tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post5067308289415614303..comments2023-12-20T04:18:41.617-06:00Comments on The Hunting of the Snark: She's Just Not Very BrightSusan of Texashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00076915322771385454noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-36316411167638953862011-07-29T23:03:28.764-05:002011-07-29T23:03:28.764-05:00Myles, that is a definition of upper middle class ...<i>Myles, that is a definition of upper middle class that excludes almost all engineers, almost all academics, most small business owners and even some doctors in general practice.</i><br /><br />Sorry, I mean to say household incomes rather than individual incomes.Mylesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-59721919282290003852011-07-29T06:58:29.973-05:002011-07-29T06:58:29.973-05:00The parallels between you and Megan astound me.The parallels between you and Megan astound me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-15898156361365399912011-07-29T06:54:18.361-05:002011-07-29T06:54:18.361-05:00Myles, that is a definition of upper middle class ...Myles, that is a definition of upper middle class that excludes almost all engineers, almost all academics, most small business owners and even some doctors in general practice. I just found a 2009 article in The Economist that put the top decile of income in Canada at $90000. An income twice as large as the income that places you in the top 10% of the population is not " middle class".<br /><br />However, with that definition, yes it's a pretty exclusive club and I can believe that it's hard to join.Lurking Canadiannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-88958117844650707682011-07-28T23:12:07.838-05:002011-07-28T23:12:07.838-05:00Myles, I'm going to regret this, but what woul...<i>Myles, I'm going to regret this, but what would you consider a "solidly upper middle class" income?</i><br /><br />At Cdn. tax rates, 150k in pre-tax outside of metropolitan regions, 250k in pre-tax within metropolitan regions.<br /><br />Also, Southwestern Ontario (London, etc.) is one of the richest regions of Canada, and upper-middle class jobs are particularly widely available there, especially given relatively lower living costs.Mylesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-4238453027427779782011-07-28T20:49:42.492-05:002011-07-28T20:49:42.492-05:00I think you missed the part where Megan claims to ...I think you missed the part where Megan claims to have been unable to find a job after her analyst position she had lined up was cut after 9/11 and then landed in financial journalism instead. <br /><br />Possibly feeling shabby because she didn't have new clothes in like...a YEAR or maybe TWO...I don't even...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-38446541295036542922011-07-28T19:49:19.657-05:002011-07-28T19:49:19.657-05:00Myles, I'm going to regret this, but what woul...Myles, I'm going to regret this, but what would you consider a "solidly upper middle class" income? I live in a rural part of Southwestern Ontario (like, two horse rural) and I personally know no fewer than five financial planners, all of whom are living what I would consider a solid upper middle class lifestyle. I also went to grad school (not in finance, not at BC or NYU) and two of my friends got jobs in finance starting over 90 K per year.<br /><br />I suspect you are defining "solidly upper middle class" as "makes upwards of half a million dollars, owns a house in the Hanptons and a chalet in Aspen and has a $10000 per week expense account for hookers and blow". Otherwise, I simply refuse to believe that it's impossible to make a decent living in finance unless you went to one of two schools.Lurking Canadiannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-61703468667254269582011-07-28T17:43:40.300-05:002011-07-28T17:43:40.300-05:00By the way, even just on the CPA, CFA, etc. thing,...By the way, even just on the CPA, CFA, etc. thing, it's probably relevant to note that CPA is not as highly regarded or rigorously applied as the standard certification (CA) in Commonwealth countries, and is generally regarded as less of a solidly professional track. And accounting is one of the big professional streams. So this is part and parcel of what I was saying.Mylesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-79925366518340182882011-07-28T17:38:30.409-05:002011-07-28T17:38:30.409-05:00What I find particularly adorable is the suggestio...What I find particularly adorable is the suggestion that McArdle really <i>wants</i> to be accurate. She is a hack, and often an inept one at that. Susan of Texas, Tom Levenson, CBPP, Brad Delong, Matt Taibbi, Hilzoy and many others have thoroughly debunked, rebutted and exposed her countless times. How many more examples of bad faith and dishonest shilling from her do you need? <br /><br />More creative trolling, please.Batocchiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02193752396025012825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-42409420786457201332011-07-28T17:34:08.743-05:002011-07-28T17:34:08.743-05:00Megan had every chance, based on family connection...<i>Megan had every chance, based on family connections & the right schools, to succeed.</i><br /><br />I'm not so sure this is the case. Look: she went to Chicago MBA. Which is a pretty damn good program, but East Coast people generally don't go to Midwestern MBA programs unless they couldn't get into tier-one programs on the East Coast. It's just not as good for your career. So we know that Megan never made it to tier-one to begin with.