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PERRIN LOVETT

~ Fiction, Freedom, and The West

PERRIN LOVETT

Tag Archives: corporations

Tracking the Welfare

27 Thursday Feb 2020

Posted by perrinlovett in Legal/Political Columns

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Tags

corporate welfare, corporations, government, waste

The billion and trillion-dollar variety. Check out this site.

From the mere millions to the Trillion$, “your” government and it’s satanic owners prop up their favorite companies. Note: this site does not include the subsidies to the banks from the Fed (introduce an order of magnitude to represent that). So, where are all the conservatives who wanted to end welfare?

“1984” was an Optimistic Estimate

21 Saturday Dec 2019

Posted by perrinlovett in News and Notes

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corporations, privacy, slavery, technology, tyranny

Tyranny – there’s an app for that.

This was the decade we gave our privacy away.

We took silly personality quizzes on Facebook Inc. that made Cambridge Analytica possible. We bought phones that tracked our locations everywhere we went. We plugged in smart speakers that sent recordings of our most intimate moments to humans overseas for transcription. We downloaded apps and plug-ins with reckless abandon. We installed security cameras everywhere. We clicked through terms of services without reading. We agreed to do whatever it took to make those pesky red badges on our phones go away. We are complicit in the corporate surveillance state we inhabit.

That doesn’t mean we weren’t duped. Companies tempted us with their free services. They downplayed the risks. They broke promises to safeguard our data. They presented themselves as silly apps, only to become world-changing communications platforms. They hired psychologists to manipulate us. They used the money they made from our data to buy lobbyists to fight off privacy regulations.

The New York Times explained on Thursday just what it means to hand over the kind of location data collected by our smartphones. The newspaper painted a terrifying portrait of the self-imposed surveillance state: “Within America’s own representative democracy, citizens would surely rise up in outrage if the government attempted to mandate that every person above the age of 12 carry a tracking device that revealed their location 24 hours a day. Yet, in the decade since Apple’s App Store was created, Americans have, app by app, consented to just such a system run by private companies.”

If you’re paying attention, this is not surprising. The Times wrote an article with many of the same revelations almost exactly a year ago. Other publications have been doing similar work for years.

The 2010s should be remembered as the decade tech turned dystopian.

Maybe it’s all best forgotten? Has anyone noticed that them internets are about as slow now as they were nearly twenty years ago? Half of the bogging down is the overkill graphics, ads, and disclaimers. The other half is surveillance. 5G is supposed to cure this. It won’t. Expect, in exchange for your health, perhaps a doubling of speeds – back to where we were in about 2010. The majority of the new capacity will be devoted to more spying. 5G isn’t a tool for transferring information. It’s one for gathering information. And they will love it. It’s not even amazing any more just how incredibly stupid most humans really are. Back to your cat videos.

A Wealth of Taxes

17 Tuesday Dec 2019

Posted by perrinlovett in Legal/Political Columns, News and Notes

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corporations, Federal Reserve, taxes, wealth

Large corporations, those wily government entities, pay next to no taxes.

About 400 of America’s largest corporations paid an average federal tax rate of about 11% on their profits last year, roughly half the official rate established under President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax law, according to a report released Monday.

The 2017 tax law lowered the U.S. corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%, but in practice large companies often pay far less than that because of deductions, tax breaks and other loopholes.

In the first year of the law, the amount corporations paid in federal taxes on their incomes – their “effective rate” – was 11.3% on average, possibly its lowest level in more than three decades, according to a report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a left-leaning think tank.

Yeah, yeah. Whatever. This did get me thinking though. My comrades over at TPC, two of them, have of late been defending taxation with zeal. One promoted the “wealth” tax. That… How about a corporate wealth tax? One aimed primarily at private banking corporations? One in particular. This particular private bank has assets and wealth that must be imputed given the bank’s unique ability to create such out of thin air. I suggest a putative assessment of infinity. The tax could be levied accordingly. Now, since we have no need for infinite money, I think a rate (or number) sufficient to PAY OFF EVERYTHING should do it. One time. No more debt of any kind. And then, abolish said private bank and send its owners packing. Yes?

Even Hellywood Notices the Sorcery

09 Wednesday Oct 2019

Posted by perrinlovett in News and Notes

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corporations, debt, economics, Hellywood, sorcery

Odd, I know. One class of wizards observes another. “Out of control.”

