#which means 2 more years worth of loans

[elprupneerg]

zoned out staring at a spreadsheet for like 40 minutes without realizing it. bad news is that now its 3:30am and rip my sleep schedule. good news is that if the student loan forgiveness goes through, i might be able to pay off my student loans around 2 years earlier than my current projections

[so-much-for-subtlety]

The thing that gets me so worked up about universal healthcare is how people say that it will be so expensive for the tax payer.

This is long rant warning so I added a break lol.

The TLDR is that even in a low tax state like Florida, someone making 50k a year will have an effective rate of of 32% (for taxes, healthcare, costs for an undergraduate degree).

Someone making 50k a year in a 'high tax' country like New Zealand has an effective rate of 21% (for taxes, healthcare, costs for an undergraduate degree).

For an American and a Kiwi with the same salary of $50k, if they have the same disposable income, the Kiwi will be able to save an extra $75,000 over 10 years that they can use for a downpayment on a home to further build wealth.

Low tax states just have the costs shuffled to other places, you end up paying a LOT more for the same services.

Here's a comparison of someone who makes $50,000 a year in New Zealand and Florida (I chose Florida as an extreme example because they have 0% state tax rate) and each person makes $15,000 worth of purchases that are taxable.

New Zealand

$7,658 in combined income taxes and levies

$2,250 in taxes on $15k of purchases (15% sales tax)

Total of $9,908 - an effective total rate of 19.8% paid to taxes and purchases and healthcare

Florida

$7,945 in combined taxes (federal taxes, social security, medicaid etc)

$1,050 in taxes on $15k of purchases (7% sales tax)

$1,700 average annual health insurance premium for Florida

$2,060 average annual health insurance deductible for Florida

Total of $12,755 - an effective total rate of 25.5% paid to taxes and purchases and healthcare

Even in a low tax state, you're already have less take-home income than someone with the same salary in New Zealand.

But

... in New Zealand with your taxes you're also getting public education. It's not completely free, but costs are fixed, and you get one year of your undergraduate free, so for example a Bachelor of Arts would cost a total of $13,548 (USD $8,347)

If you can't pay that upfront, you can get a 0% loan from the government, which you don't need to start paying off until you earn at least $23k per year. For someone making $50k that would be an extra 6.5% deducted from your income ($270/month) until the loan is paid off (which would be 2 years and 8 months).

In Florida the average student loan debt is 25k and if you're making the same payments as someone in NZ ($270/month) then you'll be paying that off for 11 years. [Note: I believe that some private loan interest rates go as high as 15%].

Bachelor of Arts in NZ $13,548, paid off over ~2.7 years.

Bachelor of Arts in Florida $35,539, paid off over ~11 years.

So lets look at effective payments over 11 years (for simplicity salary stays at 50k).

New Zealand works out to be 21% effective rate over 11 years (including taxes, healthcare, and undergraduate degree).

Florida works out to be 32% effective rate over 11 years (including taxes, healthcare, and an undergraduate degree) - you're paying 52% more!

That means someone with the same income will effectively be able to save an additional $5,000 per year over 11 years, if they invest that extra amount and get a 5% return, the New Zealander will have savings of about $75k which they can use for downpayment for a home etc.

In conclusion, even though it may seem like you're getting a good deal in a low tax state like Florida, you end up paying soooo much more in healthcare and education costs compared to a country where taxes are a little higher, but you get public healthcare and education.

Why is the U.S. so expensive? Well once place to look is defense, intelligence, and police. In the United States this costs on average $3,700 per person. New Zealand spends $1,600 per person (USD ~1,000).

[penelopelima]

A while back I went on a rant about how the US was complicit with Franco's fascist regime in Spain and how the tale of Spain's neutrality during WWII benefited the allied countries economically and strategically. President Truman denounced the fascist dictatorship publically, while negociating with Franco in secret to establish military bases on our ground, not even five years after the end of the war (of which, by the way, the US claims to be the saviours of democracy and victors against fascism).

Here's an excerpt of a poem by Rafael Alberti, who at the time was exiled to escape imprisonment and death at the hands of the regime.

Juan Panadero against the sellers and buyers of Spain 1 Secret revelations: Blue Spain* is no longer worth even the edge of two pesetas. 2 "Ah, what a yellow business! I am now Truman's Ferrol** and not El Caudillo's*** Ferrol." 3 Ah, Ferrol, Ferrol, Ferrol! over your sea, the dollar— I mean, the sun rises. 4 Who will explain such a mistery? Facing the sun****, do I realize that this sun has the same face, 5 that the sovereign blue of the shirts glitters with northamerican gold, 6 that rather than the Falange are the new bankers, the ones counting bright stars. 7 And please, stop counting now. For all accounts, nothing's left for Spain to count, but tears. 8 Who flies already across her skies? Who marches along her roads? Who scratches her sea with their wake? 9 Who, from the north to the south ties her? who from the east to the west wrings her? who her deep skin tears? 10 Her buyers arrived. Blood wolves, they shared one face with her sellers. 11 The same butcher's howl, the same mourning claws to squeeze her money out. 12 "Here are my wonders." And the blue wolf kneeled and licked the dust from the ground. 13 With his tongue and not his hand, took the money, and for dust was the hispanic bull***** sold. 14 Bull, of such a strong start! Good bull for the war and in the war, to give him death! 15 Bull, for the slaughterhouse! But no spaniard or foreigner can slit that bull open. 16 Bull of courage! Here, little Spanish bull, your time is about to come! 17 You are not in this world on your own. the tide is rising within you, the outer waves are reaching you. 18 Awake are they, are we: your children who remained, and those of us who were forced to flee.

*: Blue is used throughout the poem to represent the Falange, the fascist political party that supported Franco. Blue was the colour of their uniforms' shirts.

**: Ferrol was one of the cities, along with Mahón, Cartagena, Cádiz and Santander, whose seaports interested president Truman so much, that he loaned Franco credits valued in hundreds of millions of dollars in exchange for their military control. All while maintaining the official posturing of condemnation of the regime.

***: El Caudillo (commander) was one of the titles of Franco during his dictatorship.

****: "Facing the sun" (cara al sol) is the hymn of the Falange. This whole strophe is a play on the word, equating the "sun" of fascism with the "sun" of capitalism.

*****: The bull is used throughout the poem as a symbol of the subjugated spirit and freedom of the people of Spain. The rest of the poem is a call to resistance for all those who remained in Spain and those who were forced to leave to save their lives. Such resistance was alive in the time, but met with extreme violence and repression.

The translation is mine and very rushed, and I was more worried over preserving the content than the form of the poem, which is written in a deceptively simple style with rich, painterly metaphors and extremely precise consonant rhyming pattern.

However, this is probably the first translation of this text (other works by the poet have been translated), or any of this book (Coplas de Juan Panadero) into English, since the whole of it is an ode to anti-imperialism and a brutal satire of capitalism and fascism.

