How's that for a lead in? So my second oldest, in addition to getting married, is pursuing that ultimate dream of being his own boss. His fiancée's love of reading, mixed with his own literary tastes, has led them to plan a used book store in our home city, which has been without such a store for years.
They've also discovered that Elon Musk is correct. My son could walk into almost any door in America and walk away with a 50K dollar student loan for college, no questions asked. But go and beg for a 15K loan to start a business and it's 'here's your hat, what's your hurry?'. Sometimes I wonder if such modern disparities are altogether accidental.
Anyway, my oldest son has posted a gofundme to help them out. We're beginning to promote it this week. I understand this is a little different than other such requests. I also realize that unless you're in our town, you probably won't be perusing the bookshelves you help them obtain. Though I'm sure they will have an online option when things are up and running.
But for them to be up and running, they need help beyond the structures and financial SOP of our modern society. If you would like to help, click on the link above and I'm sure anything of any amount would thrill them, and more than help them on their path toward living the dream.
BTW, below are some pictures of one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. It's a scale model of their bookstore built by his fiancée's aunt. On the whole, it isn't too far off from how they envision it when it's finally opened. So put your envy for such phenomenal craftsmanship aside, and take a look at what would be nice for our town to have, and not bad for my son and his fiancée either.
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| The actual model on a shelf |
Sometimes I wonder if such modern disparities are altogether accidental.
ReplyDeleteStudent loans are subsidized, and they're not dischargeable in bankruptcy except in unusual circumstances. Also, not a great business to be in from a financial standpoint. If I'm not mistaken, commercial lending for small businesses tends to be in the form of lines of credit for already established businesses. Not my line of work, to be sure.
I wish your son and daughter-in-law the very best, but I can't say as I'm hopeful they'll do better than make rent. Even 25 years ago, the independent booksellers in my section of town had gone out of business. There was one left on Monroe Avenue that sold used books only and another who had no retail outlet, just sold online. The chain I applied to in 1994 (which was still expanding as late as 1991) was liquidated in 2011. I spent some time in the intervening years living in a handsome suburb chock a block with educated people. No bookstores of which I'm aware. I used to get scads of catalogs. Now, not a one.
Oh, they're aware of their chances. They're betting on the fact that we lost our only bookstore in our entire town a few years back when the owners retired. That leaves the closest bookstore between 45 minutes to an hour away in Columbus. I know we've talked about how nice it would be to have a brick and mortar book store just to stop by and peruse. I also know we're not the only one. A Barnes and Noble was supposed to open up back before the economy tanked, now I've heard nothing else about it. Now whether that works for them or not remains to be seen. But as I tell them, if you never try you'll always fail. Trying at least lessens the odds.
DeletePerhaps if they added a cafe. Do either have a background in food service?
DeleteOf course it's not accidental. The Davos crowd needs a couple generations of college-educated morons who are drastically in debt. The ego-boost granted by a college degree combined with the stress of all that debt creates a horde of entitled, angry shock troops who can be let loose against whatever target Soros, Klaus and Harari decide to send them after.
ReplyDeleteAverage outstanding loan balance is currently $29,000. That's higher than I'd like, but it's not the social crisis people are making it out be.
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