US Politics

utdalltheway

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Coming from Germany these numbers sound absolutely insane. I think for most universities you pay about €300 per semester and about half of that is so you get free public transfer in your federal state. What's also lost in the "well if you finish and get a job you earn 200k" argument is that not everyone gets one of those jobs. Sometimes people (or their relatives) get sick, sometimes they fail, sometimes they realize that they picked the wrong subject to study.
But.....her emails!!!!
 

do.ob

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What do you reckon the total cost was a semester?
That's impossible to say. For example you could pick a university close to home and stay with your parents to save rent and leech food. Whether you need to buy books and how much they cost of course depends on the professor who teaches a particular module.

And of course there is "bafög", which are state subsidised loans offered to people without wealthy parents.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Student_financial_aid_(Germany)
 
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Florida Man

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Well I see your frustration is creeping in becuase you cant fight statistics. Still waiting for a statistically backed reply to how you cant pay of 38k with a 50k starting salary. Take your time I'm waiting. I cant debate this with you any further till you speak with supporting numbers and not "your reading comprehension sucks".
You didn’t even back up your assertion about paying off $37k with $50k. Show me the payment plans. Factor in interests. Account for life events. Increasing cost of living. You’re the one making the claim so go on and prove it. Mr “platform to spout your absurd views”. And your reading comprehension does suck. You’ve put words into my mouth on at least five occasions. There’s some stats for you.
 

Florida Man

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It made a reference to lazy rivers and I thought it was for sure referring to my alma mater (UCF) because they are building one.

Lots of good info in there. Not gonna pick it apart and comment on it all but it makes sense overall. Overspending on nonessentials. Lack of regulation because it’s treated in such a “free market” way.

And I thought this part was funny.
No meaningful data exist on the quality of universities globally.
So much for overwhelming evidence yet again by shamans.
 

Florida Man

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My textbooks were more than that.
Man don’t even get me started on those. You literally can’t do some courses because it requires a payment gateway for textbooks despite the sheer amount of research you can do outside the textbook. They’re like paid for mobile games but with more steps.
 

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Man don’t even get me started on those. You literally can’t do some courses because it requires a payment gateway for textbooks despite the sheer amount of research you can do outside the textbook. They’re like paid for mobile games but with more steps.

Disgusting how much of a racket there is in textbooks. Professors are complicit too. Made me so angry when I was at college.
 

Lj82

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I'm currently attending graduate school in California, and the cost of living here is astounding to me. I'm on full scholarship by my employer, so I don't fret about student loan. I've worked for several years and has a comfortable income. My company also gives me stipend on top of my pay while I'm here. But even with my income, I'm finding the cost of living stifling. Childcare cost, food, and especially healthcare and rent are insanely high. I always wonder how the average American can handle paying off student loan while trying to build a career and start a family here.
 

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Man don’t even get me started on those. You literally can’t do some courses because it requires a payment gateway for textbooks despite the sheer amount of research you can do outside the textbook. They’re like paid for mobile games but with more steps.
Disgusting how much of a racket there is in textbooks. Professors are complicit too. Made me so angry when I was at college.
Then you go to sell back a book you paid $150 for and they give you $5, then turn around and sell it again for $80.
I always wonder how the average American can handle paying off student loan while trying to build a career and start a family here.
@shamans has it figured out, obviously.
 

van der star

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Coming from Germany these numbers sound absolutely insane. I think for most universities you pay about €300 per semester and about half of that is so you get free public transfer in your federal state.
Here in Italy, you pay between 150-3,000 euros, depending on your family's income. And on top of that, pretty much everyone is eligible for scholarships that are worth up to 4,000 euros.
 

do.ob

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Disgusting how much of a racket there is in textbooks. Professors are complicit too. Made me so angry when I was at college.
So that's a thing, too? As far as I know (and I haven't heard anything to the contrary) over here lecturers go through their script (ppt) and upload the slides to the university network, for students to download (free) them. These lectures can be based on books which sometimes are written by the lecturer themselves, but since "if it wasn't covered during the lecture I won't ask you about it during exams" seems to be a golden rule you can still decide for yourself which books you actually want/need to buy and where the script/library are enough to get you through.

Since I've learned in another thread that stuff like youth football(soccer) is a massive racket as well: is life really that bleak, being priced out of sports and education, for kids/young adults from a poor background?
 