[uraandri]

you may have seen me clowning on some ''new'' serbian words that were ''invented'' several days ago and i've been doing it in serbian so i thought i might explain all of this in english. i just need to say that this isn't the serbian goverment or any other governing body over serbian language inventing new words, this was a competition lead by the serbian diaspora that anybody who speaks the language could participate in. more under the cut cause this is gonna be long

ok so the whole situation started when mala biblioteka, a serbian library from london, decided to hold a competition for the most beautiful new serbian word; the idea was to invent new words which would replace loan words, primarily from the english language as a way to preserve the serbian language, and also to rejuvenate it by just inventing completely new words. the rules set for this competition were: 1. the word must not be recorded in any serbian dictionary; 2. it can bear resemblance to words in other slavic languages; 3. it cannot be used to replace an already existing serbian word or any other loan word that is already widely accepted. i need you to understand, as i will show you, that most of these words, in some way, break the last criteria. i also need you to understand that they wrote ''widely accepted (adjusted)'' loan words. now, idk about other languages, but the serbian grammar clearly states that the words put in brackets can replace the words that come before the brackets in an equal manner. however, no matter what language, we can all agree that accepted and adjusted do not mean the same thing. it's also a stupid thing to write given that the word šrafciger (screw driver) is a widely accepted german loan word that wasn't adjusted to fit the serbian language like, at all. if you were to pronounce it with a german accent, it would sound very similar to the german word for screw driver. because we pretty much only changed the spelling. and that's just one example of idk, several hundread other words that do the same thing? we have loan words from like 15 other languages at least but people usually only have a problem with the english loan words that entered the lexicon in the last 70 or so years. sometimes it's for a good reason and i won't get into that here but i can assure you that most of the words in this competition were not a part of that problem. i'm gonna focus only on the third rule cause checking to see if any of these really weren't recorded in some serbian dictionary is impossible, at least for me, but we'll assume that all of these are, in fact, completely new words.

also these people got money for clowning this hard. first prize was 600 euros, second 400, and third 200 euros.

let's start with the first prize: duhoklonuće as a replacement for the word depresija (depression). now. this words breaks the third rule pretty clearly as depression is: 1. a medical term denoting an illness and 2. pretty fucking widely used and accepted. not only that but the word duhoklonuće combines the words duh (spirit) and klonuće (languishing, lack of vitality). the person who submitted it (thus the person who won 600 fucking euros) explained that this word better explaines the core of the illness itself - depression, as for them it's just a lack of vitality of the spirit. if that doesn't tell you what the state of mental health is in serbia, idk what does. it's pretty fucking bleak.

prize number 2: prohujak, form the verb prohujati (to pass or blow by), to replace the word flešbek (flash back). the logic was that flash back means a moment that has already passed but has a sudden reemergance in a person's consciousness so prohujak would be an adequate replacement. it's not because the word only denotes the passing by part of the definition, and not the reemerging part but i don't think these clowns care all that much. it doesn't brake the third requirement but like. is it worth it? no.

prize number 3: prikačica. this one pisses me off to no end because the already existing serbian word it replaces is so wide spread that you kinda have to be brain dead not to know about it. it's supposed to replace the word atačment (attachment), which is often used to denote the, well, attachment you send in an email. except, there already is an exsisting serbian word, widely used not only in the email context, and that word is prilog. when you use google translate to translate the word prilog from serbian to english, do you know which word you get? that's right, attachment. fuck's sake people. prilog means something that goes with something else. it can mean an adverb, a side dish, a contribution, whatever the fuck you want, including the attacment you attach when sending an email. dumb cunts

okay, for all other words, all equaly idiotic with some exceptions, i'll put what words they were deduced from in the brackets in english directly, otherwise we will be here all day, then what they are supposed to replace and then how they fail at that task. not all of these break the third rule but that's just because we use a fraze and not a single word to express what the new word is trying to express. sounds complicated but here:

zascenak (compound; behind the scenes) - instead of bekstejdž (back stage); you could just use the fraze iza kulisa (behind the curtains/stage); also scena (scene) is another loan word from english. great job guys

beznemož (compound; without can't) - instead of mast hev (must have); you could just say nužnost or neophodnost (necessity) or idk any other way the serbian language expresses necessity, which all depend on the context

zasutravanje (compound; for tomorrow) - instead of prokrastinacija (procrastination); again, odugovlačenje exists and is translated as procrastination, stalling, protraction

opazica (from to notice) - instead of komentar (comment); idk when opaska (remark, comment, thought) stopped existing but apparently it did. notice how simmilar they look? yeah, that's because they come from the same fucking verb

uzrenje (???? no clue) - instead of introspekcija (introspection); some people would say samoposmatranje (self observation) but introspection is different from self observation, but then you could just say unutrašnje posmatranje (internal observation). which is what we already do. these are all well established terms in serbian language, especially in serbian scientific literature

saplačnik (compund; with one who cries) - this one gets 10 points for not replacing a loan word and for trying to denote something which i don't think has it's own word or fraze; it means one who cries with you but it loses 100 points because part of the explanation is "someone willing to shoulder a portion of your sorrow". so rame za plakanje (shoulder to cry on). the whole fraze could be a loan from english but even if it was. why are you complicating it? it's already widely accepted. try calling somebody your saplačnik. just try it.

hladovinarenje (to bask in shade) - not replacing anything foreign but it does replace the already serbian word hladovati which also means to bask in the shade. most people use it to mean being lazy. why do you think it has the second meaning. could it be from the first? you tell me

samosnaći se (self manage (to get to a solution)) - instead of improvizovati (to improvize); what happened to snaći se (to manage/find a solution)? it means the same fucking thing.

umosklop (compound; mind composition) - instead of majndset (mind set); you could use stav (attitude) or even način razmišljanja (way of thinking)

neželjak (from unwanted) - instead of spam (spam); when you open your email, depending on which one you use, the spam folder could be labeled neželjena pošta (unwanted mail)

beztebnost (compound; without you) - it's supposed to mean "a state without that one person"; the author of the words is assuring us it isn't the same as missing someone (nedostajanje) as that reffers to a feeling and this word reffers to a state. i cannot think of any contexts this word would be usefull in unless you wanna start using it as you would nejebica (state of not having enough sex or not having sex at all). either way it's stupid but as far as i know it does not break any of the rules of the competition

letež (from flying) - instead of džet leg (jet lag); eh, fair enough. doesn't really convey the feeling imo but it could catch on

obesuštiniti (compound; without a purpose/point/raison d'etre) - живот и прикљученија ass word. sounds like it came from before vuk stefanović karadžić overhauled the serbian language. what it says on the tin. it works i guess? it just sounds very archaic

prikuma (compound; next to godfather) - to denote a godfather's girlfriend. she's not a kuma because they are not married so she's just kum(godfather)'s girlfriend. follows the rules but you could just say kumova devojka (godfather's girlfriend)

sebić (from self) - instead of selfi (selfie). sounds similar to jebić (little fuck). no.

zrčak - (from zrcalo? mirror?) - instead of miror selfi (mirror selfie); umm. if you were to say it outloud i would assume you were trying to say cvrčak (cricket). makes no sense. good for a tounge twister. try saying that three times fast

uticajac/uticajka (from influence) - instead of influenser (influenser). sounds way to crindge, but it follows the rules.

podatika/podatičar (from data) - instead of data science/scientist? nauka o podacima (data science) and programer podataka (data scientist) exist and are used

smućak (from to mix something together) - this is an already existing word. why is it here. you wanna replace mikšejk (milk shake), i get it. but that's not by the rules babe, you're just extending the usage of an already existing word

susramlje (compound; self shame) - instead of krindž (cringe); gnar (cringe) exists, vukajlija even recorded a definition for it 12 years ago

otkazniti (compound; out punishment) - to end a punisment. do we need a word for this? if you say it out loud i am branding you as illiterate.

