David Delgado/The Daily Cougar
It’s the start of the new semester. UH students rush into the bookstore between classes to find the line has reached an unmentionable length; new students walk along with their phones held closely to their faces as they study the class schedules they haven’t memorized yet. With all the stress of the start of the new semester, some students cannot help but look forward to the end of their last semester at UH.
For those who are now in their last semester of classes before graduation, congratulations. The world is your smelly oyster. For those who are far from graduation and are losing their sanity, remember one thing: crippling debt awaits you after college.
Debt is the sometimes-forgotten but constantly looming figure that breathes down our necks. Unfortunately, this money-grubbing mouth breather typically stalks students for years after graduation.
Although students do not have to begin paying back loans until six months after college graduation, the interest on these loans is enough to make a desperate student briefly consider selling a kidney.
One might believe knowing that other students suffer through this same ordeal would make it seem more manageable, but it doesn’t. Students know that they can count on paying back their loan for 10 years after graduation.
Therefore, it is no surprise that in 2013, bizjournals.com reported that student loan debt totaled almost $1 trillion, greatly surpassing auto loan debt of $783 billion and credit card debt of $679 billion.
The rise in student debt can be attributed to a number of factors that include the high unemployment rate, reduced job opportunities and the great rise in tuition costs. As for the rise in tuition rates, if more schools would implement tuition freezes, this would help reduce loan debt.
In addition, most students also struggle after college because of lack of planning. Naive young adults expect to step out into the world and immediately be awarded with a job in their field with a five- to six-figure salary.
According to The Washington Post, only 27 percent of college graduates are able to get a job pertaining to their major after graduation, while 62 percent of students are able to get a job within their degree. To further add salt to the wound, this percentage is even lower for students who pursue a degree in liberal arts — such as myself.
The stressed reader may now be wondering whether he should simply cut his losses now. Maybe it’s time to ditch school, drop all responsibilities and escape to the wilderness to live off roots, berries and such things that do not gain interest or require taxes. Maybe after avoiding multiple debt collectors, a life-changing epiphany will manifest into a clever and controversial New York Times best-selling novel. Finally, after becoming a millionaire and paying off all college loans with interest, it’s time to travel the world and have many adventures.
Unfortunately, now is not the time to fly off the handle. Now is the time for preparation. There are a few options to help the college graduate avoid the piles of debt that shortly follow the walk across the stage.
Personal financial planning professor John Lopez believes there are ways for students to greatly reduce their loan debts. These options include being mindful of money, as well as actively searching for alternatives to loans.
“Students don’t really think about other alternatives to student debt. Alternatives can be scholarships, grants, part-time jobs and internship opportunities,” Lopez said. “A lot of these scholarships go unclaimed because they might require an essay, some additional work or the student really would have to go look for it. Unfortunately, students don’t really want to take that initiative.”
Lopez also suggested that a great deal of financial debt can be reduced simply by accepting only as much money as is necessary to attend college. While this may sound somewhat obvious, students are often approved for large amounts of loans from various financial services.
Instead of accepting only the amount needed to pay for tuition, room and board and books, students often accept the full amount of the loan offered. Ultimately, students end up spending this extra money on unnecessary purchases because they do not have to produce the money themselves.
To prepare for the impending payments, students need to create a budget. If one is unsure of how to manage money and create a budget plan, the C. T. Bauer College of Business offers a class that is available to all students — Introduction to Personal Finance — to teach students to properly handle finances. Bauer also has an online version that can be found at the school’s website.
Hotel and restaurant management junior Diontrice Gill is no stranger to budgeting. While she has taken out two loans in the past, she is currently paying for college out of pocket by working two jobs.
“I think it’s worth the sacrifice now to be able to have my degree later in life,” she said. “It is possible (to graduate without debt) if you don’t mind working hard to achieve it. If you only want to attend college to receive refunds, you may find that you are digging a big debt hole for yourself.”
In the end, paying for college debt after graduation does not have to be something to fret about. With proper planning and hard work, the debt waiting for you can be greatly reduced.
Personally, I might still have to sell an organ to pay for college, because I didn’t start being financially frugal until last semester. However, at least I would be able to sleep soundly at night with the hope that a freshman reads this article and becomes more conscientious.
Senior staff columnist Kelly Schafler is a print journalism junior and may be reached at [email protected]
We need to increase more H1B visas. So many qualified degree holders from other countries could replace US graduates. We should let them all come to the US so that there will be more competition in the workforce. We need more competition to drive down the wages/salaries of US college graduates to an acceptable level, which will prolong the paying off of student loans for US graduates.Tuition is increasing, which is a good thing. Its good for the bankers to have an entire generation under student loan debt instead of mortgage debt like some of the previous generations had. College inflation should be celebrated. Many of the people immigrating from Socialist/Communist countries that have no student debt will be glad to have the opportunity.