A ripple of anxiety ran through Wall Street on Sept. 9 when Jay Clayton, chairman of the SEC, warned that corporate debt now stands at $11 trillion, half the annual gross domestic product of the United States. “Should we be cognizant of the growth in corporate debt, who holds that debt and the potential ramifications for our markets and our economy?” Clayton asked. “Of course we should.”

His warning was timely for Hollywood, coming just a couple of weeks before Endeavor Group Holdings CEO Ari Emanuel pulled the plug Sept. 26 on an initial public offering that investors had regarded warily because of his company’s staggering debt of $4.6 billion.

Yeah, poor, satanic Hellywood… Maybe the one faction should have consulted with the other? Just as the government debt dooms the state, the corporate debt dooms those artificial government-created entities. When they all fall, not much will be left standing. It’s like when Apprentice Mickey unleashed heck, but with no “good” wizard standing by to fix things – and real, not a cartoon. Speaking of, hopefully, this will bring the end of  Devil Mouse, Inc.

Incest in the Mass Media

08 Monday Apr 2019

Posted by perrinlovett in News and Notes

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corporations, evil, media

The MSM Infotainment Complex is the Alabama Sister-Wife relationship of corporatocracy.

 

Screenshot 2019-04-08 at 9.04.58 PM

It’s not very hard to figure out who controls these evil bubbles and why they keep pushing the same Satanic agenda. Turn off. Tune off. Drop them.

Neocon Carousel

22 Thursday Mar 2018

Posted by perrinlovett in Legal/Political Columns

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corporations, enemy combatants, neocons, Trump

It’s not just for the amusement park anymore. Not-so-amusingly, it again takes a spin at the White House. H.R. “War with Russia” McMaster is out as NSA and John “War with Anyone” Bolton is in. I’m sure your confidence is as inspired as mine. Not even going to attempt devil’s advocacy here and now.

On a very tangential note, I watched a moment or two of Tucker Carlson tonight. He lamented the new fascism coming from places like the socials and the banks. That is real if limited. So, what’s to be done? Plenty. There are personal and legal routes, sure to be tried by a few.

But, with all these neocon nuts floating around (like Love Bugs on a windshield, no?), I thought: hey, they all love the enemy combatant approach! Why not declare all the corporate tyrants, who subvert democracy in the name of profit and feels, as enemies of America? In a way, they really are. The answer, from the Cons, is that they love that dreadful idea so long as it gets applied to brown people in the sandier regions. They’re probably not to keen on using it against their wealthy friends.

Anyway, just a few thoughts. Maybe more than was prudent this late. Out.

Getting The Business

20 Wednesday Jul 2016

Posted by perrinlovett in News and Notes

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America, banks, business, corporations, economy, government, Perrin Lovett, recession, small business, start-ups, Wall Street

Money reports there were fewer small business start-ups these days in America:

Bad news for aspiring entrepreneurs: Now might not be the best time to launch your own business.

Total entrepreneurial activity in the U.S.—measured by the number of people starting and operating new businesses—fell to 12% in 2015, from 14% in 2014, according to a report released Tuesday by Babson College. The drop reverses upward growth in small business activity during the previous four years.

The findings could indicate that employees are satisfied with their jobs and unwilling to strike out on their own. But the research could also show a lack of confidence in the small business environment in the wake of the recession, Babson professor Donna Kelley told CNBC. The Small Business Optimism Index, a metric from the National Federation of Independent Business, has remained below its 42-year average since the recession.

I find it interesting that commentators keep throwing around “since the last recession” and “the wake of the recession” so much. Are they talking about the 2008 financial crisis recession? You know, the one that will soon be a decade past. Or do they really mean the current or immediate future recession? We are historically overdue.

Ebay.

This story is a little personal for me as I launched (full-time) my small business this summer. I’ve had several in the past – all failures. This time will be different (as I’ve said before). A business idea, even if it’s the very best idea in the world, isn’t easy to get off the ground anymore. Big, existing, and stagnant business dinosaurs join with the government to make the start-up process as painful as possible.

Aside from the licenses, taxes, regulations, inspections, prohibitions, and general meddling, the corporatist/banking/state cabal has seen to it that your potential customers and investors are not in the best position to help you with your incredible idea launch – they too still recover from “the last recession”.

You’ve got the likes of Speaker Paul Ryan who promises to crack down on job-taking and nightclub-shooting immigrants just after he rubber-stamps another 300,000 of them coming in on visas.

