Obamacles

It's a long read, but if you have the time it is worth it.

ht to Mr. Fuller.

By the Way

I have determined that cracked ribs suck.

Just letting you know.

Feel Free to Post a Review

I have had several people who ordered the book ask if it is OK if they write a review.

You may as well ask if it's OK you set me up with Jennifer Aniston and she would be in a French Maid outfit.

YES, for god's sake! Go! Do! Now!

Waiting Times

Somebody take credit for this because it was forwarded to me;

Correct

Women should never discount the value of outfits.

Of course that's derogatory and degrading. I'm mean, why would we want to make 1/2 of the population happy? I mean what would be the point in that? 50% of the population happy? For what purpose???

In the meantime, enjoy 65% divorce rates.

And YES, it is that simple.

Fuck Che

Found this in the local leftist rag;



No doubt to be followed by popular sequels such as;

"STALIN!"

"HITLER"

"POL POT"

and

"MAO TSE TUNG"

See, if you are a mass murderer that is a leftist then it's alright. But if you're a capitalist, then you are a....fuck it, never mind.

Let's just celebrate mass murderers. Long as they're of a certain political stripe they're killing of thousands is perfectly alright.

They All Fall Down

Anybody see a trend?

Only tells me that it's the people who somehow believe they're going to get a free pony with the new guy who are inevitably let down. ie-unrealistic expectations.

Shows a president shouldn't even care about approval ratings and should just do whatever the hell he wants. They'll all hate him in the end.

Federal Government Deficit as a Percent of GDP

Given they're bantering about a potential $1.2 trillion DEFICIT (not debt people) in 2009, I wanted to put that into perspective to show you just how effed we are and just how serious this financial crisis is.

As a percent of GDP, the federal deficit (assuming projections are true) would be about 9%. This is the highest peace time deficit in recorded history. The reason that is an important distinction to make is that when your country is threatened then it is probably a good reason for the government to go into deficit spending (as it did in WWI and WWII). However, even without a war (please don't tell me how much we're spending on the war on terror, it pales in comparison to WWI and WWII) we as a people have so mismanaged this country that we're now facing the worst peace time deficit. This should bring shame to the nation in that it isn't an outside force causing us to spend such an inordinate amount, but rather our revoltingly poor financial habits and insistence of being entitled little spoiled brats;



Furthermore, it gets worse for reasons thrice;

1. This is just a projection. The federal government has this nasty habit of spending more than projected, so we're more likely looking at 10-11% GDP of a deficit in 2009. Not to mention GDP will be shrinking instead of growing so your denominator will make this worse.

2. This is just the beginning. Given Obama's desire to make FDR look stingy and bribe the masses into voting for him...err...I mean..."finance hope and change" I will make the crazy prediction of the federal budget deficit actually reaching 15-17% GDP under his first (and only) term.

3. If you don't think the deficit is due to a behavioral change in people's spending habits and a testament to our sloth and laziness, just look at the trend starting in 1950 to today. As the Walt Kowolski's of the world die off and are replaced by the Jim Morrisons, Kurt Cobains and Paris Hiltons of the world, it seems nobody cares to work for what they want anymore, preferring instead to borrow the money and saddle future generations with their debts.

I'll say it again, time to get off this ship. One of my next posts will be on how any entrepreneurial country could make off like a bandit if they opened their borders to capitalist, conservatives and other right leaning political refugees from the US who tend to still insist on producing wealth.

What would Obama do without us?!

Pension Tsunami

I know everybody is focused on the housing market and the financial crisis. But as I've pointed out before, what we're suffering now is NOTHING compared to what we're about to get hit with in terms of social security and medicare. Additionally, this also says nothing about the issue of pension funding. Social security is the government pension for all of us. But private pensions, especially in light of the sudden 40% drop in stock prices, are just as woefully underfunded.

This of course is not mentioned in the media because;

1. Journalism majors are complete inept at understanding, let alone, explaining things like underfunded pensions.

2. It takes away from the 24/7 Barack Obama Show and is one of the more serious threats that stands a good chance of sinking his presidency.

Ergo, since this is going to affect you all, I recommend Pension Tsunami.

The latest news explaining why the baby boomers will have to work past 62 despite what the politicians told you.

We'll Just "Create" More Jobs

I've learned that when trying to argue with a liberal citing stats and unemployment figures and trying to convey concepts like underemployment is pointless not in that they don't have the intellectual ability to understand such things, they just simply choose not to expend the effort to.

Ergo why I like to convey economic concepts simply in that that is the best way to do so. So here is a little tidbit that will come in handy when you're having your political discussions or arguments with family and friends that are bound to occur;

Barack Obama has consistently increased the number of jobs he's going to "create." First it was 2 million. Then 2.5 million. I think I heard 3 million, and who knows where it is now.

Now fine, dandy, grand. Obama is going to "create" jobs. But does this not assume it is within the power of Obama (or the president) to just "create" jobs? And if so, then why stop at 3 million? Why not 4 million or 10 million?

It behooves the question why worry about a recession at all if the president can just simply "create" jobs?

It's along the same line as the logic of minimum wage. Well if $5.75 isn't enough, why not $7? And if $7/hour, heck, why not mandate everybody is paid $50/hr? That would solve poverty.

The problem is (and this is going to be the BIGGEST crushing blow to Obama zealots) is that the president is not all powerful and cannot just simply "create" jobs. The people do. The economy does. The market does.

Sure the president can develop policies that will foster jobs. Sure the president can pursue fiscal policy that will create the environment by which jobs are created. But it is not in the power of the president to just "create" jobs. Furthermore, Obama's economic policies could not be further from job creation. They will, if anything, destroy jobs.

Now I know that this may be a bit much for your standard leftist to accept, but I think it's well within their intellectual ability to understand AND ADMIT that it isn't just a simple matter of "creating" jobs. This will hopefully put them down the path towards investigating how exactly jobs are created and instead of just spewing words that they'd "like to create more jobs" they actually put forth the intellectual effort to find out how.

To help a reminder about where jobs come from and how shovels are so 1933.

Minnesota Community Banks

Here's an article from one of the best reporters in the (soon to be no more) Star Tribune, Chris Serres. It's about the "community banks" here in Minnesota which presumably were above the fray when it came to the housing debacle. As Chris and analysts point out, it couldn't be further from the truth. Matter of fact, I contend it was the community banks that sent the market into "hyper-over supply" in my book, which of course you should no doubt buy and read.

In any case, here is an excerpt from my book written nearly a year ago;

____________________

Though banks were also doing their fair share of “enabling” unworthy borrowers to buy homes, their primary contribution to the housing crash was from a different angle. For while mortgage lenders and mortgage brokers were artificially inflating demand, the traditional commercial banks were artificially inflating supply.

This is not by coincidence in that the nature of real estate lends itself well to being oversupplied. The reason is the numbers. Since bankers get paid on commission, usually a percentage of the total deal amount, the larger the deal, then the larger the commission. This makes real estate deals particularly appetizing in that unlike the commission on a $25,000 operating line of credit, the commission on a $25 million condoplex deal is infinitely more appealing and for roughly the same amount of work. Because of this anybody who stands to earn a percentage commission on the deal (bankers, management, investment brokers, etc), lobbied heavily for such deals to get approved, even if they are doomed to fail.

