A question was posed in the New York Times recently

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/22/magazine/22Adulthood-t.html?pagewanted=10&hpw

asking whether the collective failure of “twenty somethings” to 1) finish school 2) move out 3) become financially stable 4) marry and 5) have a child by age 30 and hence achieve adulthood is so rampant that perhaps we are witnessing some kind of collective devolution such that a new category in addition to adolescence is needed between childhood and adulthood called “emerging adulthood.”  This article is more than just another slap in the face to young people who have never had the opportunity to start a career mixed with some struggling, debt-ridden academic’s sad attempt to make a name for himself.  This article is the very antithesis of what this blog is all about and as such merits a response.  As I peel back the layers of lies and hypocrisy I ask that you the reader not lose sight of the fact that at the end of the day life is not about 1-5. 1-5 simply has to do with a society perpetuating its own existence.  Your LIFE is measured by how you advance an organized movement designed to benefit others well beyond your few years on the planet.
 
First, let me say this: ouch.  I don’t say ouch lightly.  This was not a bee sting or a splinter.  This was a sledgehammer to the ankles.  This is like getting a test back from a teacher that you failed so badly the teacher actually begins to wonder if whether you have some unknown mental deficiency.  I mean, the article is saying someone in my situation is so hopelessly pathetic that SOCIETY NEEDS TO MAKE SPECIAL LAWS TO ACCOMMODATE MY EXISTENCE.  I have a friend who completed 1-5 by age 23.  I was 0-5 then.  Now I’m 28, 1-5, with nothing on the horizon.  This article suggests that when we rent cars, purchase alcohol or engage in other activities that the law treat us differently…kind of like insurance companies do when evaluating what kind of risk you are or mortgage companies do when deciding whether or not to give you a loan.  According to this article pursuing a graduate degree and not being able to get a job right away could eventually make you a protected class under the Constitution!

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Several months ago Erin (I think) wrote an article called why I don’t care about the national debt. Maybe someone else stole the by line but I remember the conversation that spurned the entry. About a week and a half ago the President reminded us how in a generation we had plummetted from 1 to 12 in terms of countries with the highest percentage of citizens with a college degree. And of course this is Debtors’ Prison so you know how we get down. Let’s explore how the three are interconnected.

Student Debt and National Debt. It’s really hard to care about the latter when entrenched in the former, particularly when the latter is used as an excuse for why the govt can’t help you but they need another fleet of 100 million aircraft to hunt the 50 Al Qaeda left in Afghanistan. But let’s look deeper. We as students behaved alot like our country, borrowing a ton for a questionable large investment and assuming everything would just work out because hey, it’s us.

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As I prepare for the start of class in a few weeks and take a much needed break from my ongoing feud with Mike Triforce I would like to, hopefully for the last time, explain why I am borrowing excessive amounts to go to what is commonly referred to as a TTT law school, particularly after taking 7 years and over $100k to complete my undergraduate education and writing for a blog called “Debtor’s Prison.”  After all, isn’t the point of “Debtor’s Prison” that borrowing large amounts of money for a fancy degree, particularly a law degree is foolhardy?  I would argue no, and here is why.
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What do student debtors and the unemployed have in common? No, not Benito (or the millions of others who are in the same boat). Selfishness. That’s not a criticism. I’m not judgmental. It’s certainly not praise. I am not Mike Triforce. It’s not even a challenge because I am not President Kennedy.

But I would be remissed if I didn’t point out two trends and suggest that perhaps one should rethink which hole their particular cog in the machine fills.

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Please Take What is Left of Me
Though I Must Admit
It’s Not Much

I Cannot Take Care of You
In the manner you deserve
I owe so much

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WOOOOO! WOOOOO!  MAN IT’S APATHETIC TO BE BACK!

Mike Triforce here.  I see that there’s still no independent advertising here so I assume the pay is the same.  That’s zero for those of you keeping track at home.  What’s happened in my absence?  Benito’s still out of a job, Alpha Man is still whiny and bitter, Simon’s Girlfriend’s one substantive post is in response to something I said and Erin still feels neglected.  Oh and Icarus 30 has gotten too lazy to rhyme and quit his job/gave up his hobby (fetish?) however you would describe teaching high school.

Listen, I’m back by choice not because Benito asked me or because I need this platform.  I’m back not because this blog needs me, I am back because YOU need me.  Let me remind you why.

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For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. This is true in physics and in life. If you want to know whether you’re moving forward look for that reaction. Most of your life is an elaborate facade meant to give the illusion of motion when you are in fact standing still. Of all the reasons to hate student loans, one thing you have to love is this: loans don’t bother with a facade. Your bank account goes down. Your loan balance never does.

Read on to explore what that means.

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[Original content temporarily suspended as a professional courteousy until the ethical investigation is complete. Older posts that failed to make the original cut will be rotated and substituted. If you have any questions, thoughts, concerns and most importantly if you need a copy of the ORIGINAL POST please contact nick@debtorsprison.com]

Ok, I might have said some things that were exagerations. I might have gotten carried away with this whole blogging thing. Being in debt is stressful but If I offended anyone well… Fill in the blank.

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[Original content temporarily suspended as a professional courteousy until the ethical investigation is complete. Older posts that failed to make the original cut will be rotated and substituted. If you have any questions, thoughts, concerns and most importantly if you need a copy of the ORIGINAL POST please contact nick@debtorsprison.com]

I know what being a partner is like.  I gave KF the relatively simple task of covering a post slot and he botches it. Everyone knows Bruce Lee was the hero of Enter the Dragon. For his transgression he must now where a dunce cap whenever blogging.  I apologize to all of Bruce Lee’s millions of fans around the world.

This also provides me an interesting opportunity to illustrate the difference between “hard work” for a winner (me and Bruce Lee) and hard work for a loser (you). Winners work hard when it matters.

Side note: Check out this loser response to a bad review http://abovethelaw.com/2010/02/in-house_counseling_dont_fall.php#more

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