Heh.

The lawyers who own Irvine are going to go ballistic....
They hate us peasants.

-Badger-

Yeah well they hate pet stores too, didn't stop people from protesting mine

Lawyers hate pet stores?

News to me.

-Badger-

hehe You don't protest a pet store. Not unless they get their animals from pet-mills.

Which we aren't, but we still get protested at least once a month.

Funny how people only see what they want to

I noticed the pet store was gone from Fashion Island. I never went in there though because I was allergic to the merchandise.

Nah, it's still there, just moved. Got a whole new frigging store too!

I thought Irvine Co. outlawed retail pet stores.

Just now, but that means they are there til the end of the lease, which isn't for years. The irvine location's lease isn't up for another year

Lucky! I miss Cali and all of its awesomeness. T___T

*Occupies.....................................................................................................................................................the kitchen*

I like how the Occupy protestors, on the one hand are complaining that their college degrees are worthless, and are also calling for universal, free college educations. Clearly, if college degrees are free and universal, they'll become somehow more useful.

That's assuming the worth of a degree is a measure of how much it costs to obtain?

No, it assumes that the worth of a degree is the ability to get you a job that will pay the cost of the degree. If these bozos can't get themselves hired, then why should the tax payer pay for more people to get degrees that won't get them hired?

It's like going to a restaurant where all they serve is sand. The sand is free, and you can eat all you want. Eating sand won't help you at all, but, it's free!

Wow, you're an insult to... just about everything for which everyone works. I for one, have worked very hard to earn my degrees in useful majors, yet the economy can't support anything I can offer in an even remotely related field. What's more, this is the case for millions my age. This dilemma is founded on structural effects of political reasons.

I am deeply offended by your coarse appraisal of what is apparently a global economic situation. Hardly bozos.

It's pretty simple economics, actually. Because more and more people are going to get their degrees, it's creating an increase in demand, schools are charging more, and more people are getting them. The jobs that requires a degree to do is getting a larger supply of prospective employees to fill it, and lower jobs are less likely to hire someone who's overqualified and likely to quit as soon as they're able to.

It is pretty simple economics actually. Schools don't charge more because supply is running low, it is because population has grown while federal and state funding has fallen. Additionally, the total number of filled and unfilled positions (not openings) is shrinking. What you end up with is a lot of people seeking education with less money to help them do it, while schools are forced to charge more in avoiding quality reductions.

Politicians have done nothing to remedy the shrinking economy, only shrinking profits. They've done nothing to remedy the shrinking pool of funds for education, only diverted more away to pay for war and the pensions of older generations.

Another part of the problem is the 'commoditization' of education. Once upon a time, a college education was about learning and advancement. Now its about getting a piece of paper that supposedly carries with it the promise of gainful employment. Which is no longer the case (if it ever was). Long before this current economic crisis, colleges and universities began devolving into little more than expensive tech schools.

And I'm unaware of any money being diverted to pensions. If anything, corporate America, with the backing of the U.S. course, has raided most pension funds. Workers are increasingly relying on 401k or similar plans which, invest in the stock market. That's rather like a blood bank managed by vampires.

But the war -- that's definitely a gigantic drain on our economy. And will likely be a key factor when it collapses -- anywhere from 6 months to two years from now. That is, unless these protests are successful and some major changes are made. I'm not at all hopeful, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

CORRECTION: That should be "U.S. COURTS" not "course." (I really hate the journal interface on FA.)

That's a really good reminder of an important issue. Many people have been duped into for-profit institutions with bait and switch tactics.. all in the name of profiting from egregiously high interest rates, sometimes on compound loans... just so people have a chance to move beyond low wage jobs, and avoid being laid off "off four times since 2005."

Costs have gone up a great bit as more and more as demand has risen, regardless of population. The past 10 years has produced only a 9% increase in population, where the decade before that yielded over 13%, so it's not like we're in a population explosion or something. There's never been a decrease in the amount of federal aid available for students, it's actually increasing alarmingly fast, $17b in 2010, $23b in 2011, $29b has been requested for 2012.