Exactly! The Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade did the right thing by bringing a housekeeper from India and paying her $3.31 per hour. Its sad that America has minimum wage laws that are higher than global standards. We need to get rid of the minimum wage and pay workers a fair rate. There is no such thing as a “sweat shop”. People should be just enough for some food and clothes.
I will do the same thing when I get a housekeeper. There is nothing wrong with it. Silly American culture.
My family has quite a few servants back home. I could use a few here in the States as well, it would save me time for studying.
$3.31 is a fair price for a servant. Western culture is so spoiled. They should mind their own business instead of worrying about servants.
I think this was an attempt by the US to embarrass India. They tried so hard to embarrass us with rapes but people need to understand that Western women should not dress like sluts in India. You will provoke men who are not used to seeing that. Tourist women need to embrace the culture of India if they choose to visit.
We showed the yanks by playing their way. No more duty free alcohol and perks for living as diplomats. Yanks are hypocrites, lets show them how powerful India really is in this century.
Its funny that she is Dalit but treats poorer than her same was we treat them. It is also true that Dalits are getting too much power in India with Affirmative action, but at least we have them doing useful things instead of getting welfare like in the States.
It is mean but it is true
From Computer World:
Professors warn that grads could face competition from H-1B workers
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9244106/Professors_warn_that_grads_could_face_competition_from_H_1B_workers
Awesome! I hope all my cousins who are graduating engineering will get worker visas. Maybe one day the salaries in the USA will be on par with those of Pakistan,India and China.
“If you stop the flow of H-1Bs, it will encourage businesses like us”
and “it will encourage the offshore businesses to start investing in
local workforces,” Gupta told the audience of House policy analysts.
“Today, they have no incentive to hire an American workforce.”
Sad for me
Why sad? I’m happy for all the H-1B holders. They deserve a job in the US as much as you do. They probably went to college for free so they will be able to buy a house faster than you!
Ron Hira, a public policy professor at the Rochester Institute of
Technology and the forum moderator, said there are an estimated 650,000
H-1B workers in the U.S., and the visa program “is used very extensively
for cheap labor.”
Tough luck. College grads will be a dime a dozen.
American graduates do not deserve to make the money they used to make. This is a global economy. You should be glad to have any job. My cousin who works at NASA says he never hires any Americans there. He only hires from our community. If you have a problem with it, then you must be an ignorant racist. We are here to stay!
Working two jobs to pay for an undergrad degree? That’s what’s so wrong with America. I’m glad I got my undergrad before coming to America.
Most of the EU and BRICS value study time at university instead of being a wage slave at a fast food joint. University should be free. There is no reason to pay half a million dollars to Khator or anyone at the University.
So, if where you are from is such a utopian paradise, why are you here?
Anyone who believes there is such a thing as “free” anything, didn’t get a very good education… You bring up BRICS, do you really believe the general population of those countries, (i.e. the masses) have the same “education” opportunities as someone here in the U.S.???? Only for the “elite.” Everyone here in America has the “opportunity” to attend college. Can the same be said for someone in Brazil, China, India, etc? Don’t think so…..
I come here for money. Like many immigrants I would go somewhere else if
the pay was better. We don’t come here because we love America(sorry to
tell you). That is Hollywood propaganda, or immigrants being polite.
Many people from BRICS will either try to immigrate to the US and EU or
compete with Westerners for jobs where they currently are. I’m glad you
know about the general masses in BRIC countries. In China(where I’m
from) the masses are generally illiterate and have little education. Its
common for them to be seen spitting everywhere, urinating and
defecating in the streets, etc. However, I am from the “elite” class as
my parents are party officials. I am also friends with people from India
that are a higher caste. Renu Khator came from a wealthy family with 7
servants. We view the lower classes as chattel to make money off of.
China has greatly benefited from our slave class. I have nothing to say
positive about the Brazilian favelas, but it is probably very dangerous
there. However regardless of those facts, China and India are creating
many educated professionals. We come from Billion + populations. With
just 5% of our population (50 million in China)we can easily flood the
West and dominate the job market. Americans like to pride themselves
in a false equality. The Asian perspective is that we know people are
not equal. I have no problem with harvesting organs from Fallun Gong or
any other political criminals. They chose to engage in subversive
behavior instead of serving the state. You should look at the NSA and
TSA. American politicians are looking to China for ideas. David
Rockerfeller has praised China for our economy and political style. Jobs are being outsourced from the US and given to Chinese and Indian workers. Americans do not want to pay for American made products, services or engage in economic protectionism. Americans prefer to pay for food stamps and unemployment benefits.
