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Here’s What I Got From the Rich and The Rest of Us (Cornel West and Tavis Smiley)

August 1, 2012 by Justin Weinger

To adapt a line from Bridesmaids, “At first, I did not know that The Rich and the Rest of Us was a book. I thought it was a very long rant that had no point.”

What I wanted from The Rich And The Rest Of Us: A Poverty Manifesto was an examination of US policy and culture that explained why the US is so lopsided in its wealth and what other countries have done to reduce extreme inequities in wealth (such as Brazil). I wanted to understand what people who are not of extreme wealth or extreme poverty can do to better understand their economy and have an impact on their local economies. I wanted a healthy mix of analysis and history along with some feel-good “action lists” that would remind individuals they still have power, our choices matter, and organization of ourselves and our resources, above all, can create powerful instruments that change what’s normal or what has always been.

Maybe I expected too much.

What I got out of The Rich and the Rest of Us was an endless tirade against corporate fat cats, the mega-rich, the massively rich, and a pervading sense that half of the country is one paycheck (or less) away from utter poverty. While I have no doubt that we are in hard times for a large percentage of Americans, many of us live paycheck to paycheck (You can count me in there, if I wasn’t getting my next paycheck I would be screwed) and wages are stagnant compared to the cost of living, what I don’t agree with is the sense of hopelessness and desperation that West and Smiley try to inject into each person’s story. Each person who they interview is presented as a tragedy. Some parts are left unexplained, key parts of a story which might explain why a person is in poverty, and details about generations of poverty and lack of education are glossed over so that West and Smiley can editorialize all over this book. I am already sympathetic to the cause. In fact, I wager 99% (get it??) of the people who would read West and Smiley’s book are already sympathetic to the cause: we all want to alleviate poverty in this country, we want to give people opportunities and the dignity of a living wage. You don’t need to jam it down my throat that people have it rough out there and people who have been proven to be irresponsible or downright fraudulent during the downturn have received little punishment. I know all that already.

My question is how do we address these problems? What can we change? Why is healthcare prohibitively expensive? Why does a hospital stay have the potential to bankrupt someone? How do we lower housing costs? Can we reduce our transportation costs with better public transportation? Is online education a tool for people to become masters of their own destiny? Should people become more self-sufficient through home gardening and raising our own chickens? I like creative ideas and I think there is plenty out there we can do. We should address problems within our government openly and honestly, but also understand government’s limitations and maybe stop complaining so much (I’m looking at you, KPFK). 

A few details that got me all wound up:

  • Fuzzy math: In one section an increase in poverty rates was “the largest poverty rate increase in years” at 2.3%. And then just a few pages later, the “draconian welfare-to-work reform bill” of the Clinton era was tidily denounced for having “reduced poverty by only 2.5%”. West and Smiley: you’re making people who care about social causes look bad and also stupid.
  • Suze Orman was described as an “acclaimed personal finance expert”. Clearly not doing your research…
  • The authors talk about “personal responsibility” in quotation marks. I know the political implications but really, personal responsibility shouldn’t be considered a bad thing.

There was one great section in this book with ideas on how to reduce poverty. One such idea was for more tenants to become landlords, perhaps pooling resources to buy a small apartment complex and offer shared resources like transportation and a community garden. That sounds so cool! I like the idea of the combined purchasing power of a group and the ability of that group to pay itself in terms of the repaying the mortgage and having an asset of real property. That section on action and ideas was way too short.

I want to learn more about society, policy and be excited about starting conversations with people about why the US is great and why we have the capacity to grow and be stronger than ever. Unfortunately, the conversation gets way too polarized right away and it’s easy to pick a side. The only way we’ll make a difference is by getting rid of the sides and asking questions that aren’t being asked right now. Is the question really “Is Obamacare a good thing” or would it be better to ask “Why are healthcare costs rising much faster than any other factor in the US?” and “What are the structures in place that make insurance providers so entrenched in our national healthcare dialogue? Is it like this in every country? Have we looked at how other countries provide care and how we compare?”

I know you mean well, West and Smiley, but the radio shows and tours seem to be more your forte. My next related book review will be A People’s History of the United States.

Filed Under: Book Reviews, Government, Income Inequality

No More Plastic Bags in Los Angeles: I’m Excited for Forced Change!

July 19, 2012 by Justin Weinger

The City of Los Angeles is getting rid of plastic bags in all grocery stores and requiring retailers to charge 10 cents per bag for paper bags. The ban was passed in May 2012, but we won’t see an actual end to plastic in the stores until December or January. I am so excited for the economics of bags to finally force me into change. I have at least 10 of those reusable shopping bags and a few are always in my trunk, but I can’t remember the last time I actually used them. It’s just so convenient not to bring them and there is no penalty for me to use the store’s free plastic bags (bonus: free bags for picking up dog poop!). But in a few months, I know I will change my ways as soon as I am charged for that first bag. Even though stores now are giving 5 cent rebates for bringing your own bags, it generally takes a penalty for most consumers to change their ways. 

