Entering Free Form Comments Grades 1-2 - Plain Local Schools: Fill & Download for Free

“Did you know that I never paid taxes before I came here? The Edema don’t own property, as a rule.” He gestured at the inn. “I never understood how galling it was. Some smug bastard with a ledger comes into town, makes you pay for the privilege of owning something.”Kvothe gestured for Chronicler to pick up his pen. “Now, of course, I understand the truth of things. I know what sort of dark desires lead a group of men to wait beside the road, killing tax collectors in open defiance of the king.Patrick Rothfuss, The Wise Man’s FearThis is actually a pretty great question, Dave. I apologize in advance, this answer might get a little on the lengthy side for today’s TL;DR culture, but I know you’re personally likely to read the whole thing and would most likely appreciate the depth.Why are people so averse to tax increases, when those increases would lead to a much higher quality of life for themselves and others?This depends on where you live, what station in life you occupy, and what your perceptions of the quality of government and politics are.And it really depends on whether or not tax increases do lead to a perceptibly higher standard of living for yourself.I was just having this very conversation with two relatives about two weeks ago.We were discussing the economy and the relative fragility of it if some bubble were to burst right now (which I think will be either student debt or another dotcom bubble in FAANG stocks,) the government is currently not taking in enough revenue to adequately fund the kind of spending it will need to prevent it from being a deep recession, possibly even depression. That led to discussions of taxes, which quickly led to Ocasio-Cortez and the marginal tax rate.For context, I grew up in a rural, heavily Republican area that broke about 62–32 for Trump. My family was in leadership in the Grange when that still existed. I was probably in college before I met a Democrat. And while my family tends to think Trump is a terrible human being and pray that someone confiscates his phone, they’re generally supportive of conservative policies.I’m a slightly center-right person and a never-Trumper, myself. In certain parts of my family, that has put their perception of me somewhere on the left roughly between Marx and Chavez as of late.The first question I was asked in this conversation after I suggested that we are not taxing the wealthiest enough was why I want to punish rich people for being successful.It is important for me to give a brief primer on the three basic types of taxes: regressive, flat, and progressive taxes, for those who are not already familiar with them.Regressive taxes are where the lower your income, the higher a percentage of your income the tax takes. Flat fees are regressive taxes. The policy here is equality: everyone pays the same amount.Example:A poor person making $1000 a month who has to pay a $100 fee pays 10% of their income. They have $900 remaining to budget for the month.A middle-class person making $10,000 a month who has to pay a $100 fee pays just one percent of their income. This person has $9,900 remaining to budget for the month.A wealthy person making $100,000 per months who has to pay a $100 fee pays just one tenth of a percent of their income. They have $99,900 left to budget for the month.Note that this tends to be hard on poor people and almost meaningless to a wealthy person. Each order of magnitude up in income doesn’t increase income by 10x after the tax, it’s greater than 10x.Flat taxes are a flat rate. The percent remains unchanged as the income increases or decreases. The policy here is fairness; everyone pays the same percentage.Example:Our poor person making $1,000 a month paying a 10% tax pays $100. They have $900 a month to live off of.Our middle-class person pays $1,000. They still have $9,000 left to budget for the month. They’re paying in taxes what our poor person makes in a month.Our wealthy person pays $10,000 in taxes, ten times the total income of the poor person and ten times the taxes of the middle class person. They still have $90,000 remaining to budget for the month.Note that our wealthy person has seven and a half times as much remaining for the month as our poor person would make in income in a year if we didn’t tax our poor person at all. Our person in poverty is still in poverty.But, from the perspective of our wealthy person, he’s shouldering the same tax burden as half a dozen other less well-off individuals.Progressive taxes are where the higher your income, the higher your percentage of your income it takes. The policy here is ability to pay; everyone pays what they can afford.Example:Our poor person pays 0% taxes. They have $1,000 for the month to budget.Our middle class person pays 10% in