Student Loan Debt?

[CloverKnollFarms]

I worry that we think we are loving people by relieving them of the consequences of their choices.
There is still a consequence. It's partially transferred to someone else, and in a way, it changes the person who was relieved of it. Instead of them learning and being strengthened through adversity, they learn they can simply not be held responsible. Any growth they would have had, is stolen, and their behavior is unlikely to change.
Some call this enabling. Not loving.

 

[paulsharvey]

Wrong thread for this convo and probably too political; so I'll drop after this; but far far more people are affected by a bad water supply than violent crime. I do realize police are a necessary evil, but a well functioning public infrastructure is absolutely necessary for society.

But, I will say, sewer or water plant operators is a steady job, that pays well (enough), doesn't require a college degree, and is always in demand. I have friends that make 80-100k with a GED, some certs, and experience in the utility realm. The big catch is, your going to have to work upto that over atleast a decade, and frequently be on call, over time, night work, ect; and the job is hot/cold/wet/crappy/dangerous.


Edit: it's important to accept we all have a bias; and I have worked around const/infrastructure in one form or another my entire adult life. For a cop/ex cop, yeah, they are gonna feel their profession was important. All this also affects society as a whole; so are 'leaders' all are shaped almost without exception to some degree by college education, which is also probably a major reason that schools/political leaders/ect push college as essentially mandatory.

 

[two_bit_score]

The root problem with spending is less about which programs and more about a lack of institutional frugality. In the private sector, there is constant pressure to do more with less. If you don't, someone else will. In the public sector the pressure to be efficient is absent.

Spot on! And it applies to ALL sectors of public service.

 

[two_bit_score]

I didn’t get much traction when I spoke at city council about reducing services and taxes.

It’s kind of ironic open space parks and beaches are the first to close due to budget where social programs often slightly reduced if at all.

A friend works for the sewer department and years ago he said if you want stable employment with overtime hire on at the sewage department and he was right… no matter what there is always money for sewage.

You would think police and fire but not here… both will have tons of publicity for any budget issue and not shy about letting public know.

Kudos to you Lone Ranger for standing up in a public forum and saying what others were thinking but too afraid of what their neighbors might think. America was built on people doing what you did. Somehow we became a nation of timid people to frightened to stand up and publicly object to onerous burdens placed on us by public officials who feel entitled to treat taxpayers like their personal ATM machines.

 

[Torvy]

Maybe the solution to all of our problems is just a requirement that no more than X number of people can live in any given acre. No more densely packed cities. No more need for others to provide for you.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

Maybe the solution to all of our problems is just a requirement that no more than X number of people can live in any given acre. No more densely packed cities. No more need for others to provide for you.

I support this

 

[ultrarunner]

This was a known phenomenon way back when I got my Poli-Sci degree. When faced with pressure to cut spending, officials will target the most popular programs. The hope is that the populace will relent and cough up more money.

School cuts? Band or sports are on the chopping block. People freak and agree to higher taxes.

Cities? Police and Fire (or garbage when that is a city function).

The root problem with spending is less about which programs and more about a lack of institutional frugality. In the private sector, there is constant pressure to do more with less. If you don't, someone else will. In the public sector the pressure to be efficient is absent.

Just saw 15% increase in annual air district inspection and permit fees almost across the board for things like standby generator or a diesel tank, etc.

As to the police and fire bond issues the money does go to police and fire but what they don't say is the same dollar amount will be removed for other non police/fire use.

We have bond measure for minimum staffing that never delivered... always some offset as not enough candidates or declaring emergencies.

I truly believe county and state would suit me better than special districts, city, county, regional and state and this isn't even mentioning federal...

 

[ultrarunner]

Maybe the solution to all of our problems is just a requirement that no more than X number of people can live in any given acre. No more densely packed cities. No more need for others to provide for you.

Public policy is the opposite... parking requirements slashed, single family zoning gutted and density keeps increasing with more stories...

 

[ultrarunner]

If you don't think the fire and police depts are needed I'd suggest you eliminate those depts and see how it affects your safety and property values. My town has neither water or sewer depts and yet we do just fine with property values very high.

We tried that during the 3 years if COVID... no traffic enforcement and catch and release to minimize captive population... it has not gone well.

 

[ultrarunner]

Drill a well, build a septic. It works for a lot of us. Unless you live in the urban jungle, then you have to crap in the streets.

Are private wells required to be metered and tax and can a basic septic even be permitted?

Many areas are pushing to meter private wells starting with larger users first.

Ad for septic... it's full blown engineering with required service agreements, pumps, dosing, sand mounds, etc.