What do you think? Have you changed your behavior lately? Was it because of a penalty or a reward?

 

Filed Under: Government

LAUSD: The Best Way For Our Students to Thrive is in a Completely Non-Challenging Environment

April 21, 2012 by Justin Weinger

As the second-largest public school district in the country, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has one of the worst reputations around in nearly every respect. There’s the dismal graduation rate (around 56%), poor academic performance, way-too-easy teacher tenure (most other school districts in California have a more comprehensive evaluation process) and an insane $19 billion construction bond program.  That $19 billion (spread across several bond measures) has created some impressive architecture (like the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools that cost $578 million and looks like it belongs on the Las Vegas Strip or the Visual and Performing Arts School at a comparatively cheap $228 million) but little in the way of academics.

LAUSD proudly unveils its newest hotel...I'm sorry, I meant school

In fact, I’ve never seen a school district care so little about academics as LAUSD. They proved it again this week with their announcement that the Board will seek to lower graduation requirements in the number of credits required (from 230 to 170 units) and eliminate requirements to take elective courses. Some of the news was misreported, as their Facebook page points out. The current passing grade for college-prep courses at LAUSD is a ‘D’ and the proposal would raise the passing grade to a ‘C’ in 2017, which is well overdue as I seriously doubt the value of being a high school “graduate” with a GPA between 1.0 and 1.9. But under the new proposal, students could theoretically be done with all of their graduation requirements sometime around junior year. Unless we’re questioning the entire system and shortening high school by a year (which I have nothing against), this new proposal will solve little: it makes an already easy curriculum easier for the above average students, and it coddles the below average students who would benefit from better instruction and a focus on developing critical skills, like reading comprehension, critical thinking and maybe even some basic personal finance skills. As a product of a California public school myself, I can tell you one thing: it’s already way too easy. I graduated among the top 50 in my 900-student senior class, and I’m not that smart. To quote Joe Rogan, “I know I’m stupid, but yet I’m smarter than almost everybody I meet.”

California public schools mean well, they really do, but dumbing it down and lowering requirements will just send graduates into the real world or college completely unprepared for the normal rigor and pace of things. Take the CAHSEE (California’s high school exit exam) for example. It was implemented the year after I graduated so I never had to take it, but the thing is frighteningly simple. Parents have described it as being at the 6th-7th grade level. Let’s look at its description straight from the California Department of Education website:

Students first take this test in grade ten. If they do not pass the test in grade ten, they have more chances to take the test. In grade eleven, they can take the test two times. In grade twelve, they have up to five times to take the test.

Yes, you read that right. You can take the “exit exam” beginning your sophomore year and you can take it EIGHT TIMES to get a passing grade. Come on! It’s just another requirement that was implemented by the state that meant well but ended up becoming more bureaucratic nonsense. Hey everybody, here’s a high school exit exam that is neither timed to be an exit nor much of an exam because you can retake the same damn test seven more times to pass it. This goes to the heart of my love-hate relationship with California. California wants so desperately to give everyone an equal chance and I admire that because I want that too, but it doesn’t happen like this. You either give the test or you don’t. You either have graduation requirements or you don’t. Don’t water it down.

LAUSD is claiming the new classes will be more rigorous, but only time will tell. The district is a behemoth that serves 900,000 students, has 80,000 employees and more than 1,000 schools. It’s just too big and unwieldy to manage effectively. The Board is a huge power play and its members are career politicians. I want the best opportunities for these students and not just improved statistics. Smaller districts with more focused priorities would make a greater difference for the students. $19 billion is an awful lot to spend on a school district with a less than 60% graduation rate and plans to set the bar even lower for its students.

Filed Under: Get Out of Debt, Government

You Know Aspirational Brands, Now Meet Aspirational Neighborhoods

January 4, 2012 by Justin Weinger

I’ve warned you guys about the dangers of aspirational brands when you are trying to live within your means.  Aspirational brands are those shiny sirens of stuff promising you that men in slim-fit wool pants with hard bodies and women who look like Gisele will flock to you when you buy them.  Their price points are always just beyond the realm of credibility ($225 for a wallet? I guess that seems reasonable) and their advertising departments are filled with marketing geniuses who think and drink like Don Draper.  So we’ve got that down.  We know we don’t need Tory Burch flats in every color (when we can’t afford them).  We’re not buying every scent that Juicy Couture puts out (even if it does smell like cotton candy heaven and delicate rose petals).  We’ve got our shopping habit under control!  So we should we be well on our way out of debt.  Except there’s yet another subtle temptress in the form of the aspirational neighborhood, and I am tired of these places draining my cash.  I’ll show you how to spot them so you can keep a fun evening out from turning into a night that sends you to the poorhouse.

