What is BO really up to?

Obviously you have a chip on your shoulder and a lot of delusional ideas about higher education. Let’s face it, if we were to compare our two professions, which I suggested that we not do but you insist, you don't come off looking too good. Gambling! Gimme a break! Your entire industry caters to the based instincts of the lowest elements of our society. You profit off of misery and call it entertainment. What are you, a respectable card dealer? Oh my! I wouldn’t have chosen to sit here and judge you and your profession but since you forced the issue, I find your parasitic industry disgusting. Look around at your fellow workers and see if any of them even have high school degrees. Probably not necessary to do the work anyway. If you want to sit there and judge me for contributing to the education of bright young people that just want to make a better life for themselves and others while feeding off of the sickest industry this country has, you go for it. That’s a fight I can’t lose.

 

If you made 300K a year, you would be a nicer person, and probably a republican to boot. But back to the issue at hand. It is obvious from your post that you don't have a damn clue about what you are talking about.

The casinos you frequented haven't been in operation since the 1980's. The Playboy became the Atlantis which had it's license revoked in 1989. Donald Trump bought the hotel and first named it the Trump Regency then Trump's World Fair and was permanently closed in 1999.

The Golden Nugget was Steve Wynn's major accomplishment in Atlantic City but he sold it in the late 80's at which point in became Bally's Grand. In the late 90's Hilton purchased Bally's and changed the name to the Atlantic City Hilton which it retains today.

At least you know the Sands is no longer their. The Tropicana's new owner (Carl Icahn) sold the Sands in 2006 to Pinnacle who demolished the building with plans to build a new resort which were curtailed by the recession. The Claridge is now part of the Bally's Park Place property which is owned by Harrah's.

So it is evident that you haven't been to Atlantic City in the last 20 years but you would like the members of this forum to believe your assessment which is that every patron is a loser, every woman a prostitute, and everyone outside a criminal. The cocaine epidemic in the 80's affected every major city and they all had huge drug problems. Although the drugs are still a problem, it is nowhere near the level that it was in the 80's.

You are so ignorant in fact that you claimed that the middle photograph was of Atlantic City when I specifically stated that the photographs were of Sin City (Las Vegas). The middle photo is of the brand new Las Vegas City Center and the newest casino Aria. You have no idea that in the middle of Atlantic City is a thriving group of shopping outlet stores called the walk. While there are still many unsavory parts of Atlantic City, they are not at all the fault of the casinos. The political corruption in Atlantic City is unrivaled in the entire country IMO. With the tax revenues collected by the city courtesy of the casino and state of NJ, Atlantic City should be the jewel of New Jersey. Instead, the politicians have stolen and embezzled millions of dollars for years. Many of these politicans have served prison sentences only to see their neighborhood friends take over their roles when they are sent upstate.

The police department is equally as corrupt. And you have the f'ing balls to insinuate that they don't make enough money. The casinos are extorted into hiring police details at the discount price of $65/hour. The city collects $15 and the rest goes to the police officer. A common practice is to tell the casino that they must have a police officer on duty in the Valet area on weekends. If the casino agrees, they police leave them alone. If they refuse, the police department sends motorcycle officers to the casino to write traffic tickets to the incoming valet cars. The casino is given a clear choice pay us $500 for the detail or pay $1,000 to settle the tickets to keep from losing customers. Now what other city would get away with that?

So go ahead and keep making **** up even though you don't have a clue as to what you are talking about. Or you could keep to what you know, conspiracy theories and hating republicans.

 

Chip on my shoulder, yeah I went to college! Every single one of my professors was a complete egomaniac on a power trip. Don't get me wrong, they were very intelligent, some were even good teachers, but none were very nice people. For the record, I never insisted on comparing our professions on a moral basis and could care less what you think of the gaming industry. My lack of respect for academia is grounded in the fact that you guys sit there an play monday morning quarterback while not participating in the capitalistic game. It has nothing to do with morality. You want me to admit that your profession is more noble than mine, fine, you are right, it is. And one day, after I have made my nest egg, I might join the ranks of academia myself and teach hospitality management.

Of course, you had to go all Tom on me and make an idiotic statement for which you have no foundation. Every employee I have ever hired had a high school diploma or GED. Again, I have no problem with you thinking the gaming industry is a disgusting parasite in our society. But consider, if it really is as bad as you say, why do you need to make up lies to make it appear worse than it is?