However, this resulted in a lopsided business. Since the majority of the deals were in real estate, the majority of the bank’s portfolio ended up in real estate. This was bad position to be in as, just like any other portfolio, you want to diversify your holdings to lower your risk. But despite the risks of having an overexposure to real estate, and especially in light of a potential housing crash, the commissions on real estate deals were so lucrative, the incentive to do them would more often than not triumph over those risks. This effectively eliminated any stops or regulators which would normally curb the amount of housing entering on the market and resulted in a flood of deals that were doomed to failure.

But while the sheer size of real estate deals helped bring about an oversupply of housing in a self-fulfilling sort of way, there was another odd incentive at play that would result in even more housing. A pecking order.

Because of their size and reputation, large, established commercial banks in a sense “get the pick of the litter” when it comes to loans. They have billions of dollars in capital, they can offer the best rates and they have the labor resources to originate, service and administer your loan. They can outdo their smaller competition because of economies to scale and therefore cherry pick the most profitable loans.

And not that there aren’t any good loans left to do, but as you go down the pecking order from large, established banks to medium sized regional banks to smaller community banks the quality and caliber of the loans erode. So by the time the loan gets to the smaller community banks it has already been passed on by several banks above.

In this sense the smaller community banks eat the crumbs that fall off the table of the larger banks. But despite their smaller size and despite being at the bottom of the pecking order these banks punched above their own weight when it came to oversupplying the market with housing. The reason was multi-fold.

One, the real estate deals these smaller banks were getting were doomed to fail. The market was already oversupplied and other banks had already passed up on these deals. If a bank had already turned down the loan, this spoke volumes as other analysts had looked at it and believed it would not be paid back. However…

Two, despite the impossibility of the deal, bankers were paid on commission. So even if the deal was unlikely to be paid back, they would still lobby for it, and more often than not, get it approved.

Three, these smaller community banks would salivate over multi-million dollar deals simply because they were multi-million dollar deals. To a large national bank a $4 million deal is nothing grandiose. But to a small town community bank $4 million is a large and coveted piece of business. Not because it’s a good loan, but because it’s a big loan.

The results were predictable. Despite the loan being a bad loan, despite it being passed on once, twice or thrice before, these small banks could only see the loan for its largess and potential commission check. And even though it was practically guaranteed to fail, these banks would approve these loans anyway.

But in doing these loans the damage these banks caused was disproportionately large for their size as all they managed to do was “hyper”-supply an already gluttonously-supplied level of housing. Furthermore, the amount of housing they would bring to the market was not insignificant for what they lacked in size they made up for in numbers. If it was just one small time community bank approving a couple of bad loans then there would be no consequence. But if 50 small time banks start approving hand-me-down loans, it was the equivalent of a large commercial bank approving hand-me-down loans. With so much “extra-excessive” supply hitting the market, housing prices were disproportionately affected downward as the number of houses a buyer had to choose from went from five to ten.

But be it large commercial banks flooding the market with condos or small community banks sending the market into hyper-supply, the crux of the problem was an incentive situation similar to the mortgage brokers. You were paid on volume, not risk. Bankers would get paid on deals completed, not paid back. Management would get bonuses based on sales, not loans paid back. And so the results were similar. Being obsessed with commission and completely disregarding risk, banks financed the construction of millions of homes that would never sell. Housing inventories skyrocketed, driving down prices and the banks did their job in helping contribute to the housing crisis.

Another Reason The Economist is Biased to the Left

Wow, I mean wow. I know The Economist has swayed left, but geez "Women and Children Killed By Israeli Assault?"



What amazes me (and further convinces me the "elite" in the western media and world are as competent as the "elites" such as Bernie Madoff, Dick Fuld and all the other Wall Street geniuses) is how the concept or just plain reality that Hamas is the one who ultimately pulled the trigger and are responsible for these deaths is lost on them.

I mean 3rd graders could get this kind of logic. It's like saying "How many women and children did the US kill in Japan?"

Oh, never mind the Japanese did it to themselves by kill 3,000 people at Pearl Harbor. Oh, no, that's completely irrelevant. No, it's the country defending itself and having the arrogance and audacity to stop FREAKING MISSILES from landing on its people. How dare they!

You go ahead and keep reading "The Economist." I have comic books to read that are more intellectually honest.

Only the Federal Government

As you all know, economics is my passion. So when I saw an economist position open here in the Twin Cities I was very excited. So I click on the link and here is the job posting (warning, you need 4 hours to read this);
_____

Department: Department of Treasury
Agency: Internal Revenue Service
Sub Agency: Internal Revenue Service
Job Announcement Number:
09PH4-LME0178-110-11T13-K


Economist
Salary Range: 57,503.00 - 106,552.00 USD per year
Open Period: Friday, November 28, 2008
to Thursday, July 30, 2009
Series & Grade: GS-0110-11/13
Position Information: Cutoff date will be 12/15/08. Addl cutoff date maybe estab based on future hiring needs. This is a Permanent, Career/Conditional Full-time Appointment
Promotion Potential: 13
Duty Locations: 1 vacancy - Bloomington, MN
Who May Be Considered:

You must be a United States citizen in order to apply for this
position; verification of United States Citizenship will be
required. 

IN ORDER TO BE QUALIFIED FOR THIS POSITION, IT IS REQUIRED AT THE
TIME OF APPLICATION TO SUBMIT YOUR COLLEGE TRANSCRIPTS VIA FAX
IMAGING.

Job Summary:

WHY IS THE IRS A GREAT PLACE TO WORK?
The IRS is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury and one of the
world's most efficient tax administrators.  Yearly, the IRS collects
more than $2 trillion in revenue and processes over 200 million tax
returns.  The IRS Mission is to provide the United States taxpayers
top quality service by helping them understand and meet their tax
responsibilities and by applying the tax law with integrity and
fairness to all.

WHAT IS THE LMSB DIVISION?
The Large and Mid-Size Business Division (LMSB) conducts examinations
and related investigations of corporations and businesses with
revenue in excess of $10 million.

Position is located in Bloomington MN.  The anticipated start date
is March, 2009.

HOW DO I APPLY?
"It is really easy.  Just click on the "How to Apply" tab above."

WHERE CAN I FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OTHER IRS CAREERS?
If you want to find out more about IRS careers, visit us on the web
at www.jobs.irs.gov.

Key Requirements:

• Must be a citizen of the United States. Background investigation required.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Up to 50% travel maybe required. No moving expenses.
• Position will be filled at the GS-11, GS-12, and GS-13 level. If you wish
• to be considered for all levels, you must apply for each grade level.
• Promotion Potential is to the GS-13.

Major Duties:

As an IRS Economist you will:

GRADE 11

- Assume technical responsibility for various phases of the
initiation, formulation, planning, execution and control of special
studies or continuous projects.
- Assist in determining the objectives of a research project and the
methodology needed to obtain the objectives.
- Develop specifications for all segments of a research study.
- Present data and analytical material to end users in an oral or
written format.
- Resolve very complex problems or errors requiring professional
attention.
- Assume responsibility for the effective use of resources within
assigned subject matter projects.
- Keep abreast of economic, statistical and tax literature for data
and research methodologies.
- Review and analyze the reasonableness and accuracy of the material
produced for a given study.
- Prepare economic tables and graphical material using standard
computer software.

