Or even just some sort of financial education at all. I don’t know if they still do it, and I rather do doubt they do, but when I was in school, they actually taught us how to fill out tax forms, set up bank accounts, and how to make budgets. Not even in a special class. They worked it into all kinds of classes. Didn’t entirely keep me from screwing up a little when I got out on my own, but at least I knew I was screwing up and how to get back on track. It’s even worse for people getting out of high school now, what with credit cards and banks being how they are.

One thing my father managed to instill in us as kids was that credit was for losers.

That was pretty much my dad’s message too. If it weren’t for deciding that my dental work just had to be done NOW, we’d be debt free (house not included – getting priced out of the rental market, we decided that having a rent controlled place to live for the rest of our lives was a smart move, and it has been). Once that’s paid off, it’ll probably be another decade before some need comes up that requires getting on the credit hobby horse (and it will probably be some other health related issue, as it always seems to be).

I knew credit cards were a scam as soon as I got to college, and that situation has only gotten more scammy since then. I mean, there are people paying 30% interest?! That’s just insane. Total usury tied up in pretty legal wrapping paper to make it look like it’s a good thing. I remember when my “emergency” credit card sent me a letter saying my interest rate was going up to 20%, and there would be a yearly fee if I didn’t start using it more often … which lead directly to me canceling the thing and chopping it to bits.

Yeah, we send our kids out into the world woefully unprepared for life. Real life. How to pay bills and buy houses and have checking accounts without getting overdrawn. They may know a lot of (mostly) useless facts, but how to be an adult living in the 21st century? Not so much.

High school kids don’t need more education on drugs or where babies come from; what they need is a senior year dedicated to preparing them for making confidant, independent, sane financial decisions for the rest of their lives, heavy on the how-to aspects of recognizing and dealing with all the corrupt people and institutions that will be preying on them. That, of course, will never happen, since the primary purpose of school is to socialize gullibility and subservience.

One thing my father managed to instill in us as kids was that credit was for losers. I tell that to people even now and still get the must shame-faced and silent reaction.

I wish you could have had lunch with us today and met “her”. I know if you like her she’s a find. I suspect you will like her very much.

This came across as saying that if a photographer looks at all strange (say, because they’re a human being) then you must call the police and a sizeable minority of the public will do that. The police can’t handle the weight of phone calls this generates so they have to be arseholes to photographers or admit that their higher-ups issued stupid advice.

Why are people like you so class envy? First of all you must tell me how have you contributed to Rush’s success? You haven’t, so why do you believe you have a voice in telling him how he, or any successful person, should spend their $$$, or how much tax they should have to pay? How many times does a successful person first have to fail before they become successful? And this is the type of person you want to carry more of the tax burden? Punish hard work, reward laziness.

I suspect your husband works for a “rich” guy, how would raising your husband’s employer taxes affect your life style? Pay cut, cut back on the # of hours worked, laid off. Liberals love higher taxes, they just don’t want to be held responsible for their failings. Hey with the Obama administration there is always plenty of government work; it is the only sector gaining more jobs, up 3%.

The UK police do seem to lose their minds over photographers and videographers every so often, don’t they? Usually, it’s in ways I can imagine happening here too, because I sometimes get spoken too by guards or cops when downtown doing architectural shots, but thus far no actual hassles (probably because I am a cute, harmless looking female). This case in particular though, I don’t know if that would even happen in the US. Maybe it is, but it doesn’t make the news.

The whole thing with them saying they can delete his photos? Yeah, that made my head explode.

I do hope the father makes a complaint, since the police absolutely do not have the right to delete your photographs.

And what is it with woman in grocery stores?! I still get stupid comments from total strangers on an all too regular basis.