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Florida Man

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So that's a thing, too? As far as I know (and I haven't heard anything to the contrary) over here lecturers go through their script (ppt) and upload the slides to the university network, for students to download (free) them. These lectures can be based on books which sometimes are written by the lecturer themselves, but since "if it wasn't covered during the lecture I won't ask you about it during exams" seems to be a golden rule you can still decide for yourself which books you actually want/need to buy and where the script/library are enough to get you through.

Since I've learned in another thread that stuff like youth football(soccer) is a massive racket as well: is life really that bleak, being priced out of sports and education, for kids/young adults from a poor background?
My experience, it’s more typical that professors do what you said. But I’ve had courses that absolutely requires brand new book purchases for their online access code for the asinine modules you’re supposed to do.

Sports wise, that’s the reality here. Even the most working class sport here (basketball) is slowly being priced out for the elite travel teams similarly to how soccer is done here.
 

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A newbie from Norway, @Soph , had this to share...

If you want to have more comparisons in the thread than between US and Germany, I can describe how it works in Norway. There are some differences between different universities, so I'll describe mine, but the differences are negligible.

Tuition is $60 per semester, so $120 per year. This covers the education (so not housing, books, food and similar stuff), mental health services (access to professional psychologists, but also help/groups for things like stress regarding exams or troubles fitting in socially). Counselling regarding study techniques, career options etc is also free. You get access to cheaper dental services and doctors (though healthcare costs are capped at $260 per year, with some exceptions, for everyone in Norway). STD tests, contraceptives and counseling regarding pregnancy and/or abortion are all free. People with financial difficulties can apply for financial aid for costs not covered by the state.

Public transportation is 40 % cheaper for students, and they offer access to a bunch of gyms at pretty reasonable prices. The biggest ones include swimming pools etc. They offer childcare, but I don't know how the costs compare to the public option. Student housing is available for pretty reasonable prices compared to the housing market, but it's far from cheap. The spots are limited, and typically reserved for students coming from out of town.

Students are eligible for a yearly loan of $13 000, where 40 % will be converted to a stipend (except if you live with your parents) as long as you pass your classes (if you pass half your classes 20 % will be converted, etc). If you have income exceeding $20 000, or wealth exceeding $50 000, the amount that can be converted to a stipend will be scaled down. If you have care for children below the age of 16, you're eligible for an extra stipend of $185/month per kid for the first two, and $110/month for each kid after that. This is also dependent on income and wealth.

You don't start paying back or accrue interest before your education is done, and you can postpone payment for up to three years by six months at the time (you can do this at any time and for any reason), but you will accrue interest. You can apply for removing the interest part if you have low income due to illness, unemployment, military service, prison time, childbirth etc. The interest rate is about 1 percentage point lower than for a mortgage, it's 2.4 % right now.
 

Siorac

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Man don’t even get me started on those. You literally can’t do some courses because it requires a payment gateway for textbooks despite the sheer amount of research you can do outside the textbook. They’re like paid for mobile games but with more steps.
Surely that should be illegal?

Around here if you pass the exams and do the mandatory coursework then it doesn't matter what textbooks you use or if you don't use them at all. That is the only sensible way.
 

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Surely that should be illegal?

Around here if you pass the exams and do the mandatory coursework then it doesn't matter what textbooks you use or if you don't use them at all. That is the only sensible way.
If you're required to quote from the textbook in the rubric for the assignments, then you've gotta have it.

Also, I don't remember having any classes where professors had a "only what's covered in class will be on assessments" policy like what @do.ob mentioned. Our essays and tests, which were all written essays anyway after my freshman year, all included material from the books we were told to purchase in the course syllabi. If you didn't have them and do the reading outside of class, you'd be at a serious disadvantage in terms of passing the class.
 

freeurmind

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In pre-med, there was a guy who worked part time at Kinkos who used to copy and print out textbooks as manuscripts for a fraction of the fee. So around 10 of us would put money together, buy a set of all the needed books and then for about 10 bucks extra per book you'd get everything you need. Illegal of course but for many the only way to afford all the books. By the time I got to med school, you could get most if not all of the books online.
 

Florida Man

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Surely that should be illegal?

Around here if you pass the exams and do the mandatory coursework then it doesn't matter what textbooks you use or if you don't use them at all. That is the only sensible way.
Many exploitive practices here should be illegal but we’re dealing with populations that prioritize things like guns, abortion, and their own well being (ie: I have a good job and the economy is doing “well” so why should I care?). More people need to get informed, get active, and participate in reforming the lawmakers and laws.
 