GRADE 12

- Perform assignments based on an in-depth knowledge level and
expertise in economics that include complex issues covering an
extensive range of industries and specializations.
- Assume technical responsibility for various phases of the
initiation, formulation, planning, execution and control of special
studies or continuous projects.
- Conduct various kinds of microeconomic research and analysis that
requires the study of economic structure, business practices and
functions.
- Review and analyze economic, statistical and tax data to determine
the existence of a potential economic issue; recommending formal,
limited assistance or withdrawal.
- Conduct research in source material that includes databases,
professional journals and publications, government publications, and
studies by other economists.
- Keep abreast of economic, statistical and tax literature for data
and research methodologies.
- Review and analyze the reasonableness and accuracy of the material
produced for a given study.
- Serve as a qualified witness for the Government in cases reaching
litigation.
- Prepare economic tables and graphical material using standard
computer software.

GRADE 13

- Assume responsibility for the formulation of workload estimates for
program segments specifying the methodology to be used, preparation
of appropriate specifications and procedures, and the review of
computer systems, materials and instructions for the study.
- Explain and defend research findings to the taxpayer, taxpayer's
representative, exam teams, Appeals, Counsel, and other IRS personnel.
- Conduct various kinds of microeconomic research and analysis that
requires the study of economic structure, business practices and
functions, competitive conditions, trade barriers, government imposed
barriers, financial markets, etc.
- Keep abreast of economic, statistical and tax literature for data
and research methodologies.
- Review and analyze the reasonableness and accuracy of the material
produced for a given study.
- Serve as a qualified witness for the Government in cases reaching
litigation.
- Prepare economic tables and graphical material using standard
computer software.

Qualifications:

To be minimally qualified, you must meet the basic requirements
below.

A.  Bachelor's or higher degree in economics that included at least
21 semester hours in economics and 3 semester hours in statistics,
accounting, or calculus from an accredited college or university.

OR

B.  A combination of work experience and education at an accredited
college or university equivalent to 4 years as described above. 
Examples of qualifying experience include (this list is not all
inclusive):  individual economic research assignments requiring
planning, information assembly, analysis and evaluation, conclusion
and report preparation, assignments involving the interpretation of
economic information, or teaching assignments in a college or
university that involve class instruction in economics and include
one of the following: personal research, direction of graduate theses
in economics, or service as a consultant or advisor on technical
economics problems.

NOTE:  Experience in related fields that did not involve the use of
and understanding of economic principles and theories may not be used
as qualifying experience.

Notes:
In applying the BASIC REQUIREMENTS above: 
1.  One full year of undergraduate academic study is defined as 30
semester hours (45 quarter hours) and is equivalent to 1 year of full-
time experience;
2.  Additional credit will not be given for duplicate course work
(courses will be counted only once); and
3.  Part-time experience will be prorated.

For the purpose of this application, we will deal in Semester hours.
If you have quarter hours, please use the following formula: # of
quarter hours completed divided by 1.5 = # of Semester hours.  For
example: If you have completed 12 quarter hours: 12/1.5=8 Semester
hours.

You may also be considered based upon a combination of education and
experience.  You may combine the college credits you completed with
any qualifying experience you have to total the equivalent of a four-
year college education.  When combining education and experience use
the following formula to calculate the total amount. Part time work
experience should be prorated.  Formula using Semester hours: # Sem
Hrs complete divided by 120 Sem Hrs + # of month's experience divided
by 48 months.  Example: 90 Semester hours of college (90/120) and 3
years experience (36/48) 90/120 + 36/48 = .75 + .75 =1.25.  If your
answer is one or more, you have the required combination.

Reminder:  Your resume must provide sufficient information to support
your responses to the following questions. Do not overstate or
understate your level of experience and capability. Your answers are
subject to evaluation and verification. Later steps in the selection
process will be used to verify your stated level of experience and
capability. If a determination is made that you have rated yourself
higher than is supported by your resume you will be assigned a rating
commensurate to your described experience. Deliberate attempts to
falsify information may be grounds for not selecting you.

How You Will Be Evaluated:

You will be evaluated on the following criteria: (1) by determining
if you meet the minimum qualifications required; (2) by the responses
you provide to the supplemental questionnaire, as described below,
indicating the extent to which you possess the specific
qualifications associated with this position as defined in the
Qualification section; and (3) by additional evaluation of
qualifications through an interview.

(1) You will be assigned to one of two catergory groups (A or B)
based on the results of the online assessment.  If you fail the
assessment, you will be considered not qualified for the position.

Job-Related Questions:  As part of the on-line application process,
you will need to respond to a series of questions designed to assess
your possession of the following Economist competencies:

Reading/Research ~ Understands and interprets written material,
including technical material, rules, regulations, instructions,
reports, charts, graphs, or tables; applies what is learned from
written material to specific situations.

Written Communications ~ Demonstrates the ability to clearly express
ideas, thoughts, and concepts in writing, using correct and
appropriate grammar, organization, and structure.

(2) If determined to meet the minimum qualifications for the
position, you will be sent via email a supplemental qualifications
questionnaire.  The questionnaire is used to determine if you possess
the knowledge skills and abilities of an Economist with the Large and
Mid-size Division of the Internal Revenue Service.

When responding to the questionnaire, you will be asked to describe
your experiences and identify your knowledge skills and abilities by
responding to the questions below:

A.  Identify specific industries in which you have worked and briefly
explain the type of work you did in each.

B.  Describe experience you have had that specifically involved you
in the determination or analysis of prices or valuations using
techniques such as price theory or other applications of
microeconomics, rate-of-return anlaysis, discounted-cash-flow
analysis, or similar techniques.

C.  Describe experience you have had in which you have had to use
interviews to elicit information for analysis, and in which you have
needed to communicate your conclusions using substantial written
reports or oral presentations. 

D.  Please describe any experience you have with specifically
multinational aspects of the operations of a firm with which you were
directly involved.  (The fact that the firm itself has such
operations is not as important as your description of you own
specific involvement with such activities.)

E.  Describe any experience you have with quantitative research tools
such as statistical or econometrics programs or corporate financial
database services such as Compustat or similar programs.  Identify
the program and/or corporate financial database, but also give a
brief description of the type of work for which you used it.

You will be sent this questionnaire after a review of your
application is performed to determine if you meet the minimum
qualifications.  You will have 5 days to respond to the
questionnaire.  If your response is not received, you will be
evaluated based on the information contained within your application.

(3) After a review of your application and your supplemental
qualifications questionnaire, your qualifications may be evaluated
through an interview.

Qualifying education from colleges and universities in foreign
countries must be evaluated in terms of equivalency to that acquired
in U.S. colleges and universities.  Applicants educated in whole or
in part in foreign countries must submit sufficient evidence,
including transcripts; to an accredited private organization for an
equivalency evaluation of course work, including grade and credit
conversion, and degree.  You must provide a copy of the letter
containing the results of the equivalency evaluation as supporting
documentation.  Failure to provide such documentation when requested
will result in lost consideration.

