Explain to me why California and New York set the trends...

[i_am_the_swammi]

What is there a Hee Haw marathon on or something ?

 

Nah, H8s planning to hit the Wal-Mart sales looking for a nice suit for himself.

[Jimmy Neutron]

Not sure why - those two "progressive" models are failing miserably right now. Maybe America will wise up.

[AtomicCEO]

LOL, really? Care to compare illiteracy rates? Unwed pregnancy? Violent Crime?

 

Tell you what, you stay 'enlightened', and we'll stay safe, rich and happy.

 

I don't know what your plan is this weekend, but I bet I have a bit more fun than you.

 

really?

[AtomicCEO]

LOL, really? Care to compare illiteracy rates? Unwed pregnancy? Violent Crime?

 

Tell you what, you stay 'enlightened', and we'll stay safe, rich and happy.

 

I don't know what your plan is this weekend, but I bet I have a bit more fun than you.

 

30 second BS check:

New York and California both beat Oklahoma in literacy rates.

[TimC]

The trend today is to be a bunch of Gubment teet suckling idiots....yeah, I'd say both those craphole states started it. Between Wall Street and the entire state of California, our trillions have flowed in to these filthy places.

Edited May 21, 2009 by TimC

[McBoog]

I'm with you. Lets stop all federal spending for social programs and go back to what the Constitution intended. Let the states take care of themselves and live with their own bad decisions.

 

 

I see that this got no response!

 

Look at the subsidizing of the digital converter boxes and all the money forked out over that fiasco. Who ever said watching TV was a Constitutional right? You want TV in your house, buy the f'n equipment that provides it.

 

The whole attempt to make all the states the same is very scary! Why even have states is this is what is going to happen?

[H8tank]

30 second BS check:

New York and California both beat Oklahoma in literacy rates.

 

 

See, if they 'beat' Oklahomo with a higher percentage, that is a bad thing.

[Perchoutofwater]

30 second BS check:

New York and California both beat Oklahoma in literacy rates.

 

Do you have link supporting your claim that California beats Oklahoma in literacy rates, or are you pulling crap out of your ass. Everything I can find has California consistently at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to reading scores.

[Gopher]

See, if they 'beat' Oklahomo with a higher percentage, that is a bad thing.

Uhhh, no... That would be illiteracy rates.

[westvirginia]

See, if they 'beat' Oklahomo with a higher percentage, that is a bad thing.

 

 

Uhhh, no... That would be illiteracy rates.

 

[WaterMan]

I was thinking about this question for awhile and wouldn't it be because they never left the United States?

[Perchoutofwater]

The estimated 23% of adults with very low lieteracy in California is higher than any other state, although the problem is nearly as bad in New York and Florida, according to the repor from the U.S. Education Department.

 

Before anyone says they need more funding, California has the highes average teacher pay of any state, acording the the NEA.

[Gopher]

Do you have link supporting your claim that California beats Oklahoma in literacy rates, or are you pulling crap out of your ass. Everything I can find has California consistently at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to reading scores.

Here you go... CA near the top of illiteracy list by state

Granted, these numbers were from 2000 to 2003, but I can't imagine California is getting any better, considering that illegals continue to come in by the busload, state government is cutting the funding for schools to educate our children, and they're now deciding to let prison inmates leave prematurely due to not enough $$ (they would stand a better chance of becoming literate behind bars).

 

Oklahoma and NY are closer, but OK still has NY beat (better literacy rate) consistently.

[Perchoutofwater]

Here you go... CA near the top of illiteracy list by state

Granted, these numbers were from 2000 to 2003, but I can't imagine California is getting any better, considering that illegals continue to come in by the busload, state government is cutting the funding for schools to educate our children, and they're now deciding to let prison inmates leave prematurely due to not enough $$ (they would stand a better chance of becoming literate behind bars).

 

Oklahoma and NY are closer, but OK still has NY beat (better literacy rate) consistently.

 

Based on this, it looks like Oklahoma has New York beat too.

[Gopher]

The estimated 23% of adults with very low lieteracy in California is higher than any other state, although the problem is nearly as bad in New York and Florida, according to the repor from the U.S. Education Department.

 

Before anyone says they need more funding, California has the highes average teacher pay of any state, acording the the NEA.