sviđ/nesviđ (from like/ not like) - instead of lajk/dislajk (like/dislike); i use instagram and it's set to serbian cyrilic. do you know what it says instead of like and dislike? sviđanje (like) and nesviđanje (dislike)

večnutak (from eternity) - a moment or a person you will always remember. again, same as otkazniti, you are illiterate in my eyes

premisliti (compound; over thinking) - instead of overtinkovati (to overthink); way too similar to premišljati se (to rethink, change your mind, be unsure), phoneticaly at least. it could work. maybe

rakotvoran (compound; make cancer) - instead of kancerogen (carcinogenic); kancerogen is a scientific term and it's widely accepted. why are so many people pressed about scientific terms?

raskovničar (compound; brake something? not sure what it's supposed to be really) - to use as a name for a password breaker; dešifrant (decipherer/decoder) exists and it's widely accepted.

those are all the words. i think. i don't know how to end this rant. if you have any questions or remarks (or opazice as these idiots would put it) let me know and i will answer to the best of my abilities.

[wittyno]

Im feelings nostalgic tonight so here are some tips for those of you thinking about going to law school

1. do not go to an unaccredited law school. I know they are cheaper. They may even provide a semi decent education. Yes law school loans suck I have them too and the amount school costs is a crime. But as someone who knows about legal hiring don’t do it. People will not hire you.

2. depending on the school you go to the school May encourage competing for example by posting your class rank / grade. Do not give into that. Do not view your fellow students as the enemy. They are your comrades in arms. Trust me, you will need them and they will need you.

3. it will suck. Especially 1L year because you are learning a whole new way of looking at the world. It is a lot and it’s going to be crushing at times. That’s ok. You will get through this.

4. there is this weird idea that if you didn’t get into the big fancy schools / can’t afford them, don’t have perfect grades, on law review, clerk, and that other fun stuff you’ll never get a job. That’s bullshit. You might not get the biglaw job but do you really want to sell your soul only to work 80 hours a week? Nothing against people who do it. We all got loans to pay but… it’s not biglaw or bust.

5. figure out your learning style, if you haven’t already. It will save you time and crying. There are guides online. Then design your learning around that. I used to record my outlines and listen back to them because I’m an auditory learner. But do what works for you.

6. social media / influencer lawyers are almost all big law lawyers at least the ones I’ve seen. Don’t base your goals on them. Again see point 4. they’re fine but again you are seeing a curated snapshot of their lives, not all of it.

7. do not give legal advice to anyone. The second you start law school you’ll start being asked for legal advice. Do not do it. It’s against the law and can get you barred from becoming a lawyer. I know it’s exciting because what if someone you know just had their fiancé walk out on them and they want the ring back and you just read a case on that in property. Don’t do it. Don’t fuck up your future.

8. do Social stuff. One of the things that I was most looking forward to in law school was to make new friends. COVID took that from me, which sucks. But you have a chance. Go out have fun.

9. some subjects will be hard for you and easy for others and vice versa. I hated property. If I could get into a ring with any legal concept it would be the rule against perpetuities. Though they might stop teaching that soon, because I think the bar is dropping it which is good. Or maybe Erie‘s got you down. That’s fine. Some shit is just hard. It’s ok to acknowledge that.

10. chances are you will get your shit rocked by your grades. Chances are you’re pretty good at school. You may have even tied your self worth to your academic performance. Law school is a whole other league. I don’t say this to scare you. I say this to prepare you for getting your shit rocked. The grading is different. The material harder, you have to take in way more quickly. if your first semester grades turn out lower than what you’re expecting. that’s ok. Know that what you’re doing is hard but you can do hard things. untie your self worth from your academic success as fast as you can. No one cares if you fuck up a cold call. They are too worried about themselves.

11. most important. There will always be more to do. More learning more reading. This was one of the biggest adjustments I had to make because up until that point in my academic career there was always an end to my to do list. There were natural end points. These do not exist in law school. There is always someone studying more than you. Remember study smart not hard. I mean it will still be hard, but at some point you hit a point of diminishing returns. If you’re staying up past midnight every night to study ask yourself how much are you actually learning. Take breaks, sleep, rest, keep work life balance at all costs.

[pudgy-planets]

This doesn’t feel like a vent post as it is…

I feel like I’m wasting my life.

Yeah, I’m only 20 and I at least have 40 or so years before my body starts saying "health issues HOOHAAHAA."

I went off to school in August of last year. And yeah i did a lot. I saw a lot, it was truly my first time on my own, and it taught the importance of independence. But… I rarely attended events, I didn’t go out much, and my roomie was almost always doing something while I just stuck around in my room in my bed or in my chair doing schoolwork.

This summer and the last few I’ve rarely done anything. I’ve stayed in my room, slept, maybe did some gaming, and rinse and repeat. Everyone’s usually got friends they’re hanging out with, going out to planned stuff, making their own content and producing their own audiences.

And then there’s me. A 20 year old, black trans woman who has difficulty functioning. I’m scared of people and I’m just afraid of being myself because of ridicule. Especially my mom who filled my head with "People are going to laugh at you for doing this" or "I did my best to change the world around you, so you wouldn’t have to feel like you couldn’t be yourself."

I fear dedicated myself to stuff and even starting new things. I have comics, books, video games, I’ve had for months, years even. I got Splatoon 3 in December of 2022. I have never even opened the game on my switch.

Typically I’m the one in my friend group to plan something or ask if people wanna do things. I rarely if ever get invited out to stuff. And while I’m sure I’m not only the human being who feels like this, it just… sucks. And I don’t know what to do about it.

Even getting therapy is a travesty here because it usually falls along the line of "Well… it’s kind of your fault and you should go get a job, because it’ll make you feel better." or "Alright, you’ve trauma dumped enough for one day… I’ll see you in, what 2-3 months? Bye now!"

I can even think in high school where people always joined clubs, or they were always doing something and being involved. And for the life of me, i couldn’t replicate those feelings. Especially in my last two years of high school. I just wanted it to be over and I did not want to contribute any more time than necessary to a place I hated being in.

This may be just an instance of me worrying and overthinking, but… I’m usually always alone with my own mind as my only company and then he likes to call me bad things all the time.

Some people who are younger than me seem to have it figured out, they may not necessarily do, but it feels like that. Which makes me think… Why are we even here?

Gift of life is a beautiful thing, but in a world where individuality and distinctiveness are squashed like cockroaches beneath the boot of a corrupt, crooked, and frankly apathetic regime…

What is. The point? Do we define our own point? Is it just working our behinds off our entire life with the hope of there being some reward or contentment at the end?

People my age are already in debt from banks due to taking out loans for schooling, for jobs they may not even see for within 5-10 years of getting their degrees in the first place.

There are Harvard graduates who are living paycheck to paycheck for medical degrees. Which are not only hard, but they usually pay well.

Which makes me question "Why am I doing Astrophysics." I’m doing it because I’m more passionate about this than any other field. Maybe history and philosophy, but I wanna do this with my miserable life because that’s what I desire.

But is it even worth it? I personally think it’s worth for myself…. But does that truly mean I’ve used my scholarship and grant money well?

