shs96

Now you know I don't drink and only old lady are fanned by cabana boys! :P :P Exactly I dont have an idea, which is why I ask for clarity. It wasn't baiting it was again for clarity. I dont assume that all people who are having financial hardships are in that place by their own doing. We've had a few recent examples right here on UO. However, I personally, have run into (and sat in focus groups with) those who dug themselves into financial holes. I didn't assume or place fault when I asked that question and of course I know it's not that black and white. Thats why I asked for clarity. I think her point is that "blanket statements" apply to "general populations" and you don't need to ask for clarity and go over the minutia that could affect each individual situation. Yeah, no sh!t, taking a vacation is OK if you can afford it. You needed clarity on that?

Just seeing these photos now...I really love the Chagrin Valley in the fall. My friends were married at St. Christopher's in October and the reception at The Country Club...great setting for a wedding!

Good point on that last one... I've itemized the past few years; I am paying 5.25% on a 30 yr fixed and who knows what kind of interest I can get on savings...variable I guess over time.

When you pay off things off you have so much more money to play with. You money can then work for you. When I paid of my house, it was like a taking king kong off my back. I've read articles indicating it's better to invest than to pay off your house....get better return on your money and don't lose the tax cushion. I couldn't really make much sense of this (I mean, how could it not be a good idea to basically live rent free?) but it seemed this advice was pretty consistent across many personal finance articles/sites/books I browsed. I wondered if it was positioned that way simply b/c paying off one's house is usually such a lofty goal while investing X amount per month seems more achievable...I would think paying off your house would be one of the best things you could do. Was your strategy simply to make extra payments to principle each month?

I saw that when I was looking at the standings yesterday...amazing. When I was there, my football Saturdays usually consisted of going somewhere to watch Ohio State play. I attended 1 OU football game while I was there...and that was in Huntington against Marshall to see Randy Moss play...

The secret is to work in the public sector. I might become a schoolteacher someday just to get in on that health insurance plan and SERS. The real private sector (companies with no bailouts) has become a mess. The best-paying and least stressful job I've ever had was with the public school system. There is just no substitute. They set you up for life. When it comes to retirement, I don't think any private sector job can beat the public sector. The public schools are excellent employers with far and away America's toughest union. And I've never met so many people who loved their jobs. There's a reason so many people are switching their major to education these days. My dad is retiring at the end of the year and is about to start collecting his state pension. Both he and my mom get health coverage for the rest of their life...not a bad gig. I'll have to ask him once he's settled into "retirement" but looking back, while he was working in the private sector, he worked longer hours, seemed more stressed, yet made more money. In the public sector, he worked less hours (from probably 60 to 35 per week), had a cushy retirement package, but had to deal with a lot of other BS (like the general public). He was still paid well, but not as much. It's give and take I guess. Keep in mind too that in the private sector you work year-round. Some people literally work every day, including holidays and weekends. With teaching, you work about 180-200 days a year. It's the greatest job in the world. The benefits and time off are unmatched. In some states, you don't even need a teaching certificate, just have to convince them you'll work towards one while teaching. Very true...private sector, he worked for himself so technically he could take of whenever but of course that affected his bottome line. Public sector...6 weeks paid vacation and government holidays off.

The secret is to work in the public sector. I might become a schoolteacher someday just to get in on that health insurance plan and SERS. The real private sector (companies with no bailouts) has become a mess. The best-paying and least stressful job I've ever had was with the public school system. There is just no substitute. They set you up for life. When it comes to retirement, I don't think any private sector job can beat the public sector. The public schools are excellent employers with far and away America's toughest union. And I've never met so many people who loved their jobs. There's a reason so many people are switching their major to education these days. My dad is retiring at the end of the year and is about to start collecting his state pension. Both he and my mom get health coverage for the rest of their life...not a bad gig. I'll have to ask him once he's settled into "retirement" but looking back, while he was working in the private sector, he worked longer hours, seemed more stressed, yet made more money. In the public sector, he worked less hours (from probably 60 to 35 per week), had a cushy retirement package, but had to deal with a lot of other BS (like the general public). He was still paid well, but not as much. It's give and take I guess.

This is a good point. I don't really know how much money I'll need. Unfortunately my goal is "enough so I can do whatever I want" and I know I'm not quite there yet ;) What is weird, when thinking about it, is my lifestyle hasn't necessarily changed from age 22 to now. I still do pretty much the same thing, I just manage to spend more money doing it. Too many upgrades I guess... lol. Reality is if I spent the same amount of money when I was 22 as I do now...well, I don't even want to think about it. But needless to say, I'd have a lot more money!

you're in your 20s. You have plenty of time. 15 years ago I felt the same way. I'm 31, FYI...

