CollegeLife

BOOMERS WILL BUST YOU

2004-09-01T08:59:00.000-05:00

The Baby Boomers are the most spoiled generation ever! In the 60s they rejected traditional values, including their parents' habits of saving and investing. The Boomer Geezers are spending their inheritances from their parents, and now they're going to spend your future income. Boomer Geezers are a black hole of spending, spending, spending.

How will they bust you? The Boomers run the Federal Government and set the media's agenda. They will spend Social Security into bankruptcy. The Federal Government already spends over $20,000 per American family per year, and those numbers are headed upward. Last year the Feds spent TWICE as much money as they took in. The Government took in about $500 billion in revenue, yet they spent about $1 trillion, leaving a deficit for one year of about $450 billion.

Bush, the Conservative, has run up the biggest deficits in the history of the US. Boomer Geezer at work! The Republicans are telling everyone they spent the money on the military and Homeland Security, but the numbers show only about 1/3 of that deficit on such necessary expenditures.

Kerry is one of the five Biggest Spenders in the US Senate, an even bigger spender than Teddy Kennedy, thus Kerry is no answer to Bush's wasteful spending. Depressing, yes, and there is nothing that can be done about it this election year because one of the two will certainly be elected president.

However, over the long run, you can send a message and start the process of bringing down these Geezers and their free-spending ways. Vote LIBERTARIAN in 2004!

Libertarians believe in less spending, smaller government, and more individual freedom. They are the ONLY party that is serious about cutting the Federales' power and operations in half.

WHY VOTE

2004-08-31T12:51:00.000-05:00

The US is on the wrong track, and you cannot change it alone. BUT, you CAN make a statement that will make a difference down the road. College-age citizens have the most at stake in this election yet show the least interest in it.

The RepubliCrats are spending your future income today. Bush ran up a $500 billion deficit this year, almost twice as large as the next largest deficit run up by his daddy. And, contrary to popular belief, only about 30% of that deficit spending went to the war or Homeland Security. 9-11 unlocked the "lock box" that both Bush and Gore talked so much about in the 2000 election. No one is talking about relocking the social security "lock box" anymore. It's just spend, spend, spend.

Spending is power and politicians of both parties fight for power, regardless of the cost to you and your future. Only YOU can stop these idiots!

Vote Libertarian in the November election. The Libertarian Party is the ONLY party that even argues in favor of cutting the Federal Government in half. Both the Republicans and the Democrats point to their politicians and spending programs as the answer to all the world's problems.

Only YOU can protect your own future. The Libertarians cannot win, so why waste a vote on their presidential candidate. Once the politicians and media see that 10% or 20% of the American public have caught onto the major parties' hypocrisy, then some ambitious politicians may actually start listening to YOU.

Both the Republicans and the Democrats have spent the US into an enormous fiscal hole. ONLY YOU can stop these Geezers! Sen. Kerry has one of the five Biggest Spending records in the Senate, even worse than Teddy Kennedy. Bush is the Biggest Spending president in history, even though the Republicans control both the Senate and the House. Thus, all the "conservative" talk of smaller government and lower federal spending is pure hypocrisy.

For the sake of your future and to put the Geezers in their place, Vote Libertarian!

COLLEGE TOO EXPENSIVE

2004-07-15T09:20:00.000-05:00

College is too expensive! As reported in Investor's Business Daily on July 15, "the increases in tuition exceed the rate of inflation." Over the past 22 years, tuition has soared 202%.

IBD points out that $103 billion in Federal grants and loans last year alone has made college administrators "numb to price hikes".

In fact, college faculty and administrators have it made. Full professors have "tenure" (can never be fired) and most have consulting gigs on the side where they make their real money. They don't want to be bothered with lowly undergrads, so they hand off real teaching to semi-bi-lingual grad students or others.

This is YOUR MONEY they're wasting on Ivory Towers. With the internet, DVDs, and other technology gadgets, the price of college should be going DOWN-- not increasing more than anything else but medical care and oil.