I could switch to say engineering, med school, architecture, finance, or even advertising and I’d probably see more money out of all of them than say a doctorate in studying astronomical phenomena.

I don’t even know why I’m talking about ANY of this. Feels like I’m having a mid-life, existential crisis in my 20’s as opposed to in 40’s or early 50’s. I feel like I should still be enjoying my relatively youthful adult years, but I can’t not think of the future. Heck I don’t even sound reasonably articulate here I’m rambling complete and other nonsense, and I’m 100% wrong since I usually am about these things.

I don’t know. That. Sums a lot of how I feel. I don’t know. And I don’t like that.

[thetrashqueeeen]

The thing that’s pissing me off about this Faith Becoming a Doctor storyline is nothing to do with Faith and everything to do with how IT IS NOT THAT EASY! I have looked into training as a doctor and had to give up on it because it is logistically impossible for most working class people and casualty could have made a point here!

Right so first things first, there is no conversion degree for healthcare professionals- they just have to do the same graduate entry medical course as every other degree educated person. This degree is 4 years and only offered by a handful of medical schools in the country so let’s pretend Holby Medical School is one of these universities and just suspend our disbelief- moving on

Before she can even apply she would have to take this test called the GAMSAT which is absolutely ridiculous and now don’t get me wrong I think you should prove that you are academically capable of completing a degree before you start it but the GAMSAT is not doing that. For starters, it’s not a pass or fail, you’re ranked by percentile compared to other people who took it, so you don’t just have to prove you CAN do it, you also have to be better than everyone else who tries. Furthermore, the questions aren’t marked like the exams we took in school; or even uni. The entire paper is marked, and then the amount of marks a question is worth is decided based on how many people got it right. For example, a question 90% of people got right would be worth 1 point, but if that same question was only gotten right by 1% of people, it would be worth 10 points, so there is very little way to intelligently work for a better score. It’s also been proven by research that the correlation between GAMSAT percentile and completion of medical degree, academic attainment and retention by the NHS is not statistically significant. There are 2 sitting a year and you have to do them at the specified time and place, making it very hard for someone working shifts (like Faith) to get that test done. To add insult to injury, it is £250 PER ATTEMPT and you have pay for practice exams. Let’s not even get into how Faith is supposed to study for a test that is 5 hours long and 1 section reading comprehension, 1 section essay questions and then a third section which is UNDERGRADUATE level biology and chemistry and A2 level physics with no practice material all while working full time and being a single mother.

Secondly- the course is not entirely funded by student finance. Each year is 9.5k and only about 60% of this is covered by student finance. The other 40% ish is covered by an NHS bursary- except for the first year. This means you need to come up with about 3.8k (from memory) in tuition fees to sit the first year. Your NHS bursary doesn’t kick in until you pass first year and go into year 2. Faith will be paid more than a ‘regular’ nurse, but 4 grand is not a small sum of money and would be hard for her to pull together.

Finally- this is not a course that is offered part time (if they keep her in this show and pretend that she’s doing it part time or, even worse, as evening classes, I am going to LOSE MY MIND) and it’s very, very hard to have a part time job because of the heavy work load and eventual placement shifts. My fist degree was a BA and I had a job the whole time, but I also had low contact hours and no placements to do. There are no bursaries for living costs that I could find and there is no way you could live off a student finance maint loan, if they even offer you one, especially when you’re supporting 2 kids. Faith would not only need to live somewhere with a university that offered GEM, pay for and do well in the GAMSAT and have 4k to pay tuition her first year, she would also have to be able to stop working for 4 whole years.

This is not something she would do over the course of a few weeks, she would be worrying about funding, about living, about the kids and having a menty b about the GAMSAT. casualty could make a really good point here about how someone who would succeed as a doctor, and has committed her entire working life thus far to the NHS, financially could not afford to retrain. Instead I’m sure they are going to take the ‘night classes’ route and I am, in fact, going to LOSE MY MIND

[dolphin1812]

We’re back to the Gorbeau House!

Although we had some idea of exactly how wealthy Marius was, this chapter provides another contrast that shows the chasm between his income now and what he lived on with Gillenormand. His room there is 30 francs annually, less than half what he paid for the apartment he was in before (and he wasn’t paying for a year’s worth of rent!). French society must have been extremely unequal for that gap to exist, especially since Marius now isn’t the poorest (even relative to himself, as his situation in the last chapter was much worse). Even though Marius loans Courfeyrac some money here, the gap is still visible in how much he lends: 60 francs. Marius might not have any immediate expenses that come close to that price, as he may have bought his clothes and linens gradually (and even if not, the linens – at 50 francs – are less than those 60). We don’t know what Courfeyrac spent those francs on, but he’s likely spending a lot more than Marius because he has more to spend.

That Marius is still poor is evident from how h counts all of his sous (we learn the price of all his meals here). However, he has enough financial stability to endure small price variations (meaning, a rise in rent would hurt him, but if an egg is 4 sous instead of 2, he’ll still have an egg for breakfast) and to afford some enjoyments, like dessert after dinner and a suit. He still lacks for many things that seem pretty necessary (like a fireplace for cold winters), but he has enough flexibility to prioritize his purchases, which he couldn’t do before. I think the lack of a fireplace reveals how low this standard is, though – no one in a country that gets cold in winter should have to go without a fireplace, just as no one should be made to deprive themself of all joys just to survive.

Food was so expensive! More than half of Marius’ income went to that. It could be worse because he’s not cooking for himself, but it’s still a pretty large sum of money. I’m very happy that he has food, though, as he went hungry for many years.

Unfortunately, Marius’ improved economic situation doesn’t mean he’s left behind his worst impulses and ideas. He still idolizes certain figures, and unfortunately, Thénardier is one of them. To be fair, neither Pontmercy knew that Thénardier was horrible and dishonest, and it makes sense for Marius to go with his father’s judgment here. Still, reading praise of Thénardier was a terrible experience, and if Marius could allow for a little more nuance in his views of people, perhaps it would be less scary for us as readers to see his idea of this person. Thénardier is actually on the opposite end of the spectrum of what Marius thinks – he’s basically completely bad, and is one of the few characters we’re never expected to feel sympathy for – but if he could see his father as a good person who could also err, perhaps his thoughts on Thénardier would be less stressful. He could, perhaps, realize that his father was wrong about him and let go of that debt, but at the moment, his twin problems of idolization and honor just make his desire to find this person concerning.

[qqueenofhades]

Hi! This is not relevant to your current political discussions at all and you def don't have to answer this! But you're the only person I know who is an Academic™ and I was hoping for some input from somebody with a more balanced view of college education. For some context: I enrolled in a VERY shitty online college when I was 16 and entirely screwed my chances of getting freshman scholarships to other colleges now that I'm 18 and trying to switch schools. Additionally, that college only has national accreditation and not regional so my credits won't transfer anywhere and my family's EFC is too high to get any federal help. (but my parents don't actually have money to help me pay for school)

All of this puts me in a super fun situation where I can't get almost anything except for competitive private scholarships and student loans. So it seems like I have 2 options: (1) I could take out thousands in student loans to go to a cheap university out of state (living with my brother to save on dorming) and get my bachelor's degree or (2) Go to my local community college, try to get their institutional scholarships, and probably get through college without debt. Big downside to this is that I would probably end up living at home and that's the very last thing I wanted.