The Culver Blvd. mixed use project is going to be gorgeous and feature tons of open plazas. This makes me want to spend lots of money without thinking!

An aspirational neighborhood is better known as a trendy neighborhood, a hot spot or a tourist trap attraction.  I work in design and construction, so to be perfectly honest, I LOVE aspirational neighborhoods.  Developers, real estate owners and the the local government have usually come together to draw up a master plan for the community, incentives are created to draw top-notch merchants and tenants, and the design is usually pleasing and pedestrian-friendly.  Many trendy neighborhoods were formerly run-down areas of “urban blight” (not crazy about that term), but business owners and community leaders have come together to rejuvenate this part of town and give it a new name.  It takes many years and joint effort to create all of these positive effects.  All of that is excellent for the local economy.  So why would I tell you to spend less time in these neighborhoods?

Because all of those great elements combine to persuade the public to spend its money in the neighborhood and lots of it!  I don’t know about you, but if I’m going to get out of debt, I just can’t spend like I used to, and man do I love spending time in these feel-good, overspend-my-money, life-is-too-short-to-worry kind of neighborhoods.  I’m probably even more attracted to aspirational neighborhoods than similarly marketed products and brands.  Neighborhoods can embody a lifestyle.  I see all kinds of relaxed, happy people in these areas.  I think: man, this is nice!  This is living!  What the heck am I doing living in that box I call an apartment?  Can I afford a condo here? (answer: no).  Look at the view!  Smell the fresh air!  I would be outside all day long if I lived here!

It’s a neat little trick that these neighborhoods play.  Maybe you can’t afford to live here, but you can certainly enjoy a good meal here.  Or maybe you can come shopping with your girlfriend/boyfriend/spouse and pick out something nice together.  Maybe some objets d’art for the home?  STOP! It’s a trap!  It’s going to start an endless cycle of wanting, wishing, hoping…when you could be planning, thinking, doing!

Here are just a few features of aspirational neighborhoods that will help you to distinguish them.

Basic Features of Aspirational Neighborhoods

Lack of Parking and Mandatory Paid/Valet Parking

Nothing screams aspirational more than limited street parking and expensive valet or garage parking.  It’s just an element of the design.  It’s nice to have pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods, but if you are driving in from somewhere else, be prepared to pay.

Mediocre Restaurants Charging Exorbitant Prices

Ever paid $8 for a glass of juice at brunch?  My budget can survive an occasional great meal out (Pizzeria Mozza for my friend’s birthday was worth it) but not when the food is totally average.  I hate paying aspirational prices for food that’s done better at an IHOP.  Mmm, IHOP.

A Lot of People Trying Really Hard

Am I getting old or what?  I never want to go out anymore!  If I am going out, I want to be able to wear flip flops and jeans.  Wearing heels when I don’t have to sounds like a lot of work.  When I see a gaggle of girls dressed in their going-out clothes, I’m just thankful I’m not buying any $12 mojitos.  Plus, your aspirational neighborhoods draw a lot of guys wearing striped shirts.

Optional Features of Aspirational Neighborhoods

A Retail Store That Would Never Survive in a Regular Neighborhood

http://justagovy.blogspot.com/

You know what I’m talking about.  These are the stores where you walk by and think, WTF?  Jewel-encrusted Hello Kitty accessories?  Beaded sarongs/wraps/dresses that all look the same selling for $125 and up?  Birkenstocks store (they still sell those)??!  American Girl dolls cost how much?  Just imagine that store in a strip mall.

Near-Bubble Prices on Mixed-Use Retail/Residential Projects

Ambitious developers usually go for overkill in neighborhoods that have performed well.  Inevitably, they try to make one last great project, some all-in-one utopia for the trendiest of the uber-trendy: the mixed-use project.  It’s got live/work lofts, retail spaces on the first floor, a convenience store that charges $8 for a gallon of milk (and no we’re not in Hawai’i!).  If these projects came too late in the development game, they’re sitting empty and overpriced.  But they still probably look really cool.

Lack of Crime Leads to Citation-Happy Police Force

I curse you, Santa Monica PD.  Your traffic cops in their strange-looking egg-shaped golf carts cite parking violations with the ferocity of a lion stalking a baby gazelle.  Traffic officers in aspirational neighborhoods like Santa Monica, West Hollywood and Beverly Hills are extremely efficient and sophisticated in giving out tickets.  Unlike the LAPD, whose overwhelmed officers are spending their days dodging bullets and catching real criminals, these police departments have an entire fleet of parking officers because it is such a moneymaker for the city.  Not that other areas don’t have parking officers, but in trendy/aspirational neighborhoods, they are so numerous and active that you will definitely get a ticket for a meter that’s been expired for more than 5 seconds.