It’s amazing that any small business starts today. I’m not so sure about that idea of employee satisfaction with existing work. CNBC reports on the woes of “regular” employment, the loss of jobs and pay, even on Wall Street. This story deals with Wall Street banks – those very entities that OWN America… If their employees are getting the short end of the stick, what does that suggest about the rest of the workforce?

Anyway, I’m plowing ahead with my new enterprise. Of late I have finally developed an email list of sorts. Someone important once said, “You’re an idiot if you don’t have a list.” I was an idiot up until last week… In my defense, I was still recovering “from the recession.”

An Empire Not A Corporation

29 Thursday Oct 2015

Posted by perrinlovett in Legal/Political Columns

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America, Articles of Confederation, Constitution, corporations, District of Corruption, Empire, faith, freedom, law, Pat Buchanan, politics, republic, The People, United States

Pat Buchanan wrote a great book – A Republic Not An Empire, (2002). I wrote this piece to answer something which troubled me from time to time. There is a theory out there in internet-land the United States is a giant corporation. It’s based on the same whimsical thinking that drives lottery sales and horoscopes.

Contrary to what you may read on Facebook the United States is not a corporation. Your birth certificate is not a stock certificate. You will not get rich by cashing in on the national debt. You might go to prison or worse but no money will come of it.

I’ve seen this enough to respond. It’s really a minor issue but I thought I should address it. I see the posts on Facebook from time to time. Posts like this:

The UNITED STATES of AMERICA is a corporation.

“The UNITED STATES of AMERICA is a corporation.Go to the UNITED STATES CODE (note the capitalization, indicating the corporation, not the Republic) Title 28 3002 (15) (A) (B) (C). It is stated unequivocally that the UNITED STATES is a corporation.”

I did look at the law; not what it says or means. The mis-cited law only has to do with the government hiring attorneys for debt collection and similar purposes. See: 28 USC 3002. Boring, yes; Constitution shattering, no.

The theory also revolves around The District of Columbia Organic Act of 1871, 16 Stat. 419 (1871). Yet, all this law did was regulate the governance of the District of Columbia. Such is one of the very few explicit powers granted Congress by the Constitution, Art. I, Sect. 8, CLS. 17.

Never have I met anyone in person who openly espoused this theory. And, I visit with quite a few conspiracy theorists. Should you meet such a person, humor them – unless they try to involve you in a scheme to collect on your shares or something. That road leads to prison or the poorhouse.

TinFoilHatArea

It’s a scam. Google.

Here’s a more in-depth look at the claim: Text of the District of Columbia Organic Act of 1871, The Daily Render, 2009. That’s really not worth reading and not worth quoting. It does shed light on the theory though. Why conceive of such fancy?

It seems simple. We do face some major problems today with “our” government. The theorists posit the U.S., in a state of disarray, bankrupted itself out of existence. In the place of the old republic those 19th Century geniuses left us with a national corporation. You, by birth, are a stock holder citizen and entitled to some vast sum of money based on the current national debt.

While the root rests on some disturbing truth, the rest is rubbish.

Some people really believe all of this. Part of the faith comes from a real realization that something is fundamentally wrong with America today. Part is based on tv-induced naivety and ignorance. Part on greed

This does not make sense economically. In order to cash in your “stock” – if everyone did, the only solution would be to print so much more funny money the currency would be worthless. So much for your shares. This fanciful belief makes the real problem even worse.

Let me briefly explain what the U.S. really is. The nation, following the too good success of the loose Confederation, was formed into a Constitutional Republic. Allegedly the rights of the free people were protected and the powers of the new government limited. Somewhere we fell off the wagon and those ideas were reversed. Both the authorities and the people were corrupted.

Today, the Constitution is an ignored artifact stuck away in a museum. Buchanan’s book aside the U.S. has degenerated into Empire, now approaching the late stages thereof. It’s an Empire without an emperor. Specifically, the political power is uneasilly split between ochlocracy (mob rule) and oligarchy (rule by the elite). The elite keeps the mob happy with handouts and spectacles and the mob keeps re-electing the elite. Cozy if crazy.

I’ve said before this country has owners – banks, insurance companies, and other well-connected entities. But their ownership is less like a corporation and more like a plantation. The mob plays the part of the slaves, stupidly trading their sacred freedom for false security and debased entertainment.

