mr_genius

QUOTE (MuckFinnesota @ Jan 1, 2011 -> 12:47 PM) I would agree that a college degree isn't necessary for a lot of jobs that require one. I look at the entry level jobs and think to myself, why did I major in something more challenging than a liberal art when I have the skills that this job description requires? I guess what I wonder about is what exactly does an employer look for in terms of skills? Sure, I got a business degree, but it doesn't mean I remember a lot if any of what I studied, and I got at least 3.3 GPA. What I'm feeling is that I should have studied something more communications oriented (like Public Relations) because I would have had some actual skills to an employer in terms of how to write in a PR setting. Now I wonder if I should go get a Master's in PR at DePaul, even if it is real expensive, just so I can get some skills. Otherwise, I'm just going to have to see all of you at Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and tell all of you that I should have partied harder in college if I knew I was going to have to do menial jobs with my unique skill set. you have a business degree and need some work experience. Enterprise Rent-A-Car is a business, thus fits your field of study. Start building your resume and put in a couple years and move on or move up the ladder at Enterprise.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Dec 31, 2010 -> 12:01 PM) Agreed, but as someone who graduated from undergrad in 03' and then from law school in 07', this has been the mantra of the newly graduated well before this recession hit. It's really been brutal out there for recent college grads for the better part of this decade. yea, and now things have just compounded. My cousin graduated from law school in that time frame and has had a difficult time landing a good job.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Dec 31, 2010 -> 11:31 AM) It seems as though the phenomenon of college-educated people taking jobs traditionally categorized as "noncollege level jobs" has been happening gradually over the last twenty years. I'm not sure if this is an argument for or against going to college, however. Chronicle of Higher Education That is also true.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Dec 31, 2010 -> 11:31 AM) It seems as though the phenomenon of college-educated people taking jobs traditionally categorized as "noncollege level jobs" has been happening gradually over the last twenty years. I'm not sure if this is an argument for or against going to college, however. Chronicle of Higher Education This job market is very tough for entry level workers and the long term unemployed. A degree is still very important, but I can see how someone who graduated in this downturn would feel like their investment isn't paying off. There's a lot of very capable new grads that just had the bad luck of graduating in a extremely competitive job market.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 29, 2010 -> 09:12 PM) The remarkable thing though, there's actually an easy answer to who counts...the NBER...National Bureau of Economic Research. There might be another professional organization or two that I don't knwo about, but when there's a nice easy professional organization covering pretty much everyone who directly works in that field, y ou can go to it. Polling economists thorugh this method has become a pretty standard method that is done all the time on general economic issues. So you need to stipulate NBER recognized economists - if that is even a legitimate designation. I don't know, I'm not going to search for such a list on their site. Feel free to do so for me . Also, 18 of the 33 American Nobel Prize winners in Economics have done research for them; what about foreign economists and the other 15? Are they 'official' economists? I think you see where this is going. What about a talking head 'economist' on TV? Which poll do you go by? If you go by 'NBER economists' then you are asking a poll question that barely anyone is going to have a clue what you are talking about. Just the nature of opinion and qualification of opinion. So the question of 'what do economists think' is fairly ambiguous.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 17, 2010 -> 11:56 AM) The phrase "Most economists believe..." is actually quite black and white. it's abstract. who gets counted as an economist? Also, what 'economists believe' is not finite - most like to leave an out (just in case their prediction is wrong). Example: Economist "Well, health care costs are going to go up... unless blah blah blah... then of course they go down." Then a week later the same guy will make a statement that totally contracts his entire argument the week before.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Dec 29, 2010 -> 05:45 PM) I have to side with Y2HH here - the idea that the inflation in oil prices is JUST tied to currency fluctuation, or that its JUST tied to ANY single thing is sort of ridiculous. There are any number of factors at play here. agreed.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 27, 2010 -> 10:44 AM) God, I don't even work directly on climate science, but just as a person teaching a class this semester, this intimidates the Hell out of me. Congrats, Congressman, your threats are already working. ur data is gettin audited brah

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Dec 22, 2010 -> 03:22 PM)

QUOTE (GovernmentIdiot @ Dec 22, 2010 -> 08:50 AM) recent moves toward openness, including the introduction of open operating systems open operating systems have been around a lot longer than windows.