And if you're complaining about older generations getting social security, don't forget, they've paid into that all their lives. Social security has been repeatedly used and abused by politicians as an emergency slush-fund to pay for pet projects.

And as for war, it sucks. The Constitution established the government only to provide for the common defense, and that's all it ought to do. The more wars we start in the Middle East, the more we invite attacks on ourselves. Ron Paul, in the 90's, had warned repeatedly that Clinton's interventionism was going to cause a strong anti-American sentiment, and invite terrorism, and he was unfortunately proven correct.

That sort of reminds me of a proposal by at least one University of California school (or maybe it was all of them?) that suggested charging a higher tuition rate for selected majors (engineering and medical areas, if I remember right...can't find the story). The idea behind it was that since those careers have a higher income potential for graduates, they would be more capable to give money back to the school, through donations or some other way.

That's what happens when we try to privatize education.

*shits in diaper*

Pardon?

Why not protest and march on the people that are ACTUALLY the root of the problem? Politicians in Washington. Sure corporations and business are guilty on many things but causing our bad economy and making it hard to find work IS NOT one of them. What do they need to make jobs? Money. Do they have the money to make jobs? YES and NO.

YES, some have money stashed away, and that's all some people think about and demonize them as greedy. But why are they holding onto it? Because they're terrified of what this current administration is going to do to strangle business and free market even more. They are waiting for somebody to come along and loosen regulations and laws on them so that they can invest more confidently without fear of bankruptcy due to some new law.

NO, some don't have money because of those laws and regulations that they're already having to pour money into to hire people just to evaluate the complex regulations so they don't get fined more money.

I'm not against the protestors, I just think they're aiming their anger at the WRONG enemies. I heard one protester screaming about the rich not paying their fair share. Was he joking or just that oblivious? The top earners in this country, the ones making more than $350k a year, are paying over %40 of the income taxes, not even to mention the corporate taxes which are the highest in the world. I'm sure they would LOVE to pay their "fair share" because they're already paying more than it.

I'm not trying to defend the rich, Lord knows I'm not one of them x.x I make $9.65/hr full time. But so many of these protestors are just clueless or being used by people who want to further their own agendas. If they want to change the future for the better, they need to start rallying people for the withdraw of government into the free market. Get the government's hands out of business' pockets and businesses can boom!

I no longer even debate with conservatives.

Write your own journal.

I don't see myself as conservative or republican or any of that party BS. I'm just looking at things as they are, not the hope and change crap that so many people preach. If you have plans that's great, but they need to be more than just "This needs to change." or "More money for everybody!" That's all well and good but... how?

This right here is one of the most intelligent things I have seen posted on this site about Occupy CITY NAME crap.

I find it laughable that people really do beleive that the rich do not pay a dime in taxes. I also find it laughable that I have lots of friends who try to rally using Facebook when Facebook is owned and run by multiple billionaires. Yet, no one protests Facebook. I beleive that most of the people supporting this "cause" are completely clueless. They just want something to rally behind and people are naturally jealous of those who are successful and living better than themselves.

As you said, I am not defending the rich. I have worked for JP Morgan Chase and am all to aware of their greed, as I was directly affected by it as a JPMC employee. Yet, at the same time, I do defend their right to run their corporation as they see fit and spend their money on whatever they desire. I was anything but happy with my job with JPMC, so I quit. It was as simple as that. Really. It took a year of hardcore job searching and hanging on to what I had, but I found myself a job at another financial institution and I now feel that I am on the right track.

Too all the clowns out there who whine and bitch about their jobs, but are not willing to take the time to look for anything else, your life is in your own hands. Do not have to settle for what you do not enjoy, just never stop looking for something that satisfies you. A better job may not be immediate, but they do come around for those who wait and never stop looking.