What to do? The corporate angle is too good to be true. Don’t believe it. Instead, believe in yourself and put your faith in a Higher Power. Whatever its form, if enough of us ignore the government long enough, it will go away.

Secrets of the Trade (and other Bullsh*t)

14 Sunday Jun 2015

Posted by perrinlovett in Legal/Political Columns

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

America, Amerika, Boehner, CAFTA, Congress, Constitution, corporations, Democrats, economy, evil, freedom, government, H.R. 1314 (2015), jobs, Marcus Aurelius, money, NAFTA, Obama, politicians, President, Rand Paul, rats, Republicans, Rick Allen, Ron Paul, secrets, SHAFTA, The People, Thomas, TPA, trade, Trade Act, Wall Street, Washington, White House

Recently I wrote of the coming wave of destructive evil from Washington (the latest, as that tide ever brings the same).  Courtesy of Barry Obama and John (the tan smoker) Boehner “your” federal government is moving towards new, secret, and purely ruinous foreign trade powers.

Frequently I deride the horrors of politicians and politics in general – see these links for details.  The New York Times and NPR report that, as of Friday, the malicious train of ObamaTrade has been temporarily derailed.  I say temporarily because things like this are usually a done deal once they start.

“Eighty-six Republicans voted for the program, more than double the 40 Democrats who supported it. But the trade adjustment assistance bill failed when 303 voted against it.

Republican leaders then passed, in a 219-to-211 vote, a stand-alone bill that would grant the president the trade negotiating authority he sought. But that measure cannot go to the president for his signature because the Senate version of the legislative package combined both trade adjustment and trade promotion.”  New York Times.

I was pleased the popular press reported on this issue – they lacked the zeal these reserve for important stories (say, about Caitlyn Jenner) – but they did, at least, report.  I was a little dismayed they left off important reference information for the inquisitive public. The Bill in question is H.R. 1314(EAS), the Trade Act of 2015.

This gem of K Street legalese would, among other things, amend the Tax Code of 1986 in order to help large organizations make more money at your expense.  It would also grant the President new and unprecedented unilateral trade powers.  Pay no heed to that Congressional consent nonsense in the Constitution.

Get a load of this:

(b) Principal Trade Negotiating Objectives-
(1) TRADE IN GOODS- The principal negotiating objectives of the United States regarding trade in goods are–
(A) to expand competitive market opportunities for exports of goods from the United States and to obtain fairer and more open conditions of trade, including through the utilization of global value chains, by reducing or eliminating tariff and nontariff barriers and policies and practices of foreign governments directly related to trade that decrease market opportunities for United States exports or otherwise distort United States trade; and
(B) to obtain reciprocal tariff and nontariff barrier elimination agreements, including with respect to those tariff categories covered in section 111(b) of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 3521(b)).
(2) TRADE IN SERVICES- (A) The principal negotiating objective of the United States regarding trade in services is to expand competitive market opportunities for United States services and to obtain fairer and more open conditions of trade, including through utilization of global value chains, by reducing or eliminating barriers to international trade in services, such as regulatory and other barriers that deny national treatment and market access or unreasonably restrict the establishment or operations of service suppliers.
(B) Recognizing that expansion of trade in services generates benefits for all sectors of the economy and facilitates trade, the objective described in subparagraph (A) should be pursued through all means, including through a plurilateral agreement with those countries willing and able to undertake high standard services commitments for both existing and new services.

            – H.R. 1314, Sec. 102. TRADE NEGOTIATING OBJECTIVES.

More:

(4) AGGREGATE REDUCTION; EXEMPTION FROM STAGING-
(A) AGGREGATE REDUCTION- Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the aggregate reduction in the rate of duty on any article which is in effect on any day pursuant to a trade agreement entered into under paragraph (1) shall not exceed the aggregate reduction which would have been in effect on such day if–
(i) a reduction of 3 percent ad valorem or a reduction of 1/10 of the total reduction, whichever is greater, had taken effect on the effective date of the first reduction proclaimed under paragraph (1) to carry out such agreement with respect to such article; and
(ii) a reduction equal to the amount applicable under clause (i) had taken effect at 1-year intervals after the effective date of such first reduction.
(B) EXEMPTION FROM STAGING- No staging is required under subparagraph (A) with respect to a duty reduction that is proclaimed under paragraph (1) for an article of a kind that is not produced in the United States. The United States International Trade Commission shall advise the President of the identity of articles that may be exempted from staging under this subparagraph.
(5) ROUNDING- If the President determines that such action will simplify the computation of reductions under paragraph (4), the President may round an annual reduction by an amount equal to the lesser of–
(A) the difference between the reduction without regard to this paragraph and the next lower whole number; or
(B) 1/2 of 1 percent ad valorem.