<br /><br />High-level, rigorously taught finance education in the U.S. is actually quite sparse to an very under appreciated extent. The top program is NYU Stern. Megan doubtlessly couldn't get in, and even if she did she would have faced the massive pathologies and internal inconsistencies that I noted above.<br /><br />The next step down within the US, believe it or not, is the finance program at Boston College. (I'm not joking.) That's the very best Megan could have done, in the best of all worlds. At approximately the same level is the program at Vanderbilt. It's a great program, but it's still in Tennessee. As you go any further down, it's all Random State U programs that are obvious jokes that don't deliver solidly upper-middle class careers.<br /><br />The BC program does place people into pretty good careers, but it is pretty much the only one (aside from NYU Stern) in the entire continental US. The point is the options for a comfortably upper-middle class career with advancement track, in that sector in the US, are not that great. Partially this is because bullshit business programs crowded out any space for decent finance programs.<br /><br />Now, were Megan willing to go abroad, she probably could have gotten pretty good finance education in London or Switzerland. Americans have a generalized aversion to going expat, and these generally go hand-in-hand with going expat.<br /><br />By the way, there's an erroneous perception that business education in the US functions as a substitute for finance. The average undergraduate business graduate (that's where sub-Wall Street level finance-track recruits are often found) in the US can't be relied upon to do multiple regressions properly. That's obviously not going to cut it. (A lot of Frenchmen are imported to partially make up the shortfall.)Mylesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-17260982717364240402011-07-28T17:06:58.027-05:002011-07-28T17:06:58.027-05:00Megan doesn't have to be 'right'; mode...Megan doesn't have to be 'right'; modern discourse isn't about accuracy or truth, it's about sustaining a point of view that subsumes and then becomes reality. She's probably going to win in the end because all the smart, snarky blogs in the world can't stack up against her Tea Party/hubby/family connection/Atlantic support system.John E. Williamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02337331081503642601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-45088389531416097062011-07-28T15:43:06.850-05:002011-07-28T15:43:06.850-05:00...it is no wonder she is wrong so often, but sure...<i>...it is no wonder she is wrong so often, but surely pride should keep her from frequently demonstrating it in public?</i><br /><br />I don't think ArgleBargle has any real pride, just lots of conceit and a big (if fragile) Ego. She doesn't care about being <i>right</i> she only wants to <i>look clever</i> and sneer at anyone who disagrees with her.Kathyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03176801494652946278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-4656072620393832832011-07-28T15:28:21.470-05:002011-07-28T15:28:21.470-05:00Myles, you were the one who mentioned CPA & CF...Myles, you were the one who mentioned CPA & CFA. Whether they are minion track or inside track has nothing to do with how good your academic program was.<br /><br />N O T H I N G.<br /><br />Megan had every chance, based on family connections & the right schools, to succeed. It requires a special level of innumeracy, laziness, & foolishness to fail as quickly as she did. Basically, she got thrown out on a walk.Downpuppyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10312490198813632190noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-46797336857936686982011-07-28T15:06:48.030-05:002011-07-28T15:06:48.030-05:00You're doing God's work Susan. :)You're doing God's work Susan. :)Saphronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15522096582024595483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-31177554775988682802011-07-28T14:22:43.404-05:002011-07-28T14:22:43.404-05:00Myles just pulled the equivalent of the McMegan &q...Myles just pulled the equivalent of the McMegan "no one can know anything ever" with his "it's not her fault because it was not in her control, even though it ostensibly was"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-58340595349736156702011-07-28T13:35:15.917-05:002011-07-28T13:35:15.917-05:00keep working that pivot myles. you are totes mcgo...keep working that pivot myles. you are totes mcgoats fooling everyone. its not mcmegtard's fault. you convinced me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-36686769641448430782011-07-28T13:26:34.666-05:002011-07-28T13:26:34.666-05:00(And I just looked on the CFP Board website. Ehh. ...(And I just looked on the CFP Board website. Ehh. They don't mean much. Those certifications in and of themselves don't make for solid, reliable career tracks. They just let you advertise yourself as selling financial services. You need actual, solid, rigorously taught programs from reputable institutions, like NYU Stern or HEC or whatever, for them to actually count in a big way.<br /><br />Unfortunately, American business schools, such as NYU Stern, actually seriously try to force you to go into business-y/entrepreneurial stuff, even for their finance program, so the whole thing is structured in a really horribly messed up way, given that people go to good business schools largely to go into finance, not business.)Mylesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-49233529388693781082011-07-28T13:19:44.660-05:002011-07-28T13:19:44.660-05:00There's a ton of financial credentials anybody...