Peter Kobs's definitions
1. A derisive term for older suburbs that are declining into poverty. The word is a combination of "Slum" and "Suburbia."
2. The bleak future for many aging American suburbs.
3. What happens when people refuse to take urban planning seriously.
Slumburbia is almost always found in large metro areas. As middle-class residents move farther and farther away from the urban core, the closer-in suburbs start to deteriorate. Property values fall leading to reduced local tax revenue, decreased public services, declining schools and increasing crime, especially gang activity. This vicious circle continues for years until the suburb itself is no longer distinguishable from the large city it borders.
Examples of Slumburbia: Hamtramck, Michigan; Somerville, Massachusetts; Camden, New Jersey; and Compton, California.
2. The bleak future for many aging American suburbs.
3. What happens when people refuse to take urban planning seriously.
Slumburbia is almost always found in large metro areas. As middle-class residents move farther and farther away from the urban core, the closer-in suburbs start to deteriorate. Property values fall leading to reduced local tax revenue, decreased public services, declining schools and increasing crime, especially gang activity. This vicious circle continues for years until the suburb itself is no longer distinguishable from the large city it borders.
Examples of Slumburbia: Hamtramck, Michigan; Somerville, Massachusetts; Camden, New Jersey; and Compton, California.
by Peter Kobs March 9, 2010
Get the Slumburbiamug. 1. An average student with insecure parents.
2. The elitist notion that only some children have "gifts" or talents worthy of attention.
3. A hollow form of "self-praise by proxy" that snobby parents use to bolster their social standing.
2. The elitist notion that only some children have "gifts" or talents worthy of attention.
3. A hollow form of "self-praise by proxy" that snobby parents use to bolster their social standing.
Our son Timmy is a Gifted Child. He should be in a special school to nurture his extraordinary talents - at taxpayer expense. Did I tell you that I drive a BMW?
by Peter Kobs December 10, 2009
Get the Gifted Childmug. A morally repugnant act, suggestion or idea associated with Barack Obama; a pejorative word used by right-wing political activists to discredit mainstream positions of the Democratic party and/or Sen. Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign; a slur against a black political candidate masquerading as a religious objection.
by Peter Kobs June 17, 2008
Get the Obominationmug. 1. An old car that doesn't qualify for the $4,500 cash trade-in incentive from the government because it gets more than 15 mpg.
2. The sudden realization that your old beater vehicle is lost in the twilight zone between "generally worthless" and "totally worthless," forcing you to keep driving it for another year -- at least.
2. The sudden realization that your old beater vehicle is lost in the twilight zone between "generally worthless" and "totally worthless," forcing you to keep driving it for another year -- at least.
"I just looked up the mileage for my 1996 RAV4. The stupid Junker Flunker gets 16 mpg, which means I won't be getting any of that government cash after all. Drat!"
by Peter Kobs July 29, 2009
Get the Junker Flunkermug. This acronym stands for "Great Depression #2." It's shorthand for the seemingly imminent collapse of the global economic system starting in late 2008 and continuing into 2009. Some professional economists, as well as ordinary working people, are fearful that the spiralling financial meltdown will lead to a decade-long repeat of the 1930s, complete with bread lines, soup kitchens, radical uprisings and the possibility of global violence. "Happy times are here again!"
by Peter Kobs December 22, 2008
Get the GD2mug. 1. A major news event that reveals someone's true values and personality.
2. How people react to a massive disaster, such as the Haiti earthquake of January 2010 -- with compassion and care, or sarcasm and selfishness.
Following the Jan. 12 earthquake, most people expressed sorrow and an urge to help those in distress. However, some people resorted to "blaming the victim" or condemning "taxpayer-funded" relief efforts. Hidden hatred of minorities, poor people and "foreigners" is often at the root of such heartless statements following a major catastrophe.
2. How people react to a massive disaster, such as the Haiti earthquake of January 2010 -- with compassion and care, or sarcasm and selfishness.
Following the Jan. 12 earthquake, most people expressed sorrow and an urge to help those in distress. However, some people resorted to "blaming the victim" or condemning "taxpayer-funded" relief efforts. Hidden hatred of minorities, poor people and "foreigners" is often at the root of such heartless statements following a major catastrophe.
Two famous men failed the Haiti Test this month: Pat Robertson said Haiti was being punished by God for "making a pact with the devil" in the late 1700s. Rush Limbaugh called Haiti relief efforts a political ploy by the Obama administration to "burnish his reputation" with the light-skinned and dark-skinned black community" in the U.S.
by Peter Kobs January 18, 2010
Get the Haiti Testmug. 1. The downward transformation of one economic class into another.
2. The gradual descent from relative prosperity to grinding poverty, usually among formerly middle-class families.
2. The gradual descent from relative prosperity to grinding poverty, usually among formerly middle-class families.
by Peter Kobs February 6, 2009
Get the Class Morphingmug.