I'm obvs not asking you to make a decision for me, but I was hoping you'd have some input that could help. I'm really worried that if I go to cc that I'll end up in another dead end job making $12 an hour like most people around me, but I also don't know if 20k+ in student loan debt for a degree is worth it when college degrees are (according to the headlines) getting less valuable in the job market. Any thoughts??

P.s. I'm going for Business Management

P.p.s. I promise I'm not a capitalistic monster

Aha, welp. This is indeed a super fun situation (not), and I understand your dilemma, so let's see if we can think it through together.

As someone else who was also DESPERATE to get away from home and live elsewhere during college, I understand the feeling that living at home, and/or attending a community college, would be a terrible disappointment. However, while you might not qualify for federal student aid or government programs, there is often other funding available to help students like you. It might not be full-scholarship-level money, but if you search for educational/student resources for your city/state and see what comes up, you might be presented with some other options. There are foundations, grants, funds to help students who fell through the financial-aid cracks, and while it might not cover everything and you would still have to end up taking out some loans, it would at least be a boost. Competitive private scholarships are often awarded on merit, which can be tough and feel like there's no way you'll measure up, but there ARE community organizations and local lawyers/advocates/educational professionals who are able to help and/or get you some award money on a need basis. So yes, do a little Google digging and see what comes up. Of course, you need to make sure that these resources are legitimate and not like the crappy online college, but that can be done.

Likewise, and while I fully understand that my 18-year-old self would have HATED to hear this: getting through college without debt is not to be underestimated, even if it means you have to live at home for a few more years. If you have to get an associate's degree and possibly work part-time while you're doing it, well, that is an option and might even allow you to save a little money (instead of emerging from college dead-broke like uh, most people). While community college is sometimes looked down on as a "lesser" or "inferior" education (which is stupid), that certainly doesn't mean it has to be a dead end, especially if you take advantage of career counseling, liaisons with local businesses or internship placements, and in general seek opportunities outside of just your main program. There are certainly ways to be proactive about getting both a classroom and a practical education, even if it's not the original degree program or school that you saw yourself attending, so yeah.

Also: you mention attending a cheap university out of state, but is there anything in-state that might work for you? Public universities generally offer lower tuition to in-state residents, so if you do have your heart set on moving away from home and getting a bachelor's degree, you could still explore what options might be available to you in a state university system. You should also email admissions, financial aid, or student-services officers at those institutions, explain your situation, and see what they suggest. They might have internal resources that they can connect you with, you might be able to use high school grades to qualify for some school-specific scholarship money, or anything else. You would be surprised what can happen if you take the initiative and ask for it, because there are certainly plenty of resources inside a university that don't get advertised or public-faced, but are there to be used in some shape or form.

Anyway: these are things for you to think about, and to at least give you something to do to make sure that you've explored all your options before deciding one way or the other. I will say that getting a college degree without debt is something that you should definitely consider, even if it means you might be at home for a few more years (and believe me, I ABSOLUTELY understand the "I've got to get out now!!!" feeling and I know it sucks). But there are certainly other resources for you to explore if you do want to get a bachelor's, and if worse comes to worse, well, you'll have student debt. Lots of other people do as well, and there are flexible repayments, income-driven repayments, and other systems for managing it long-term. It's not ideal, but it's still an option and doesn't have to be the ultimate factor on you deciding what works best and what you want to do.

Good luck!

[pikawarrior]

Welcome back to reaper talks bitches, i just finished my first playthrough of Shadows Over Loathing and have already started on my second and

Oh.

My.

Gods.

I fucking love this game. I mean its made by the people who made of my favorite games ever, West of Loathing so yeah im gonna enjoy it.

But this, this is new, this limits me in sooo many different ways but also opens up the game in ways i couldnt have imagined

[Alot of spoiler filled ramblings of a mad man slightly broken by a weird time/dimension loop that are only vaguely understandable under the cut]

Okay first off, not picking you class right at the very very start is great weirdly enough, atleast for me.

It gave me time to see the world through the basic unfiltered lens of someone who has an idea whats to come cuz of me playing the previous game but also no clue as the game hasnt given me any story yet.

Literally, it starts off with you having a copy of LOOK magazine on your face. You also get to really choose your look or well hair situation mainly, you're a stick person hair and accessories are all you got and its early game soooo

But anygays, it doesnt give you story till thr bus ride and even then you dont know your class or if there will even be classes!

I choose pigskinner or whatever my head is running at a million miles per hour rn cuz this hyperfixation is really new and free so double the speed of thoughts

And yeah i could have tried something new especially since 2 out of my 3 wol saves were that game's pigskinner class (cow puncher(?)) But come on, i like my familiar class also i suck as magic/effect heavy builds outside of my spamming of stuff like bleed or on fire

But anygays, the uncursing stuff is super fun tho pretty confusing. Thankfully you cant mess them up to my knowledge, they really test you puzzle skilss and you remembering that most things in this game are interactable (very very important)

Also omg i love any chance to piss a narrator and there are some great ones, the main ones that i can remember rn is the one about you working at all these different places and even being employee of the month despite you either being super young or not born at that time. And the one about you digging wet globs of hair out of sinks, mainly at frat houses. Gross i know, but i fucking dug through every single spittoon in wol, nothing can stop me anymore

The narrator def regrets following this dumbass (me) around but they cant leave so HA

But back to the uncursing, the sickle curse was actually super scary. Like that scarecrow was after ME, not the person i was currently in the body of, no he was after ME, my character also nick come on buddy you dont take loans/favors from The Shadows, thats like rule #265, your ass deserved a lawnmowing.

Also wtf i got sent the lawnmower i made with a note that said "see you in 66 years" or something like that. Like HELLO???? WHICH BITCH GOT MY ADDRESS AND WHO WANTS A PIECE OF ME AND MY LAWNMOWER

Seriously the sickle curse was hands down the scariest part of a game ive played in years and ive somewhat play resident evil 7

Also gods i love the to do list, don't get me wrong i loved asking my companions for reminders but this is super convenient and go for when my companion cant you know, accompany me somewhere

Plus being able see everything together and whats a main quest vs a side quest helps. And making my own notes in game helps since i still havent gotta a notebook for my gaming notes yet

Also the whole thing with the mob was great, 10/10 i love being chaotic and getting paid the big bucks for it. Seriously its worth it and theres even some more pacifist options in those quest lines to. Im very much a nice person to my core despite my nature darkness and chaos, so being able to handle things nicely or well with limited blood shed is nice. Also helps with you, like me, tend to avoid battles you dont gotta fight. Its also a nice puzzle sometimes cuz i cant just shove like 9 different thing down my throat and kick ass. Its one potion and one food at a time.