The trends in America, whether labor, politics, or even culture is heading towards the east. You should get used to it.
In
the past, (before the 60’s) college was free to a great number of
Americans. Society decided it was better to educate the college bound “for free”
instead of give massive welfare for the lower classes or for expensive
wars. Costs are now spiraling out of control. I never had to work while
studying in China. Working two Mcjobs is for the low classes. Do you
think Khator’s children had to work two jobs while going to college? Do
you really think they got into medical school because they were the
brightest or because of who their parents are? Khators husband also
works at UH in a high position. You need to be more objective about
America and stop watching poorly made hollywood movies. We are all
fighting to be at the top of the pyramid. Wake up. America’s living standard is going
down(artificially propped up with credit card debt). You will soon have to live like people in the rest of the world.
Furthermore, I did not say the BRICS are a utopia. The EU for example, has free top notch education. They also have free healthcare. Germany is doing well economically. I know Germans who never went into debt, never had to work two Mcjobs and instead got a stipend. Many norwegians get free education even when they study abroad. They also get spending money. America used to have a high standard of living because people were patriotic, organized in unions(increased safety,40 hr workweek), supported American goods/services. Now Americans want to be cheap and sell their children down the river. Look at the hours it took to pay rent, food, etc 40 years ago and today? Look at minimum wage in 1968 and now? Look how many adults in America are earning minimum wage. Look how many salaried workers are working overtime for free. If they don’t they will lose their jobs. They don’t know what a 40 hr work week is anymore. America is turning poorer and poorer. Look at the obvious. America used to be a utopia. Now America is turning into a joke for the whole world.
What does it matter if they have the “opportunity” to go into debt, if they can’t find a job? I’m not just talking about “worthess” liberal arts degrees. Or the job that pays the same as someone with a HS diploma? The banks are the ones happy so many millennials are getting student loans. Many degrees are worthless. No matter what degree you get, you will probably have to compete with people around the world who may have gotten a “free education”. America does prefer to subsidize oil companies like BP buy giving them OUR minerals for cheap. Haliburton also gets alot of money for things such as the war in Iraq. Free education and healthcare is not technically free, but they are more beneficial. The alternative of huge student debts(now surpassing mortgages), higher unemployment, less time for studying(time is also “not free”) among other things also COSTS!
Why is it better for students to be burdened with school loans instead of home loans like our parents and grandparents had?
Have you ever taken the time to research WHY school costs have increased almost twelvefold since the 70’s? Nothing (legal) has increased at the same rate as college. Why is that?
True, many degrees are basically worthless, actually even worse than worthless since it leaves the student in serious debt. Yet, I’ll bet top dollar that these are the degrees the majority of UH students are pursuing. I have no pitty for them. Put your big boy/girl pants on and take responsibility for your actions. Nobody, especially the banks, forced you.
Regarding millenials job outlook, well, you voted for it, overwhelmingly, twice.
Stay in school if you think your education isn’t subsidized.
Your education is also subsidized. The profits of the oil companies and Halliburton are also subsidized. Walmart and McDonalds have a workforce that is artificially cheaper because we(taxpayers) subsidize the low pay (food stamps, welfare,medicaid) of their workforce. I’m sure it would be more popular for the fast food workers to strike if they suddenly stopped getting access to all that aid. I don’t want to pay the food bills for Walmart and McDonald employees simply because those corporations do not want to pay a living wage. I never set foot in those places. Let the consumers of those places pay of living wage for the employees of corporations they patronize. I prefer to patronize places that pay higher wages. I rather pay higher prices than have taxpayers pay for them. The banks and conglomorates have privatized the profits and socialized the expenses/losses. Do you prefer we subsidize Blackwater/XE or Americans students studying for “useful” degrees?
College is in a higher demand do to the outsourcing of many highly paid blue collar jobs. Children were taught that to get ahead in the great “Service Economy” by getting college degrees. Many of these professions are also now outsourced(engineers,IT).
The fast food jobs have stayed though. The government counts “assembling” a hamburger as a “manufacturing job”.
The only thing I see opening across the country are the many corporate chain restaurants and fast food places since they are one of the few things that can’t be outsourced. The best thing a person can do now is get a government job in surveillance or homeland security. The government keeps growing even though the IRS has outsourced some work to Asia. Frankly the oligarchs have greatly benefited from this rigged system. You may see the widening gap between the rich and poor as proof of America’s capitalistic success, but I prefer the American capitalistic success of the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s.