taxes. They still have $9,000 remaining for the month to budget, 9x more than the person in poverty.Our wealthy person pays 40% in taxes, because the math is easy and it’s a nice big number. They still have $60,000 remaining for the month to budget.Our wealthy person is footing a massive tax bill, but still has five times more per month than our person in poverty has in a year. They have as much left over after taxes in three months what the person in the middle class has left over after taxes in twenty.Now, in reality, these are usually taxed in brackets. Our wealthy person isn’t really paying the full 40% in taxes. Assuming our brackets are just between our hypothetical people, they would pay 0% on the first $1,000 per month, 10% on the amount between $1,000 and $10,000 per month, and 40% on the amount over $10,000 per month. The math gets slightly tricky, but the effective overall rate would be somewhere closer to 30% here.Certain flat taxes function more regressively, particularly “consumption taxes” such as sales taxes, value-added taxes, etc. While the wealthy pay the same sales tax on a product, that product and associated tax are a comparatively smaller proportion of their income than for the poor, simply because it’s just not possible for them to consume a proportionately greater share of products than the corresponding increase in their income.The gasoline tax, for example, is a flat tax that functions regressively, particularly on populations that need to drive more as a function of living such as rural populations.These can be hybridized to an extent. For example, one way to make flat taxes more progressive and less impactful on poor people is to exempt a certain amount; say 25% on everything over $50,000. A person making less than $50,000 pays no tax at all. A person making over $50,000 pays 25% only on what they make over $50,000; i.e. if they make $100,000, they pay tax only on $50,000, or $12,500 in tax rather than $25,000.It sadly needs to be explained that this is how marginal tax rates work, which is what progressives are suggesting be raised. Nobody is seriously suggesting that we tax the wealthy at a full 70% total; the first ten million dollars annually would be exempted.First person that starts bitching about Ocasio-Cortez and socialism in the comments because they read that last bit, skipped the rest of the answer, and jumped straight to the comments to argue gets put out the airlock.Higher taxes generally provide very little increased standards of living to the rural poor.Americans, particularly rural Americans, have a few things working against them.First, they’re often less educated in particular when it comes to civics.Not a single member of my family knew the difference between the basic types of taxes. They have vaguely heard of the idea of a flat tax replacing all the various sales taxes and stuff, and they like that idea, but that is the extent of their knowledge regarding tax policy. The argument with my relatives started because they were trying to figure out whether certain retirement account dollars are taxed when they are taken out and how the economy will affect their retirement.Very few people from my home area have any trust or love of government and see it at best as keeping the roads plowed and salted.And they have reasons.[1][1][1][1]Many of them have bought into the idea that gubbmint takes their money and sends it all down to Madison and Milwaukee to the lazy people who don’t work and live fat off the public trough.Whether this is true or not, it feels true to them. Why?You have to understand, where I grew up, most people live hand to mouth and struggle for that. It’s mostly manufacturing and small dairy, both industries that have been especially hard hit in the last thirty years. Milk prices are lower than they were when I was a child, and when you figure in inflation and the increasing cost of overhead (diesel fuel, electricity, etc.) it’s impossible to keep a small dairy running these days. One of the largest manufacturers in my hometown folded and took probably a quarter of the local economy with it.These people are utterly convinced and have been since Reagan that government, particularly regulation, is the problem.The farmers constantly complain about how those idjits in Madison who wouldn’t know one end of a cow from another come out and tell ’em how to do things when any person with common sense coulda toldja that was stupid and costly for no actual benefit.The schools are largely funded by property taxes. In rural areas, who are the biggest landowners? And who are the ones whose land values keep going up? Farmers.My grandfather used to talk about being land-rich, money-poor. And he’s right.Land is a valuable asset, but not a liquid one. So, every year the assessor comes out and tell you that your land is worth 2% more, so