Samson's Wig

This reads a lot like how aggies justify how great College Station is, mostly by describing how close it is to other, better places.

Agreed. They're not having babies for some other reason. That's what I was getting at.

I saw that as well, but the 54% number includes industry certifications. Actual degrees, including associates, trade school graduates, and all of the for-profit University of Phoenix type degrees earned add up to somewhere between 40-44%.

Okay. I pulled those numbers quickly from a google search. I don't see any numbers countering them, but I'm willing to listen if you've got anything substantive to add. Those numbers include trade school graduates, for what it's worth, and those are clearly a financial net positive for msot. I don't put much stock in degrees earned from for-profit fly-by-night schools, however, which are also included in those numbers and make up a significant chunk of earned degrees. I was not speaking to the tired debate about liberal arts v. technical degrees. I suspect you and I might agree on that one, as I think there is a great deal of value in liberal arts degrees. I don't put a lot of value in a degree from the University of Phoenix, however, which is what I was referencing. My point is that this entire discussion is ridiculous as it's happening in an echo chamber that doesn't represent the majority of the country. We are not, by and large, a country full of highly educated individuals working in high-paying jobs. Trying to draw broad conclusions based on a small subset of Americans is ridiculous, but that's what is going on in this thread. Most women are not foregoing kids because they're focused on their careers. The insinuation is ridiculous on its face, as most women are not pursuing careers at all. They're trying to survive and working wage earning jobs. As for the happiness factor, I invite you to look up any number of studies conducted on the subject. Almost all will say people are less happy now than they were forty years ago. Social sciences are largely speculative, so you can certainly argue with the data out there, but I don't find it a controversial take when we objectly live in more isolated environment with less upward mobility than we did forty years ago.

Her cover letter reads like it was written by Napolean Dynamite.

If only they played football for Lake Travis, they'd be off scot-free.

I find it interesting how many of the comments here come from the bubble that most posters (including me) live in. The vast majority of Americans are not working in companies offering any maternity leave above what is required by law, and paternity leave isn't a phrase most Americans have ever heard in their life. Similarly, blaming shrinking birth rates on women becoming more educated and engaging in higher-level roles in the workforce is silly when it only applies to a small percentage of women in America. While it may be contributing in a small way to birth rates, it simply cannot be the primary cause. Most women in America are not educated and are not working in career-oriented jobs. Neither are most men. Around 40% of American adults have a college degree. When you consider how many of those degrees are completely useless when it comes to finding a job, you can probably cut the number down to around 20% of Americans holding a degree in something that is a net positive on their financial outlook. If you add in industry certifications maybe you can get that number up to 30%. Women earn slightly more degrees than men, but it's close enough to half to say around 15% of the population accounts for this theory of women working up the career ladder accounting for declines in birth rates. That just isn't statistically significant enough to be a root cause. I think it's too easy for most of us to forget that the majority of the country doesn't live like us, doesn't earn like us, isn't educated like us, and does not make decisions based on the same criteria that we do. Based on absolutely nothing of substance, my theory for the birthrate issue is that life sucks right now for so many. People are miserable and don't have a lot of hope for the future. Happy people have more children.

If it were real, sure. But he missed the mark by a long shot. As already noted in this thread, NPR is biased, but it isn't hard left. The bias is about lifestyle and eduction level. NPR is largely for wealthy educated people, who tend to be socially liberal and fiscally conservative. Uri's real beef was about what was going on internally and not liking the direction new, younger folks were taking things. I get it, I'm getting longer in the tooth and don't like change much anymore myself, bu this was a boring "old man yells at clouds" event and little more.

Yeah, that's what I was getting at. It's not so much a political bias as there is a barrier to entry based on education and worldly experience. Uri was as big of a snob as anyone else on NPR, and I'm not sure is going to enjoy the company he'll be forced to keep now that he pooped in his own cereal bowl. I'm sure Tucker Carlson has been blowing up his phone over the last 24 hours. Have fun with that, Uri. It was all for nothing, too, as he wasn't even remotely standing up for some noble cause or principle. He clearly just didn't like the nonsense that comes with a new generation taking over the workplace with all their bullshit, just like happens with every generation.