In addition, you may need to submit supporting documentation.  If you
are qualifying for this position in whole or part based on education,
you must submit college transcripts for all courses completed at time
of this application. If you are claiming veteran's preference or
eligibility for special priority consideration, you must submit the
documents described under "VETERAN'S PREFERENCE" and IMPORTANT
INFORMATION FOR SURPLUS OR DISPLACED FEDERAL EMPLOYEES" below.  All
supporting documentation must be submitted along with your
application. Failure to provide supporting documentation within the
prescribed period will result in disqualification or ineligibility
for preference/priority consideration.

Note: Although a copy of your transcripts is acceptable for
application processing, an official transcript will be required for
selection.

How You Will Be Evaluated:

You will be assigned to one of two category groups (A and B) based on
the results of the online assessment.  Each category group represents
a quality level.  Candidates will be considered in category group
order.  Qualified veterans claiming preference based on a service-
connected disability of 30% or more (CPS) or 10% but less than 30%
(CP) will be listed at the top of their assigned category group (A,
or B) and will be provided absolute preference over non-preference
eligibles.  All other preference eligibles (XP and TP) will also be
provided absolute preference over non-preference eligibles within
their assigned category group (A and B).  To pass over any qualified
preference eligible(s) to select a non-preference eligible requires
approval under formal objection procedures.  Note: You may
be "tentatively" assigned to a category group pending qualifications
validation and assessment results.  Final category assignment does
not occur until referral on a certificate.

To preview questions please click here.

Benefits:

The IRS offers outstanding benefits, family friendly employment
policies, generous holiday, vacation, and sick leave.  In addition,
the IRS offers a tax deferred retirement savings and investment plan,
with employer matching contributions.  These benefits, however, do
not apply to all appointment types.  For example, they do not apply
to individuals hired using Temporary Appointing Authority.  If
selected, information on your benefits will be provided with your
offer of employment.

Other Information:

Applicants must be in compliance with the tax laws.  Your income tax
returns will be verified for the past three years to determine if you
have filed according to the tax laws.

NO MOVING OR RELOCATION EXPENSES WILL BE PAID. 

If you are referred for consideration, you may be interviewed before
selection.  The interview focuses on the competencies listed above
and is intended to supplement the information provided in your on-
line application.  IRS WILL NOT reimburse costs associated with
travel to and from the interview.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:
Citizenship:  Under Executive Order 11935, only United States
citizens and nationals (residents of American Samoa and Swains
Island) may compete for civil service jobs.  Agencies are permitted
to hire non-citizens only in very limited circumstances where there
are no qualified citizens available for the position.  Applicants for
this announcement must be a U.S. citizen and a minimum of 16 years of
age.

Selections for employment depend upon several conditions such as the
number of vacancies, assessment score, shift availability and work
history.  In addition, applicants are subject to an FBI name and
fingerprint check, employment checks, and any other information
relevant to selection for employment.

Not all eligible applicants are selected for employment.  If
selected, you will be notified and given a commitment letter. 

Federal law requires all employers to verify the identity and
employment eligibility of all persons hired to work in the United
States.  We participate in E-Verify (Employment Verification).  We
will provide the Social Security Administration (SSA) and, if
necessary, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with information
from your Form I-9 to confirm work authorization.  If we cannot
confirm that you are authorized to work, we will provide you written
instructions and an opportunity to contact SSA and/or DHS before
taking adverse action against you, including terminating your
employment. 

A determination will be made as to your suitability for federal
employment.  All appointments are made subject to an investigation. 
Any arrests, discharges from employment, or other information not
shown on the application could affect your selection and/or retention
in the service. 

Probationary period:  Every applicant selected from a competitive
list of eligibles for a Career or Career Conditional appointment must
serve a one (1) year probationary period.  Reinstatement
applicants will be required to serve the one (1) year probationary
period unless the probationary period has already been completed. 
Applicants appointed under the Veterans Recruitment Authority will
require a two (2) year trial period.

AGENCY CONTACT:  For additional information about this position,
please contact: Karen Sklencar, Human Resources Specialist,
Philadelphia Personnel Office at 215-516-4801 or you may e-mail Karen
at LMSBEXTAPPS@IRS.GOV

If selected, identification of promotion potential in this position
does not constitute a commitment or an obligation on the part of
management to promote you at some future date.  Promotion will depend
upon administrative approval, the continuing need for an actual
assignment, and performance of higher level duties.

NOTICE TO APPLICANTS:  The Treasury Inspector General for Tax
Administration (TIGTA) has oversight and investigative
responsibilities throughout IRS.  TIGTA has authority to initiate
investigations to identify IRS employees who have violated or are
violating laws, rules or regulations related to the performance of
their duties.  TIGTA does this in part through computer matching
programs.  TIGTA computerized matches include information from
Personnel records, taxpayer account records, records of computerized
accesses to IRS information, employee tax records and records of
employee computer usage (i.e. the Internet and other research tools).

THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE IS COMMITTED TO ENSURING THAT ALL
EMPLOYEES PERFORM IN A MANNER WARRANTING THE HIGHEST DEGREE OF PUBLIC
CONFIDENCE AND DEMONSTRATES THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF ETHICS AND
INTEGRITY.  APPLICANTS WILL BE REQUIRED TO GO THROUGH A PERSONAL
IDENTITY VERIFICATION (PIV) PROCESS THAT REQUIRES TWO FORMS OF
IDENTIFICATION FROM THE FORM I-9; ONE MUST BE A VALID STATE OR
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT-ISSUED PICTURE IDENTIFICATION.  ELIGIBILITY FOR A
PIV CREDENTIAL IS REQUIRED.  FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THE PIV PROCESS
AND IF UNABLE TO VERIFY THE APPLICANT'S IDENTITY, MAY RESULT IN THE
LOSS OF CONSIDERATION FOR EMPLOYMENT.

TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR PIV CREDENTIAL, APPLICANTS MUST HAVE A
SUCCESSFULLY ADJUDICATED FBI CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD CHECK
(FINGERPRINT CHECK) AND A NACI OR EQUIVALENT BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION
INITIATED.  EMPLOYEES MUST MAINTAIN PIV CREDENTIAL ELIGIBILITY DURING
THEIR SERVICE WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY:  THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE IS AN
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER.  SELECTION FOR THIS POSITION WILL BE
BASED SOLELY ON MERIT WITHOUT REGARD TO RACE, COLOR, RELIGION, AGE,
SEX, NATIONAL ORIGIN, POLITICAL AFFILIATION, DISABILITY, SEXUAL
ORIENTATION, MARITAL OR FAMILY STATUS, MEMBERSHIP IN AN EMPLOYEE
ORGANIZATION OR OTHER NON MERIT FACTORS.

How To Apply:

Individuals applying for this announcement are required to complete
and submit an on-line application through the Office of Personnel
Management (OPM) USAJOBS website.  This involves becoming a My
USAJOBS member and creating a resume.  The information you provide
through your My USAJOBS membership profile and resume is required of
all Federal job applicants.  When you apply for this vacancy
announcement, the information you entered in your profile and resume
are transmitted to CareerConnector as part of your application and
are used to create a CareerConnector registration.