<i>There's a ton of financial credentials anybody can pick up, and an MBA will get you into most of the tests.<br /></i><br /><br />She didn't do any of them (as far I can tell), though? I mean I do feel bad for her because it's actually one of those US-specific rather than Megan-specific things. (Upper-middle class as opposed to hedge-fund-assholes finance jobs are basically an expat racket and are heavily concentrated in places like Singapore, Switzerland, Dubai, etc. Americans, having for some reason a built-in aversion to going expat, are generally underrepresented in this crowd.)<br /><br />This ties into things like rigorously taught (rather than PhD-track) finance MSc's, etc., which are pretty essential to that whole setup, but again are generally unfamiliar even to upper-middle class Americans, who generally prefer to just either do law school or business school.Mylesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-44538818888345162332011-07-28T12:03:57.318-05:002011-07-28T12:03:57.318-05:00That's what makes this fun--someone tries to t...That's what makes this fun--someone tries to tell you that an apple is really an orange, and you tell them they must be an absolute idiot if they think they have an orange. What can they say? Nobody likes to look stupid and be laughed at, but they are trying to convince everyone they'll holding an orange and can't defend the indefensible.<br /><br />The people who are afraid to acknowledge that it's an apple, not an orange, are sometimes beyond help, but sometimes they just need someone else to say it first.Susan of Texashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00076915322771385454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-64102621820083323042011-07-28T11:43:15.330-05:002011-07-28T11:43:15.330-05:00Has it ever occurred to you that deliberate densen...Has it ever occurred to you that deliberate denseness is a Republican strategy? Show them an orange and tell them it's an orange and they'll say over and over again, "It's an apple...it's an apple....it's an apple...." <br /><br />That way, they're never wrong, even when they are, and you just can't win an argument with someone who simply brushes aside the actual facts.<br /><br />And of course,if they repeat "It's an apple...it's an apple...it's an apple...." enough times, well they end up convincing an amazing number of people that it really IS an apple, despite what's actually in front of them, if they cared to look...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-83983003932434245592011-07-28T10:33:51.749-05:002011-07-28T10:33:51.749-05:00There's a ton of financial credentials anybody...There's a ton of financial credentials anybody can pick up, and an MBA will get you into most of the tests.<br /><br />http://www.cfp.net/learn/knowledgebase.asp?id=15<br /><br />The ones worth having do have moderately hard tests, but plenty of fools have passed them with a bit of hard work.<br /><br />Oops, I said the "w" word that triggers her allergies.Downpuppyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10312490198813632190noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-31693870539410390872011-07-28T10:33:13.917-05:002011-07-28T10:33:13.917-05:00Myles, clearly you know a lot less about Megan tha...Myles, clearly you know a lot less about Megan than the rest of us.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-57206080381825706762011-07-28T09:46:56.747-05:002011-07-28T09:46:56.747-05:00It just occurred to me that Megan's problem is...It just occurred to me that Megan's problem is actually that she has no high-level, professional-equivalent skills. (A MBA is not a professional equivalent.) She isn't a CFA, a lawyer, CPA/CA, whatever.<br /><br />This is actually a bit frightening to comprehend. THis pretty much explains why she just gave up after her initial investment banking internship, because to her there was no other decent career track open. (If she went to work immediately for a business without a career-track rotational, her career would have been over before it even began.Mylesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-30299461189270836782011-07-27T22:58:34.770-05:002011-07-27T22:58:34.770-05:00Thanks, Batocchio.
It's hard to believe such...Thanks, Batocchio. <br /><br />It's hard to believe such errors. Sometimes the only proper response is a facepalm.Susan of Texashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00076915322771385454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-8788319163181098272011-07-27T22:48:00.038-05:002011-07-27T22:48:00.038-05:00Nice job.
When you're the brilliant McMegan, ...Nice job.<br /><br />When you're the brilliant McMegan, you don't need to research facts or even read your opponent's argument, because <i>surely</i> he must be wrong. That knee-jerk response is accentuated when she likes the target: banksters, glibertarians, Republicans, etc. Her fanboys will rally to her, after all. It's just interesting that she waited so long to weigh in, and then does so so weakly, repeating an already-discredited point. McMegan in peak form bullshits through jargon and/or volume, the better to wear down her opponents.Batocchiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02193752396025012825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2222630007427380394.post-31666877558629782602011-07-27T20:33:10.142-05:002011-07-27T20:33:10.142-05:00she is an eager little errand girl who thinks she&...she is an eager little errand girl who thinks she'll eventually fail her way to becoming an overlord. this is why she takes such exception to pointing out she's an errand girl or kochwhore or just plain wrong.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com