Looks like you beat me to the punch, in a sense. However, stating that CA teachers make more $$ kind of skirts around the funding issue. Sure, CA teachers make more $$ than those in the Midwest or the South... Not exactly a shocker, considering the cost of living is twice as high. The issue isn't so much that the teachers aren't paid enough, it's that budgets are being cut, making it next to impossible for those teachers to have the necessary resources to adequately/properly educate their students. If a teacher truly wants to get the necessary resources, they many times have to get a lot of those things by buying them out of their own pockets, which shouldn't have to happen. My MIL, BIL, and wife are all in this exact scenario as we speak. All three of them would say that they are, in a sense, fighting a losing battle, in trying to educate/help the childrent that they deal with daily. All three of them would also probably say that they're compensated fairly, when you take into account the benefits, holidays/summers off, etc. That's not the issue.

 

By the way, I'm not saying that the state of CA should throw more money at the problem... it's never going to be fixed until the state figures out a way to address the fact that there are simply more people taking out out of the cookie jar than are giving in... sooner or later, there's only going to be crumbs left. That's the way it is in the schoold, the healthcare system, etc. I'm not so sure there is a perfect solution, but right now, it's like trying to fix a leaking boat with duct tape. The problem is only getting worse.

[Perchoutofwater]

Looks like you beat me to the punch, in a sense. However, stating that CA teachers make more $$ kind of skirts around the funding issue. Sure, CA teachers make more $$ than those in the Midwest or the South... Not exactly a shocker, considering the cost of living is twice as high. The issue isn't so much that the teachers aren't paid enough, it's that budgets are being cut, making it next to impossible for those teachers to have the necessary resources to adequately/properly educate their students. If a teacher truly wants to get the necessary resources, they many times have to get a lot of those things by buying them out of their own pockets, which shouldn't have to happen. My MIL, BIL, and wife are all in this exact scenario as we speak. All three of them would say that they are, in a sense, fighting a losing battle, in trying to educate/help the childrent that they deal with daily. All three of them would also probably say that they're compensated fairly, when you take into account the benefits, holidays/summers off, etc. That's not the issue.

 

By the way, I'm not saying that the state of CA should throw more money at the problem... it's never going to be fixed until the state figures out a way to address the fact that there are simply more people taking out out of the cookie jar than are giving in... sooner or later, there's only going to be crumbs left. That's the way it is in the schoold, the healthcare system, etc. I'm not so sure there is a perfect solution, but right now, it's like trying to fix a leaking boat with duct tape. The problem is only getting worse.

 

My wife is a teacher. Every year we probably write off between $500 to $1,000 in school supplies or crap that she says she needs. I hear what you are saying about the cost of living. Here is another link showing teacher pay by state, but on the right hand side is has a score that includes other factors like cost of Living. Texas surprisingly ranked 7th, while California ranked 44th. While Texas still ranks better than California and New York, we don't preform all that well. The problem in California is the same problem Texas has. Too many illegals. Until we seriously address immigration (legal and illegal), we are going to continue to have major problems. I can only imagine the problem with New York is they talk funny, and are just stupid, I mean really who would want to live there?

Edited May 21, 2009 by Perchoutofwater

[Gopher]

I'm assuming everybody here knows what I'm referring to with my "cookie jar" metaphor, but just in case... Go to any Home Depot or Lowe's in the Bay Area, and you will find a minimum of 30 middle-aged hispanic males, standing in the parking lot, looking for work. Many of them will find something at some point... maybe not every day, but at least enough of the time to "pay their bills." I'm going to guess that 90% of that work is going to be a short-term thing where they are paid in cash (most of them are not going to be hired by anyone long-term). Therefore, no need to pay taxes on that income. The people who hire these guys can find several advantages to doing so... Why hire a legit hauling company to pick up the junk from your garage and bring it to the city dump for $500, when you can pay a couple of Mexican guys $200, with no mention of a dump fee being included. Heck, they might not even bring the crap to the dump... they'll just find a field somewhere and leave it when no one is looking. Happens all of the time. When those same guys' wives and kids need medical care, though, they'll be first in line at the local urgent care facility, looking for some free physician's care.