“Regarding millenials job outlook, well, you voted for it, overwhelmingly, twice.”
You cannot be certain that the elections were not fraudulent.
Electronic voting machines can easily be rigged,”voters” may not be not citizens, or people could have “voted twice”. Sadly I think you believe in a system that could be an entire facade.
You also forget that the corporate media decides who is invited to the major debates. Both the R’s and D’s need each-other to ensure legitimacy. They work together to keep any other parties out of politics. Duopolies are only ONE more choice than a monopoly.
So far, not a single response has answered the most
important question, why has the cost of a college education risen exponentially when compared everything else? Instead, we’re all just whining and blaming our woes on whomever our professors told us is at fault (banks, Halliburton, Wall St. BP etc).
We have nobody to blame but ourselves for our economic
outlook. We voted for the “hipster cool” president with “swagger,” yet who NEVER in his entire life ever created
anything (product/service) in the private sector. He’s in charge of our economy. He’s responsible for the highest unemployment rates among women and minorities since the great depression. Where’s the outrage?
We parrot what we’re told in our lecture halls or what we
read in the Huff Post or Daily Coog, “Those evil oil companies receiving subsidies while getting rich off the backs of the working class.” Yet we never look beyond what the truth is about those supposed “subsidies.” We also never stop and think about the oil companies, who take the risk, invest their own capital in the infrastructure (people, exploration, processing, storage, transportation, etc, etc, etc) to produce a product that touches almost
everything we use/do everyday, yet only make ~$.02-.07 profit per gallon. Profit that is shared amongst its
shareholders, many of which are your parents.
Meanwhile, the Govt, who risks nothing, invests nothing, TAKES, in taxes, on avg >$.50 per gallon. Who’s
subsidizing who?
Our liberal arts professors (and our media) rarely tell the
complete story. Most are lacking in intellectual honesty. They lecture us, a captured audience dependent on agreeing with them to get a good grade, with
their “opinion” instead of both sides, which would have allowed us, as students, to make our own opinion based on the facts.
We parrot what we’re told in our lecture halls or what we
read in the
Huff Post or Daily Coog, “Those evil oil companies receiving subsidies
while getting rich off the backs of the working class.”
They get rich off pubic resources. If idiots want to get ripped of for 1/5 royalty on their own private property that’s fine. In Libya under the the pre-Gadaffi leadership, the oil companies payed dismal royalties like in the US. Gadaffi forced them to pay 50% to 79% royalties, which is why NATO later killed him via their puppets. I don’t like the Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (mostly crooks from the oil biz) negotiating cheap deals that benefit their friends and benefit themselves once they leave the public sector for jobs at their old companies. Its a revolving door. You idolize corporations but are probably not privy to the corruption that I personally know of. Norway has nationalized its oil and uses the money to benefit the country(pay for healthcare and education). We have wars in Iraq so that the oil companies can acquire new assets. It has not benefited the taxpayers. Halliburton would not be as profitable if taxpayers weren’t paying for overpriced services that we didn’t need in the first place. The oil companies should have paid for all the military expenses need to acquire their assets in Iraq. The costs/losses where socialized but the profits where privatized. Americans are not getting any discount on crude oil compared to people anywhere else on the international market. There is also no accountability. The BP CEO and Board of Directors should be charged with environmental terrorism from the BP oil spill. I could care less if they deliberately did it, or did so because they wanted to save a few bucks on a Chinese repaired blowout preventer and ordered the roughnecks to use saltwater instead of mud. The effect was the same. At least the Chinese executed some of the people responsible for their melamine milk scandal. We should have done the same here. BP execs did not have their lives on the line like the crews on that platform.
“Meanwhile, the Govt, who risks nothing, invests nothing, TAKES, in taxes, on avg >$.50 per gallon. Who’s
subsidizing who?”
We are subsidizing them with billions in tax breaks and dirt cheap minerals for them to extract. The only reason they profit off of public assets is because they own the politicians running the BLM & BOEM. Since they do not represent the best interest of the people, the public officials will gladly negotiate very favorably with the oil companies. Gaddafi, being a greedy dictator, had every intention to get as much as he could for his personal use. The oil companies such as Occidental Oil still made a profit,but not as large as they would have with a puppet government. They didn’t provide him with a charity at 50 to 79% royalties. We are giving the oil companies charity because their people run the government. The minerals on US public lands are owned not only by the American citizens currently living, but future generations as well. We need to be careful with how we negotiate our resources away.