In addition to CareerConnector registration questions, the online
application includes questions that:
-  determine basic eligibility;
-  assess required competencies for successful job performance; and
-  provide information for survey purposes.

To apply for this announcement you will need to answer approximately
25 questions.  The total number of questions will depend on the grade
you select and your responses to each question.

To apply, you must select the APPLY ONLINE button that appears at the
bottom of each announcement tab on USAJOBS.  This will start the
application process and take you to CareerConnector to complete your
application.

Your application is NOT complete until you have answered all
mandatory questions and have SUBMITTED the online application.

You can respond to some or all questions without submitting.  Your
answers can be saved and you can update or submit your application as
long as the announcement is open.  However, you MUST respond to all
mandatory questions and SUBMIT your application by the closing date
to be considered.

If applying on-line poses a hardship, please contact Karen Sklencar
at 215-516-4801. YOU MUST CONTACT KAREN PRIOR TO THE CLOSING DATE so
that she can provide assistance to you for the on-line submission. 
Requests for extensions will not be granted.

Please note that we use e-mail to communicate with applicants
throughout the hiring process.  We understand that this may not be
the best way to contact all applicants.  To ensure that we can
contact you quickly, you will be asked several questions about your
communication preferences in the application process.

There are several parts of the application process that will affect
your overall evaluation:
1.  Your on-line resume (See Step 1 below);
2.  Your responses to the eligibility questions;
3.  Your responses to the vacancy assessment questions; and
4.  Submission of supporting documentation (See instructions under
the Required Documentation" section of this posting).

You have until 11:59 PM Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this
announcement to complete the following four-step application process.

STEP 1:  To apply, you must first create a My USAJOBS membership
account and resume at www.usajobs.opm.gov.  You can build up to 5
resumes in your My USAJOBS account and will need to select one of
these resumes as part of your application for this vacancy
announcement.  Once you have created your My USAJOBS account and
built a resume, thoroughly review this vacancy announcement, select
the "Apply Online" button, and follow the instructions provided.

Note: We recommend that you use the preview questions option provided
at the bottom of the Qualifications and Evaluations tab of this
announcement to review and print a copy of the qualification
questions before you select the "Apply Online" button.

STEP 2:  After selecting a resume to submit for your application
package, you will be taken to CareerConnector to answer registration
questions and specific questions for this vacancy announcement.  The
answers to the registration questions will determine what types of
jobs you are eligible to apply for based on your Federal experience
and other factors.

Note: If you have previously registered in CareerConnector, you will
not be required to re-register.

STEP 3:  Next, you will answer a series of vacancy specific questions
to evaluate your qualifications for this announcement.  When
completed and submitted, this information with your CareerConnector
registration, My USAJOBS account profile, and your resume become your
application.  Once you submit your completed application by answering
all mandatory questions and selecting "Finished", you will see a
summary of your application which we recommend that you print for
future reference.  If you do NOT see this summary, you have NOT
successfully submitted your application.  A complete application must
be received by 11:59 PM ET on the closing date of this announcement
in order to receive consideration.

Note:  At the bottom of your application summary, you should
select "Finished" again.  This will return you to USAJOBS where you
will see confirmation that your resume was sent to this vacancy
announcement.  You will then be able to track the status of your
application through your My USAJOBS account.

STEP 4:  Submit Supporting Documentation asap:  To submit supporting
documents now, just follow the instructions that are provided after
you have answered your application questions. 

To FAX IMAGE at a later date or if vacancy announcement has closed,
follow the steps below:

1) Log into My USAJOBS at https://my.usajobs.gov with your username
and password.


2) Click on the 'Track Your Online Job Applications' link under the
Application Status column.


3) Click on the 'More Information' link to be transferred the page to
print the cover sheet(s).


4) Click on the 'View/Generate Fax Cover sheet(s)' and on 'Continue'.

5) For each cover sheet to be printed, click the check box
under 'Select Cover Sheet' and click 'Print Cover Sheet'.


6) Fax each set (cover sheet and document named in the cover sheet)
to the fax number listed on the cover sheet.


7) You must dial the fax number each time a different set is faxed.

8) If you fax from an IRS-owned fax machine, you must obtain an
outside line before dialing the fax number on the cover sheet.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:  If your contact information changes after the
closing date of this vacancy announcement, send your updated
information to LMSBEXTAPPS@irs.gov to ensure you can be contacted
throughout the selection process. Please include the full
announcement number and position title on all correspondence.

Required Documents:

In addition, you may need to submit supporting documentation.  If you
are qualifying for this position in whole or part based on education,
you MUST FAX-IMAGE copies of all college transcripts for all courses
completed.  If you are claiming veteran's preference or eligibility
for special priority consideration, you must submit the documents
described under "VETERAN'S PREFERENCE' and 'IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR
SURPLUS OR DISPLACED FEDERAL EMPLOYEES' below.  All supporting
documentation must be submitted ASAP.  Failure to fax image
supporting documentation asap will result in disqualification
or ineligibility for reference/priority consideration.

PLEASE NOTE:  Fax-Image copies of your transcripts are acceptable for
application processing.  However, official college transcripts are
required at the time of the interview.

In addition to the online application (resume and responses to
vacancy questions), the following forms may be required:

*  DD-214 if claiming Veterans' Preference.
*  Standard Form 15, Application for 10-Point Veterans' Preference
and supporting documents (if applicable).
*  Official College Transcripts (copies will be accepted initially,
however, prior to selection eligible applicants must submit official
transcripts to the hiring personnel office).
*  Equivalency Evaluation from an accredited private organization of
foreign education if applicable.
*  SF-50 - If you are or have been a Federal employee, please submit:
** copy of your last Notification of Personnel Action, Form SF-50; and
** copy of your most recent or last performance appraisal.

Note:  If you need to request a copy of your SF-50, please write to
the FEDERAL RECORDS CENTER, National Archives and Records
Administration, 111 Winnebago Street, St. Louis, Missouri, 63118. 
You must provide your name, social security number and date of birth
with your request.

FAILURE TO PROVIDE A COMPLETE APPLICATION PACKAGE WILL RESULT IN NOT
RECEIVING CONSIDERATION FOR THIS POSITION.  Note: Your application
package will not be returned.  Do NOT submit original documents that
you may need in the future.

VETERANS' PREFERENCE:  If you have served on active duty in the
United States military and were separated under honorable conditions,
you may be eligible for veteran's preference. To claim veterans'
preference, you must submit:
* Form DD-214 covering the period of military service for which
preference is claimed; and
* If applicable, a Standard Form 15, Application for 10-Point
Veterans' Preference with supporting documents as outlined on the
form.  This form can be found at www.usajobs.opm.gov/forms.asp.

Note:  For more information on veteran's preference, please go to the
U.S. Office of Personnel Management website for Veterans at
www.opm.gov/veterans. 