It's time to REBEL! Get involved. We need to take control from the administrators and the college trustees (most of whom are really there to make sure their construction companies, banks, insurance companies, etc. get the multi-billion dollar contracts from your institution of higher learning.

WEED

2004-07-12T13:36:00.000-05:00

One of the most conservative journals in the US, National Review, just did a front page story on why it is absurd to make weed illegal-- yet their on-line edition does not seem to have that story.

Has anyone found it on-line?

Youth of today must rebel against the politics of the Geezers! Not only is it absurd to send kids to prison who smoke a joint, but, just as seriously, the Geezers are spending all YOUR MONEY.

How? The Federal Government is running up debts you and your kids will spend the rest of your lives paying for. The only real debate between Bush (who is running a $500 billion deficit) and Kerry (who wants to run a $700 billion deficit) is over what programs to spend YOUR MONEY on. It's time to stop these Geezers, all of them!

VOTE Libertarian!

NEW BOOK: THE AUTOMATIC MILLIONAIRE

2004-06-16T09:09:00.000-05:00

Check out The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach. In his book and on his website he emphasizes the key to the average person easily becoming a millionaire is: time! And only YOUNG people have enough time ahead of them to become millionaires in a gradual, predictable manner. His "latte factor" is well worth considering for the young, hip folks who spend $5 a day on frivolous liquids.

The real threat to the future economic success of our generation is the out-of-control Federal Government spending promoted by the Geezers. As Jack Kemp, co-director of Empower America, stated in a June 16, 2004, Investor's Business Daily article:

"...no matter how fast the incredible federal revenue machine sucks in taxes, unless some kind of spending limitation is put into law, it will never be sufficient to keep pace with spending."

Forget about Empower America's cultural dogma, Kemp is correct in asserting that the major threat facing young people starting out in their careers today is the Federal Government's insatiable appetite for your money. Bach fails to highlight this obstacle in his otherwise excellent book.

Follow the guidelines of The Automatic Millionaire and grow rich slowly!

WEED: LEGAL/ ILLEGAL ?

2004-06-15T14:11:00.000-05:00

Remind me, "Why is weed illegal?" You've seen it before, but let's review:

* Weed has never killed anyone, while thousands die each year from drinking (cirhosis of the liver, among other ailments);

* Weed makes people passive, while alcohol makes people combative (bar and/or domestic fights) (check out Salon.com's story noting that at sporting events, while "drinkers get rowdy, pot smokers bliss out");

* On the freeways at 2a.m. Sunday morning the cops say the guy doing 40mph in the slow lane is stoned while the guy doing 110mph in the fast lane is drunk (honestly, which is more likely to kill people?).

We've been in a War on Drugs since the Nixon Administration more than 30 years ago, yet drugs on the street are cheaper and more varied than ever before. Can the War on Drugs be won? Yes? What are you smoking?

Consider this:

* The Federal Government prohibiting you from smoking weed is like your neighbors taking a vote on what you can and cannot do in the privacy of your own home. (In truth, the Government is nothing more than the sum of all your voting neighbors around the country.) Just how free is the land of the free? If you're not hurting other people, what business is it of your neighbors what you do?

* If you go to Federal prison on drug (or any other) charges, the Medical group there will prescribe the stongest heroin-based pain killers and anti-depressants to help you cope with the pain and depression of spending 10, 20, or 40 years in prison.

* Illegal drugs are available in every prison in the US (with the possible exception of "super-max" joints where the inmates are in solitary confinement and never touch another human, and are on camera in lighted cells 24 hours a day). Keep in mind that some of these prisons have 40' walls, topped by guards with machine guns. They have random cell searches and body cavity searches-- yet the drugs still get in.

What is the purpose of the War on Drugs? (Protect the kids, yes, for heaven's sake, let's protect the kids. But for those 18 or 21 years and older, what is the purpose?)

Come November, let's get real! Which candidates favor an end to the futile War? They're out there. Do you support them?

THE FEDS ARE SPENDING OUR MONEY !