I fucking love NPR and have for decades, but anyone who thinks it isn't heavily biased to an almost comical degree is delusional. For me, it's like a warm cup of coffee on a cold day. Hits just right. But I also know what I'm being fed and can take it with a grain of salt. Ole' Uri simply pulled the common old man mistake of stating the obvious and expecting people to give a shit. Now his only friends are mouth breathers. Have fun with that, bozo.

It's definitely a mess. We live near there but no that particular neighborhood, so I mostly go through that light going north or south on 360. Add in all the dipshits parking wildly and running around on the highway so they can climb the hill to get their Instagram shot of the bridge, and that area is a mess. I recall when Coons donated it to the city, the plan was for them to add real parking and make it an official park. I assumed this would come with maintenance, guard rails, etc. It still looks like a crazy clusterfuck to me with no safety measures taken, and I assume taxpayers are footing the bill when dumbasses taking selfies fall (which they have). Soon it will be only dedicated right turns as there won't be an overpass.

It's an interesting feeling to be equal parts fascinated and terrified.

Enjoy that light while you can if you live in that neighborhood. The next handful of years are going to suck as they convert 360 into the proper highway it should be, but the end result will hopefully be worth it. I am worried that until they figure out a way to widen the Pennybacker and fix the intersection at 183, I'm not sure it will do much more than provide a "hurry up and wait" scenario.

No one really gave a crap before federal SALT tax deductions were capped in 2017. While that mostly impacted rich folks in blue states with high income tax, property taxes in Texas have gotten so out of wack that middle-class Texans now share a similar beef with rich folks in New York and Los Angeles. Strange bed fellows.

Shit. The secret's out.

One would think so, but these two are a special breed. It's shameful how terrible our options are in almost any election.

The issue here is that these particular individuals are not worthy of being elected dog catcher.

Totally agree. Just lamenting the lack of a sensible option.

I honestly have no clue what to do on this one. Which group of crazies is less likely to find ways to steal even more of our money and waste it on stupid shit? Nothing can be done to stop the state from stealing almost half of our property taxes and doling them out to the rest of the state, so I wouldn't mind finding a way to curtail the total amount being stolen from me each year. But I also don't want to vote for a nutbag. There is no win with this vote that I can see, but if someone can help steer me to the lesser of the evils I'd appreciate that input.

I come from that part of the state and I hear you, but the city of Lubbock itself is still much less conservative than the surrounding areas, just like most larger cities. I suspect that folks who aren't dye in the wool republicans just don't bother to vote up there for some reason. They passed an abortion sanctuary bill a few years back with only around 10,000 votes. In a city of ~300,000 That's insane to me. I think the issue may be more of no one bothering to rally the opposition than anything else, but if they continue to grow the shift will happen at some point, just like it has with Fort Worth. But yes, derailing significantly now. Apologies. Property taxes suck and I honestly don't know who to vote for that will make it any better.

I'm kind of amazed that Lubbock County has remained red as its population has grown. One would think the clock has to be ticking, though, especially with the university there. Is it the most populous conservative county in the US after Oklahoma County (Oklahoma City)? And no, Orange County no longer counts. Nothing political intended here, as I'm not saying it's a good or a bad thing, just a reality that more populous areas tend to turn blue these days.

Kind of hard to believe this guy didn't accidentally stumble onto the wrong property carrying that chainsaw. Austin might be the only city in this state he could have lasted this long. Glad he's getting some help, and hope it sticks.

Good points. It's likely something the government will have to have its hand in either through subsidies, tax credits, etc., or full-blown ownership. I could see an investment in something like this maybe in lieu of other public transit options making sense for a city like Austin, but I don't have any kind of handle on the numbers. It's hard even to fathom the cost of building a functional train system in Austin, and we all know the city itself can't remotely peg the cost based on the current boondoggle.