CTAP/ICTAP ELIGIBLES:  Individuals who have special priority
selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance
Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance
Program (ICTAP) must apply as indicated above.  CTAP/ICTAP eligibles
must be well qualified for the position to receive consideration for
special priority selection.  CTAP/ICTAP eligibles who receive a score
of 80 or above will be considered well qualified.  If you are seeking
CTAP/ICTAP eligibility consideration, you must submit proof that you 
meet the requirement of 5 CFR 330.605 (a) for CTAP and 5 CFR 330.704
for ICTAP.  This includes a copy of the agency notice, a copy of your
most recent Performance Rating and copy of your most recent SF-50
noting current position, grade level, and duty location.  Please
annotate your application to reflect that you are applying as a CTAP
or ICTAP eligible.

REASONABLE Accommodation STATEMENT:  The Internal Revenue Service
provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities.
If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the
application and hiring process, please contact Karen Sklencar at 215-
516-4801. 

Decisions on granting reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-
by-case basis.

If you have been certified by the States Rehabilitation Center or the
State's Commission for the Blind, may wish to contact your counselor
to apply for employment through the IRS Disability Employment Program
in addition to applying for this vacancy announcement.

Contact Information:

Karen Sklencar
Phone: 215-516-4801
Fax: 999-999-9999
TDD: 215-516-1299
Email: LMSBEXTAPPS@IRS.GOV
Or write:
Internal Revenue Service
11601 Roosevelt Blvd., DP-B5704
Philadelphia,, PA 19154
Fax: 999-999-9999

What To Expect Next:

Note:  Your Category Rating may be different for each grade because
the requirements are different for each level.

We will communicate with you using e-mail throughout the hiring
process.  You will receive an electronic Notice of Rating that will
provide you with information regarding your eligibility for the
occupations covered under this announcement. If you currently have a
Spam Blocker on your computer, you will have to remove it in order to
receive notification from our office.

The United States Government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, age, membership in an employee organization, or other non-merit factor.

Federal agencies must provide reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should contact the hiring agency directly. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.


Send Mail to:
Internal Revenue Service
11601 Roosevelt Blvd., DP-B5704
Philadelphia,, PA 19154
Fax: 999-999-9999
For questions about this job:
Karen Sklencar
Phone: 215-516-4801
Fax: 999-999-9999
TDD: 215-516-1299
Email: LMSBEXTAPPS@IRS.GOV

I Hate Google

Google is an arrogant company, and albeit ran by smart people, the more and more I deal with them, the more and more I realize that not only are they arrogant elitists, but have more power than what I'd like.

I will inevitably move from Blogger (which is owned by Google) to Word Press or what have you in the future, but no matter how "intelligent" they fashion themselves, no matter how "creative" or "cutting edge" they may be, the realities of the free market (otherwise known as reality) boils down to this;


Americans don't like arrogant elitist pricks and they don't trust companies with too much power.

I suggest doing your searching on Yahoo.

In Vegas, No Posting

I'm in Vegas.

These cheap bastards charge for internet access.

$5 for 20 minutes IS A DEAL.

Posts will resume upon my return to the "global warming capitol" of the world, where it is -17 right now, Minneapolis

Degree Mills

"Do you want an exciting career in the field of medical transcriptioning?"

"Do you want to be on the cutting edge of criminal justice?"

"How about an exciting career in travel and hospitality?"

"Then School XYZ is the school for you!"

"Earn your degree in just 16 months and you'll be on your way to a better you!"

This is the typical commercial for the typical 2 year college you will see during daytime TV. And the reason you see it during day time TV is because the target audience is not you nor me, but basically the welfare bum deadbeats who don't have a job and are looking for a way out of their miserable lives.

Now understand we are smart enough to know such a thing sounds like a scam. But to the average deadbeat watching her soaps or the typical loser turning off the video games long enough to watch TV instead so he can eat, this actually sounds like a feasible opportunity and thus 2 year colleges are born.

But allow me to tell you a couple stories about my days teaching at some of these institutions of "higher learning" so that;

1. You know never to go there.
2. You can tell some of your less fortunate friends never to go there
3. These schools may go bankrupt.

So pour yourself a martini, find a comfy chair, kick back and relax as I regale you with my tales of teaching in 2 year colleges.

I first started teaching at this "business" school where the "campus" was a rented out, brown, 1970's style office building located in the inner suburbs of St. Paul/Minneapolis. The school didn't even rent out the entire building, but let that be a lesson to you kids, highly ranked schools lease out their HQ in suburbanite strip malls.

I intuitively knew this wasn't going to be Harvard, but it was a nice part time job and I got to teach my passion; economics - so I didn't much care.

However troubles immediately started to occur.


The first sign of trouble came when I issued the first quiz, of which 85% of the students failed. It wasn't an issue of the quiz being difficult or hard. It wasn't an issue of me being a mean teacher. The quiz was of an average difficulty and any student paying attention would have passed it. However, upon grading the quizzes I realized just what a low caliber of students I was dealing with and made the egregious error of deciding not to LOWER the standards to them, but to have them RISE to my standards and thereby teach them something.

Complaints flooded into my boss about the test being too difficult, they didn't have enough time to study, "by god I have two children and can't study this much" etc. etc. And sure enough, at the age of 27, I was called into the office.

My boss explained to me that we are here to challenge the students, but not too much. That my test was unfair and I should consider tailoring it more to their skill level. Of course with hindsight I now see what the charlatan of a dean was telling me; "Dumb it down because we're fleecing these kids for their money for a worthless degree and if you rock the boat we'll lose some of them." But he couldn't come outright and say that, ergo why he was feeding me a line of bull.

The next quiz I dumbed down, and this time a whopping 30% of the students passed. Naturally there was the same cacophony of complaints which resulted me landing in the dean's office once again. This process continued until I had more or less realized that not only were the students dead set against learning or trying to feign some semblance of being a scholar as well as the complete lack of back up from management to hold some level of standards to these kids. And so, choosing the path of least resistance, I decided I would not only make the quizzes and tests insanely easier, but skew the grading curve so greatly it would put affirmative action to shame.

To avoid any more criticism that I didn't test the students on what we studied I made them make their own "study guide" for the tests. This consistent of each student writing a multiple choice question on a piece of paper, me taking all those questions and photocopying them into a guide for each student. We would review the questions and the correct answers, and then I would take the EXACT SAME PHOTOCOPIED questions, photocopy them again, insert 4-5 questions of my own and then give it back to the students as the official test.

Even then, with no more than 4-5 question of my own to give those who deserved an A and A, I would still get students to flunk the test. So idiotic and genuinely stupid, or perhaps galactically lazy, were these students, they couldn't pass a test where they had the answers the day before.

Regardless, the majority of the students did pass, but with less than 40% of them earning A's.

Of course the concept of "earning" A's was a joke. Only 2-3 students per class really "earned" an A. But the grading curve was so skewed (at the request of the dean to make sure everybody passed) that the math more or less bumped people who would have really earned a C into the A+ category.

This behooved on my part true pity for the few students I did have that did indeed earn A's. They would study hard and effectively waste their time because all they would have to do is the bare minimum to pass and still get an A.

However, insisting on some kind of level of integrity, if I had to bump some degenerate loser's 12% score to the 70% necessary to pass, then I would bump everybody's score up by 58%. Not to mention the never ending requests from students to do some kind of "extra credit" to pass, I would have to present the same opportunity to every student, of which of course the straight A students would avail themselves of and earn even more unnecessary points. This resulted in some very interesting final scores.