2004-06-11T09:17:00.000-05:00

"A wise man once said that balancing the budget is like going to heaven. Everyone wants to do it, but nobody wants to do what you have to do to get there." Rep. Jeb Hensarling.

Congressman Hensarling also noted that Federal spending has increased from $16,000 per household in 1998 to $21,000 per household today. Over the past 40 years Federal spending has grown SEVEN times faster than family incomes.

(Check out Hensarling's article, "Fighting for Budget Process Reform", at www.cse.org. Find his article, and many other good ones, at "Key Issues", "Government Spending".)

Duh!?! College students need to REVOLT against the Geezers spending our money of tomorrow today. Your ballot is your bullet! Fire it in November. (The problem is that most of the Republicans are as bad as most of the Democrats. It's hard to shoot 'em all-- but we can try!)

GREEK LIFE

2004-05-29T10:34:00.000-05:00

The best Greek campuses in and near the South are the University of Oklahoma (which will surprise many), the University of Georgia (which years ago was regularly picked by Playboy Magazine as one of the top party schools in America but which recently has become one of the most academically competitive schools in the country), and the University of Mississippi (long known for its Miss Americas).

The best fraternity at OU is Beta Theta Pi. Betas are campus leaders, rich, and cool. Sigma Alpha Epsilon has long been #2. SAE tries to do with "quantity" what the Betas easily do with "quality".

We are taking suggestions as to the best fraternity at UGA and Mississippi. Send us your comments and suggestions.

POLITICAL: VOTE DIVIDED GOVERNMENT

2004-05-29T09:26:00.000-05:00

Charles Krauthammer wrote an excellent editorial for Investors Business Daily during the week of May 24 (we can't find it on the web) in which he proposed that Americans should vote for divided government in November in order to reduce Federal spending. The article does an excellent job of tracing those periods during the past 50 years when Federal spending increased the least. Generally it happened when one political party controlled Congress and the other controlled the presidency.

Every indication is the Republicans will retain control of Congress, thus Krauthammer argues that a vote for Kerry is a vote to limit Federal spending because the two parties will deadlock and spend less or, perhaps, compromise on rational solutions that also limit government spending. To give either party total control of the legislative process is to open the spicket to unbridled government spending.

President Bush's $500 billion deficit is a betrayal of everything economic conservatives espouse. Bush and the "pork barrel" Republicans cannot be allowed to continue on their present course. Bush senior promised, "Read my lips! No new taxes!"-- then raised taxes. Unfortunately, the Bush family actions do not track their promises, and for this W must pay the price his father payed for betraying the economic future of America.

Kerry's voting record clearly establishes him as one of the five Biggest Spending senators, thus voting for him may appear a masochistic exercise for economic conservatives. However, we are persuaded by Krauthammer's argument and the experience of the Clinton years. Bill Clinton managed a moderated spending program (though he, too, raised taxes), but only because the Republicans in Congress blocked him at every turn. Clinton, in turn, blocked the spending desires of the Republicans. The stalemate was based on disagreements over "what" to spend money on, thus less was spent.

The unfortunate inherent dynamic is that spending is power and all politicians are addicted to the intoxicant of power (why else would they suffer the abuse of political office). To defend ourselves from politicians' theft of our money, we the people must try to play the politicians off against one another.

For those who cannot hold their noses and vote for the liberal Kerry, a Bigger Spender than his Massachusetts big brother Ted Kennedy, we recommend a vote for the Libertarian Party presidential candidate inasmuch as this is the only political party that philosophically supports the concept that "the least government is the best government". Perhaps such a vote will register with future political strategists as future winnable votes for candidates willing to honestly moderate Government spending. The Libertarian Party can never gain traction because no one will contribute money to a group that promises to give nothing back to the contributor in exchange for his money, but this is the ONLY political philosophy that can protect young people from the inevitable bankruputcy of our economic system.

A vote for Kerry is a vote for fiscal sanity! Oh my God, politics truly does make for strange bedfellows!