Its also interesting that you mention our hipster cool president. BP was a big donor to his campaigns. He will do almost whatever they want. It is further proof of how corrupt our government is and what stranglehold the corporate oligarchs have on America.
You and I probably agree more than disagree. Our differences, I believe, are that you (generally) support or believe more Govt (of the right kind) is the solution, while I do not.
Nationalizing any industry has proven historically to be catastrophic. Look at current Venezuela, or history with any of the prior communist countries. In the last century billions of people have been subject to suffering and death as a result of “nationalization.” What do you think will happen with nationalized healthcare? Do you think we will have the same amount of research/development in cures and treatment if there wasn’t profit motive? How about quality of care without any form of competition? How about your govt controlling whether you get the treatment or not? We don’t often realize that most of the advances in medicine, that have saved trillions of lives, were not invented by the GOVT, but by profit driven companies.
Oil companies increase in production/profit today are primarily from PRIVATE resources. We could go on at length regarding the use of public resources but hopefully we can agree that it is the private sector that takes the risk, not the govt. Who benefits if we allow use of public lands? We all do, not just the oil companies. If we don’t? Nobody.
U.S. oil companies gained very little as a result of the Iraq war. 5 of the 6 oil producing regions were awarded to EU or Asian oil companies. So the mantra that we went to war in Iraq for the oil is false. Is the world a better place without Sadam Hussein? I believe so. How soon we forget the atrocities he conducted on his own people and his neighbors. Would you rather he still be in power?
We do agree on many things. I think you trust the government to rescue
oppressed third world civilians or protect the world from dangerous
dictators, but do not trust them to operate oil companies, or run a
healthcare system. I don’t trust them to do anything well, but I trust
corporations even less (in certain instances) than I do a government
that may have some accountability with the citizens. The government is also very corrupt that its a matter of picking your poison.
Nationalizing can be good. It is true many activities of nationalization were done to confiscate privately owned assets so that the elites could later privatize them and hand them out for pennies on the dollar to their friends. This can be seen in Eastern European history. Eminent domain is another tactic to force people to sell land cheap to corporations(Walmart) as a “public good”. That being said, I would like the oil on public lands to be operated by a nationalized oil company similar to what is being done in Norway. BP could not have operated in such a dangerous and cheap/profit protecting way in Norway where they have higher safety standards.
” So the mantra that we went to war in Iraq for the oil is
false.”
BP , Shell and EXXON had big ties to the Bush and Blair Administration(and Obama administartion). They have benefited enormously from the Iraq War. Do you honestly think that the Bush administration started that war to help the Iraqi people? It was to help many corporations in the military-industrial complex(exposed by Eisenhower) and oil companies. I highly suggest you read about the Project for a New American Century.
It is debatable that Iraq has benefited from Al Qaeda replacing Saddam. Certainly it hasn’t been beneficial for Christians(I’m Christian) who were somewhat protected by Saddam. Saddam knew how to put those Islamic fanatics in place. Al Qaeda is growing all over the Arab world and NATO is supporting Al Qaeda against Christians in Syria. Thank God many people like me organized to tell Congress that we do not want the US military to invade Syria and fight alongside Al Qaeda. Vets in my family would rather go to prison for desertion than fight for Al Qaeda. The US government could care less about Assad’s war crimes. They see Syria as a new place to make money. I hope Assad kills as many Al Qaeda terrorists as he can. We have many homeless and crippled Iraq War Vets while Oil tycoons are enjoying corporate jets filled with hookers and cigars. It is truly a disgrace!
Most of the great breakthroughs in medicine came as a result of great men who were geniuses. They were fueled by passion and fame. Many did not become wealthy and some freely gave any patent rights to non-profit entities. Examples include Jonas Salk,Wilhelm Röntgen, and Norman Holter. That is not to say profit has no role in medicine. If you really look objectively at medical history, we have more profit today and less breakthroughs. In many ways it hinders medicine. Profits can hinder the interest in cures instead of long term lucrative treatments. Interest in botanicals is very low since natural plants cannot be patented the way drugs are. The AMA has lobbied the government to restrict the number of medical students and residents. This is to maintain the profits for doctors (supply shortage) while it is not good for patients.