Too all the clowns that think they deserve their dream job right out of college or do not beleive the work is out there. Get real. One, the work is out there. Look harder for it and keep at it. Two, yes, there is a chance that you will not get your dream job immediately. That's life. If you have debts to pay back, sitting on your ass and doing nothing, or going out to pathetic "occupations," is not going to pay those bills and debts. There is still work out there. It may not be what you want or may not pay what you want, but there are jobs out there waiting for you. Take them. Hell, take two jobs if you must, and while you are working and contributing something to society, do not stop looking for something better. Because, that is what it takes these days. Also, experience is experience and huge gaps on resumes make you look... useless.

I am Growling Mad Gulo. I am twenty eight years old and though I have no college degree or certifications, I make still make liveable salary and manage to support myself. I have been laid off four times since 2005, from everything from retail, to the State Gov. to automotive manufacturing, but I have always been able to pull myself up and find better things. Through hard work and determination, I continue to prosper and grow, yet at the same time, I also realize that should I find myself jobless again, I am not beyond working at McD's or Wally World. Also, I am not beyond working two jobs if that is what it takes. Lots of people do this to survive and to do their part to contribute to society, and these people are greater than the protesters who do nothing other than bitch about the rich and demand handouts.

Also, though I have no real love for JP Morgan Chase, they do employee thirteen thousand people in Columbus, OH, thus boosting the local economy. I cannot find myself hating that fact.

You calling me a clown? That I only seek my dream job and am merely unemployed because of inflexibility? Do you think I and millions of others are just asking for handouts?

Really, say that on here in reference to me, if you actually think that.

No, I do not think you personally are a clown. I am not certain to the reasons of your unemployment, and honestly, they are none of my business. However, you will certainly be protesting along side of those who ARE clowns and who are looking for freebies.

What I stated is the truth. It's just how stuff works. If a skill-less college dropout like myself can land a good job where I do not live paycheck to paycheck, why can't everyone else? Did I just get lucky, or did I put in more effort? Finding work is work, then, now and always, and those who put in the effort, they reap the rewards. If people want free education, they can move to Cuba. Cuba has free education up to PHD level. However, Cuba also taxes at over 70%.

Regardless, good luck with your protest. Hopefully you can accomplish something and make a better America.

A lot of people have no means to pay back loans on education, no means to fill those gaps. Working for retail fast-food may be your way of making ends meet, but writing off millions of unemployed as simply, not willing to adapt is myopic in that the problem is so much larger than your compact accusation. By the way, what did you do at JP Morgan?

I was a machine operator and processor for Chase. Worked that crap job for two years and then finally weaseled my way out after job hunting for months. I attended three jobs fairs and looked for new work every weekend for months and months and it finally paid off.

As for the means to pay back loans, they are out there. There are always jobs out there and anyone who says is otherwise is blind. These college students and college dropouts who scream out about there not being jobs or beleive that they are above working retail or fast food, are full of themselves and full of garbage. As I already stated, there are many people who work two jobs to pay those bills. Hell, I have done it myself. Sometimes, that's what it takes. I am not going to say that the problem of unemployment is not great, I know there are tons of people unemployed, but at the same time, there jobs are out there and waiting, and a lot of people just are not looking for them or are waiting for the Job Fairy to come down and give them the perfect job that pays 50k+.

I am also pretty damn sure that a lot of these unemployed college grads picked the wrong major. Graphic designers are a dime a dozen. Programmers are a dime a dozen. Game designers are a dime a dozen, every high school boy wants to major in game design. Art, Theater, Music, Hollywood Producing, for 90% of people, they're all unrealistic. And they always have been. If you major in one of these, you can expect a rough time trying to find work. This is why I never finished my animation degree (what I wanted 11 years ago) and have not gone back for architecture (what I should have gotten). Also, with a ton of new immigrants and overseas programming bringing college students over, competition is more fierce than ever and that too makes it very hard to find work once you graduate.

Well, then I guess if we all just come around the employment crisis will fade away huh, lol. If only the world was that simple. I should have known.. the jobs are just out there waiting for us.

Thanks for enlightening me; you should write to congress and change the world by sharing this Eureka moment.

I also block folks who clog my comment section with their own.. journaling.

I'm going to occupy Boston over the weekend.

Damn, I missed out, I'm down the road from There....