Great article in this mornings Merc regarding Diridon Station and our future “Grand Central Station West.” I’d like to think of Diridon as our future “St. Pancras International Train Station” in London:
Just plain awesome! What would enhance the area, and downtown as a whole, even more would be a Major League Ballpark for the A’s just south of Diridon. Perhaps it’s not to late to convince the Giants, MLB and Lew Wolff that the Diridon site is far superior to any “on the county line” Fremont site; thus helping the Giants (T-Rights compensation), MLB (more revenue from A’s) and San Jose downtown development. If not baseball downtown, NBA at The Tank will work. In closing, the future of our downtown became a lot brighter over the course of two weeks. Now, if we could only get rid of the drunks, thugs, and Blanca Alvarado…
With regard to the Big 3 bailout…Why don’t the workers and their unions buy a controlling interest in their companies? Add to that, the government would grant the companies a two year “tax holiday.” If they can’t make it after that, they probably deserve to fail.
also: Please remember, to not burn wood in your fireplace, or you might be turned in to the “smoke police” by one of your neighbors.
Has the city of San Jose stopped maintaining street lights? I just drove a few miles down one of the boulevards and stopped counting when I reached 30 street lights not working. In some places, every third light was out. When the light is out in our neighborhood I have no problem calling the city’s hot line to report the outage. For the major boulevards, the city needs to do a better job inspecting the lights on a regular basis.
According to EDD, as reported in the Murky News (buried on the back page, I might add), Silicon Valley UNemployment jumped from 4.9% last year to 6.9% this year. At the same time, government ADDED 3,700 jobs! There’s something terribly wrong with a growth in govt. jobs in down times.
Dale,
If they actually did something as sensible as paying off consumer debt, the wealthy, greedy leaches in these huge corporations wouldn’t be able to keep sucking us all dry!
Allowing you to borrow money and expecting you to pay back what you borrow does not seem leech-like or greedy to me. What seems greedy is a consumer who irresponsbily racks up mountains of credit card and other consumer debt with little to no ability to pay it back, and then feels jilted when the government fails to pay off their debts for the goods and services they have already enjoyed.
Stop whining about how big bad business is taking advantage of the poor little consumer. You have a choice as a consumer, and the choice is simple. Buy only what you can afford, and borrow only when absolutely neccessary and you have a reasonable expectation you will be able to pay it back. Otherwise, you are just another deadbeat looking to enjoy the fruits of success without having done anything to earn it.
Don’t get me wrong, they shouldn’t have bailed out the financial institutions either. It is their fault for backing these horrible loans in the first place. But then again, they at least should get some credit (no pun intended) for making the assumption that those who borrow money have the self-respect and character to pay it back.
#11- Mark G.,
For once we actually agree on something, and that something is living within your means! Wow! But I don’t think bailing out irresponsible corporations is the answer either. They gave out loans to people knowing full well they couldn’t repay the loans. They kept extending credit to people they knew couldn’t pay it either. They raised APR rates on credit cards customers, not because people weren’t paying their bills on time, they did it to make up for the losers that didn’t, and to recoup losses for bad loans. And that was done out of pure greed.
Many responsible, hard working people have lost their jobs, unemployment benefits aren’t enough, and finding another job these days is tough. Many small businesses, as well as big businesses have gone under as a direct result of bad loans, and greedy lenders. I don’t think every person who charged things, or took out loans defaulted on purpose.
Shit happens and if the government is going to rescue anyone, I think it should be the hard working tax payer, not the rich, greedy leaches flying in on private jets, or taking vacations care of we tax payers. Throwing good money after bad, and not have any over sight are just two of the reasons we are in this mess in the first place. The way things have been done needs to change, and hopefully President Elect Obama and his Cabinet can make the necessary changes we need.
I almost had a heart attack when I read your post indicating we agree on something. Welcome to the side of right and truthiness! (thank you Stephen Colbert for such a great word)
Sure, not all defaults are by deadbeat consumers, however while they may not have all gotten into debt with the intent to not pay, there is an undeniable perception of entitlement that is pervasive in American society these days, a perception that has helped to feed this incredible credit crisis. Long gone are the days when you put in a hard days work, saved up your money, and bought something you could afford. 100% financing of cars, homes and anything else you can get your hands on has fed this misplaced sense of greed and need for status elevation in the average consumer. And before you blame corporations entirely for selling these loans, recognize that they sold these products/loans because there was a large demand for it by the consumer base. Is it the gun store shop that is responsible for the shooting death if it is a gun they sold that caused the injury? (loaded question I know, again, no pun intended…)
Yeah, I know life happens, and these are tough times for everyone. But character is not built on how you handle things in the good times, rather it is how your carry yourself and survive in the bad. Keeping up with the Jones’ and overextending yourself in the good times, only to walk away from your debts because life dealt you a wake-up call of a hand, is irresponsbile and a piss-poor reflection of the values of our society today.
