Elyse
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On the Blog Post Should Stow City Council Lease to PEP Drilling Company?
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On the article POLL: Fracking on Kent State Campuses
Elyse
11:54 am on Wednesday, February 20, 2013
ReplyThe jobs are grossly misrepresented and by Gov. Kasich's own admission: there are A LOT of out of state workers.
There's an informative event this evening:
The School of Communication Studies at Kent State University is proud to host its first annual Global Communication Issues Forum, Fracking: Promise or Peril? It will feature Dimiter Kenarov, a Pulitzer Center journalist on Wednesday, February 20, 2013, at 7 p.m. in the KIVA Auditorium on the Kent State campus. This inaugural event examines the practice of hydraulic fracturing to extract natural gas from the earth.
Panel includes: Dimiter Kenarov (Pulitzer Center journalist specializing in Natural gas extraction), Bob Downing (Akron Beacon, writes for the Ohio Utica Shale blog), Donald Palmer, Ph.D. emeritus professor of Geology at KSU, and Yoram Eckstein, Ph.D. professor of Geology and Hydrogeology.
The KIVA is located on Risman Drive, near the Kent State Student Center on Summit Street in Kent, Ohio. Paid parking is available.
More info here: https://www.facebook.com/events/483852678319213/
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On the Blog Post Government Entitlements are Endless
Elyse
9:38 am on Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Agreed, Phyllis. It's important that people can exchange information opposed to tearing people down.
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On the Blog Post Government Entitlements are Endless
Elyse
9:35 am on Tuesday, August 28, 2012
MZ, no I'm not just an idealist, nor do I advocate for a "nanny state". I'm advocate of bottom-up governance, placing more power in the hands of localities and state through a more direct democratic practice which calls for proportioned representation (not a single-member district elected based on a plurality of votes). Additionally, I'm not all talk.
Lyn, I understand what you are saying now. Why don't people just opt to cook? There's a culture to poverty that little understand (and it's hard to understand if you can't imagine yourself in their shoes). It's a different lifestyle. If you're looking for studies, I highly recommend Jack L. Roach, a sociologist who studies the culture of poverty (you can google his name and read various previews). William Julius Wilson does a lot of race studies, but also addresses the issue of poverty.
There is another great book called "Gang Leader for a Day" which is an ethnographic study of a Chicago gang. It offers a different perspective on deep poverty and gang relations. I highly recommend this book to anyone just looking for a different perspective. Additionally, the show The Wire is quite sociologically accurate and addresses crime and poverty, task force budgets, etc.
James- You're assumptions are way off. Testimony before the House Ways and Means committee state in an "average" year, about one-half of the AFDC caseload leaves the welfare rolls; 70% in two; and 90% within 5.
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On the Blog Post Government Entitlements are Endless
Elyse
5:24 pm on Monday, August 27, 2012
John is right about the poor having less access to nutritious foods. Obesity is not limited to class. There is so much crap in our foods these days (Food, Inc. is available on Netflix to learn more). With this drought I suspect raw food costs will rise even more. First off, to pretend that food stamps for a family are enough to feed them is ridiculous, same with cash assistance. The max tax assistance for a family of 2 is $368 in the state of Ohio, that seems livable (scoff).
And I'm sorry if this comes across as offensive, but I think it's disgusting that people think people in poverty should live miserable lives because it's somehow their fault they're impoverished and because they're taking "your" money, you have the right to tell them what they can and can't do with it. No time to relax, no big screen TV.. Really?! As if it's not bad enough they're living the life they are, but now they should have no amenities. These attitudes add to the stigma of those in need.
I'm not going to deny that some people are lazy and content having very little. As a general whole it's not people being lazy, it's people needing help when they are down (as I stated in a previous comment).
As far as drug tests for welfare recipients: give me a break. Florida spent way more money to do the testing and guess what, turns out only 2-5% failed (or refused). Tax payer dollars wasted. But I'm also an advocate for no drug testing for employment either- different debate entirely.
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On the Blog Post Family Planning with the Duggars
Elyse
12:28 pm on Monday, August 27, 2012
ReplyHa ha Patrick, I rather appreciated the humor from this entry. This blog reminds me... a funny video hit my e-mail today: "Legitimate Rape" by the Renegading Raging Grannies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Anc_gP2_QeI
For me, it's hard to believe these people are in office making political decisions... I suppose it shouldn't be that shocking anymore. I view comments like Mr. Akin's absurd (to say the least).
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On the Blog Post Government Entitlements are Endless
Elyse
11:38 am on Monday, August 27, 2012
Fred, kudos. I can't say I have never been in similar circumstance and it took a lot of work but our family was able to work through it in under 2-years. I think it's a lot easier for people who have been through it to empathize with the people who are entrenched in American poverty. Truly a humbling experience.
According to the testimony before House Ways and Means committee in an "average" year, about one half of the AFDC caseload leaves the welfare rolls. Majority of families who leave do so in a short period of time. About half leave within a year. This number jumps to 90% within 5-years.