America’s standard of care is decreasing. America used to have many charity hospitals(run by churches). Ron Paul worked in a Catholic hospital. Many doctors used to work a few days a week for free(no profit) because the Doctor profession was seen as a noble priestly class. Today we have a doctor shortage and are relying on subpar Nurse practitioners as a way to circumvent the doctor shortage. The elites will go see a real doctor not a nurse practitioner. Nurse practitioners are being promoted for the peasants as an “equivalent” medical care provider. Most countries do not have anything like nurse practitioners and have real doctors. Hospitals used to issue uniforms to nurses and they would only wear them at work. These would be washed at the hospital’s expense. Profit driven execs decided that they would no longer pay for the laundry service. Nurses started to wear their uniforms outside of the hospital and wash them in their home washing machine. I’m sure you have seen a nurse come from the hospital still in scrubs and go pick apples at the grocery store, eat in a restaurant, or ride a bus at the medical center. This has dramatically increased hospital acquired infections. I have been campaigning against this for a long time. This behavior is not done in Europe since there was no profit incentive to do so. Even though patients are suffering from this in America, hospitals have little incentive to revert back to the correct practices. They increase profits by reducing costs of laundry and have increased demand for services if patients get more ill. Luckly a few hospitals in America understood what is going on and decided to put people over profits. These hospitals had a significant reduction in hospital acquired infections after mandatory changing of scrubs at the hospital.
I see the profit motive as a good thing. I get the feeling you don’t. Think about all the items you used today, your computer, car, apartment, cell phone, electricity, food, entertainment, your source of income, etc, etc, etc. All of those items are the result of profit driven capitalism. It’s not perfect, nothing is, but nothing in our history as human beings has increased our standard of living more, fed more people, clothed, cured, protected, etc, etc, than the importance of capitalism. Nothing… If you want to eliminate that, or suppress it with higher taxes and more Govt control, well, we’re screwed.
Look at all the things you benefit from everyday do to geniuses or others that were not motivated by profit. I already gave you some examples of scientists. Look at all the people that have been fed, clothed, educated because people had not motivation for profit, but instead wanted to better mankind. You have benefited tremendously from people volunteering on your behalf. Were your parents motivated by profit to raise you, or was it out of love and duty? You benefited tremendously from the founding fathers. Some of them had lost their financial standing by fighting to create America. If they were motivated by profit, they could have easily worked for the King as agents. People have served in the military when they could have better paying jobs in the civilian world, because they joined for an altruistic cause(even if they were used so that corporations could profit off them).. Henry Kissinger called soldiers “”dumb stupid animals to be used””. If you want less people motivated by goodwill, charity, duty or honor and more people to engage in activities based on profit, then we’re screwed! Actually we are screwed and this is the cause of most of our problems. “For the love of money is the root of all evil” -Jesus Christ
GoRockets14 said: “We are subsidizing them (oil companies) with billions in tax breaks and dirt cheap minerals for them to extract.”
That simply isn’t true. The highest corporate income tax rates in 2012 belong to the three largest oil companies in the U.S..
Exxon-Mobil: Income: $45Billion, Taxes: $31Billion, Tax Rate: 39%
Chevron: Income: $26Billion, Taxes: $20Billion, Rate: 43%
Conoco-Phillips: Income: $7.9Billion, Taxes: $8.4Billion, Rate: 52%!!!!!
Paying the most in taxes and having the highest tax rate in the nation hardly sounds like the Govt is giving them a break.
But that’s never, or rarely mentioned in the media or in academia.
Max said:”Paying the most in taxes and having the highest tax rate in the nation hardly sounds like the Govt is giving them a break.”
How can they afford those enormous taxes with meager profits? That money came from somewhere. That shows that they aren’t doing too bad.Their real profits are much higher than they let the IRS know about. Even those taxes wont pay for the wars done to their benefit. If the government properly negotiated royalties, the profits would be less and they could pay lower taxes:)
Are you stating the three largest oil companies in the U.S. are guilty of tax fraud??? That’s your response to the fact they (oil companies) pay more than any industry in the nation, not just in numbers but also in overall tax rates? Really? We are really screwed as a country when our attitude towards profit and success is that the Govt need to take more of it, or hinder it..
The govt charges what it charges for oil leases based on the highest bidder. The govt decides whether to open such leases based on politics, and sadly, not economics.
We didn’t fight the Iraq war for corporate benefit. If there is such a declaration, please provide me the link. Prior to the Iraq war we were already receiving Iraqi oil in the U.S., via the oil for food program. The program that was full of corruption within the U.N. where U.N. officials and their cronies illegally stole billions $$$. Yeah U.N.!!!
Max said: “Are you stating the three largest oil companies in the U.S. are guilty of tax fraud???”
This is normal for corporations. Its only considered fraud if you are convicted of it. Rules are only for the little guys. When you get certain level of power, its a totally different game.
Max said”The govt charges what it charges for oil leases based on the highest
bidder. The govt decides whether to open such leases based on politics,
and sadly, not economics.”