            – H.R. 1314, Sec. 103, TRADE AGREEMENTS AUTHORITY.

Make any sense to you?  Of course not. And, this is the part that is open for public inspection.  A shadow bill, the real law, is still locked up and under armed guard in the Capital basement vault.  What kind of government operates like this?  Sadly, “ours’ does.

secret-doors-matt-boyle-breitbart-640x480

(Breitbart.)

Members of the respective houses of Congress can (allegedly) enter the vault to read the shadow text.  Rand Paul did so.  “’I think I am not supposed to reveal the details of it, but I can tell you it was about 800 pages long,’ Paul said.” Breitbart.  “Paul said he thinks the secretive process makes it look like the government has “something to hide” and that he thinks if Obama opened up the process it’d make it easier for several Senators—and the American people—to truly understand what it is they’re voting on.” Id.

They do have something to hide.  They always do.  The details are in the vault, so to speak.  The fact that a U.S. Senator has to keep mum about the text demonstrates this without question.

Another telling facet is the desperation among Republicans and the White House to pass this filth.  “The fate of the trade legislation now depends on Obama’s ability, along with business-friendly interests, to persuade dozens of Democrats to switch their votes before a planned do-over vote early next week.”  Washington Post.

The President is literally pleading with his own party to help him screw the American People.  He’s already won over many of the “loyal opposition.”  At a Washington Nationals ballgame last week “a bizarre scene unfolded as the crowd crammed inside Nationals Park lurched into a chant about the legislation. ‘TPA! TPA! TPA!’ chanted Republican congressional aides seated near the first base dugout when Obama stepped onto the field at the top of the fourth inning.”  Fox News. “TPA” refers to Trade Prostitution Act.

Another telling feature is the desires of large U.S. corporate interests to pass the Bill. The more power their political puppets have, the more money they can make.  You and your retirement plans be damned.  “’Manufacturers will not back down in this fight for expanded trade, for the future of our industry and our country,’ the National Association of Manufacturers said in a statement.”  Business Leaders React With Dismay to Defeat of Trade Bill, New York Times.  Naturally, they have yachts to buy.

Some out here in the real country get it.  “Do you remember back in the 1990s when the United States entered into the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)? And the subsequent Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA)? These trade agreements have not worked out well for American workers. American jobs went to Mexico. American workers were laid off and communities devastated. American companies, just to increase their profits, built their production plants in Mexico and paid their workers pennies on the dollar for their labor.”  Remember NAFTA and CAFTA? Well, here comes SHAFTA, Economy in Crisis.

Unfortunately, we have not learned our lesson — even after two decades of failed trade agreements. Right now Congress is considering entering into another trade agreement with South Pacific countries named the Trans Pacific Partnership, otherwise known as TPP. However, this trade agreement is even more onerous than previous failed trade agreements.

* The TPP was constructed in secret by corporations. Congress and the public had no input. This is fundamentally undemocratic and undermines transparency in government.

* It is a trade deal that increases corporate power and CEO bonuses.

* Thousands of jobs out-sourced to countries that do not respect human rights or worker’s rights.

* It allows transnational corporations to sue countries if they believe they have been harmed (sometimes speculatively) in a trade agreement written by corporations and behind closed doors.

* Expands the deregulation of banks, hedge funds and insurance companies. Remember the Wall Street crash of 2008 due to deregulation? Regulations keep corporations honest and prevent them from harming us.

* Harms environmental regulations in counties that are part of the TPP.

The corporations are now done writing their secret trade agreement, and Congress now has to vote up or down on the law. The Obama administration is seeking “fast track” authority from Congress in order to complete the negotiations. This means there will be no committee hearings, expert testimony or amendments. The Obama administration is taking this anti-democratic approach because they know if this treaty was debated, it would never become law.

              – SHAFTA, Id.

Read that again.  Let it sink in.

Last week, prior to the vote and temporary corporate profit defeat, I called my Congress Critter, one Rick Allen, for his input.  While I live in his District, he does not necessarily represent me.  Since the departure of Ron Paul I have had no semblance of representation in Washington.  So it goes.