CHOOSE A COLLEGE: GEORGIA

2004-05-27T12:24:00.000-05:00

Georgia was the first state in America to use state lottery money to pay college tuition for resident students who stay in state to attend college. Not only is the "Hope Scholarship" program a boon to Georgia students who maintain a "B" average, but it has prompted Georgia's very best students to stay in-state, thus improving the quality of most Georgia schools. For example, we know of one student who passed on Yale to attend the University of Georgia on a unique full scholarship that paid for EVERYTHING-- including two summer abroad studies. His parents say college costs them less than high school did!

What does the Hope Scholarship mean for Georgia colleges? The very best colleges are improving academically way beyond their reputations. UGA has become one of the best universities in America, with an extremely bright, well-rounded student body. Emory University, which already was a Southern Ivy League college, is attracting more top-ranked Georgia students. Formerly dominated by Yankee students and thought, this may have a moderating influence on the liberal bias of the school, if not its snobbish elitism. (Top shelf Southerners take "snobbish elitism" to a level only aspired to by Yankee brethern.) Georgia Tech has been one of the nation's best engineering schools. Today, more Georgia students who are not focused on traditional engineering studies are choosing Georgia Tech simply for its demanding curriculum and reputation as a disciplined, hard-working, no-nonsense, business-oriented environment.

Georgia has 41 colleges and universities, but, except for UGA, Georgia Tech, and Emory, most people know little about the others. Morehouse College and Spelman College are known as outstanding black colleges. Agnes Scott College is an all-girls version of Emory. It seems to provide a competitive environment for young girls to assert themselves and develop their skills. Georgia State University is growing by leaps and bounds, but, excpet for one nationally-known economics professor and a downtown Atlanta location (which makes for better part-time jobs), it does not seem to offer much stimulation-- except for racial turmoil, which is also growing by leaps and bounds and apparently becoming more adversarial.

We would appreciate postings of experiences and facts about Georgia colleges to help today's high school juniors choose next year and to help this year's incoming freshmen prepare themselves for what lies ahead.

POLITICAL: ISSUES VITAL TO YOU OVER NEXT 2/ 20 YEARS

2004-05-27T11:15:00.000-05:00

In our political section we will focus on those issues that will have the greatest effect on YOU over the next TWO years and those of greatest concern to you over the next TWENTY years. They are different issues-- but both vital to your future.

TWO YEARS: We're into (or not) "Drugs, Sex, and Rock 'n Roll". The politicians' hypocritical and factually inaccurate statements on illegal DRUGS and the drug laws MUST be challenged by thinking CollegeLifers. The medical community's attitude toward, and treatment of, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) should be at the top of the list, too. Third, JOBS and the direction of the economy are important. Last, US WAR POLICY will affect many young people over the next two years.

Sooo, let's have an honest discussion about DRUGS, SEX, and WAR POLICY. (The rock 'n roll we can leave to the "Entertainment" section of this blogazine.)

TWENTY YEARS: What are the biggest political issues of TODAY that will affect your life 20 years from now? The single biggest problem that will continue to snowball ad infinitum into the future is out-of-control Federal Government spending, which, of course, is inextricably linked to Social Security and Medicare spending. Limit the parasitic growth of the Federal Government, and you may be successful in carving out a nice life for yourself. Ignore $500 Billion deficits (only 20% of which has been spent on the War on Terror; the rest is pork and social security), and YOU have no chance for a decent economic life. The Boomers will bleed you dry!

Here is the 20 year challenge: Federal spending has not been reduced by even $1 anytime in the past 100 years or more. NO policitian or political party today, other than the Libertarian Party, www.lp.org, is even discussing reducing the size of Government. Only INDIVIDUALS-- and YOUNG individuals at that-- can halt the destructive growth of Government spending. This is CollegeLifers "Vietnam" issue! Boomers, in their youth, stopped the Vietnam War and, thus, saved their personal futures. CollegeLifers MUST stop Government spending to save OUR personal futures-- and here we are inevitably up against the Boomers and the rest of the Geezers. What will YOU do?