And it wasn't the cold:
Beware, study says, money is addictive
It the wor$t $ickne$$ of all.
You know what else is $ick?
AmeriKan Ju$tice in the 21$t-century.
"Judge decried for probation ruling in drunken-driving deaths" by Ramit Plushnick-Masti | Associated Press, December 13, 2013
HOUSTON — ‘‘Affluenza,’’ the affliction cited by a psychologist to argue that a North Texas teenager from a wealthy family should not be sent to prison for killing four pedestrians while driving drunk, is not a recognized diagnosis and should not be used to justify bad behavior, experts said Thursday.
Literally getting away with murder!
A judge’s decision to give 16-year-old Ethan Couch 10 years of probation for the fatal accident sparked outrage from relatives of those killed and has led to questions about the defense strategy.
Hey, he got his client off. Good job.
A psychologist testified in Couch’s trial in a Fort Worth juvenile court that as a result of ‘‘affluenza,’’ the boy should not receive the maximum 20-year prison sentence prosecutors were seeking.
The term ‘‘affluenza’’ was popularized in the late 1990s by Jessie O’Neill, the granddaughter of a past president of General Motors, when she wrote the book ‘‘The Golden Ghetto: The Psychology of Affluence.’’ It has since been used to describe a condition in which children — generally from richer families — have a sense of entitlement, are irresponsible, make excuses for poor behavior, and sometimes dabble in drugs and alcohol, explained Dr. Gary Buffone, a Jacksonville, Fla., psychologist who does family wealth advising.
Nothing new here. There have been spooled rich kids and special treatment for centuries.
But Buffone said in a telephone interview Thursday that the term wasn’t meant to be used as a defense in a criminal trial or to justify such behavior.
‘‘The simple term would be spoiled brat,’’ he said.
Okay.
‘‘Essentially what (the judge) has done is slapped this child on the wrist for what is obviously a very serious offense which he would be responsible for in any other situation,’’ Buffone said. ‘‘The defense is laughable, the disposition is horrifying . . . not only haven’t the parents set any consequences, but it’s being reinforced by the judge’s actions.’’
Although Couch’s case was handled in juvenile court, he has been identified publicly by the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office.
It wasn’t clear if ‘‘affluenza’’ has been successfully used as a defense before. Richard Segura, a supervising attorney at the University of Texas at Austin’s Criminal Defense Clinic, said he had never even heard of the condition.
On the other hand, he said, the defense attorney would have probably looked at all the facts in the case and tailored them in a way that he thought would best influence the judge’s decision. In addition, the judge probably factored in rehabilitation, restitution, and other factors when sentencing Couch.
Dr. Suniya Luthar, a psychologist who specializes in the costs of affluence in suburban communities, said her research at Columbia University in New York has shown that 20 percent of upper middle-class adolescents believe their parents would help them get out of a sticky situation at school, such as being caught for the third time on campus with a bottle of vodka. District Judge Jean Boyd’s sentence, issued Tuesday, reinforces that belief, Luthar said.
Why did George W. Bush just spring to mind?
‘‘What is the likelihood if this was an African-American, inner-city kid that grew up in a violent neighborhood to a single mother who is addicted to crack and he was caught two or three times . . . what is the likelihood that the judge would excuse his behavior and let him off?’’ Luthar asked.
Isn't there mandatory minimums for that?
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Illness rarely lasts a day anymore:
"A Texas-sized malady" December 18, 2013
ETHAN COUCH killed four people in a drunk-driving crash, and won’t serve any jail time. That would be an outrage anywhere — but it’s the particularly astonishing explanation for the lenient punishment that has stirred a national outcry. A Texas judge accepted arguments by the 16-year-old Couch’s defense lawyers that, because he had had such a coddled upbringing, with no boundaries set by his wealthy parents, he couldn’t be held fully responsible for his actions. “Affluenza,” a defense pyschologist called it. Instead of the jail time requested by prosecutors, Couch must go to rehab and serve 10 years of probation for plowing an F-350 pickup truck registered to his dad’s company into two parked cars.
Since he’s a juvenile, Couch deserves a lighter punishment than an adult would get; the purpose of juvenile justice is rehabilitation. But Texas law allowed him to be held at least until he was 19. If, as his lawyers said, he was too pampered to understand society’s rules, a stint in juvenile hall could be a helpful corrective. Instead, the judge endorsed the notion that the rich, by dint of their privilege, just can’t be held to the same standards as everyone else.
It's not what the judge did, it's the reality of perception that has created a public relations problem that is the concern here.