your taxes are going up 2%. And you’re sitting there knowing that milk prices haven’t budged, soybeans and corn are down, seed is going up, and you’re out of notches on the tight end of the belt.And then the school says they’re broke and needs a referendum for a new auditorium. It’ll raise your taxes another 1% this year. Another couple of thousand bucks. That could be an acre’s worth of soybean seed.Do those taxes feel enough like a punishment yet?Even if you’ve got kids in school and you know that auditorium is in disrepair or hasn’t been updated since it was built in 1965, how are you going to pay for that tax increase? Sell some land? Sell some cows? Sell some equipment?Most folks where I grew up ain’t got it to spare.So, when that “smug bastard with a ledger comes into town, makes you pay for the privilege of owning something,” yeah, it sure feels like a punishment for having anything of value.Now, add to that the perception that these people feel at least like they’re not getting a fair shake at life and government isn’t doing much to help it.What are they getting? Their roads are crumbling.[2][2][2][2] [3][3][3][3] Their schools are failing if not just plain closing, and teachers are fleeing in droves from rural districts to better paying urban ones.[4][4][4][4] [5][5][5][5] Health insurance premiums and deductibles have continued to go up.[6][6][6][6] Their kids are dying of suicides and overdoses.[7][7][7][7] [8][8][8][8]My people don’t feel like their quality of life is improving with higher taxes.And then some guy from Milwaukee wants to take tax dollars and build a choo-choo that’ll never go anywhere near their farm.[9][9][9][9]That’s what these folks see.Now, it is also true that the rural poor benefit a great deal in ways they don’t consider from the higher taxes. The New Deal built the vast majority of the infrastructure where I grew up. My grandfather remembers when their farm got hooked up to electricity and telephone thanks to the rural electrification efforts. Rural roads all over the state were paved to keep dust out of the milk; there are more miles of gravel roads in one non-dairy county in the western part of the state than the rest of the state combined. The CCC planted millions of red pine hedgerows to slow down the dust storms and erosion in the Central Sands region and practically built the town of Stevens Point. Kids still go to school in buildings constructed through WPA grants.A large tax push in the 1960’s also built a substantial piece of educational infrastructure; the University of Wisconsin System constructed the vast majority of the classroom and dorm buildings for both four-year universities and two-year community colleges in the late 1960’s, and many communities around the state built new elementary and secondary school buildings, particularly in rural areas, at the same time. Many of those rural schools now sit vacant, sold off to private businesses, or converted into local government centers as districts consolidated buildings. (When I was in first grade, I started at a rural school south of town and our class moved to a renovated school in town over Christmas break; the building was eventually sold to a local construction company that still uses it.)Tack on the Farm Bill and agriculture subsidies, the fact that many of those people are in school districts that are well over 50% on free and reduced lunch, many qualifying for the earned income tax credit, and more, and it adds up quickly to rural poor getting far more back in benefits than they pay in.The three major urban centers in the state (Milwaukee, Madison, and the Fox Valley area) generate a significant majority of the state’s revenue, and receive less back than they generate, even after taking into account major road projects such as several recent interstate overhauls.Not only that, but Wisconsin made a deal in 1911 with the municipalities of the state: in exchange for a state law prohibiting cities and municipalities from instituting local income taxes, they would get more state aid. Since the 1990’s, the state legislature has reneged on that deal, and state aid to counties and municipalities has continued to decrease. In 1995, 53% of Milwaukee’s budget consisted of state aid. For fiscal year 2017, it was 36%. Urban areas are losing a greater share of state aid every fiscal year, while paying in more.But rural counties have also been heavily hit.This reduction in local aid was drastically heightened under the Scott Walker administration, who reduced county aid so significantly that many rural counties had to cut mowing county road ditches down to perhaps once in the summer. One county where I have a friend on the county board has had to start asking for farmers to volunteer to mow their areas. The school aid formula hasn’t been updated in nearly 30 years and doesn’t account for transportation costs, which have been hammering rural districts with rising fuel prices to bus kids in from long distances.And that’s with taxes continuing to stay flat or only rise a little bit.Rural health care options have been declining for a long period of time, in part because they aren’t profitable, and in part because some complex procedures just aren’t performed often enough that health care providers are able to keep the staff trained; even birth services are being dropped because of the risk of complications or c-sections.