 

And, it's not just the guys standing in the Home Depot parking lot. My wife used to work for a construction company that had a very high percentage of their work force that was more than likely illegal as well... No background checks run, no I-9 forms, but they all got paid every Friday. The company had less than 100 employees "on the books", but yet paid somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 people on a weekly basis. Once again, the incentive for a company to do something like this boils down to nothing more than cost... Pay workers $20/hr and full benefits, but be able to deduct their wages for tax purposes, or pay them $15/hr under the table, and not have to worry about benefits, etc. Many companies will take the second option, not willing to own up to the fact that it is their actions that are contributing to the F'd up state in which CA is in, economically. Unfortunately, scenarios like this are more common than most of us realize... it's the rule, not the exception. There's so much of it going on that nobody really runs the risk of getting caught... "everybody is doing it." The problem is, by doing this, employers are basically adding fuel to the fire... their employees are not contributing to the pot, yet their families are still taking out of it through medical care and the school systems... Remember, "no child left behind", right?

[Gopher]

My wife is a teacher. Every year we probably write off between $500 to $1,000 in school supplies or crap that she thinks she says she needs. I hear what you are saying about the cost of living. Here is another link showing teacher pay by state, but on the right hand side is has a score that includes other factors like cost of Living. Texas surprisingly ranked 7th, while California ranked 44th. While Texas still ranks better than California and New York, we don't preform all that well. The problem in California is the same problem Texas has. Too many illegals. Until we seriously address immigration (legal and illegal), we are going to continue to have major problems. I can only imagine the problem with New York is they talk funny, and are just stupid, I mean really who would want to live there?

I think we're on the same page. NY has a ton of immigration as well, obviously, just not quite the same as TX and CA, in the sense that they're coming by a different means... either by boat or by coming up the coast, not just crossing the border. And, my wife and I write off a lot of the stuff that she purchases as well. But, writing something off that you were willing to buy out of your own pocket for your job is not the same as being provided the necessary materials in the first place. Where I work, for example, you expense anything that you purchase that is work-related, within reason (and as long as it is justified)... Before I was as familiar with how the school thing worked, I asked my wife once if she could do the same thing (when she bought some "learning tools" for her kids... she laughed at me. Teachers are less apt to buy stuff for the kids when they know they're not being reimbursed... sure, the tax write-off is an OK alternative, but it's still money out of your pocket.

[wirehairman]

Let them keep all their federal income tax money instead of propping up crapholes like Mississippi and Alabama. Without California's and NY's subsidies, all the red states except TX would be completely ruined.

 

Deal.

 

Just don't be suprised when toll booths suddenly appear on every interstate and highway at the Montana border to help maintain the interstate system that connects the Midwest and Northwest.

[tazinib1]

I'm assuming everybody here knows what I'm referring to with my "cookie jar" metaphor, but just in case... Go to any Home Depot or Lowe's in the Bay Area, and you will find a minimum of 30 middle-aged hispanic males, standing in the parking lot, looking for work. Many of them will find something at some point... maybe not every day, but at least enough of the time to "pay their bills." I'm going to guess that 90% of that work is going to be a short-term thing where they are paid in cash (most of them are not going to be hired by anyone long-term). Therefore, no need to pay taxes on that income. The people who hire these guys can find several advantages to doing so... Why hire a legit hauling company to pick up the junk from your garage and bring it to the city dump for $500, when you can pay a couple of Mexican guys $200, with no mention of a dump fee being included. Heck, they might not even bring the crap to the dump... they'll just find a field somewhere and leave it when no one is looking. Happens all of the time. When those same guys' wives and kids need medical care, though, they'll be first in line at the local urgent care facility, looking for some free physician's care.

 

And, it's not just the guys standing in the Home Depot parking lot. My wife used to work for a construction company that had a very high percentage of their work force that was more than likely illegal as well... No background checks run, no I-9 forms, but they all got paid every Friday. The company had less than 100 employees "on the books", but yet paid somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 people on a weekly basis. Once again, the incentive for a company to do something like this boils down to nothing more than cost... Pay workers $20/hr and full benefits, but be able to deduct their wages for tax purposes, or pay them $15/hr under the table, and not have to worry about benefits, etc. Many companies will take the second option, not willing to own up to the fact that it is their actions that are contributing to the F'd up state in which CA is in, economically. Unfortunately, scenarios like this are more common than most of us realize... it's the rule, not the exception. There's so much of it going on that nobody really runs the risk of getting caught... "everybody is doing it." The problem is, by doing this, employers are basically adding fuel to the fire... their employees are not contributing to the pot, yet their families are still taking out of it through medical care and the school systems... Remember, "no child left behind", right?

 

+1,000,000

 

I'm getting sick and tired of it myself. There is a group that I noticed that has started to boycott these places. They roll in with HUGH signs saying "Stop Illegal Hiring" and other not so complimentary signs.