:

I just read an awesome article with a lot of data about how the buying power adjusted for inflation for take home pay is better than it was in 1970, but the cost of living has skyrocketed over about 600% for housing, not to mention college tuition increasing over 800%.

to this point specifically, this isn’t a small thing.  Eggs have shot up in price some whatever hundred percent, but let’s be honest, it’s somewhat irrelevant for most people as eggs are still affordable.  $2 a dozen or $7 a dozen, if you want eggs you can afford eggs.

Housing, autos and education are most peoples top monthly expenses.

You’ve got a generational and a half that are struggling to afford the cost of living.  **** like #vanlife #tinyhome and whatnot is being romanticized but the truth is people are simply living in vehicles and trailers because they can actually afford it.

[LETSGOBROWNIES]

13 minutes ago, MWil23 said:

And, let's be honest, we're always going to "feel it" until there's lasting reform. Tax hikes for the wealthy? Awesome! Until they just gauge us on the back end with pay inequity, cutting benefits, or raising prices for basic items to recoup that loss. I started just boycotting/refusing to buy a ton of stuff the last couple of years...but I also have to buy groceries and other items too, and eventually I just swallow my pride and pay to do some other things I "have to" because putting my life on hold forever isn't an option either.

We as individuals are powerless with this ****.  We have to use almost all of these products and services, most aren’t optional.

13 minutes ago, MWil23 said:

Yes, but quantifying it with data and graphs to show that "power" is valuable for young people who are borderline financially illiterate.

I’d argue a lot of younger people have as good or better grasp of modern finances than older generations.  At least as far as some things.

I’m 100% certain there are a lot of older people, 45-50+ who haven’t bought/looked for a home or apartment in a long time, haven’t had student loans in a while, haven’t had to try to find new employment in years and who don’t really understand what younger people are facing.  I say this because these people make a point of screaming their ignorance as loudly and as often as possible to anyone who will listen.

I don’t think older people are better with money.  I think older people had an easier path to financial success but many of them still failed.

Financial literacy is a huge issue across all ages imo.

[MWil23]

13 minutes ago, LETSGOBROWNIES said:

We as individuals are powerless with this ****.  We have to use almost all of these products and services, most aren’t optional.

I’d argue a lot of younger people have as good or better grasp of modern finances than older generations.  At least as far as some things.

I’m 100% certain there are a lot of older people, 45-50+ who haven’t bought/looked for a home or apartment in a long time, haven’t had student loans in a while, haven’t had to try to find new employment in years and who don’t really understand what younger people are facing.  I say this because these people make a point of screaming their ignorance as loudly and as often as possible to anyone who will listen.

I don’t think older people are better with money.  I think older people had an easier path to financial success but many of them still failed.

Financial literacy is a huge issue across all ages imo.

Make no mistake, I'm not talking about that as a shot against the young people so much as quantifying it to:

1. Raise up the next generation

2. Show this to others who are older so that they understand the "way of doing things" is not applicable for most right now

3. The various recessions and debt proves that the older generations were horrible with money

It more or less has become nice to show kids the cost/benefit of things like college, community college/state schools, proportional debt to income ratio, proportional housing, and how to start "saving" now unless you want to work until the day you die.

[MWil23]

29 minutes ago, NateDawg said:

At some point the educational system needs to evaluate why they don’t teach much over the course of 13 years that is useful for young adults who hit 18 YOA. Math is taught but people know nothing about a budget or how interest rates or financing work. Nothing is taught about fixing a plumbing issue or changing an outlet. I degree is a right of passage that gets you in the door but isn’t indicative of much in the real world.

Thankfully state and federal legislators make those decisions. Truly not an indictment at all of anything.

[LETSGOBROWNIES]

23 minutes ago, NateDawg said:

At some point the educational system needs to evaluate why they don’t teach much over the course of 13 years that is useful for young adults who hit 18 YOA. Math is taught but people know nothing about a budget or how interest rates or financing work.
 

this is stuff that 100% should be taught.  Knowing algebra is cool and all, but I haven’t used it since high school.

23 minutes ago, NateDawg said:

Nothing is taught about fixing a plumbing issue or changing an outlet.
 

I mean, I’m not sure there’s really time for all of this.  It’s good to know, no argument there, but probably not the best use of time tbh.  Like algebra I’ve never needed to change an outlet in my adult life either.  YouTube videos can show me basic repair skills.  
 

IMO the goal for schools shouldn’t be to teach every skill, but to teach people where they can find the information to help themselves and how to vet sources.

23 minutes ago, NateDawg said:

I degree is a right of passage that gets you in the door but isn’t indicative of much in the real world.

Depends on the field, but yeah.  It more or less shows an employer you can show up on time, commit to something, complete tasks at a competent level, etc.

We definitely need to be preparing people for careers much more than we are though.  Expecting people to take on tens of thousands in debt just to be able to hopefully earn a solid living or do jobs that are 100% necessary for a society to survive is insane.

Like, we need doctors.  Not having doctors isn’t an option.  But we expect them to take out a quarter million in loans and work their arses off until they’re like 30 for what amounts to less per hour than fast food workers before they can see any real money.  And then we’re surprised when folks don’t want to do that.

[LETSGOBROWNIES]

4 minutes ago, MWil23 said:

Thankfully state and federal legislators make those decisions. Truly not an indictment at all of anything.

I mean, there has to be some standardization. Leaving it up to the teacher alone is all well and good until you get some goober teacher who has no idea what the hell they’re talking about and they do nothing but piss nonsense in dozens of kids ears for the better part of a year, every year.

[Dawgpoun8017]

2 minutes ago, LETSGOBROWNIES said:

this is stuff that 100% should be taught.  Knowing algebra is cool and all, but I haven’t used it since high school.

I mean, I’m not sure there’s really time for all of this.  It’s good to know, no argument there, but probably not the best use of time tbh.  Like algebra I’ve never needed to change an outlet in my adult life either.  YouTube videos can show me basic repair skills.  
 

IMO the goal for schools shouldn’t be to teach every skill, but to teach people where they can find the information to help themselves and how to vet sources.

Depends on the field, but yeah.  It more or less shows an employer you can show up on time, commit to something, complete tasks at a competent level, etc.

We definitely need to be preparing people for careers much more than we are though.  Expecting people to take on tens of thousands in debt just to be able to hopefully earn a solid living or do jobs that are 100% necessary for a society to survive is insane.

Like, we need doctors.  Not having doctors isn’t an option.  But we expect them to take out a quarter million in loans and work their arses off until they’re like 30 for what amounts to less per hour than fast food workers before they can see any real money.  And then we’re surprised when folks don’t want to do that.

College for the most part has become the biggest scam out there