Of the possible 100 points you could have earned in the class the top student had a final score of 170.

She had busted he ass off to earn nearly twice the amount of points she needed simply because that was the work/study ethic she had. The runner up had 150%. I insisted that neither of them study much for the next class I taught which was statistics and instead enjoy their next semester.

Tests and quizzes were just one problem I ran into in the schools. The second one was papers.

Foolish and idealistic, I thought it would be a great idea to have the students write an economics report on a country of their choosing to test their economic and analytical ability. Each student was to pick a country of their choosing and then write a FIVE PAGE DOUBLE SPACED PAPER on that country. This was no Herculean task. Matter of fact, I think I've already written more in this post in the past 10 minutes. Regardless, the hellish bitching and moaning and complaining did not stop.

"I don't have a computer."

"I don't have a printer."

"I don't have access to either."

"Why does it have to be 5 pages?"

"What's the font size."

More effort bitching and whining went into fighting against the paper than actually writing the effing thing.

With much ballyhoo and BS, inevitably I did get them into the computer lab and as the deadline approached, the vast majority of my students were frantically writing as they had procrastinated to that very last day.

Truthfully though, the majority of them did get their papers in on time and with them in hand began a painful task I was completely unaware of.

The first paper I read was on South Korea. The student had written:

"South Korea's economy is a modern industrialized nation, diversified into manufacturing, technology and services. It paradoxically compares..."

And right there I knew something was up.

So well written was that first sentence, I knew there was no way my student could have written it.

Sure enough I went to the Google and found he had just copied and pasted the report from the CIA's World Factbook.

The next paper was on Finland;

"Finland's economy is a mixed free market/socialist economy with the government providing its populace with ..."

Already, too well written. Google. CIA World Fact Book. Plagiarized.

I continued to google search various phrases and sentences that seemed too well crafted for the ability of my students and found out that out of 92 students, 89 had plagiarized.

The next day I ripped into them. I lectured them about how plagiarism was completely unacceptable, they would all get F's and blah blah blah, they weren't listening. And sure enough I got called into the principle's office.

The "dean" then lectured me about how I was overly harsh on the students and that they "didn't know" they weren't supposed to plagiarize. He then went on to read complaints he took in a survey from my students about my performance, one of which was a complaint about this ever so slight speech impediment I have (I cough due to allergies more frequently than the average person). I was to also let all the students write a new paper. I was dumbfounded.

I was to apologize to these students for their plagiarism. Only in a 2 year degree mill.

It was here that I realized that if I was going to keep my job I was just going to have to play ball and pass these kids no matter what. But the trick was to show them still who was boss because by this time they thought they owned me and had won. Never mind their degree would be worthless. Never mind with that kind of attitude they would get fired in half a second. In their little minds they "won" and now life was just going to bend over for them, if not the dean would always be able to save them and would bend life over for them.

But I would get my revenge. For the next class in the next semester was statistics.

Now you must understand that at this school there were multiple "majors" and they would keep the majors together so as to breed comradery. The majors were computer science, accounting, "travel and hospitality," and "health care." Naturally, the computer science and accounting students had a high mathematical aptitude and therefore would not only do better, but advance through the class faster. Therefore after 4 weeks they were already twice as far as their "travel and hospitality" counterparts.

Thinking there was nothing wrong and learning to make the class insanely easy, I thought there were going to be no more complaints. And sure enough there was;

The computer science and accounting students were complaining because they had done twice the work in the same amount of time. The dean then said I can't teach two different classes and they must be standardized across all majors.

This presented a problem to me in that there was no way in hell the travel and hospitality majors would ever be able to accomplish what the other students were doing. Thus I had to slow them down while travel and hospitality caught up. Thus, one of my greatest creations ever;

The Halo Statistics Project.

To grant the travel and hospitality majors enough time to get their fat, imbecilic lazy asses enough time to catch up, I decided that the accounting and computer programming majors would conduct a statistical experiment playing Halo. We linked 4 X-Boxes together, each person (including yours truly) would have a statistics sheet, and as we played various games we would record various statistics;

# of deaths
# of kills
# of assists
Time Alive
etc.

This would then give us enough empirical data to have a field day with to calculate things such as standard deviation, mean kill and calculate very important things such as;

"If you have 18 deaths in Halo, what percentile are you in, in the sub game "Slayer Pro?"

"What is the correlation coefficient between assists and the use of a bazooka."

For the next two weeks we played Halo while the rest of the students caught up.

Naturally, of course there were complaints. The travel and hospitality majors found out the other students were playing Halo. And when asked why they couldn't play Halo, I said, "well you're two weeks behind the other students so I have to find a way for you to catch up and this way we will have empirical data to use in future projects and experiments."

It did not go over well. By this time my repoire with the students had deteriorated so much there was nothing I could do. Teacher's cars were getting keyed, I was regularly called names and insulted by students. It was a "college" but it was more like teaching in a ghetto high school. The students were completely unaware of any possibility it was their fault they were failing or were so inconceivably stupid other students had to resort to "Halo Statistics" for them to play catch up.

Of course, by this time, I had given up on any kind of desire to teach these kids. I made it possible for those who wanted to learn, to learn, but instead of treating my job as an educator, I treated it as a baby sitter. And fresh in my mind the complaints filed about me being a idiot and a jerk and having that "stupid cough thing" as well as being forced by the dean to apologize to these daytime-tv-watching morons, I had one final trick up my sleeve.

The students by this time knew enough about simple statistics that the concepts of the bell distribution curve and how standard deviation can estimate what percent of the population you rank in were within their ability to calculate. But, since I was a concerned teacher, the question was "what kind of calculation can we do or test to make this personal and interesting to my beloved students?" And then it hit me;

IQ.

There was a web site, where if you had the time, you could take a rather thorough IQ test and get your IQ. It wasn't official or anything, but it would serve the purposes of my little statistics experiment. The students would go online, take their IQ test and then calculate what percent of the population they ranked in, in terms of their IQ.

The students were all excited about it. Of course they were the smartest students in the world and the world and meanies like me were just out to get them. They were almost supremely confident they would score high and no doubt some of them were tentatively planning on showing me their IQ to "show me."

So off they went to the computer lab, 45 minutes they came back with their score and I then showed them the method using a mean of 100 to find out what percent of the population they ranked in.

And as more and more of them looked up their percentile on the little percentile sheets their shoulders slouched. Their faces shocked. The travel and hospitality majors, you could tell, were double checking their math because they couldn't believe they were that stupid. Many faced the paradox of having to ask me to help them because on one hand they couldn't believe they scored that low, but they didn't want me to see their IQ (which I insisted be kept confidential). One girl started crying and another student who never shut up and found it a vital necessity to constantly talk in class, actually shut up. We found one student was "officially" retarded (though he wasn't, he just didn't try) while another was ecstatic to find out she was in the top 30%, until I pointed out she subtracted wrong when calculating her standard deviation and she was in fact in the bottom 30%. The class was somber, silent and depressed. Oh sure, there were the genuine straight A students who were happy and arguably finally vindicated that they were smart, arguably MENSA material, but the rest of them got a harsh delivering blow from the real world. There was their real grading curve.