[10][10][10][10] [11][11][11][11] [12][12][12][12] [13][13][13][13] There just isn’t a lot of trust in government to keep things like this from happening.Essentially, these folks might see the cost of their health insurance decrease with a switch to universal health care, since the rural areas are largely already poor enough that they’re heavily subsidized through the current ACA system[14][14][14][14][15][15][15][15], (though they still generally have higher premiums anyway,)[16][16][16][16] but likely wouldn’t see any increase in quality of care.Most of the tax benefit they see just doesn’t seem terribly visible to them, while any increase in taxes is quite visible. Thus, these folks have no reason to believe that their quality of life will increase if they pay higher taxes, even if they could afford it.And ultimately, the tax increase necessary to fund the kind of infrastructure, public utilities and services, and programs such as universal health care for rural populations would be massive if the burden fell on them alone, simply because of population density.Higher taxes don’t improve the standard of living for the already-wealthy.The vast majority of the economic recovery in the United States after the 2008 recession went to a) the largest urban areas of the country, and b) to the already wealthy.[17][17][17][17]For the wealthy, higher taxes are not only highly unlikely to result in a higher standard of living, they’d be prone to decreasing the standard of living that a wealthy person already enjoys.For the most wealthy, what they would receive from social programs such as Social Security is less than a rounding error in their annual income just from carried interest on their assets. The benefit from a buy-in option for Medicare is meaningless when a person can pay for platinum-level insurance plans with the change in their couch cushions, if not simply outright own the hospital.For them, universal health care is probably a step down. They’d likely have to maintain supplemental insurance to cover what they currently have. They’d basically get the same care they get now at more or less the same price, except now it wouldn’t be optional for them to pay in.They benefit somewhat from public investments into infrastructure; after all, what’s the use in driving a Bentley or Beamer around if the roads are terrible? Private jets don’t work as well without GPS and traffic control towers at the airports, even if you have a private hangar.Edit: Kagan Hudayar brought up a couple of very good points about ways that I had not listed that the wealthy benefit from higher taxes put back into national investment. Better infrastructure reduces the friction costs for business - this is why we have an interstate system. (Contrary to popular myth, Eisenhower didn’t come up with it as a way to move military forces quickly; he saw how it improved German industry with its ability to quickly move resources.)Public infrastructure such as transit also reduces employment costs. Employees that can get to work efficiently are more productive for the wage costs, and allows employers to get labor from a wider geographical region, which improves their ability to recruit better workers.Poverty is more heavily correlated with crime than anything else. People in poverty are more desperate, more likely to be willing to turn to illicit means to make things happen. There’s little good in having a million dollar mansion on a hill when you’re afraid to leave it or get robbed. And if things are bad enough, all the security forces in the world are not going to protect you when the mob with torches and pitchforks decides they’ve had enough with the plutocrats.[18][18][18][18]Kagan also worded this better than I think I could paraphrase it:And additionally, the ONLY way the wealthy can keep their wealth and grow it from generation to generation is by ensuring a well educated, well fed, and economically advantaged middle class. It doesn’t matter how I make my money. If the masses can’t buy more and more widgets, my business will shrink, my stocks in companies who sell widgets will diminish in value, and ultimately, we will enter a recession that is impossible to get out of. It seems to me, what the wealthy conservatives actually want is a system more in line with banana republics and under-developed nations. What they fail to realize is that the end-result will also be the same as it has been for these impoverished nations.He’s exactly right. If you want to grow the economy, give money to poor people. They will buy things. When people can’t buy things, the whole system falls apart. The wealthy can only stay wealthy, and continue to grow that wealth, if there is sufficient distribution of it to the rest of the world to support it.That perspective, however, is tempered with the idea that they shoulder the vast majority of the tax burden - as much as 70% of it.