I say let the tenants of our free market society reign. No one deserves a bailout. Not industry, not consumers, and especially not government. Let the chips fall where they may and we will all suffer the consequences for our actions together. The strong will survive, and the weak will find another way to sponge off the rest of us.
The new Roosevelt Community Center on Santa Clara Street and 20th Street is set to open soon. I believe on Dec 13th. There will be activities and some great art done for that place. Would love to hear from the SanJoseInside community about it…
Kathleen,
Lighten up a little. “Finding another job these days is tough.” Watch the people get hired quick at VTA/BART in north San Jose!Piece of cake. Lighten up Kathleen,Government will grow in San Jose, that`s the real world,more government, more taxes here!
#14- Mark G.,
Take a deep breath, we agree again! I’m not the liberal you think I am. I grew up back east with parents who worked very hard for everything they had, and they brought us up to do the same. My father served in the military and fought in three wars. My Mother immigrated here from Germany with my two half sisters, and due to this we grew up with a great sense of love for this country. Among many other things, we were taught the meaning of hard work, the meaning of a buck, and how to save for a rainy day. We were taught to be integrity ridden enough to pay our debts, and that our word was our bond.
I certainly could agree with you that there is a sense of entitlement, and an attitude that living beyond one’s means is acceptable these days. Many parents hand everything to their kids so they don’t get the concept of self-respect, and a sense of personal achievement when one works for that car, trip, or whatever else they want.
I couldn’t agree with you more that letting the chips fall where they may is the way to go. I think there is enough blame to go around for how and why we got into this mess. My hope is that we learn from this and move forward in a more fiscally responsible way. Happy Thanksgiving Mark G.
Tony “D”
Does the “D” stand for Denial? Be careful Tony, it`s not time to be so positive,better to be realistic.The enonomy is in very bad shape.Be careful.
Who’s the design team that upgraded the interior of Paek Center Plaza? Jeez, great landscaping/water feature/enlivening of previous brudtalist space. AND it ped-connects to Plaza Park. Wonderful urban space recovery. Well done!
Greg perry oh greg perry….. I thought the bart measure couldn’t get 68% of the provisional and absentee votes. You were correct, it got 73%
Great article in this mornings Merc regarding Diridon Station and our future “Grand Central Station West.” I’d like to think of Diridon as our future “St. Pancras International Train Station” in London:
http://www.stpancras.com
Just plain awesome! What would enhance the area, and downtown as a whole, even more would be a Major League Ballpark for the A’s just south of Diridon. Perhaps it’s not to late to convince the Giants, MLB and Lew Wolff that the Diridon site is far superior to any “on the county line” Fremont site; thus helping the Giants (T-Rights compensation), MLB (more revenue from A’s) and San Jose downtown development. If not baseball downtown, NBA at The Tank will work. In closing, the future of our downtown became a lot brighter over the course of two weeks. Now, if we could only get rid of the drunks, thugs, and Blanca Alvarado…
With regard to the Big 3 bailout…Why don’t the workers and their unions buy a controlling interest in their companies? Add to that, the government would grant the companies a two year “tax holiday.” If they can’t make it after that, they probably deserve to fail.
also: Please remember, to not burn wood in your fireplace, or you might be turned in to the “smoke police” by one of your neighbors.
Pete Campbell
Has the city of San Jose stopped maintaining street lights? I just drove a few miles down one of the boulevards and stopped counting when I reached 30 street lights not working. In some places, every third light was out. When the light is out in our neighborhood I have no problem calling the city’s hot line to report the outage. For the major boulevards, the city needs to do a better job inspecting the lights on a regular basis.
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
Instead of bailing out the flawed financial institutions, why didn’t we just pay off all consumer debt?
The total Wall Street bailout is $2.56 trillion (and likely to approach $5 trillion).
Source:
http://www.infowars.net/articles/october2008/151008Bailout_figures.htm
===============
The total consumer debt is $2.58 trillion.
Source:
http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g19/current/
According to EDD, as reported in the Murky News (buried on the back page, I might add), Silicon Valley UNemployment jumped from 4.9% last year to 6.9% this year. At the same time, government ADDED 3,700 jobs! There’s something terribly wrong with a growth in govt. jobs in down times.
Dale,
If they actually did something as sensible as paying off consumer debt, the wealthy, greedy leaches in these huge corporations wouldn’t be able to keep sucking us all dry!
2 – I realize this is a silly question, but just how is any of this going to be paid for?
4 – The city has intentionally reduced the number of street lights that are turned on due to budget cuts. I am not making this up.
May be our California State Legislators ought to join this group:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27873920
8:
“…wealthy, greedy leeaches sucking us dry”
Allowing you to borrow money and expecting you to pay back what you borrow does not seem leech-like or greedy to me. What seems greedy is a consumer who irresponsbily racks up mountains of credit card and other consumer debt with little to no ability to pay it back, and then feels jilted when the government fails to pay off their debts for the goods and services they have already enjoyed.