Federal spending on true "welfare" is about 5.5%-6.4% of the federal budget (http://www.ourdime.us/102/budgetinfo/how-much-do-we-spend-on-welfare/). What percentage of the federal budget is being spent on war? It seems odd to me that America has the money to enter wars but when Americans cry for programs to help the people here... Well, those are the first ones that need cut because it's only for the "lazy". Clearly that statistics seem to show that a vast majority of people are using the program for what it is designed to do.
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On the Blog Post Paul Ryan the Incredible
Elyse
9:12 am on Monday, August 27, 2012
The EU includes 27 countries.. Germany has an unemployment rate of 5.6%.. They have a lower unemployment rate than the US. Spain and Greece have shockingly high numbers- Especially for their youth. Youth have the highest unemployment rates, this is a global trend. But this also explains why Europe as a whole has such a high rate, it's an average based on 27 countries.
One way to combat this is to have young people develop skills that are in-demand (as you said). I also see this as semi-problematic because then as a country we're breeding people for production. In essence we're not teaching people to think critically, we're teaching them to perform better for means of capital pursuit.
Tell me how the USA is in "economic crisis" and CEO's pay have risen upwards of 27% over the past year. Not the case with small-medium size business. Local companies have struggled (as a general whole).
Between 1978 and 2011 CEO pay has grown 725% while worker pay fell 2% (http://www.epi.org/publication/ib331-ceo-pay-top-1-percent/). Who am I to say what's fair... But those numbers don't add up and it seems to have a trickling effect on the economy. Money still isn't going to job creation and these companies have no obligation to America. There was a time where they did. An employer took pride putting people to work and ensuring they could live. Not the case anymore: globalization. Do we accept the situation and start selling labor for the same cost as China, Philippines, etc? -
On the Blog Post Paul Ryan the Incredible
Elyse
8:40 am on Monday, August 27, 2012
We're loosing base here MZ. I'm not advocating one way or another or claiming it's some sort of paradise. Just expressing flaws with our systems and theirs. I don't think education should be building careers, but helping people develop critical minds (a necessity for democracy). As with anything, I think we can learn from those around us (from the smallest level to the largest) to improve our situation on a societal level.
I too, know several people who graduated with certain degrees and are now working a job that has really nothing to do with their degree. I know people who opted to go back for their masters to give themselves more of an edge. I know programmers that have been in business for 20+ years whose departments are being outsourced to India (and many companies are learning that the work isn't necessarily better because its cheaper... so we may see more of a shift back here for our tech skills).
In sum, we live in a global society now. A choice of one country may directly or indirectly affect another.When we talk about unemployment, let's see how that has changed in the US after 2008. Unemployment rates skyrocketed and then people could not find jobs. These weren't lazy people, these were people who worked their entire lives. So now people are allowed to be on unemployment for 99 weeks, enough time to develop new skills or invest in a new line of business- or is it? In 2009 we shared the same employment rate as the EU. Now, EU as a whole has a higher rate...
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On the Blog Post Paul Ryan the Incredible
Elyse
10:51 pm on Sunday, August 26, 2012
MZ: I see what you are saying. I think it would require thinking outside the lines a little bit. People don't have to make the same, but livable wages for companies that can afford to do so is not asking too much. If you followed that link, it's not about the wages it's about ownership. So in the case of McDonalds, say the fry cooks had a percentage of the company.. They keep their wages but based on the performance of the company they could have extra.
There isn't one concrete idea nor can I do it any justice in this casual conversation. There are several different approaches: many of which (as Phyllis has pointed out) have failed. Then there is social democracy (like we see in Europe). Granted, the socialist party has lost voters over the past few years.. Still there tho.
When you talk about "supply and demand"- This is the effectiveness and the pitfall to capitalism because it doesn't account for things that humans value outside of money. In this society money governs the entire rationality.
Look at how many people have gone through college to get new skills and they're walking out into an economy where despite their specialized skills there aren't the jobs available. Now too many people have skills and there aren't enough jobs to sustain them. Lots of supply, pay is low, and people are living in states of perpetual debt with limited resources. Low wages = less spending. Economics 101: Can't have a consumer based economy when consumers can't afford to consume.
Elyse
9:38 am on Wednesday, March 27, 2013
It really hasn't been that great for the Ohio Economy. A recent report indicated that there has been a spending surge in Ohio in 2012, but not many new jobs: http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2013/03/ohio_shale_gas_development_pro.html Even by Gov. Kasich's own admission- there are far more out of state workers and he has been concerned about the number of jobs Ohioans are receiving.
Not to mention, it's not "job security" because oil and gas are not renewable resources. "Non-renewable" implies that they will not be around forever so what happens when it runs out? Figure it out as we go? Pawn it off to the next generation to figure out? So you're not really "bettering" anyone's life by perpetuating a dirty industry as Castor talked about those "noxious fumes"... Not to mention all the byproducts of the activity (waste produced, the amount of trucks needed to facilitate it, etc.).
As for your comments: "...prissy women keep your snobby noses out of the oil field and worry about your makeup and tampons and your nail polish that's all you need to be concerned with.." That's extremely sexist and ignorant. When you have to result to insulting and/or degrading others.. It just shows how shaky your own position is.