[19][19][19][19] [20][20][20][20] [21][21][21][21] [22][22][22][22]That feels heavily unfair to them. As a percentage, they’re basically subsidizing the rest of us poor schmucks.On the other hand, the richest 10% of Americans control more than 90% of the overall wealth.[23][23][23][23]Depending on what side you look at it from, it can either seem totally unfair to place the tax burden on the wealthy, or that they are not shouldering their fair share.One way to look at it is that fewer than 10,000 people control 90% of the nation’s wealth - shouldn’t they pay 90% of the nation’s tax burden? Or, alternatively, fewer than 10,000 people are effectively paying for all of the rest of us to have Social Security and Medicare and don’t benefit hardly at all from those programs.If you’re already wealthy, what perspective would you be prone to taking?This is why they fight tooth and nail to keep the carried interest loophole[24][24][24][24], repeal or raise the exemption amounts for the estate tax[25][25][25][25], use offshore accounts to disguise their assets[26][26][26][26] [27][27][27][27] [28][28][28][28], and to raise the amount of pass-through income for LLPs and LLCs.[29][29][29][29]These people see no standard of living increase from higher taxes, and for the ultra-wealthy, would probably mean having only the smaller yacht to get to their villa in Tuscany for the winter. The shame. What will the Carlisles say?The main people who visibly see a rise in the standard of living from higher taxes are the urban poor and the suburban middle class.The urban poor generally see small percent increases in taxes, but because of the overall concentration of people in one area, tend to get the most benefit from reinvestment back in the community.For example, urban areas are more likely to have public transit systems which make it possible for the urban poor to move about without the costs of owning a vehicle and insuring it. The rural poor do not have this advantage; no car = walking, biking, or getting a ride.To keep public transit systems affordable for riders, they are generally subsidized with tax dollars and are not self-sustaining. So, the urban poor get a comparatively higher benefit from that tax investment.The urban poor are much less likely to be landowners[30][30][30][30][31][31][31][31], and if they are, the value of the properties owned by the urban poor is significantly less than rural landowners simply by virtue of location and size.[32][32][32][32] An urban poor to lower-middle-class person might own a home, but it is unlikely to be larger than half an acre of property or valued at higher than $250,000. A rural poor farmer with almost any acreage very likely has an asset valued at at least as much; a rural poor farmer with 360 acres of total land may have a net worth on paper of several million dollars, but often with very little net income.This significantly impacts property taxes, which are the most common way that local municipalities are funded.The urban poor combined pay a lot in property taxes, in smaller individual amounts, and receive back infrastructure that simply due to density and availability is more tangibly and visibly raising their standard of living.The rural poor, on the other hand, pay larger individual amounts of property taxes that simply due to density issues don’t amount to as much, and end up supporting comparatively less immediately visible infrastructure.Both urban and rural poor would probably benefit significantly from social programs such as universal health care. But, as discussed above, the rural poor are more likely to be significantly distrustful of whether they will actually benefit from that program.The urban poor, on the other hand, are unlikely to be working jobs that have health benefits at all. Universal health care would be an enormous benefit to them, and because of the population density, they are more likely to have access to excellent medical options in metro-area hospitals.The suburban middle class is who really sees a lot of benefit for their tax dollars.Their density is slightly less than the urban poor, but the value of their properties is likely to be double. (This is highly dependent on geography; it is far more true in the Midwest than