Amerika being what it is these day I was unable to speak directly with my employee. Rather, I had a conversation with a polite young fellow named Eric.  He laughed and admitted, yes, much of the Bill is secret. (F’ing hilarious!) He did note that I could read all about the public parts – see Thomas quotes, above.  True to his position and the nature of his work he would not say definitively whether my boy Allen was in favor of sending more jobs oversees and more money to Wall Street.

As an aside, Allen did vote against the Bill.  Then he immediately voted to keep it alive for future consideration.  How very political of him.

Eric was well aware of the TPA chant at the baseball game.  Though he was not present he did state that several of his office mates were.  I warned him of what Marcus Aurelius said about this kind of thing.  The Roman leader and philosopher was solidly against jingoistic public displays of partisan passion.  My warning was likely lost – then and now.

If you care you may contact some staffer of your “representative,” whoever that may be.  Just click this little link to locate your dedicated servant: http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/.

You may be able to visually pick him/her out of the following picture.  This photograph is of a general Congressional pow-wow over the Bill last week:

Rats-Caitlin-Mitchell

(They do all look the same.  Google.)

 

 

 

 

Muddling Through College

11 Monday Mar 2013

Posted by perrinlovett in Other Columns

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

academic, accounting, Athens, business, career, CEO, classics, college, corporations, deception, Donald Trump, education, failure, finance, GA, interests, law school, lay offs, lies, MSU, muddles, old people, people, philosophy, racket, real estate, scholarship, the American dream, The Time Given, Trammell Crow, truth, UGA, UVA, What Will They Learn, youth

Given the popularity of my postings on the law, generally and regarding specific topics, and given the inclination of so many people to ask me about becoming a lawyer and what it’s like, I thought I would write something about legal education in America.  It won’t be pretty but it will paint a good overall picture of the modern training lawyers undergo.  First, however, I thought I would write something about the undergraduate experience which precedes law school.  That’s what this article concerns.  It is mainly drawn from my experiences at the University of Georgia in the early – mid 1990’s.

As my personal collegiate experience is somewhat dated (ugh….), I have tried to incorporate a little news concerning more modern college education as well.  So, this piece is really about my personal muddling with an updated, universal background.  I hope it serves as a guide of sorts for those entering college or already there and struggling to decide what to make of the situation.  For those you who have already completed your formal education, I hope this resonates with you.  It’s up to us to enlighten the younger generations so that they may achieve their full potential.

College today is much the same as it was back then.  Modern students have a wealth of on-line information to assist them in picking the right school and program for them.  I wished we had had that.  I recently stumbled across a fantastic website that goes beyond the normal rankings and summary guides.  Check out this site: http://www.whatwilltheylearn.com/.  It’s an initiative from numerous alumni to assess what, if anything, colleges teach these days.  The results are eye-opening.  Of the 1000 or so schools surveyed only 21 got an “A” based on required core curriculum.  I’m proud to say my alma mater was among them.  Several famous and pricy schools did not fare so well.  Watch their video too.

cap

(Google Images.)

Back to yours truly.  I started college in 1993 immediately after graduating from high school.  I applied to and was accepted to three colleges (I think it was three, I’m lazy).  I got accepted to Mississippi State University (in my original home town) and the University of Georgia, where many of my relatives attended.  I think the other school was UVA; I attended classes for a week as a high schooler and was most impressed. 

MSU offered me a scholarship, I think it was a full ride.  My dad had been a professor there and apparently they needed someone from Georgia.  I probably should have accepted but, given my poor choices in college, I would have likely lost the scholarship anyway.  In the end, I went to UGA.  The Georgia HOPE scholarship was recently enacted at the time.  My high school grades were excellent and so I would have qualified.  Unfortunately, my parents made something like 50 cents over the family income maximum.  The next year they raised the maximum but by then my grades were so dismal it didn’t matter.  I must say I had a great time in Athens.  The city is overrun with bars and hot girls and there is always something to do.  Oddly, none of that matters looking back.

I have since analyzed why I did as poorly as I did in the early half of my college career.  I used to blame the school and several professors in whose classes I did poorly.  I have come to the conclusion though that any failings (pun intended) were my fault only.  I had considered that perhaps I was not ready for college.  Then again, I’m not sure what I would have done instead at that time.  I wanted to continue my formal education, I just went about it all wrong.  I was not true to myself.

