Sorry to say that my first reaction was that this is heresy. . . all this talk of science is a hoax.
But then the music calmed me right down and I wended my way through, not understanding 99% of what I saw but in awe of nature and Neal's art nonetheless.
Ok, so we are raising a bunch of cheaters and liars. Great.
When the get to the workforce, then what? When I was in a position to hire, I made the decision to not interview anyone who went to Elon. The school did not in the early 2000s use a standard grammar book and at least according to my kid's papers, the profs had little to say about poor grammar, rambling sentences, poor logic, etc. Great.
Since the work was about writing and speaking, grammar and logic were important. Fast forward to today, and I guess I'd have to make a decision about not interviewing kids from top-tier schools.
Perhaps if non-poor people start speaking out on a regular basis to elected and appointed officials, the media, and policy wonks, we might make some progress getting a better healthcare system.
I've spent 30 years as a policy and budget analyst and advocate on health and human services issues. If electeds and appointeds were going to make decisions based on the lives of poor people it would have happened already.
I wish I could have taken something as a kid. I knew when I was 5 that something was wrong. I felt different from other kids (as least as they said they felt) and that continued through my late 20s when I started taking SSRIs. It was the best decision I've made. Ever.
But back to being a kid and thinking and feeling differently: It negatively impacted me. And the abuse only made it worse. If only I was put on drugs and/or sent to talk therapy.
Not sure how it is in places other than Virginia, but added to the confusion created by the orders (yay, judges for ordering use of the designated funds!) is a question about when the state will decide to implement a temporary food program that is supposed to start Monday.
And, like everywhere else, many food pantry shelves are empty.
An offer and suggestion. The offer: I'm happy to blog and otherwise share your site with folks in my little part of the world (Northern Neck of Virginia).
Suggestion: Consider a redesign where the text is not white on a dark background. I just found this design guidance from CDC https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/11938; not sure if there is updated research. If there is, I'd love to read it.
No answer to the question, but you raise a good point: Americans consider homes an investment.
Years ago when I was doing public policy analysis and advocacy full time, I spent some time thinking about home ownership, being financially and otherwise prepared, understanding the realities of home ownership, and acknowledging ownership is not the only game in town.
Either Fannie or Freddie published a paper about "appropriate" housing options for a person's stage in life. Nothing set in stone, but patterns and priorities.
The paper made the point that not everyone wants the responsibility of owning. These folks have other priorities and don't consider themselves failures by renting. Similarly, families may choose to live with other generations. Some older folks move to rentals, smaller owned homes, or assisted living.
The bee in my bonnet has always been the "I want I should have" mindset. When it comes to housing, it goes like "I want to die in my house." Great if you can afford it - meaning affording maintenance, modifications (ramps, lefts, etc.), skilled and unskilled help, taxes, etc. The rub comes when people can't afford it. Some jurisdictions offer interest-free loans to add ramps, etc.; loans are paid back upon death.
I'm not indifferent to the struggles of aging. But ignoring it does not make it go away. I feel like with the time and energy we put into trying to address affordable housing, for example, we should also pay attention to our individual (and community?) plans for getting older.
Back to the point: In my policy days, hearing stories about how old folks died in their homes and their kids expected a windfall only to find out that the property had to be sold to pay for X, Y, and Z. The house was great collateral but was not a wealth transfer as may have been expected.
Not sure how to balance, accommodate all the competing interests, but what we are doing now is certainly not working.
But then the music calmed me right down and I wended my way through, not understanding 99% of what I saw but in awe of nature and Neal's art nonetheless.
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