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Police chief from From red Texas

Just two days after a Houston police sergeant was fatally shot in the line of duty while responding to a domestic violence call, Chief Art Acevedo is once again challenging lawmakers to pass key legislation that would bar abusers from owning a firearm.

“I don’t want to hear about how much they support law enforcement,” Acevedo told reporters Monday morning outside the medical examiner’s office before police escorted Sgt. Christopher Brewster’s body. “I don’t want to hear about how much they care about the sanctity of lives,” Acevedo said.

He said legislators have failed to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act, which provides funding and grants for domestic abuse programs, due to pressure from the National Rifle Association, which “doesn’t like the fact that we want to take firearms out of the hands of boyfriends that abuse girlfriends.”

“And who killed our sergeant? A boyfriend abusing his girlfriend,” Acevedo said. “So you’re either here for women and children and our daughters and our sisters and our aunts or you’re here for the NRA.”


“Make up your minds,” he added.

Acevedo called out by name Sens. Mitch McConnell, Ted Cruz and John Cornyn; the latter of which Acevedo jousted with last week on Twitter after a press conference about the Violence Against Women Act.
https://www.chron.com/news/houston-...gislators-after-Houston-sergeant-14892837.php
 

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/grap...apers/afghanistan-war-confidential-documents/

Bombshell. Not.
How the feck anyone, with a minimum knowledge of history, thought they could win a war in Afghanistan is beyond me.
You could win a limited conflict, with limited goals. The country would probably be a total shitshow after, but you could call it a 'win' if you set the goals low enough and just stuck to them. But what the papers reveal is the lack of a realistic strategy at any point, and really a lack of understanding of the country.
 

Drifter

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Pelosi Admits She KNEW Bush Was Lying About Iraq


Establishment ladies and gentlemen. Wonder if she prays for the dead.
 

do.ob

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Is there an actual serious antisemitism problem at US campuses or is this political lobbyism?
 

Adisa

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Is there an actual serious antisemitism problem at US campuses or is this political lobbyism?
It's difficult to judge. Criticism of Israel has been successfully miscontrued as antisemitism.
 

Florida Man

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Is there an actual serious antisemitism problem at US campuses or is this political lobbyism?
It's primarily from far right and Trump supporters. Look who shot the synagogue in Pittsburgh.

Boycotting Israel is a whole different matter and only the mentally limited will conflate it with "antisemitism". In fact, semites aren't even limited to Jewish people so anyone making it purely about Jewish is probably mentally limited too.
 

Synco

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It's primarily from far right and Trump supporters. Look who shot the synagogue in Pittsburgh.

Boycotting Israel is a whole different matter and only the mentally limited will conflate it with "antisemitism". In fact, semites aren't even limited to Jewish people so anyone making it purely about Jewish is probably mentally limited too.
The term "antisemitism" has never been a neutral term for hostility towards "Semites" (a nonsensical category in itself). For all I know, it originated as a positive self-designation of German anti-Jewish zealots in the 19th century. So it has always been a term exclusively about hostility towards Jews (meant either positively or critically), and that's really the only context in which it makes sense to use it.

Being unaware of the term's history is one thing, but calling those who use it correctly "probably mentally limited" on that basis doesn't look good.
 

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This coming just a few days after Trump telling a room full of Jewish voters they "Weren't very nice people"

Irony is dead.
 

Florida Man

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The term "antisemitism" has never been a neutral term for hostility towards "Semites" (a nonsensical category in itself). For all I know, it originated as a positive self-designation of German anti-Jewish zealots in the 19th century. So it has always been a term exclusively about hostility towards Jews (meant either positively or critically), and that's really the only context in which it makes sense to use it.

Being unaware of the term's history is one thing, but calling those who use it correctly "probably mentally limited" on that basis doesn't look good.
But Nazis are mentally limited so my point still stands.
 

Florida Man

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I was chatting with my uber Republican dad today and I found out he considered moving to Spain if he was to relocate again even. Pretty ironic considering Spain has a socialist majority in government.
 

Synco

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But Nazis are mentally limited so my point still stands.
Hm, you said "anyone making it [antisemitism] purely about Jewish is probably mentally limited", because "semites aren't even limited to Jewish people". Which sounds like a whole different point to me, as "anyone" practically means everyone today, not just Nazis (who mostly aren't using the term in its old meaning anymore since the exposure of the Holocaust).