Stupid people doing stupid things

Two separate articles in the WSJ this morning bring the asshattery.

One is on page A2 of the dead tree edition, entitled “Measles Outbreaks Show No Sign of Slowing”.  The last paragraph is idiotic:

Skepticism about vaccines is growing in the U.S., particularly in insular communities, where several measles outbreaks have occurred in recent years.

In what FUCKING world would that make anyone a skeptic about vaccines?  Or keep any but the most stupidly stubborn from allowing that maybe vaccines would be a good idea, since WE ERADICATED MEASLES FROM THE US IN 2000????  What do they think we used to do that?  Witch doctor mumbo jumbo and dancing around bonfires?

Fucking clueless idiots.

Then on page A3, there’s this, entitled “Rising Rents Give Rise to New Lenders”.  Again, the last couple of paragraphs illustrate the stupidity of some people:

Alexander Kaplan, a tech entrepreneur, moved back to New York after years of living abroad.  He had paid roughly $500 a month to live in what he called “the Soho” of Belgrade, Serbia.

“Coming back here I was quite shocked,” said Mr. Kaplan, who rents a studio apartment on Manhattan’s Upper West Side for $2,800 a month.  He borrowed $10,000 last year from a loan startup focusing on young college graduates facing hefty move-in costs.

More asshattery.  You moved to New York City.  To the Upper West Side.  And you think you’re going to get an apartment for $500 a month? Moron.

According to Wikipedia,

Like the Upper East Side, the Upper West Side is an affluent, primarily residential area with many of its residents working in commercial areas of Midtown and Lower Manhattan. … The Upper West Side is considered to be among New York City’s wealthiest neighborhoods.

When I lived in Washington DC for a year in 1995, I had a crappy one-bedroom apartment up in Silver Spring that cost $973/month.  When I moved home to Indy the next year, I got a nice two-bedroom (well, it was really a one-bedroom with a loft which I used for my office) apartment on the north side near my folks’ for $525/month.  (And that same apartment is still only around $600/month over 20 years later.  Neighborhood’s not as nice anymore, though.)

What is perhaps more moronic is that this article is talking about lenders who are lending money to people who can’t afford their rent.  Specifically one person says it’s because her pay is sporadic.  (She’s a model and designer in Hollywood.  Isn’t everyone?  That, or an actor or a writer.  And they all seem to be waiting tables when they’re telling you this.)

I mean, I get payday lending, but lending specifically designed to help you pay the rent?  Holy shit.  What have we come to?  This is as bad as student loans, if you ask me.