BTW, I see you didn't bother to list your county and unemployment rate. A little lower than 11.8% huh. I guess the Cook county unemployment rate of 11% skewed the numbers for the entire state huh!

 

How? By borrowing from China?? Maybe just some more neat book keeping tricks? I know!! LOWER MINIMUM WAGE!!!! Oh....and support the republican party.

 

The jewel of AC?? For who? Tony Soprano? Bravo...you realized I haven't been there in a long time. I'm sure it's the pillar of society nowadays. The dream of any upstanding citizen to spin the dollar wheel and wheel cards, and hand out napkins for tips to the patrons
after they urinate. Who wouldn't drink to that? I said heroin...not cocaine. The hookers and losers generally don't get off of heroin too well last I heard. If the police are corrupt, well, all a result of the sickness that DID begin in the 80's. What happened to all the community improvements that were touted in the 80's there Bucky? Thanks for the education on the updated list of casinos though. Do they have silk napkins in the urinals now? Free cigars??
Oh...and the police?? They deserve 10x what they make to deal with AC's riff raff. Can you still sell your teeth across the streets from the casinos or did they move them back a couple blocks?

 

"gaming". Sounds innocent enough.

 

Like I said, you have some strange ideas about higher education in this country and with the variety of institutions this country has and the fact that we lead the world in advanced education, you think that you somehow have the wherewithal to condemn the entire profession because you had a bad experience while taking a couple of classes just astounds me.

My county has a higher rate of unemployment than the state average and it is at a 36 year high. There are people in this community that are suffering and they are my neighbors, my friends, and some really good families that deserve better than this situation they find themselves in. Maybe you are blind to what is going on in the rest of the country but everyone is having a tough time these days. Your little piece of the world doesn’t have a monopoly on a bad economy.

 

Gaming is the new term that has replaced gambling. I'm convinced.

 

We called it that for years over here just as a side issue our Conservative Leader David Cameron is talking about emulating some Democrat ideas if he becomes Prime Minister especialy the type of role played by President Obama earlier in his career Community Organisers Yep hes going to roll them out over here LOL

 

I know you were not talking to me but...

The most recent numbers I can find for my county in Southern Illinois was 12% in Jan 2010. It was 8.8% in Jan 2009. One county north, it was 15.7% in Jan 2010 and was 12% in Jan 2009.

http://lmi.ides.state.il.us/download/countyrank_jan10.pdf

 

After a long day of gaming, if you have any money left, you can get 'escorted' back to your room.

 

I really don't know what you are talking about. I don't have a problem with higher education. I have a problem with those in academia playing Monday morning quarterback. It cracks me up that you don't recognize how egotistical and condescending you are on this forum. You are the quintessential college professor. You spend your days surrounded by young people who don't have the education or life experience to question your arguments and it gives you a God complex. Then you venture out of the kiddie pool and must resort to spin to have any chance at victory.

Just because the large majority of college professors are egomaniacs does not mean they are not good at their jobs. And teaching is certainly a noble profession, no argument from me there. And for the record, I did not have problems with my classes or professors, but that does not preclude me from making the observation that most were complete egomaniacs.

Regarding your county's unemployment rate, just tell us what county it is so we can see for ourselves. Sorry, but your propensity to twist and spin on this forum necessitates that I confirm your story of woe. In other words, you "word" is not good enough for me professor.

 

Here Ye, Here Ye, Here Ye,

The masters of spin have spoken. Tom and Moen have astutely pointed out that I changed the word gambling to gaming to make is sound less sinister and more acceptable to mainstream America in an attempt to separate them form their money.

The problem is gentlemen that I did not invent that word, it was created well over a decade ago, probably by a lawyer. Here is the current accepted definitions of the two words.

But I thank you anyway for your attempt to give me credit for the invention of the word. Maybe I can go to work tommorrow and insist that I be promoted since it was I who coined the word "gaming" and saved the immoral industry.

Maybe our goody-goody Democrats would like to read an article on how gaming (sorry, gambling) has become mainstream in America.

http://ggbmagazine.com/issue/vol-9-no-3-march-2010/article/gambling-goes-mainstream

 

When someone says gaming, I think video games (playing video games - not video gambling).

When someone says gambling, I think of casinos.

 

Wow,

An English word with more than one definition. I have never seen that before.

 

The republican party defined.