The combat is definitely different but more in a "its harder to be able to wipe everyone out in seconds" then a "heres a whole new system to learn good luck"

In wol its stupidly easy atleast for me to become a lesser god and wipe out half the map basically even during early game. Tho thats mainly cuz of my past experience and cuz i was raised really good and weirdly so my skills work with this-

But in sol the fights are actually pretty tough, i found myself really rationing my items out even in late game but also heavily relying on them and effects

Which btw go fucking on items and stuff that cause effects like bleed and on fire, trust me its actually kinda necessary

Also the last(?) fight (and the optional golem fight) are like stupidly hard even with all tbr help (finale(?)) While the golem is apparently a push over yet also god number two idk im working on it, apparently they didnt play test it and honestly it kinda shows (neutral)

ALSP WTF IS THAT BITCH AT THE FUNAL LIKE HOKY HELL DO NOT BE AFIARD MY ASS THAT A BIBLICALLY ACCURATE ANGEL WITHOUT WINGS RIGHT THERE AND ITS ABOUT TO SEND ME TO HELL PERSONALLY

Also i fucking lost, i can go back but i decided to learn from my mistakes by starting fresh instead of fixing them after they've already been made

AND im gonna help more people, im gonna save those two kids from that monster that haunts their family, im gonna help rufus find my past/other self from the first game, IM GONNA HELP EVERYONE I CAN ESPECIALLY THE ONES I FAILED BEFORE

Reaps now signing off to work on MEP parts see yall in like another 6 months

[salty-dracon]

ELI5: The Silicon Valley Bank Collapse

TL:DR SVB made a somewhat risky investment which went poorly in changing market conditions, and didn’t have the money to pay back their depositors. The FDIC has decided to fund the remaining bank accounts, but shareholders will realize a total loss on their stock.

If you haven’t been following the news, the second biggest bank collapse in American history just happened. But you probably have no idea what that means, so I’m going to explain it all in simple terms, with no frills, no biases, and no opinions.

Please let me know if I get anything wrong here. While I do work in finance, I’ve heard conflicting sources on some of the events.

The Basics of How Banks Work

Left to their own devices, people ordinarily wouldn’t just give their wealth to someone else for safekeeping. But these days there are many incentives for the average person to lend their money to a bank. Yes, there’s the matter of security (robbers can steal physical tender, such as physical bills and valuables), but there is also interest. By lending your money to a bank (like a loan!), the bank then uses your balance to invest in the stock market or major projects such as other peoples’ mortgages, with the promise that all of the money you’ve placed with them will be returned to you when you ask... with a little bit extra as interest. That’s your incentive for placing your money with them.

The point is, you placed your money with a bank, and in exchange for you lending them your money, they’ve promised to give it back to you when you ask, with a little bit extra. That’s important to understanding the next topic.

Investments, Reserves, and Insolvency

Okay, but how do banks generate the “little bit extra” that they promised to give you in exchange for borrowing your money? Through investments!

Investments can be a lot of things. Mortgages are investments- a bank can lend someone a big chunk of money, and in exchange the bank receives cash monthly that ends up being worth more than they loaned out. They can be investments into the stock market- buying stocks at low price, watching the price rise, and selling them high is a way to net profit. There are other types of investments too, like bonds (mini loans), CDs (low risk, long-term investments that guarantee profits that bank customers can take out), and options (very complicated). What they have in common is that you lend your money, and hopefully get more back (though there’s some risk of loss).

As an example, let’s pretend you’ve put $20,000 in a bank account. The bank could then take $10,000 and put it into a risk-free investment that returns at 2%. One year later, the return is $10,200, at least $10,000 of which must return to you. The bank may take $100 of that as their own profit and return the remaining $10,100 to your account- the remaining $100 is your interest. (This is a theoretical example. My own bank account hasn’t generated nearly that much in interest.)

But let’s say the investment isn’t risk-free. They’ve taken $10,000 of your money, invested in that 2% return project, and it flopped. Ouch. Now they’re out $10,000- of your money! That doesn’t seem fair!

That’s why banks have reserves. It’s a buffer/stockpile of cash or liquid assets (things that can be converted to cash really quickly) that covers a depositor’s finances should the bank’s own investments go south, OR if people need to pull out their money. Banks usually have a dedicated team of analysts that calculate the amount of reserves a bank can safely set aside to cover these sorts of events. This covers souring investments as well as times when a big customer is planning to pull out a ton of savings. That $10,000 is a drop in the bucket for them, but something like $1 million is more concerning.

So, even if the investment goes south, at least you’ve still got that guaranteed $20,000 on demand in case of, say, a medical emergency.

... At least, that’s how it should work.

If a bank doesn’t have enough reserves/quick money to fulfill its obligations of money on demand to everyone who lent it to them, it becomes insolvent- basically bankrupt unless they do a lot of stuff to get money fast really quickly. This can involve pulling money out of investments (which costs money to do, and is not something any investor would want to do unless they need a lot of money really really fast). This is the worst case scenario for any financial institution and one they want to prevent at all costs.

Understandably, the insolvency of the bank you’re keeping your money at is a terrifying situation for people who really need that money. And it was a common situation up until the 1930′s.

Bank Runs

You probably know someone who lived through the Great Depression who has a large stockpile of cash and refuses to use credit cards or banks. Some people probably even call them stupid for doing so. I’m not going to call your money hoarding grandparents stupid, since they’re operating off a very real fear- the fear that a bank won’t have the legal tender to give them their money when they ask. That situation was VERY COMMON before the FDIC was created in 1933 to insure the deposits of its member banks.

What would happen is that you’d hear that some news about how a certain bank was having financial trouble, and might close very, very soon. You freak out and realize that if they close, you’ve given your money to them, and now you’re not going to get it back! You go to a branch of the bank to withdraw all of your money, only to find that everyone else had the same thoughts as you, and the branch is already out of physical tender. As more and more people realize they’re about to lose all of their savings, the bank is drained at an exponentially increasing rate- and soon, the bank has become insolvent.

Banks have defenses for this- suspending withdrawals, limiting withdrawals, and asking their central bank for more liquid funds. But in the case of a bank run, or a bank panic, which is a bunch of banks experiencing bank runs at once, those defenses might fail entirely.

The FDIC, an American Government Corporation, was created as an insurance company for banks. Basically, banks pay dues to the FDIC, and in the case of the bank’s insolvency, the FDIC guarantees deposits up to about $250,000. It was created partially as a way to avoid future bank runs and protect consumers in the case of a bank collapse.

Interest Rates and Inflation

You’ve probably heard about the Federal Reserve hiking interest rates or keeping them low throughout the recent pandemic, but what does that actually mean, and why is it relevant here?

The Federal Reserve sets target interest rates- basically, setting the price at which major banks can borrow from the government. This ends up forming the basis for other types of loans you can get from banks- mortgages, car loans, etc.. Periodically these are revised with regards to economic conditions.

Basically, raising interest rates is used to encourage people to STOP borrowing money and START lending money- the return for lending is higher, and the price of borrowing is higher. Lowering interest rates is used to encourage people to START borrowing money and STOP lending money- the return for lending is lower, and the price of borrowing is lower.

(This is why you always want a loan with a low interest rate, btw!)

(And keep in mind that these are with regards to major economic decisions, and not necessarily the types of loans an ordinary person would get.)

Now, why is inflation relevant? Yes, it’s really high right now, and that means that the prices of everything are increasing a lot! The Federal Reserve’s answer to that is to increase interest rates- by making it more costly to borrow money, they’re hoping to stop an unsustainable level of price increases in everything else.

I think I get it. Now what’s going on?

Silicon Valley Bank was a fast-growing bank that, in recent years, held a lot of funds for entrepreneurs and tech startups- about 50% of all venture capital money in the US! What this means is a. a lot of large accounts in b. mainly one sector of the economy (technology).