Stop whining about how big bad business is taking advantage of the poor little consumer. You have a choice as a consumer, and the choice is simple. Buy only what you can afford, and borrow only when absolutely neccessary and you have a reasonable expectation you will be able to pay it back. Otherwise, you are just another deadbeat looking to enjoy the fruits of success without having done anything to earn it.
Don’t get me wrong, they shouldn’t have bailed out the financial institutions either. It is their fault for backing these horrible loans in the first place. But then again, they at least should get some credit (no pun intended) for making the assumption that those who borrow money have the self-respect and character to pay it back.
I know, what a crazy idea….
#11- Mark G.,
For once we actually agree on something, and that something is living within your means! Wow! But I don’t think bailing out irresponsible corporations is the answer either. They gave out loans to people knowing full well they couldn’t repay the loans. They kept extending credit to people they knew couldn’t pay it either. They raised APR rates on credit cards customers, not because people weren’t paying their bills on time, they did it to make up for the losers that didn’t, and to recoup losses for bad loans. And that was done out of pure greed.
Many responsible, hard working people have lost their jobs, unemployment benefits aren’t enough, and finding another job these days is tough. Many small businesses, as well as big businesses have gone under as a direct result of bad loans, and greedy lenders. I don’t think every person who charged things, or took out loans defaulted on purpose.
Shit happens and if the government is going to rescue anyone, I think it should be the hard working tax payer, not the rich, greedy leaches flying in on private jets, or taking vacations care of we tax payers. Throwing good money after bad, and not have any over sight are just two of the reasons we are in this mess in the first place. The way things have been done needs to change, and hopefully President Elect Obama and his Cabinet can make the necessary changes we need.
JMO,
This should bring a smile to your face. Happy Thanksgiving!
http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_11057845
I almost had a heart attack when I read your post indicating we agree on something. Welcome to the side of right and truthiness! (thank you Stephen Colbert for such a great word)
Sure, not all defaults are by deadbeat consumers, however while they may not have all gotten into debt with the intent to not pay, there is an undeniable perception of entitlement that is pervasive in American society these days, a perception that has helped to feed this incredible credit crisis. Long gone are the days when you put in a hard days work, saved up your money, and bought something you could afford. 100% financing of cars, homes and anything else you can get your hands on has fed this misplaced sense of greed and need for status elevation in the average consumer. And before you blame corporations entirely for selling these loans, recognize that they sold these products/loans because there was a large demand for it by the consumer base. Is it the gun store shop that is responsible for the shooting death if it is a gun they sold that caused the injury? (loaded question I know, again, no pun intended…)
Yeah, I know life happens, and these are tough times for everyone. But character is not built on how you handle things in the good times, rather it is how your carry yourself and survive in the bad. Keeping up with the Jones’ and overextending yourself in the good times, only to walk away from your debts because life dealt you a wake-up call of a hand, is irresponsbile and a piss-poor reflection of the values of our society today.
I say let the tenants of our free market society reign. No one deserves a bailout. Not industry, not consumers, and especially not government. Let the chips fall where they may and we will all suffer the consequences for our actions together. The strong will survive, and the weak will find another way to sponge off the rest of us.
The new Roosevelt Community Center on Santa Clara Street and 20th Street is set to open soon. I believe on Dec 13th. There will be activities and some great art done for that place. Would love to hear from the SanJoseInside community about it…
Why do we need to bail out the auto industry again?
http://info.detnews.com/video/index.cfm?id=1189
Kathleen,
Lighten up a little. “Finding another job these days is tough.” Watch the people get hired quick at VTA/BART in north San Jose!Piece of cake. Lighten up Kathleen,Government will grow in San Jose, that`s the real world,more government, more taxes here!
15 – Will there be any money for equipment and staff?
#14- Mark G.,
I’m not the liberal you think I am. I grew up back east with parents who worked very hard for everything they had, and they brought us up to do the same. My father served in the military and fought in three wars. My Mother immigrated here from Germany with my two half sisters, and due to this we grew up with a great sense of love for this country. Among many other things, we were taught the meaning of hard work, the meaning of a buck, and how to save for a rainy day. We were taught to be integrity ridden enough to pay our debts, and that our word was our bond.
Take a deep breath, we agree again!
I certainly could agree with you that there is a sense of entitlement, and an attitude that living beyond one’s means is acceptable these days. Many parents hand everything to their kids so they don’t get the concept of self-respect, and a sense of personal achievement when one works for that car, trip, or whatever else they want.
I couldn’t agree with you more that letting the chips fall where they may is the way to go. I think there is enough blame to go around for how and why we got into this mess. My hope is that we learn from this and move forward in a more fiscally responsible way. Happy Thanksgiving Mark G.
#17-Richard Zappelli,
Happy Thanksgiving!
Tony “D”
Does the “D” stand for Denial? Be careful Tony, it`s not time to be so positive,better to be realistic.The enonomy is in very bad shape.Be careful.
Who’s the design team that upgraded the interior of Paek Center Plaza? Jeez, great landscaping/water feature/enlivening of previous brudtalist space. AND it ped-connects to Plaza Park. Wonderful urban space recovery. Well done!