Top Examples of Aspirational Neighborhoods

Prospect Street in La Jolla, California

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sandiegocoastlife/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sandiegocoastlife/

 Spend one day in Prospect Street in La Jolla and I dare you not to want to return.  The views are amazing but they come with a price-tag, unless you have something called self-control (I don’t!) and can enjoy a day of strolling, looking but not touching.

Georgetown in Washington, DC

http://www.flickr.com/photos/vxsarin/

Georgetown.  So quaint, so gorgeous on a spring day.  The place for overpriced dining and shopping in DC.  Your head will be spinning after the 10th pair of lobster-embroidered pants that walk by.

Don’t get me wrong, I love these fun neighborhoods.  I want to hang out in them, but I want even more to be able to afford to hang out in them.  Eventually, going to the go-to place becomes less important, even though you’ll have the funds to do so.  I think I’m there.  I can go to spots like these or be just as happy staying home.  And until I am at a place where a $100 meal has no effect on my income, I’ll steer clear of these neighborhoods as much as possible, and head down to Don Chuy’s for 99 cent tacos and get my great views and fresh air at the beach.

Filed Under: Get Out of Debt, Government, Self-Development

Book Review:: McMafia by Misha Glenny

October 6, 2011 by Justin Weinger

Get this book.
I’ve been slacking on blogging but only because I’ve been doing a lot of reading.  Well, that and the fact that yesterday morning I was crossing a busy intersection in LA and I see a van speeding towards me really fast off a left turn and all I can do is put my hands out to motion him to stop and he ended up braking just in time, but not quite in time enough to keep me from getting some bruises on my shins.  I got hit by a car.  Holy shit.  It was the scariest thing that’s ever happened to me, and I’ve been posted up for the past two days pondering my own mortality, and it didn’t help that Steve Jobs, who many people thought was immortal, just passed away.  Rest in peace, Steve.

So my run-in with a beat-up old van in a beat-up LA neighborhood reminded me that life is short and awesome and I’ve got to do with it as I will.  I want to be a writer who covers the strange and the ignored in this world, the things that are crazy and complex and Good Morning America is not going to be doing a segment on anytime soon.  As I’ve said from the beginning, crime and corruption is one of those topics.

Book Review: McMafia: A Journey Through the Global Criminal Underworld by Misha Glenny

Get this book.

When I saw McMafia: A Journey Through the Global Criminal Underworld (Vintage) while browsing through Amazon, I was smitten.  A look at crime across the globe and its growing influence and sophistication?  Wow!  It took me a few months to get through it, since the book is quite dense, not in the manner of writing, but because of sheer volume of information and analysis, and it’s not bedtime reading.  However, having finished it, I would recommend it as a must-read book for anyone who wants to learn more about how our world works.  Glenny is an investigative reporter and journalist, which makes the book read like a very long, interesting first-hand article that would fit in at Wired magazine or The New York Times.  Starting out in Eastern Bloc nations after the fall of Communism in the late 80s, Glenny investigates why organized crime became so powerful in these nations and continues to be so.  A weak government or lack of government at all creates a vacuum for protection rackets and organized crime, and both of these thrived in Russia and the former Eastern Bloc following the fall of Communism.  There, a few oligarchs became superrich by effectively transferring the assets of the state into personal wealth.  And they used the protection rackets to help them who in turn also became crazy rich and powerful.  Glenny covers events that took place in the region from this perspective and it will be very different from any historical coverage you’ve read previously.

Glenny covers patterns of crime, claiming that the mainstays of all organized crime around the globe are narcotics, cigarettes, people trafficking, prostitution, energy brokering and arms dealing.  But there is much, much more to the book as he investigates Africa and especially South Africa, the Middle East and the money laundering capital of the world (Dubai), Colombia and finally Japan and China.  The topics are so broad, from BC Bud in Vancouver being trucked to the States, to the growing threat of cybercrime and the shift from ego hackers (the ones who plant viruses in your computer that shut everything down or pop up 1,000 windows) to criminal hackers who go after bank accounts and sensitive information.

In short, reading this book changed my understanding of how the world runs, what has influenced the development of countries and regions, and what my own consumption does for organized crime.  I just want to end with this quote from the book by Lee Timofeev, which sheds light on the failure on the war on drugs:

Prohibiting a market does not mean destroying it. Prohibiting a market means placing a prohibited but dynamically developing market under the total control of criminal corporations.  Moreover, prohibiting a market means enriching the criminal world with hundreds of billions of dollars by giving criminals a wide access to public goods which will be routed by addicts into the drug traders’ pockets.

I haven’t read a lot in this genre of investigative non-fiction, and some people criticize this book as trying to take on too much.  But it’s a great place to start if you are interested in the large problems facing people and societies around the world.

Check out this in-depth review by the 52 Week Project.  (Then check out the whole blog – it’s all about a new idea a week.)

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Government

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