That being said, the bank would most certainly not outpace inflation if they didn’t invest it. However, at the time, they couldn’t find any places they could loan money to.

Furthermore, the tech/crypto/startup sector of the economy has been going through hard times for a while. Many needed to slowly pull out funds from the bank, further straining the amount of liquid cash on hand.

In 2021, SVB instead decided to invest in mortgage-backed securities with the deposits placed with them. Mortgages are basically very long loans, but they can also be very risky. Mortgage-backed securities are based on mortgages. (The risk surrounding mortgage-backed securities is one reason for the housing crisis of 2008.) It should also be noted that they’re very susceptible to changes in interest rates- if interest rates increase, mortgage-backed securities lose their value.

In 2022, we got severe inflation.

And then, the Federal Reserve’s answer to severe inflation: raising interest rates.

And the mortgage-backed securities that SVB took out became unprofitable!

Now remember how I said that banks need to be able to not only provide customers their deposits on demand, but also give it back with interest? Because the investment in mortgage-backed securities failed, SVB didn’t have money for interest OR deposits, and not enough in reserves to fill the gap. They would be insolvent, if they didn’t come up with a lot of money really, really fast. 

Word spread fast- depositors had already realized that the bank had become insolvent, and they demanded their deposits back. In other words, SVB went through a bank run, losing their money over the course of three days.

The FDIC then stepped in. Now this is a bit of an unusual case, because the FDIC only insures accounts up to $250,000. Most venture capital startups have accounts that are many times that. However, the FDIC has decided (with their own member deposits, not taxpayer money) that all of the venture capital money will be paid. All of the bankers will get their deposits back.

SVB is still closing, however, and shareholders and stockholders will not be compensated for the stock loss.

So while shareholders lose out, every creditor/depositor who invested will be getting their money back. As for Silicon Valley Bank, it’s being administered by the FDIC up until it’s time for it to close down.

[rottytops]

i definitely think the adhd medication (successfully) rewired my brain and made me seek out long term goals over short term pleasure like i have been literally my entire life so now my current goals are to unfuck my credit to move away from my shitty roomies, get my new car and actually get into an ltr lmao

SUPRISINGLY ENOUGH 2 of these 3 goals are either in progress or very obtainable ive been saving a tunna cash and i can get a new car next month after i get my license renewed and ive found this cute little studio that i can maybe move into if i get help co-signing it, then ill just camp out there until my loans are paid off in 50000 years

the last one though.,,,,its so weird. the like. burning fervor to date someone long term kinda slugged me in the back of the head! ive always WANTED a nice relationship but it was never a PRIORITY to me bc i had video games or whatever. these new feelings made me realize ive been living my life like. entirely for myself which is FINE but my standards for myself (combined with how ADHD made me content with literally anything as long as it was easy) make me like. gutter trash tier as a partner, i think. essentially as i am now, unless the other person is equal parts deranged and shitty, im utterly unlovable which is like. tough tits i guess. but if im honest about it i can at least try to change it. part of me is conflicted; if i have to change myself to become more datable, is the person really dating me, or am i just creating a false persona to get conditional love. its a scary thought but at the same time im not really changing MYSELF past getting in shape and taking care of my skin, its more im giving up on being a dopamine addicted manchild and getting my own apartment. with my own car and stuff...these are actually just completely normal goals to have and i already wanted them i just kinda have new motivation for it lmao!

you cant just force a relationship and theres no way im attracting the hoes to me in my shitty room, so i think i need to??? go??? outside??? and hang out with ppl??? utterly mortifying but when i get my car next month i think i can actually do that. id like to make more irl friends as well, i had a bunch of friends in college so. i guess ill go to more smash locals or something but outside of that sigh sigh i have no idea.

these major revelations have all hit me in like the past 2 weeks, since i started my medication and the dosage was upped, i have a lot of work to do and not that much time to do it, really!!!! i hope i can become someone like. worth keeping around in a few months time...!!! the pieces are there i just need to like, put them together....



i could write a whole thing on how mad i am that it took me so long to get medicated and how fast i became a Normal Person after being on meds but like idk that line of thinking doesnt help anybody...!! i accomplished so much even with my debilitating ADHD and now i can do so much more with a mindset that can actually handle the shit neurotypical people expect me to be able to do, considering how im literally good at everything, combined with how ive managed to survive this long with almost no real help from irl people (seriously ive gotten more assistance from my online friends than literally anybody in my family both financially and emotionally) means that me WITH medication is gonna go absolutely insane. im going to be like ultra rich this time next year, probably LMAO....or at least have a boyfriend AURHUFG



anyway if u read this for some reason i love u and also give me ideas on going out and meeting people, i think i can hold a conversation just fine but where do people even GO. do you guys think ppl at bars or whatever know about disgaea. hmmm.

[chrissmou]

Romance Books I love the most

I love romance novels and particular series with individual books in them because I can finish one and then read the next one in a month or even in the next few days. I love a good romance novel, with much banter, characters who don’t know what they will do next, and many more, but have a happy ending in the end. Here is a list of my favorite ones (if the book is part of a series, I will write the name of that too). Also in the next two weeks, I am going to rank two of them, the Bridgerton Series and Brother’s Best Friend, both of which I love.

The eight I recommend for now are the following (not in any particular order). I will link their Goodreads pages too.:

1.      The viscount who loved me by Julia Quin (Bridgerton series, book 2): I love Anthony and Kate’s story. It has everything in it. Two stubborn but strong characters, an amazing plot with the flashback, and the second epilogue is absolutely funny and worth reading.

2.      Twins for Brother’s Best Friend by Sofia T. Summers (Brother’s best friend, book 3): I love the careers of Greta and Isaac, she is a CEO of a Tech company and he has a consulting company that he inherited from his uncle. They have good chemistry and it is very sexy and steamy too.

3.      Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen: I love all Austen books but especially this one because I love Eleanor and she reminds me of one of my friends who is very sensible. Also, it has two love stories. Fun Fact: I love the movie adaptation with Hugh Grant.

4.      Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell: I know many of you love her comic series Carry on, Simon, which I recommend and love. But there is a reason that this one is in this. It was the first novel of this kind I read in just two nights two, I couldn’t stop reading it and the novel I bought from London a few years back. I often say that Cath is the protagonist, is my spirit animal, an awkward, avid fanfiction reader with a love story I aspire to have.

5.      A Taste of Love by Jeniffer Yen: The first of her Jane Austen retelling and one of the best too. Liza and James are a good couple with all the best qualities of the original with differences that make it a very interesting book. Also, every time I read it I salivate at Liza’s baking abilities.

6.      A Pho Love Story by Loan Le: This book changed my perception of many things from Asian history and mythology to the Vietnam war and the damage it caused to many families and people in general.

7.      10 Blind dates by Ashley Elston (Messina Family, book 1): As Christmas is approaching I am going to say that this is the book for you to be in the holiday spirit with this fun and entertaining book. The dates vary from bad ones to good ones; and of course, the Italian American family is hilarious. I highly recommend the second one also.

8.      A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness (All Souls Trilogy, book 1): I have read the book “The world of all souls” which is complementary to the series by the author, Deborah Harkness. In this one, she said that she wanted each book to have a different vibe, the first romance, the next a history book, and the last a thriller. I have read all her books and, in another ramble, I am going to talk about both and the series because I love them. I have read this one, three times already because Matthew and Diana have a very romantic and understanding relationship where they meet and they learn about the meaning of being a witch and a vampire, or a historian and a scientist. I love it.