Related:
"Attorney General Eric Holder told the Senate Judiciary Committee that the nation’s banks had become too big to jail. “The size of some of these institutions becomes so large that it does become difficult for us to prosecute them,” Holder said at a hearing Wednesday. “If we do prosecute — if we do bring a criminal charges — it will have a negative impact on the national economy, perhaps even the world economy.”
Well, you know….
It’s a sad comment on the Texas justice system, which often seems prone to miscarriages of justice.
I'd rather this not turn into a bash Texas bit because it is clear that all states suck.
More frequently, Texas — known for its elected judges and hard-line ethos — gets singled out for harsh treatment of low-income defendants, including juveniles. But injustice can also take the form of impunity for people of privilege. Leniency toward the rich isn’t an inevitable corollary to harshness to the poor, but it completes the picture.
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Truthfully, there is nothing new here. The ideals are grand, but sad to say it, it has always been American ju$tice.
And now look who it has infected. Even his mills are closing.
Want to know what makes me sick?
"More adults in US attaining ‘rich’ status; 20 percent reach affluence, wield greater influence" by Hope Yen | Associated Press, December 10, 2013
WASHINGTON — Fully 20 percent of US adults become rich for parts of their lives, wielding extensive influence over America’s economy and politics, according to new survey data.
How are they defining "rich?"
These ‘‘new rich,’’ made up largely of older professionals, working married couples, and more educated singles, are becoming politically influential, and economists say their capacity to spend is key to the US economic recovery. But their rise is also a sign of the nation’s continuing economic polarization.
Related: The current recovery has been driven almost entirely by the upper crust
I was just lied to then?
They extend well beyond the wealthiest 1 percent, a traditional group of super-rich millionaires and billionaires with long-held family assets. The new rich have household income of $250,000 or more at some point during their working lives, putting them — if sometimes temporarily — in the top 2 percent of earners.
Translation: If you have the money and credit that comes with it you get to be part of the club!
The new survey data on the affluent are being published in an upcoming book. An analysis by the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research provided additional information on the views of the group.
In a country where poverty is at a record high, today’s new rich are notable for their sense of economic fragility. They rely on income from their work to maintain their social position and pay for things such as private tutoring for their children.
And that can be gone in a fla$h.
That makes them much more fiscally conservative than other Americans, polling suggests, and less likely to support public programs, such as food stamps or early public education, to help the disadvantaged.
$elfish $hits!!!!!!!!!!
Last week, President Obama asserted that growing inequality is ‘‘the defining challenge of our time,’’ signaling that it will be a major theme for Democrats in next year’s elections.
F*** him and f*** them!
‘‘In this country, you don’t get anywhere without working hard,’’ said James Lott, 28, a pharmacist in Renton, Wash., who adds to his six-figure salary by day-trading stocks. The son of Nigerian immigrants, Lott says he was able to get ahead by earning an advanced pharmacy degree. He makes nearly $200,000 a year.
Sometimes you work hard and get nowhere; lots of times, in fact.
After growing up on food stamps, Lott now splurges occasionally on nicer restaurants, Hugo Boss shoes, and extended vacations to New Orleans, Atlanta, and parts of Latin America.
Related: Bad Deal For Georgia
He believes government should play a role in helping the disadvantaged. But he says the poor should be encouraged to support themselves, explaining that his single mother rose out of hardship by starting a day-care business in their home.
That was then. There are no more jobs. It's a two-tier $ociety now, and it was done on purpo$E by the $ame people now wringing their hands over the i$$ue.
Yeah, it's the in$ulting $hit that is making me $ick.
The new research suggests that affluent Americans are more numerous than government data depict, encompassing 21 percent of working-age adults for at least a year by the time they turn 60. That proportion has more than doubled since 1979.
Even outside periods of unusual wealth, members of this group generally hover in the $100,000-plus income range, keeping them in the top 20 percent of earners.
Honestly, that does not seem like all that much considering prices these days.
At the same time, an increasing polarization of low-wage work and high-skill jobs has left middle-income careers depleted.
You mean "former middle class" according to food stamp requests, right?
‘‘For many in this group, the American dream is not dead. They have reached affluence for parts of their lives and see it as very attainable, even if the dream has become more elusive for everyone else,’’ said Mark Rank, a professor at Washington University in St. Louis, who calculated numbers on the affluent for a forthcoming book, ‘‘Chasing the American Dream,’’ to be published by the Oxford University Press.
Not for a certain select percent!
As the fastest-growing group based on take-home pay, the new rich tend to enjoy better schools and gated communities, making it easier to pass on their privilege to their children.