QUOTE (bmags @ Dec 18, 2010 -> 05:46 PM) I'm choosing to focus on the senators who decided to right a wrong than the people who tried to perpetrate it. This was really amazing, that two weeks ago, six months ago, this was dead in the water, and then in a rapid-fire four day span it's here. Once again, great job Harry Reid. it was part of the deal for the upper tax bracket tax cuts. not officially, but is was.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Dec 14, 2010 -> 09:12 AM) Right now, that would be a victory, if Boehner could do the same. he must also do so without crying like a baby. i will not compromise on this.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Dec 11, 2010 -> 12:36 PM) Not sure if this was sarcastic, but, I actually agree with it. I've always like the guy. i wasn't being sarcastic

QUOTE (greg775 @ Dec 11, 2010 -> 01:37 AM) I'll check and ask my friend what exactly he means. This is not a slam but a serious question. Is Obama our worst president in the last 70 years? we'll have to wait until his final 2 years are over. so far, he's been an obvious failure.

Bernie Sanders is a principled man.

DEFINITELY needs to be addressed. I'll leave it at that.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 10, 2010 -> 11:57 AM) What is preventing corporations from hiring right now is a lack of customers. The business community is sitting on an enormous amount of assets in dollars right now, with no reason to invest it because it's not losing value (no inflation) and there's no gain if they do (already have more capacity than necessary). They still will resist expensive US hiring. US job creation at a pace which can actually cover new entrants into the work force and employ the unemployed, will be the last thing to pick up. We will need to be adding around 350,000 jobs a month for this. Right now we are adding like 50,000 a month. We have even had negative job growth in recent months. The old scenario in which consumer spending picks up and factories re-hire to keep up with demand is true, but those factories aren't in the US. I believe this period in the US economy will be fairly long and is a product of the process of global normalization.

QUOTE (Rex Kicka** @ Dec 10, 2010 -> 10:55 AM) You could make the argument that by giving larger tax breaks to people who are less likely to be able to sock those savings away that the tax breaks will be spent more immediately, increasing retail sales and making job creation more likely in that sector, and then by cascading effect, in the manufacturing sectors that supply those retail stores (assuming anything is still made in this country.) I think that would be an accurate statement. But I wouldn't expect any type of major jobs boost to come from extending all the tax cuts. Raising all taxes could, however, have a detrimental effect on the economy. I wouldn't expect any major hiring from corporations because of the tax cuts, it is more cost effective to get more out of existing employees, automate operations, and hire overseas for new positions.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 9, 2010 -> 03:40 PM) Yes, they'll want more jobs. Don't you? None of this is going to create jobs.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Dec 7, 2010 -> 04:22 PM) Didn't know where to put this, but found it very interesting. China is now making their own versions of Soviet-built military high end hardware, including their prized Su-27 fighter jets. Even worse for Russia, China is now selling those jets and other advanced weaponry around the globe, undercutting Russia in that space. And oh BTW, China is also nearing completion of its first aircraft carrier. Linky to the current state of China's military extension capabilities. They got a lot of money now. They also build their own super computers. Actually, they built the world's fastest super computer.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 8, 2010 -> 12:00 PM) So that's how they'll get it through. I was really hoping for a line in the sand on this one. From what I can tell, there is no sand and there will never be any lines drawn as far as government spending is concerned. Both parties want to spend ridiculous amounts of money, just on different things. To compromise, they merely agree to all the spending.

Obama signs on to Bush tax cuts

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 3, 2010 -> 11:35 AM) Julian Assange fired from IT job at the Pentagon. haha

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Dec 1, 2010 -> 03:45 PM) What the Founders Wanted! :facepalm: His plan makes perfect sense. However, stipulations had to be made on what exactly constituted owning land; can't just have people buying a few feet and voting. Unfortunately, the estimated value of Mr.Judson Phillips' estate didn't qualify to our high standards and he will not be voting either. Just like George Washington would have wanted.