The conservative political party in the US that represents the interests of 1 percent of the population, that also happens to be the richest people in the country, that have managed to create a mass base of support that consists of over one half of the U.S. population by deceiving them into believing they also represent their interests, that don't give a crap about the poor, blacks, minorities, women, and anything and everything that has to do with making life pleasant for everyone else.
A white-collar crime organization; a pack of criminally insane political prostitutes without consciences, who have buried their faces in the public pie as though it were a feeding trough.
An elite orgy of self-interested taxation and public spending; one party to which you are categorically not invited; the world's most reliable source of misinformation; America's Bridge to Nowhere and expressway to ruin. Facists.War mongerers.

Corporate crime:

Criminology, corporate crime refers to crimes committed either by a corporation (i.e., a business entity having a separate legal personality from the natural persons that manage its activities), or by individuals that may be identified with a corporation or other business entity.
Corporate crime overlaps with:White-collar crime, because the majority of individuals who may act as or represent the interests of the corporation are employees or professionals of a higher social class;
organized crime, because criminals can set up corporations either for the purposes of crime or as vehicles for laundering the proceeds of crime. Organized crime has become a branch of big business and is simply the illegal sector of capital.

Elitist:


An individual that assumes special privileges and responsibilities in the hope that this arrangement will benefit themselves. Members of the upper classes are often known as the social elite. The term republican is also sometimes used to denote situations in which a group of people claiming to possess high abilities or simply an in-group or cadre grant themselves extra privileges AT THE EXPENSE OF OTHERS. This form of elitism may be described as discrimination.
Discrimination is an accepted corporate practice. See also....Business, exploit, Fox, rape, pilfer.
See also Rome, anarchy, George Bush.

 

Well back on to what President Obama is realy up to LOL I do believe that he is about to allow new off shore drilling for oil it is a stange idea he is putting forewards, Lessening dependece on forign oil, jobs for american workers!! surley this Socialist/Communist Presidentcant be doing that along with the Cittigroup sale & pushing forward the war in Afghanistan!!

 

Or an industry trying to change its image through the use of a different word. I have never seen that before either. lol Just saying that it hasn't really worked in the places I have lived.

Heck...search on Google:

http://www.google.com/search?q=gaming

Maybe in AC or LV it is the primary lingo.

 

You and your anti-education crowd feel that education is some pie in the sky protected sector of society that hums along while "real" people are suffering may just want to read the email I received yesterday form our university president. This is our financial situation:

Colleagues,

While the warmer temperatures and blue skies this week are proving a welcome respite from a long winter, at this time it appears no similar relief is imminent to the state's dire financial situation.

As we begin the final quarter of Fiscal Year 2010 and contemplate the governor's proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2011, it is clear that today [we] face the greatest and most serious financial crisis in its 115 year history. Specifically, without question we will be wrestling with not one, but two major budget issues: a serious cash flow problem for the remainder of this fiscal year that will likely carry over into the next fiscal year AND an operating budget for next year that, under the Governor's current proposal, will be slashed by $6.7 million.


FY2010 Cash Flow Crisis
As of today, entering the final quarter of our fiscal year, the state owes [us] $55,332,544 in FY2010 appropriated funds that have not yet been delivered. To my distress, there is no payment schedule to deliver the remainder of our funds owed, nor is anyone in Springfield able to provide a definitive answer on when, how much or even if further payments to the public universities will be made. This makes operating this university a remarkable challenge. As I shared with you in December, it costs us approximately $1 million each day to meet payroll and expenses.

With an eye toward minimizing the debt [we] will undoubtedly carry forward into the new fiscal year due to the state's lack of timely payments, I instructed all university vice presidents to lapse two percent of their FY2010 operating budget. That is to say, they will be leaving this amount unspent at the close of the fiscal year. Doing so will reduce the debt that we carry forward by more than $4.5 million. That is a substantial savings, and nearly every dollar saved will help make it possible to meet our payroll obligations.

I realize that spending reductions of this magnitude late in the fiscal year will not be easy. However, this is substantially less than the cuts I asked the vice presidents to plan for in December, 2009.

The bottom line is that the cash flow crisis that has hurt us this year will spill over into FY2011, further complicating what is already shaping up to be a dire year for state agencies and elementary, secondary and higher education.

The state's budget discussions have become so important to each and every person at [in this institution] that we now have our own State Budget Update tab on the university's home page. There you will find a budget counter that tracks the flow of funds from the state and is updated when the university receives any of its appropriations payments from the state. I encourage each of you to regularly visit this budget information site to keep up with the latest facts on the states budget discussions.