on the East Coast, for example. But, the overall trend is this direction.) Overall, the combined tax revenue from the suburbs compared to its population density means that almost everything in the municipality is likely to be better funded and require less infrastructure in some ways.For example, suburbs generally do not require a public transit system - most people there are in the lower-middle-class and likely have a car and a garage to park it in. So, that’s one big urban government expense municipalities don’t have to worry about.Smaller population densities means fewer police, fire, and EMS are required to service the same area. Schools can service a greater area without being overcrowded, but without having to extend themselves into such a great area as to require substantial student transportation in order to have enough students to justify having a school at all. Suburbs are dense enough to justify public works infrastructure such as centralized water and sewage treatment, but not so dense as to make such works difficult to construct, maintain, and run.That all means more money per capita that can go into schools, police, fire, and public works and services.Universal health care would be an enormous benefit to the suburban middle. These people are more likely to be working full-time with benefits including health insurance, but are also very likely to have seen drastically rising costs associated with that insurance.[33][33][33][33] [34][34][34][34] [35][35][35][35] This group of people is most likely going to see a significant decrease in overall personal costs if the nation were to move into universal health care. They would gladly pay more in taxes because it would likely mean a greater increase in compensation from full-time employment and less than the projected tax in current payment of deductibles and premium co-pays.Additionally, they’re likely to be close to major metro area hospitals that provide full-service care, much unlike the rural areas that are seeing care options decline significantly, which means that universal health care would provide them with advanced care at a cheaper price than they’re paying right now.All of this combined means a significantly more visibly higher standard of living for a comparatively small tax increase than urban or rural areas.Overall, higher taxes generally tangibly increase the standard of living for the suburban middle class and urban poor, but not for the rural populations or the wealthy.Now, there are lots of ways we can take this into account and tax intelligently to spread the burdens out based on ability to pay, but there simply will be wealth redistribution, particularly to the rural population, for any kind of efforts. It’s just absolutely unavoidable if you want to give them the same or comparable standard of living as suburban populations with a lower population density.But as it stands, just raising taxes would not provide enough revenue to significantly improve the rural standard of living (if placed only on rural populations, at least), raising taxes on the wealthy to pay for improved standards of living for any other population will justifiably feel to the wealthy like they’re subsidizing the standard of living increase for the rest of the population, and raising taxes just in general will most tangibly benefit the suburban middle class and urban poor.I’ll give you three guesses as to which of those two populations are most represented in Congress as Republicans and which two are represented as Democrats, and the first two guesses don’t count.You’ve read a long answer with no pictures. Here, enjoy a picture of a fuzzy kitten as a reward.Mostly Standard Addendum and Disclaimer: read this before you comment, goddammit.I welcome rational, reasoned debate on the merits with reliable, credible sources.But coming on here and calling me names, pissing and moaning about how biased I am, telling me to go push my commie values in Venezuela, et cetera and so forth, will result in a swift one-way frogmarch out the airlock. Doing the same to others will result in the same treatment.Essentially, act like an adult and don’t be a dick about it.Additionally, as aforementioned and because it bears repeating, first person that starts bitching about Ocasio-Cortez and Elizabeth Warren and socialism and taxation is theft! gets the airlock. Walk down the road to Galt’s Gulch and you’re out the door. These are bad faith arguments that have been repeatedly debunked, and I am ornery enough not to put up with it today.If you want to discuss, rationally and with reliable, credible sources, what kinds of tax policy would actually have a meaningful impact on the standard of living, fine. I will even let you argue supply-side economics if you think you’ve got a line of reasoning that hasn’t already been proven wrong by the annals of