This bug wor$e than I thought.
Because their rising status comes at a time when upward mobility in the United States ranks lowest among wealthy industrialized counties, the spending attitudes of the new rich have implications for politics and policy. It has now become even harder for people at the bottom to move up.
Because of those $elfi$h new richers!
The group is more liberal than lower-income groups on issues such as abortion and gay marriage, according to an analysis of General Social Survey data by the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. But when it comes to money, their views are not so open. They are wary of any government role in closing the income gap.
Who gives a $hit about those i$$ues? Why even bring 'em up?
In Gallup polling in October, 60 percent of people making $90,000 or more said average Americans already had ‘‘plenty of opportunity’’ to get ahead. Among those making less than $48,000, the share was 48 percent.
Sometimes referred to by marketers as the ‘‘mass affluent,’’ the new rich make up roughly 25 million US households and account for nearly 40 percent of total US consumer spending.
Although paychecks shrank for most Americans after the 2007-2009 recession, theirs held steady or edged higher.
That means the recession never ended and the Grand Depression continues!
In 2012, the top 20 percent of US households took home a record 51 percent of the nation’s income. The median income of this group is more than $150,000.
Most of that went to the TOP 5% -- with the bulk of that going to the 1%!!
Once concentrated in the old-money enclaves of the Northeast, the new rich are now spread across the nation, mostly in bigger cities and their suburbs.
Whatever.
By race, whites are three times more likely to reach affluence than nonwhites.
Now the propaganda pre$$ waves the race card! How $hamele$$ and $hameful!
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Good thing there is a new rich, but they are much like the old rich who did not give as much in 2013 as they gave before the Great Recession, even as a strong stock market and better business climate have continued to concentrate American wealth in the top 1 percent of earners.
You new rich aren't in that cla$$, so:
"Rich, too, find need for a good pawnshop" by Paul Sullivan | New York Times, January 13, 2014
NEW YORK — “We focus on the blue-chip, wealthy crowd,” said Jeffrey A. Weiss, CEO of Suttons & Robertsons, which is preparing to open its first New York store.
It has come to the United States to fill what it says is a growing need among the wealthy who have spent beyond their means and need a quick — and quiet — infusion of cash.
“There are more and more people who are asset-rich and have a temporary liquidity problem,” said Weiss, 70, who retains the soft Brooklyn accent of his youth. “They’re cash constrained. We have the capital to lend up to and beyond $1 million.”
Suttons & Robertsons is not alone in the high-value niche.
Websites like Pawngo and Borro sprang up after the financial crash, offering to lend against jewelry, watches, and pretty much any expensive item that can be shipped via FedEx. Ultrapawn and iPawn came later with the idea of making larger loans, secured by fancy cars, art, and gems....
Weiss made a fortune running DFC Global, which operates payday lenders and pawnshops in 10 countries. In the United States, it does business as Money Mart and the Check Cashing Store.
Just another usurious Jew.
Related: Banks aid predatory lenders, US says
Tight credit makes the timing right for the New York move, he said....
Typically, a person pawning an item must to leave it with the pawnshop and make the monthly interest payments to keep the loan current. To get the item back, the customer must pay the principle and all the interest. Customers missing any interest payments could forfeit the item.
Sounds like a state bond sale!
The new wave of pawnbrokers, or collateralized lenders, as they like to be known, isn’t just betting that people will pledge cars, planes, or, in the case of one Ultrapawn customer, an earth mover. They are betting that as long as traditional bank lending remains tight for individuals, there will be repeat customers.
The high-end portion of the industry is betting that with comparatively lower pawn rates and an ability to fulfill even large loan requests in a day or two, it will be able to build its business on happy repeat customers.
Paul Aitken, founder and CEO of Borro, attributed repeat business to the human desire to spend today without thinking about tomorrow.
Otherwise known as money-junkie di$ea$e.
“Entrepreneurial people like to do things on the spur of the moment, and they’re probably not the best planners,” he said.
Then how did they get to become the new class of rich entrepreneurs instead of a shit blogger like me?
So how are they becoming wealthy? People they know handing them tax loot while mouthpiece media shovels $hit?
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I'm really not feeling well, readers, and am probably done for the day. Sorry I'm no longer having fun reading my pos jewspaper.
Then again, I might be back. More likely not though. Blogging about the Boston Globe really $ucks these days. Sorry I'm so sour on them and I'm sorry I've failed you, dearly beloved readers, because you keep coming here and I'm not keeping up. Sorry. So sorry. So very sorry. So very very sorry. Sorry.
(Blog editor then coughs.... twice)