In the end I went on to teach at another 2 year college, this time with the wisdom knowing not to try to teach the kids anything, but to entertain them. Pass them along, give them their B- and everybody's happy. And it is here that the lesson of degree mills and junior college must be learned.

There is no point in going to these schools unless they are accredited and you are intending on moving on to get your 4 year degree. Many states and local governments have 2 year colleges and they're great. They are typically part of the state university system, they are accredited and they are a VITAL AND GREAT opportunity to those who may not have the means to afford a 4 year college or perhaps was just goofing off during high school and now realized the merits of education. However, there are other 2 year "institutions" out there that are nothing more than degree mills. Non-accredited, typically private companies that are just that; companies.

They don't care if you get a good education. They're not really there to help you. And they certainly do not care if you get a job or not.

They're just there to take your money.

Uncle Jay Explains Carolyn Kennedy

I'm starting to like Uncle Jay

Thank You New York Times

To quote MacGruder from "Home Movies:"

"New York Times?

New York Tiiiiimes?

You think you're better than us?"

The Return of Malthus

I'm a very efficient man. I don't like to waste time. And the reason I don't like to waste time is because I know I'm going to die. You only have a certain amount of seconds on this planet and if I can convey a concept quickly without much dialouge or ballyhoo, then so be it. I save myself time and my readers time.

So the concept (the quick concept) I want to convey to you is the theories of Thomas Malthus, an economist who specialized in the field of "limits." His particular specialty in this field was predicting the doom of man due to humans' ability to produce enough food to feed the population. He predicted, much like the fruit fly experiment we all did in high school, that we would produce enough food to cause a burst in population which would only be doomed to starvation as we produced beyond our means of nutritional support.

He was proven wrong in that advances in farming technology yielded more crops per acre that ever previously imagined possible and made starvation (at least in civilized countries) a thing of the past.

However, Malthus is not dead in that his theories will apply to our most recent economic crisis. Not so much in the way of farmers being able to produce enough crops to feed the nation, but rather producers producing enough wealth to feed the parasites.

In light of the record amount of debt the US has accumulated, along with the welfare bum, suburbanite princess entitlement mentality, subprime deadbeats, mortgage brokers, Madoff's, and oh, and this whole minor recession thing, I think we are at a turning point where a critical mass of the population is dependent. I know the term "dependent" is not an inciting nor exciting term, but it should be, because it means those who are "dependent" rely, or as I cynically, yet truthfully like to say, parasite upon others.

If you are dependent, then that means you're not independent. It means by default you rely on other people to carry your dead, fat weight in this economy (just like Caroline Kennedy). And whereas Malthus' concern was food production, mine is just pure simple economic production.

Though I have not run the figures, the macro-figures being posted about bailouts, as well as our cornerstone institutions showing themselves to be nothing more than parasites upon the masses, I think that there literally is not enough producers in this country to produce enough wealth to support all the people in the nation. And given the recent election of Barack Obama and his forever increasing amounts of stimulus spending, it not only convinces me the country is not serious (nor educated enough) about getting out of this recession, as much as they are about getting theirs and transferring as much wealth to themselves off this dead rotting carcass known as America. The only question I ask "where is all this money going to come from?"

Of course I ask myself the question rhetorically.

Socialists in congress combined with comrade Obama have eliminated any incentive to excel and produce the wealth necessary to bail out this economy (and I mean really bailout as in REAL economic production, not just transferring money and calling it a bailout, I mean like our problems would be over bailout). Obama and his socialist democrat ilk have done nothing more than promise to transfer wealth from one group of people to another to bribe the recipients into voting for them. Ergo, no real consideration has ever been given to how to actually increase the production of wealth as much as it has been to use a transference of existing (and dwindling) wealth for political purposes. Of course there are obvious shortcomings of this politicking;

1. With taxes going up on the rich (or as I like to say the "productive" or "employers") what incentive will the have to invest/create jobs here.

2. With wealth transfers what incentive with the burgeoning recipients have to get off their lazy, fat welfare asses and produce some kind of wealth (let alone enough to support them?)

I'm sorry folks. I know you like to believe that "America will always pull through." Or that if you "pray enough" God will save America like he always has. Sadly, the truth is nobody puts this country ahead of themselves and when you have a certain "critical percentage" of the population nothing more than a bunch of whinny, self-entitled, spoiled brat "Barack save me now" socialist parasites, your country is doomed.

Malthus will be vindicated. The trick is to not be around when it happens.

Advice for the College Youth

I got an e-mail from Kyle asking about changing majors, and after writing the response I figured this would be decent advice for any college aged youths or youths contemplating college;
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Hi Kyle,

Heh, thanks for reading. I am particularly grateful in that maybe my experience might do some good for a younger fella.

Here's the deal. Anything worth getting a degree in is going to take a lot of math. This means subjects such as engineering, computers, medicine, etc. It is not whether you "like" the subject you are majoring in as (especially in light of this economy) you cannot afford such a luxury. In other words, you may think majoring in something is "tough" but it is a much more difficult route to major in something that you may like and suffering trying to find a job for the rest of your days (consider a nerdy engineer who slaves and tolls to get his degree in 4 years vs. an teenage gangbanger who slacks off, over time the gang banger has a harder more difficult life). Ergo your desire to change majors is great.

As for the major itself, if you are going to go into economics, then don't even bother unless you plan to get your masters. A bachelors will not do. Additionally, being in economics, you will most likely work in the financial services industry which is basically corrupt and based on nepotism instead of skill. Getting a masters will allow you at minimum to teach at a 2 year community college (which is what I did for a while) where the politics and corruption are a mere faction what they are in banking. Do not have any grad illusions of being heard or having your work implemented. You do not have gray hair and you are not the husband of the vice president. You will be a cog in the banking machine (albeit a highly educated one)

If you are not willing to go all the way and get your masters, then a subject such as accounting or engineering or computers is the other routes to go. Those are 4 year degrees that will get you jobs. However, if you want more guidance all you have to do is look at starting salaries. The labor market will tell you what's in demand. Teachers start off at $32,000 per year . Chemical engineers I think are around $52,000 or so.

The final thing I'd recommend is this;

DO NOT WORRY IF IT TAKES YOU ANOTHER 3 YEARS TO GRADUATE. I am explaining this to you so you do NOT make the same mistake I did and therefore can have a better life. Learn from my mistakes, it's immensely cheaper. You may not like school. You may have a plan to get out in 4-5 years, but;

1. Nobody in the real world gives younger folk a chance, no matter how smart or educated you may be. A 45 year old baby boomer does not see a difference between a 22 year graduate and a 26 year old graduate. In their eyes you're all incompetent punks barely able to wipe their own asses (and based on the majority of leftist idiots graduating from college, they're right). Regardless, it is here you are a victim of your generation. An eagle surrounded by turkeys. You may as well spend your time getting a good degree AND ENJOYING IT. No need to rush. Take another 3-4 years in college. It's much more enjoyable. Chase girls, get drunk. And for god's sake, don't worry about your GPA. Just keep it above a 3.0 and you'll be fine.

2. The economy is shit and will continue to be shit. School is an ideal place to be.

Sorry to be so glum, but hopefully that will provide you a little bit of guidance above and beyond what the "student counselors" will.

Cpt.