history, so long as you’re making good faith arguments about it.Also, getting cute with me about my commenting rules and how my answer doesn’t follow my rules and blah, blah, whine, blah is getting old. Again, ornery enough today to not put up with it. Stay on topic or you’ll get to watch the debate from the outside.If you want to argue and you’re not sure how to not be a dick about it, just post a picture of a cute baby animal instead, all right? Your displeasure and disagreement will be duly noted. Pinkie swear.I’m done with warnings. If you have to consider whether or not you’re over the line, the answer is most likely yes. I’ll just delete your comment and probably block you, and frankly, I won’t lose a minute of sleep over it.Debate responsibly.Footnotes[1] Amazon.com: The Politics of Resentment: Rural Consciousness in Wisconsin and the Rise of Scott Walker (Chicago Studies in American Politics) eBook: Katherine J. Cramer: Kindle Store[1] Amazon.com: The Politics of Resentment: Rural Consciousness in Wisconsin and the Rise of Scott Walker (Chicago Studies in American Politics) eBook: Katherine J. Cramer: Kindle Store[1] Amazon.com: The Politics of Resentment: Rural Consciousness in Wisconsin and the Rise of Scott Walker (Chicago Studies in American Politics) eBook: Katherine J. Cramer: Kindle Store[1] Amazon.com: The Politics of Resentment: Rural Consciousness in Wisconsin and the Rise of Scott Walker (Chicago Studies in American Politics) eBook: Katherine J. Cramer: Kindle Store[2] Audit: Wisconsin DOT significantly underestimated highway project costs[2] Audit: Wisconsin DOT significantly underestimated highway project costs[2] Audit: Wisconsin DOT significantly underestimated highway project costs[2] Audit: Wisconsin DOT significantly underestimated highway project costs[3] Infrastructure spending: Which state is falling apart the worst?[3] Infrastructure spending: Which state is falling apart the worst?[3] Infrastructure spending: Which state is falling apart the worst?[3] Infrastructure spending: Which state is falling apart the worst?[4] School’s Closed. Forever.[4] School’s Closed. Forever.[4] School’s Closed. Forever.[4] School’s Closed. Forever.[5] Western Wisconsin Schools Grapple With Falling Status Of Teachers[5] Western Wisconsin Schools Grapple With Falling Status Of Teachers[5] Western Wisconsin Schools Grapple With Falling Status Of Teachers[5] Western Wisconsin Schools Grapple With Falling Status Of Teachers[6] Health Costs A Burden For Wisconsin's Middle-Income Families[6] Health Costs A Burden For Wisconsin's Middle-Income Families[6] Health Costs A Burden For Wisconsin's Middle-Income Families[6] Health Costs A Burden For Wisconsin's Middle-Income Families[7] Wisconsin suicide rate has increased 25 percent since '99, mirroring national problem[7] Wisconsin suicide rate has increased 25 percent since '99, mirroring national problem[7] Wisconsin suicide rate has increased 25 percent since '99, mirroring national problem[7] Wisconsin suicide rate has increased 25 percent since '99, mirroring national problem[8] ER Visits For Opioid Overdose Double In Wisconsin[8] ER Visits For Opioid Overdose Double In Wisconsin[8] ER Visits For Opioid Overdose Double In Wisconsin[8] ER Visits For Opioid Overdose Double In Wisconsin[9] Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews - TIME.com[9] Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews - TIME.com[9] Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews - TIME.com[9] Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews - TIME.com[10] Rural hospitals retreat from delivering babies; small towns pay the price[10] Rural hospitals retreat from delivering babies; small towns pay the price[10] Rural hospitals retreat from delivering babies; small towns pay the price[10] Rural hospitals retreat from delivering babies; small towns pay the price[11] Only 42% of Texas' rural hospitals will still deliver babies: A majority of rural hospitals in Texas are opting to discontinue delivery services as the number of births fall and the cost of providing the service rises, reports the Texas Tribune.[11] Only 42% of Texas' rural hospitals will still deliver babies: A majority of rural hospitals in Texas are opting to discontinue delivery services as the number of births fall and the cost of providing the service rises, reports the Texas Tribune.[11] Only 42% of Texas' rural hospitals will still deliver babies: A majority of rural hospitals in Texas are opting to discontinue delivery services as the number of births fall and the cost of providing the service rises, reports the Texas Tribune.[11] Only 42% of Texas' rural hospitals will still deliver babies: A majority of rural hospitals in Texas are opting to discontinue delivery services as the number of births fall and the cost of providing the service rises, reports the Texas Tribune.