I have devoted a whole chapter in The Time Given (not long now….) to being true to yourself.  My understanding of the concept comes from my own self-betrayals.  In high school and for the first few years I was at UGA I was under the delusion of the great “American dream.”  George Carlin once said, “it’s a dream because you have to be asleep to believe it.”  I know what he meant.  The dream went something like this:  You go to college to get a valuable degree.  The degree gets you a ticket to work for a big corporation for 30 or 40 years.  By working hard for your employer you get rich and enjoy a comfy retirement.  You can vacation in Destin, Florida and such.

I tried to take the dream to its extreme conclusion.  I just knew I had to major in business in order to get that golden job ticket.  I started out as a general business major and then switched to a speciality in real estate.  UGA’s real estate program is excellent and I did learn some things in my concentration classes which came in handy at Trammel Crow and in my brief real estate sales career.  I also found some of my advanced economics classes fascinating – but only from an academic standpoint.  The rest of the core business classes bored the ever-loving hell out of me.  My grades reflected this.  I recall mornings when I remembered I had to drop classes I had not attended all semester – on the last day possible.  Still figures into some of my nightmares.  I recall passing finance my reading the booklet for my fancy calculator the night before the final exam.  I wasted a semester in a business MIS class that covered things like floppy disks and the new-fangled internet, whatever that was.  That all says something – I’m not sure what…

The “hard” problem I found with an undergraduate business degree was that you studied based on scenarios only a CEO would encounter.  Then you get into the job market and discover only entry-level jobs are available.  It’s kind of depressing.  I really lucked out with Trammell Crow and it took me months of interviewing for scores of other positions to find.  Another problem is that once you’re on the job, they retrain you completely.  I’d say only 10% of what I managed to learn ended up being useful on the job.

If you want to enter business, I think it’s best to get an MBA. It also helps to study something you have connections to (the family business, etc.). Otherwise, you’re wasting your time.  I wasted a lot of the stuff.

The “soft” problem I had was that I didn’t really want to be a business major.  I look like a businessman but I have the heart of a history professor or a latter-day dragon slayer, neither of which benefit from a class in marketing.  This was made clear to me during my senior year.  For whatever reason I finished most of the required classes and had an abundance of electives to take.  Out of curiosity I wound up in a number of classics (ancient Greece and Rome) and philosophy classes. 

Suddenly, I was immersed in subjects that spoke to me about eternal issues I could relate to everyday American life.  I also got “A” after “A” and it wasn’t hard to do.  I liked the programs.  I identified with the programs.  I dig ancient wisdom and logical discourse more than ROI statements and accounting baselines.

It occurred to me a little late in the game to change majors and stick it out.  I probably should have done that.  At the time though, the same stubbornness that got me into my plight held me there.  I made excuses like “I’m almost done.  I need to settle, get out, and get that dream job.”  Ha!  The job I got was great.  I foresaw myself rising in the ranks and becoming a developer, another Donald Trump.  I was good at it.  I thought I could even open my own business and build skyscrapers.  Then, they called me one day and thanked me profusely for my hard work.  I smelled a raise.  Then they said the division was closing and I was no longer needed.  More depression followed.  This is the real American dream – you lie to yourself, waste time and money, and end up getting laid off after giving 150%.  Well, it was the dream.  I think most people have to settle for permanent unemployment or food stamps these days.

After a year of flopping around I headed to law school.  It was my attempt to right my ship.  It almost worked.  I know now that while I love the concept and theory of law, present and historical, these are not good reasons to go to law school.  I’ll have more on this in my coming column on the legal education racket.

I should have gotten a Ph.D. in political theory or history.  Then I would have been primed for a happier career in higher education, pondering the big ideas and helping young people seek questions and answers.  I’m currently trying to re-route myself that way.  This blog is a grand outlet for my academic pursuits.  I’m delighted by the support I have received so far.  I plan to press forward regardless of what kind, if any, formal institution I end up in.  I don’t mean an “institution” where I weave baskets…

Counting the four years I was locked up in high school, it’s been about 24 years getting around to being honest about my ambitions.  I have been extremely lucky in the alternative.  I’ve had the opportunity most people don’t get in the business and legal fields to interact with academics, statesmen, titans and ticks of all stripes.  I have also been able to strike a few blows for freedom over the years.  Everything happens for a reason and I have accepted my long way home.

I hope you, dear readers, find and accept yours too.  Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help you.  I genuinely like helping people.  It’s really why I’m here.

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Perrin Lovett

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