On one hand, I feel like I've done everything right: Started contributing to my company 401(k) on the first day I was eligible out of college, started contributing to a Roth IRA a few years later, built up savings, made other investments, remained debt free, etc... On the other hand, I look at the balances in my investment accounts and think "there's no f-ing way I'll be able to retire while I can still enjoy it".

I was offered free tickets and turned them down to last night's game...I couldn't imagine spending money to see this mess at this point.

I think the "competition" that needs to be worrying about this Casino are the restaurants on the far edges of Cuyahoga County and out into Lake, Summit, Medina, Lorain, etc. Its been said before here, but I think we need to remember there is a massive volume of people who live in Cuyahoga County that never come downtown, except for the occassional sports game. These are the people who take regular weekend trips to out of state Casinos, and I think these will be the majority of this Casino's regular business.

Go Hornets!

I don't really disagree with any of your points...I suppose my larger point is...I didn't like the article stating "the housing tax credit is causing people to continue to suburbanize". Clearly, there is much more to it than that.

And I hate people (generally not from Ohio) who don't realize "Ohio" is not the same as "Ohio State". Living in Texas, this was a big problem. Even more so b/c I couldn't say "I went to OU" ... that to them was Oklahoma...even though OU was a school before Oklahoma was a state...and even when I was wearing a GREEN hat with "OU" on it, I would get crap about "being a Sooner". Hey f-stick...the hat is green, not red. I mean, at least go for Oregon...they're green too...

In order for that statement to be true, IN MY OPINION, as well as that of many others, we would need to fix Cleveland City schools, big time. I completely agree the schools are a problem (big problem)...however I don't think that changes my statement. Housing is still the cheapest with the most tax benefits in Cleveland. If you're sending your kids to private school, their tuition is tax deductible as well. Not to mention, what is the cost difference between the $100,000 house with low property taxes + private school tutition compared to the $200,000 house with high property taxes in a nice public school district?

The counter argument is that the tax credit is for home buyers, not "suburban home buyers of big houses with large lots". And - at least in Cleveland - housing is more affordable in the city proper than it is in the suburbs, there are plenty of homes on the market, and with the property tax credit, there are more than enough opportunites for new construction in the city and/or rehabbing older homes in the city and not paying property tax on the new construction. So if you're a first time homeowner looking for the most affordable and tax advantageous home to buy, that would be in Cleveland proper.

^ and he seemed to be cheering for the Cavs, despite being from (or at least born) in Chicago (Evanston). Wonder if he was in town specifically for the game?

Good list. Art Modell is far and away #1. Dude won't even set foot in the city for fear of imminent death. And Roethlisraper grew up in Findlay and was a 49ers fan...for no specific reason. One of my largest pet peeves is people who root for sports teams they have no affiliation for (i.e., they were good when you were a kid, so hop on the bandwagon). I also hate Bill Belichik for A) trading Kosar B) sucking while being a coach here and C) suddenly being the best football coach ever in new England.

I know you haven't just met the PD...

That's a good point...lots of new venues/entertainment districts scheduled to be opening up just prior to hosting some nice events!

Key word! Instead of finding out for yourself, you'll just go with what he says? I'm trying to sell bridge over the cuyahoga river...... :roll: :roll: Pretty much. Yeah, he realizes the $10-$20 hourly seat fee they charge is going to get crushed by the poker room in the Casino...of course he's against it.

I would say this played the biggest role. Suddenly you had a large area of unemployed people on the East Side of town. High unemployment generally leads to a host of bad things and the cycle begins...

That's it? I never understood why that album never caught on. I just heard 'Hey Ladies' on satellite radio the other day...still a great song!

So in summary tax revenue of only 33% is worse than no tax revenue, 19,000 temporary construction jobs is worse than 0 new jobs, $200 million in additional school revenue - whether its only a 3% increase in funding or not - is worse than $0 additional revenue, the fact that private developers stand to make money of the development is terrible, and the money Ohioans spend out of state on gambling isn't really that much. Issue 3 will only create low paying jobs and foster a litany of social ills that are not currently present. (And there's also 0 chance it will spurn spin off development and/or bring new audiences to urban areas) Got it.