Its not the highest bidder. The companies with the most connections in the governments have the advantage. Business is business. You need to buy the officials.
Max said: “We didn’t fight the Iraq war for corporate benefit. If there is such a declaration, please provide me the link.”
There is none. You know better than that they would openly admit it. They want to convince the public for more wars so they don’t want to lose credibility with the masses.
Did Hitler say he attacked Poland for world domination or because of the fake “Gleiwitz incident”? Are you aware that McNamara admitted the Gulf of Tonkin incident was staged?
from the documentary: Fog of War
See, you do trust governments when they say they are protecting the world from tyrants and fighting against terror.
Do you know what a false flag attack is, and if the US has ever been involved in such tactics? Please read about Operation Ajax and the American oil companies involved.
Max said:”The program that was full of corruption within the U.N. where U.N.
officials and their cronies illegally stole billions $$$. Yeah U.N.!!!”
Of course! Some oil companies such as Total were able to get some of that pie. The Bush administration made sure their friends got it instead of those UN crooks. Vultures fighting over a carcass.
Max, I suggest you read “War is a Racket” by Maj. General Smedley Butler. He was a two time Medal of Honor recipient.
He talks about the corporations involved in US military campaigns. He was a real patriot. Sadly we don’t have that many men like him anymore.
Even Eisenhower talks about the real dangers of the military industrial complex:
Like you I do not have any sympathy to the UN. I consider it an evil organization created by the elites. Are you aware Rockerfeller donated the land in NYC for its headquarters. You probably are aware that they promote the disarmament of civilians worldwide.
Herbert Walker Bush was a great supporter of the UN. HE admitted that the UN would help to create a New World Order.
Bushgave his buddies such as Colin Powel glocks that had “NEW WORLD ORDER” engraved on the top of the slide to commerate the Gulf War
“So far, not a single response has answered the most
important question, why has the cost of a college education risen exponentially when compared everything else?”
Easy college loan availability has lead to inflation of prices. People have fewer choices but to pursue the dwindling high paying jobs available. Those jobs generally require a college education or trade school. If there wasn’t such a demand/ consumer base(with student loans in hand) then the colleges would have to reduce prices. They have no incentive to do so. They have money to burn on overpaid execs and frivolous infrastructure. Sure one can be an entrepreneur, but most of the “self made men” shown on TV such as Zuckerberg are actually front men for government created programs. There are few opportunities to create successful businesses compared to the 70’s. Nowadays your ideas will likely get stolen by a corporations via NSA surveillance(caught numerous times engaging in corporate espionage), or someone else with connections will get financed over you and use your idea.
Hello, shill for oil.
Nope, but I challenge you to educate me on 5-10 things you use daily that we’re not created without the direct or indirect influence of petrochemicals.
We get carcinogenic food coloring, pesticides, and fertilizers from the waste products of the oil industry. Most of the petrochemicals in foods are hormone-destabilizers(phlatlates, BPA) and could be partially responsible for the gender-identity disorder and cancer skyrocketing all over the world. These carcinogenic compounds are basically a soft-kill weapon.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2205245/Gender-bending-chemicals-normal-household-goods-cause-obesity-children.html
I eat organic food because the hidden cost of garbage fast food is too much! So many guys are sterile with low testosterone from eating corporate slop. We need more organic food to produce alpha males!
We benefit from increased non-hodgkin lymphoma from the perfume-like fumes in Pasadena’s refineries.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130729083350.htm
Leukemia: The price of living close to an oil refinery?
http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/newscience/leukemia-higher-than-predicted-close-to-refinery
You didn’t answer my question, which is quite hypocritical of you.
If you want to eat organic food, fine, you’re lucky to have the “choice” to do so. However, the safe use of pesticides and fertilizers have allowed us, as a global society, to feed the masses and greatly reduce disease, which could never be achieved with “organic” methods. I guess you would rather see global mass starvation, disease, and death. Go GREEN!!
Unlike most of worlds population, who need to be fed, you are lucky you can choose the less efficient method of producing food, one of which actually has a higher carbon footprint per unit due to the scale. A method which (unbiased) studies have shown, do not produce a product that is different nutritionally.
I’m all for taking care of the environment, but I’m also a realist and try not to be hypocritical in the way I live. Since you brought up BPA, I have to ask you, what do you use to carry water while you go from class to class? A gourd? A plastic bottle, glass, aluminum? Tisk, tisk, they all were produced using petrochemicals. How could you!!
I don’t have to answer your silly questions. You are not my authority and this is not your college class. Please make a list of 10 things you would have used daily 200 years ago thanks to horse power. There are better options for energy than petroleum. There are also plastics made from non-petrochemicals.