[veetyuh]

WaleSea is probably a bit more of a side relationship, but still a very important one. Plus the adorable name! 🐳🌊 Dylan helps to regulate Peter by tending to some needs that Arthur sometimes doesn't have the time for, and Peter gives Dylan nostalgia in the best of ways.

You'd think that sharing Arthur with each other could lead to friction -- since they're both obsessed over him for different reasons. For Dylan, it's jealousy and a complex to make sure he's the best brother. For Peter, his self-worth is tied to Arthur's love, so he craves his favoritism. But once Peter and Dylan get to know one another, it isn't really an issue; because they adore each other. 🥺🫶

Peter needs the ocean. When at the UK house, it's a big adjustment to live inland. Swimming is not just an outlet for his extra energy, but being connected to the water helps him with emotional regulation -- which he already struggles with from cptsd. When he's away from water too long, he has mood swings, is constantly stressed-out, and prone to crying -- all his symptoms are just 10x worse. He needs to see the shore at least twice a week. Ever-possessive, Arthur doesn't like him going to the beach alone, but he can't just drop everything to accompany him as much as he needs. But Dylan? He has the time.

Beach trips. Doesn't matter which ocean, so Dylan takes him to see the Celtic sea for the first time. And shows him his land on the way! All his castles, and sharing folklore. Peter is all about it. Asking questions, stars in his eyes. Completely fascinated. It reminds Dylan of young Arthur being interested in his magic -- and that's amplified because Peter sure looks a hell of a lot like Arthur. And eventually, Peter does take a keen interest in his magic as well, though he's a bit too skittish to actually try it himself.

Peter might have been built primarily for Arthur, but to a lesser extent, his affection and protective instincts are for all of Britain. So he takes a liking to Dylan very quickly, and is always trying to dote on him, instinctively trying to "serve" him. . . Dylan. The mom. They try to out-mom each other. It is a feedback loop of fluff and making sure each other is well taken care of.

Because Peter:

1. Has been so isolated his entire life that genuine human connection means 10x more to him than what should be normal

2. Has affectionate instincts toward Dylan to begin with

He develops a crush on him in only a couple weeks. Dylan finds him adorable and fun to spend time with, so why not go for it?

Being possessive over his things, Arthur is hesitant. But it's Dylan. He can loan out his property little brother to him, right? It's fine, so long as they acknowledge that he belongs first and foremost to Arthur.

Do their outings count as dates, now? Sure, why not? Dylan is the most put-together older brother and has tons of wisdom, and he's less harsh than Arthur, so Peter feels he can ask for advice a more freely with him. Which he needs a lot of, because he is still so young, but has trauma on-par with nations that are much, much older than him. Peter needs a ton of guidance and support. And Dylan can do it.

Nsfw dynamics go brrr because I feel like they'd both be switches. Plus Peter learning all the ✨interesting✨uses for potions that Dylan has developed over the years. And threesomes with Arthur.

The sky really is the limit with these two. So many wholesome and unwholesome possibilities.

Overall, they're just big positives in each other's lives. But not quite co-dependent to the point they would crumble without each other, thus why I class it as a tier 2 bond in the polycule, but still hella fucking important for one another. 💕

[undressjess]

Friends & fans I must ask for a moment of your time today! Could you give me your daily free vote for my #faceofhorror contest? http://faceofhorror.org/2022/jessa-flux I really would love to win this for my loving #indiehorrorcommunity who has accepted me & my talents with such open arms! I’m just the last year alone I have grown so much as a performer because of the love & support they have offered me! I want to be in @ruemorguemag so I can mention my past projects which would be coming out around the time of the publication! And of course that money will go straight to my student loans from when I went to a super exclusive private performing arts college & had to take out tons of loans to make it work. I’m also doing a raffle for (S)CARE votes! These are paid votes that can be submitted ANYTIME, which means you can enter as many times as you like! It’s just $10 to get your name in the hat! When you send in $10 worth of votes you will need to screen shot it & send it to me after paying. I will pull the winner the day after I either win the contest or the day after I lose a round! The raffle winner will get: 1. A printed & signed art poster of me featured on the cover of Cannibal Hookers. 2. A signed indie horror movie that I star in. 3. Both of my cool Jessa Flux branded stickers! And for each of the 3 rounds I win, I will add yet another item to the raffle for you to win! You can also get to the voting link by going to my homepage: http://JessaDoesItAll.com (which is also linked in my bio!) Please share this post however you can & ask your friends to vote! We have 9 more days for me to fight my way back to the number 1 position but I’d love to be in 2nd place by the end of today! Btw, this #BTS pic was taken by @artsy__angie when I was living the high life on the set of @a_p_films’s #murdercisemovie being shot by the amazing @still_imposter! https://www.instagram.com/p/Cj3U9uBu-50/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[hauscrashburn]

"we had no tax before 1913"

yes, yes we did.

We called them "tariffs." They were taxes on products. Ever hear of the Whiskey Rebellion? A tax on whiskey to help the fledgling American government fund itself and pay its tax.

We also had income taxes during the Civil War and after, although only on certain incomes (for example between $600 and $10,000 were taxed at 3%)

In 1892, the Us passed an income tax on all incomes over a certain amount ($3,000 maybe? Not sure on this). This was a flat tax. People who made $3,000 were taxed at 2% of their income, same as someone making $10,000, same as JP Freaking Billionaire of his time Morgan (He did not have a billion dollars but tens of millions, similar to billions in our currency value). Flat taxes, like sales tax, are regressive taxes where an individual who makes less income gives up a greater portion of their worth to pay the tax ($100 is more to someone making $3,000 a year than someone making $10,000 a year)

States also had their own taxes, including income and property taxes (like New York). You had to raise revenue for your armies and your legislative bills and processes somehow.

In 1895, the Supreme Court called a federal income unconstitutional in Pollock vs Farmers. But the gov't crashed again in 96 or 97, Morgan loaned the federal government to get it through and the rumblings began on the Republican side to bring back an income tax.

The new tax proposed was a progressive tax, where the wealthy would pay a higher share. Unlike today, it was proposed by Republicans, lead by Taft and Teddy Roosevelt, who said that wealthy people needed to pay their share as part of their patriotic duty to their country. Rockefeller hated this and lobbied against it, saying that when someone is as wealthy as him, he owes people nothing (I believe it was a Vanderbilt who said "the public be damned" (ok this was about railroads but the sentiment stands).

The bill passed, it became the 16th amendment in 1913. Then the battle became with states enacting their own codes and conforming to Chapter 26 of the US Code. The first income tax was levied at $4,000 income which meant most Americans didn't pay because the Average American salary was about $1,000. This is in keeping with now, as about 40% of American households don't have taxable income--that is income after deductions subject, subject to tax.

The road to filing statuses (America required people to file by marriage status, while most other countries file by economic earner with credits for children, etc. This means choosing to file separately, if you are married, functions as a tax penalty as you lose credits) is really interesting and rife with sexism, but that's for another thread.

So the next time someone says "Americans used to all pay their fair share" and "America never had a tax before the 16th Amendment" kindly inform them that they were wrong, wrong, wrong.