Fiscal Year 2011- Begins July 1, 2010
Next year's financial picture is even more dire.

The governor's proposed budget will further reduce our state appropriation by $6.7 million. To put that in perspective, such a cut means that our appropriation for FY2011 will be less than what we received from the state in FY1999, over 10 years ago.

Should the General Assembly approve the governor's proposed one percent income tax hike for education or another revenue generating approach, things would improve. The political reality, however, is that the prospects for such an increase in 2010 are slim. We must therefore plan for Fiscal Year 2011 with the facts at hand, not wishful thinking. If additional revenues for education are approved, I will be delighted to adjust our budget plan for FY11 accordingly. Conversely, there are no guarantees that the legislature will not demand even deeper cuts than those set forth by the governor. For now our planning will be based upon Governor Quinn's proposed budget for [our institution], a $6.7 million reduction from our general revenue base of this year. Living within those means will require a variety of adjustments.

Yesterday, I instructed vice presidents to plan for FY2011 assuming a three percent base budget reduction. Frankly, I am erring on the optimistic side and hoping this will be sufficient; some believe up to a five percent or even larger base budget reduction could be required. Each vice president has been given responsibility for determining how best to meet this goal.

As I said last week during my testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee, protecting jobs and maintaining the quality of our academic programs and services remain my steadfast and primary concerns. I stand by that statement, but given the cash flow crisis and the debt the university will be forced to carry forward into FY2011, compounded with base budget reductions from the state and an unknown payment schedule for our FY2011 appropriation vouchers, it is becoming increasingly difficult to protect every position at the university.

In response to a question from committee staff prior to the hearing, I informed the Senate Appropriations Committee that the governor's proposed budget for FY2011 could require an immediate reduction in the [institution’s] workforce that could impact up to 257 faculty and staff and 86 student employees. That reduction could take the form of temporary layoffs, reduced work weeks, permanent elimination of positions, or a combination of all those and other options yet to be identified. Such reductions could have a ripple effect on the community estimated at $11.2 million per year.

Please know I have asked vice presidents to exhaust every budget tool that we have to find savings to limit the impact on current personnel. However, the simple fact of the matter is that payroll accounts for approximately 77 percent of our operating costs. We may have no other choice but to reduce payroll obligations. All options must remain on the table and know that we will be reviewing all university divisions. Before involuntary staff reductions take place, I assure you that I will provide clear, advance notice to our campus community following our procedures and guidelines.

As much as I wish I could spare academic and student services from further cuts, it is not possible. Academic and student affairs programs and support services, both on and off campus, account for nearly 74 percent of our spending. We simply can't extract enough savings from the rest of the university to spare these departments.

It pains me to have to deliver this message. We have labored long and hard to avoid this outcome. It is only through longstanding careful, conservative stewardship of our resources that we have been able to put off these drastic measures for so long. Unfortunately, there is little room left in which to maneuver.

Another unfortunate measure required to make up some of the shortfall will be a tuition increase. Under the states Truth in Tuition statute, tuition remains the same for most continuing students during their time to degree. However I firmly believe that we simply cannot attempt to offset our reduced state appropriation on the backs of the incoming class of freshmen. Doing so would be irresponsible even in good times; under the current economic conditions it would be unconscionable.

We will also recoup some savings by once again instituting a four-day work week for the campus during the summer months. More details will be forthcoming in the coming weeks.

Naturally, the austerity measures put in place late last year a hard hiring freeze for all new and vacant appointments, asking all departments on campus to reduce spending and to find ways to delay processing of purchases, contracts and appointments until the last possible moment; limiting travel and related expenditures; and limiting maintenance to health- and safety-related projects will remain in place for the foreseeable future.

We will also continue working hard in Springfield to ensure that other sources of revenue (e.g. grant funding from other state agencies that support programs here; MAP Grant funding that many students rely upon to pay tuition) remain in place. Be assured, I will continue to lobby the General Assembly for relief from the nearly $10 million in annual unfunded state mandates that weigh so heavy upon our budget.

I believe these are prudent, responsible steps that will help us navigate what promises to be a very challenging year.


Stay United
None of this is easy to contemplate. However, I urge all of us to remain united and focus on these real issues and challenges facing our great university. We have proven repeatedly that [we] can weather adversity. We have done so by working together and putting the needs of the university and our students first. Those same core values will help us get through this crisis and minimize the pain to any one part of the university family.

 

Welcome to the real world?