I eat organic because I want to minimize cancer as as practically possible. Eat the cheap carcinogenic genetically modified food if you like. Feeding the masses? You want the world to be polluted and bees and other pollinators to die so that the world can be overpopulated with masses of low-IQ people full of cancer and diabetes? I don’t. Cancer also can bring death and is a disease. Without the subsidized cheap toxic food, it is quite possible there wouldn’t be so many people on this earth. Food would be more expensive, yet healthy and its production would have less of an impact on the environment. Less people would also mean less destruction to the environment from all the other resources consumed by the masses. Win Win in my book. I’ll toast you to my organic GMO-free corn bourbon whiskey!
Those “unbiased” studies that you champion are the opposite of “unbiased”. Corporate money and politics can swing most research studies anyway they want them to. Self censorship is highly prevalent in academia. One must remember who doles out the research grants. Global warming(if actually occurring) is mostly due to interactions between the earth and the sun, with a smaller amount due to man. I care more about wildlife habitat loss due to overpopulation than I do “global warming”. Buy your carbon credits from Al Gore if you prefer. An organism that has been genetically modified for extremely high yields, survive toxic Roundup, survive mechanical harvesting(tomatoes), use less water, among other things generally with have a loss of nutritious content. Conventionally grown, they will be full of carcinogens and neurotoxins compared to organically grown. After eating years of organic food, the toxic mass produced slop makes me sick. Eat a real tomato(organic heirloom) one day and you will understand what I’m talking about.
True, there’s “environmentally” better options than petrochemicals, but then REALITY comes by and slaps us in the back of the head. Those rainbow encircled solar panels and windmills placed in fields of unicorns rely heavily on petrochemicals in their production. And with current technology, can’t produce even a fraction of the energy we need.
It’s also easy for someone to proclaim they’re against oil production and the petrochemical industries while they type such statements on their MacBooks consisting of nothing but rearranged carbon atom chains which were once a molecule of crude oil, while driving in their plastic laden Prius’s to the nearest Whole Food’s store overflowing with “natural” food/products that traveled across the world by oil fueled ships/trains/trucks built of steel mined and forged with energy from oil. I’ve not even made a pin prick on the surface regarding oil’s influence in our lives. Yet these same people would be appalled (hopefully) by widespread disease from lack of life saving pharmaceuticals and pesticides, starvation caused by global food production collapse, and subsequent mass death if their wishes were fulfilled and we lived in a word without oil.
I’ve had year around gardens my entire life, and have friends who have converted their entire yard. I know what real food tastes like. But again, I’m a realist, I try not to be hypocritical, and I know my friends and I would be in serious trouble if that was all we had to rely on. So, I’m thankful for the local HEB, and oil companies.
Your generalizations don’t apply to me. I hate apple products(outsourcing to suicide net slave factories). I hate Toyota(pure junk for losers).
There are better technologies than the magical unicorns you speak of. Heck the Germans had synthetic fuel from coal during WW2. Chemistry has come a long way since then. The oil companies do everything in their power to suppress better energy sources. They want to world to stay dependent on oil because its their cash cow. If you look at business history, there have been many examples of corporations suppressing better products/technologies to protect their profits. If peak worldwide production happens, then the doomsday scenario is inevitable as long as we let the oil companies continue down this unsustainable path. Horses played a huge role in building the country and much of Western Civilization. Look at how wood was used for energy in the past. It is senseless for you to continue on and on about our society’s dependence on oil. This is not elementary school. You do not want to see the negative side. You just parrot the oil industry talking points. I’m no hippie and have been involved in many capacities with the oil industry. It is easy for someone to talk about how great the oil tycoons are when they are not the one getting cancer or being blown up on a BP platform. Its easy for someone to talk about how great it was to get rid of Saddam when they weren’t fighting in Anbar and the patriotic Cheney and Bush were proud dodge drafters. Neocons(crypto-communists) are no different than democrat commies(Obamunists). They are owned by the same puppet masters. Would you still build your house with asbestos when the intelligent people were warning about the dangers of asbestos, because the construction workers getting mesothelioma should be grateful it is flame retardant and cheap? Would you still give a child a plastic bottle with BPA or paint their room with lead paint because the corporations know what’s best for the consumer? I get that you are a cheerleader for the oil tycoons. I know too much about how they operate behind closed doors.
Man, such a bleak outlook. I’d say good luck in your future endeavors, but you’d probably find some reason or conspiracy why I shouldn’t.
Thanks, Stay safe