New Haven Independent

Posted by: XXXX | November 25, 2008 8:57 AM

President Bush told us to shop till we drop back after 9/11. Look where we are now at the new Great Depression.

Give to charity. If you can afford to stay at a $249 a night hotel room then you can.

This Bruce Alexander must be a Yale Banker type.

Posted by: robn | November 25, 2008 9:53 AM

Its Michael "Musto" who writes for the voice.

Posted by: Zoiks! | November 25, 2008 11:31 AM

We need a nickname contest for this new over-the-top hotel. Honestly, who but the effetest of the elite can keep a straight face while referring to it as "The Study"?

Help me out people. What should we re-christen it?

"The Stuffy" at Yale?
"The Money" at Yale?
"The Yuppie" at Yale?

Posted by: James | November 25, 2008 11:48 AM

[Muso] called us an "upscale" getaway from down-at-the-heels New York.

In what parallel universe did Muso visit New Haven? I wish it were true, but unless you are lead around by the nose and only shown certain parts of downtown New Haven is FAR from upscale no matter your definition.

As for your suggestion to give money to charity, XXXX, that's not really relevant to the story, now is it? Give to charity if you want to. No argument there. And the individuals attending this event likely do contribute to charities in substantial ways. But part of what is wrong with New Haven is that it is one giant charity. Everybody expecting and most receiving handouts.

Yes, Bush's approach to fiscal management was moronic. But there is a difference between buying a DVD player and trying to establish some sort of long-term business opportunities and tax base. If people are going to decry and blockade every proposal that they see as "elitist" or moving towards gentrification they'll get exactly what they ask for. A city that is a festering boil on the ass of New England.

Posted by: anon | November 25, 2008 12:01 PM

What's $300 a night when the average hedge funder raked in $10,000 per hour last year?

Posted by: steve beck | November 25, 2008 12:14 PM

Hey,
I am an alum of the Executive Orientation put on by the Chamber's Leadership Center. The next session 12.2.08 is at the Q-Club, the agenda is the "Regions Assets and Opportunities" and our honorable mayor will be a speaker. I will not be able to attend so if anyone wants to go in my place let me know. I will see if I can get you in. There will also be speakers on tourism etc. You may get some insight into how the movers and shakers think because you can ask questions. Kelly Murphy may even be there. My wife and I like living in New Haven because of Yale - it is the only thing that keeps this place tolerable but as soon as our son graduates, May '09 from Yale, I am sure we are moving to Vermont.
Have a good thanksgiving.

Posted by: Webblog 1 | November 25, 2008 12:21 PM

ZOIKS..

How about New Haven @ YALE

Sounds appealing and appropriate

Posted by: anon | November 25, 2008 12:58 PM

Last year's average income was actually $300,000/hour for the top 50 hedge funders. Collectively, Ivy League institutional endowments raked in over ten million dollars per hour.

$10,000/hour? Only for the hoi polloi.

Also, don't forget that due to our country's special "pro-investment" taxation system, as a percentage of income, a typical kindergarten teacher pays twice as much in taxes.

Bottom line: $300 per hour hotel rooms will be in high demand for some time. New Haven needs to embrace that demand in order to grow and provide good jobs.

Posted by: TrueBlueCT | November 25, 2008 1:04 PM

On a more positive note, how about The Suave @ Yale.

Posted by: anon | November 25, 2008 2:47 PM

Trueblue, that sounds too much like a hair care product.

Posted by: DEZ | November 25, 2008 4:06 PM

"(Yale Vice-President Bruce Alexander) So he charged New Haveners with two assignments for the coming month: "First, give more to charity. Second, go shopping... It is patriotic this year to shop and get the economy going."

While I can afford to agree with Bruce, I must say that most of New Haven can't which makes the statement rather tasteless. I hear Marie Antoinette saying, "let them eat cake!" Although I'm not sure she historically ever made that statement. When you have residents barely able to pay basic bills, or put food on the table, to be quoted making such a statement rings clear as bourgeois BS. While the holidays may physically blink brightly, New Haven will suffer financially with the rest of the country this holiday season. It's a sad truth that charges to 'spend' won't fix.

Posted by: 2nd Amendment | November 25, 2008 4:11 PM

Steve Beck:

I'm not sure that I'll stay here THAT long. This "city" has gone way down hill in the ten years that I've had the "honor" of being a resident (inmate?).

Posted by: elmcity69 | November 26, 2008 12:10 AM

Mr. Beck, your arrogance and elitism will not be missed by those of us who really know this city. I bet you could find a sweet Vermont farmhouse cheap in this market - why wait until '09, really?

Good riddance!

That goes for you, too, "2nd amendment".

Posted by: A reader | November 26, 2008 12:16 AM

As a name, I rather like "The Study", although I'd much prefer New Haven tacked onto the name instead of Yale. But, more importantly, why did they have to go to Strand to fill the bookcase? Someone needs to tell them about the wonderful basement at Labyrinth, where you can get good art books for cheap.

Posted by: Fedupwithliberals | November 26, 2008 8:32 AM

"So he charged New Haveners with two assignments for the coming month: "First, give more to charity. Second, go shopping... It is patriotic this year to shop and get the economy going." "

Hey Bruce!

I got an action item for you. They say that charity begins at home. Maybe with an endowment that tops 15.2 billion dollars, Yale can start setting an example and help out with the budget shortfall in New Haven!

Posted by: anon | November 26, 2008 11:06 AM

Fedup, if New Haven has a budget shortfall, maybe it should consider selling off the Superintendent's massive city-sponsored SUV, renegotiating union contracts immediately and cutting administrative salaries across the board by 25-50% before asking various private entities for more donations.

The city should also blockade Union Station, close the magnet schools, and close all city streets during the next snowstorm (by refusing to plow), until the state fully funds its PILOT obligations.

Posted by: James | November 26, 2008 11:31 AM

FEDUP, why in the world should Yale have to pay for the City's egregious mismanagement? And how in the world does that suggestion fit in with your "non-liberal" ideals? Yale does a good deal to help out New Haven and while I am no fan of or champion of the institution I have to agree that this town would be far, far worse off without the stabilizing influence of Yale.

Why is it that anybody who doesn't like New Haven is an elitist and those who do like New Haven feel that they are the only ones who truly know the city? Maybe if you've never lived anywhere else New Haven's problems aren't apparent, but blind boosterism of what New Haven is at present sure as hell isn't going to lead to a better future.

You consider yourself a true New Havenite, ELMCITY 69, but I see your comments as championing the status quo--inaction, corruption, and incompetence.

Posted by: robn | November 26, 2008 12:42 PM

2NDAMEND,

To appreciate the last ten years of the city, you'd have to have been here 15 years ago. Trust me...its better.

Posted by: steve beck | November 26, 2008 5:56 PM

Actually, we already own property in Vermont. Waterfront on Lake Dunmore, between Middlebury and Brandon. It's a camp, a chamber music camp providing wonderful opportunites for talented and not so talented young musicians. We gave away $75,000 in scholarships this year to a lot of kids who could not afford the total fees. We also provide activities that take advantage of our waterfront location: swimming, kayaking, canoeing, hiking in the Green Mountains, exposure and participation in sustainable agriculture and environmental understanding and educationl. My wife and i receive thank-you notes from campers and parents. So watch who you are calling an elitist.

I am totally fed-up with the business as usual approach of the city, etc in dealing with the clusterf... we have embraced in this country. Go ahead, let's celebrate Christmas this year like we have done every Christmas, buy, shop and drive. I love New Haven, it is a great place to live and I would say that about any down-and-out, rustbelt, post-industrial city if that is where I live, but you must admit, Yale in all its elitism make is tolerable.

Let's just continue living this unsustainable lifestyle that most of the country has opted for in their energy-intensive, world-be-damned approach to living. "Why is our oil under their soil?" The more I see of men, the better I like my dog and miss my garden. Vermont represents to me, a saner and more sustainable approach to living.

Posted by: LastStraw | November 27, 2008 10:39 AM

"We gave away $75,000...So watch who you are calling an elitist."

There are two worlds Mr. Beck, yours and everyone else's.
Your philanthropy should be applauded, but please recognize that having the luxury of donating a sum like that makes you among the elite.

Posted by: steve beck | November 28, 2008 9:00 AM

the $75,000 came from out bottom line

Posted by: Walt | November 28, 2008 11:07 AM

Steve Beck

To the contrary, the $75,000 in fees not collected would have come from your top line, as a reduction in income, which would have increased your bottom line to the extent that less taxes would be paid,

You still deserve credit for generosity, assuming you could have recruited someone else to pay your full rate.

Laststraw's comments re "elite" make sense to me, no insult to you intended.

Sounds like an artsy elitist Yalie with a profit-making side investment in Vermont, but that's OK.