[12] Another Thing Disappearing From Rural America: Maternal Care — ProPublica[12] Another Thing Disappearing From Rural America: Maternal Care — ProPublica[12] Another Thing Disappearing From Rural America: Maternal Care — ProPublica[12] Another Thing Disappearing From Rural America: Maternal Care — ProPublica[13] Rural Hospitals Are Dying and Pregnant Women Are Paying the Price[13] Rural Hospitals Are Dying and Pregnant Women Are Paying the Price[13] Rural Hospitals Are Dying and Pregnant Women Are Paying the Price[13] Rural Hospitals Are Dying and Pregnant Women Are Paying the Price[14] Health Insurance Coverage in Small Towns and Rural America: The Role of Medicaid Expansion[14] Health Insurance Coverage in Small Towns and Rural America: The Role of Medicaid Expansion[14] Health Insurance Coverage in Small Towns and Rural America: The Role of Medicaid Expansion[14] Health Insurance Coverage in Small Towns and Rural America: The Role of Medicaid Expansion[15] The Role of Medicaid in Rural America[15] The Role of Medicaid in Rural America[15] The Role of Medicaid in Rural America[15] The Role of Medicaid in Rural America[16] ACA Premiums Costlier in Rural America[16] ACA Premiums Costlier in Rural America[16] ACA Premiums Costlier in Rural America[16] ACA Premiums Costlier in Rural America[17] Poorest Areas Have Missed Out on Boons of Recovery, Study Finds[17] Poorest Areas Have Missed Out on Boons of Recovery, Study Finds[17] Poorest Areas Have Missed Out on Boons of Recovery, Study Finds[17] Poorest Areas Have Missed Out on Boons of Recovery, Study Finds[18] The Pitchforks Are Coming… For Us Plutocrats[18] The Pitchforks Are Coming… For Us Plutocrats[18] The Pitchforks Are Coming… For Us Plutocrats[18] The Pitchforks Are Coming… For Us Plutocrats[19] Diving into the rich pool[19] Diving into the rich pool[19] Diving into the rich pool[19] Diving into the rich pool[20] http://www.aei.org/publication/cbo-study-shows-that-the-rich-dont-just-pay-a-fair-share-of-federal-taxes-they-pay-almost-everybodys-share/[20] http://www.aei.org/publication/cbo-study-shows-that-the-rich-dont-just-pay-a-fair-share-of-federal-taxes-they-pay-almost-everybodys-share/[20] http://www.aei.org/publication/cbo-study-shows-that-the-rich-dont-just-pay-a-fair-share-of-federal-taxes-they-pay-almost-everybodys-share/[20] http://www.aei.org/publication/cbo-study-shows-that-the-rich-dont-just-pay-a-fair-share-of-federal-taxes-they-pay-almost-everybodys-share/[21] High-income Americans pay most income taxes, but enough to be 'fair'?[21] High-income Americans pay most income taxes, but enough to be 'fair'?[21] High-income Americans pay most income taxes, but enough to be 'fair'?[21] High-income Americans pay most income taxes, but enough to be 'fair'?[22] Tax burden on the wealthy has trebled since the 1970s, Telegraph analysis shows[22] Tax burden on the wealthy has trebled since the 1970s, Telegraph analysis shows[22] Tax burden on the wealthy has trebled since the 1970s, Telegraph analysis shows[22] Tax burden on the wealthy has trebled since the 1970s, Telegraph analysis shows[23] Wealth Inequality - Inequality.org[23] Wealth Inequality - Inequality.org[23] Wealth Inequality - Inequality.org[23] Wealth Inequality - Inequality.org[24] What is carried interest, and should it be taxed as capital gain?[24] What is carried interest, and should it be taxed as capital gain?[24] What is carried interest, and should it be taxed as capital gain?[24] What is carried interest, and should it be taxed as capital gain?[25] The GOP wants to repeal the estate tax—here's how to know if that affects you[25] The GOP wants to repeal the estate tax—here's how to know if that affects you[25] The GOP wants to repeal the estate tax—here's how to know if that affects you[25] The GOP wants to repeal the estate tax—here's how to know if that affects you[26] How rich people avoid taxes by parking money offshore (legally)[26] How rich people avoid taxes by parking money offshore (legally)[26] How rich people avoid taxes by parking money offshore (legally)[26] How rich people avoid taxes by parking money offshore (legally)[27] Opinion | How Corporations and the Wealthy Avoid Taxes (and How to Stop Them)[27] Opinion | How Corporations and the Wealthy Avoid Taxes (and How to Stop Them)[27] Opinion | How Corporations and the Wealthy Avoid Taxes (and How to Stop Them)[27] Opinion | How Corporations and the Wealthy Avoid Taxes (and How to Stop Them)[28] Paradise Papers Expose Rich And Famous Using Tax Havens  [28] Paradise Papers Expose Rich And Famous Using Tax Havens  [28] Paradise Papers Expose Rich And Famous Using Tax Havens  [28] Paradise Papers Expose Rich And Famous Using Tax Havens  [29] What you need to know about the Senate's pass-through tax debate[29] What you need to know about the Senate's pass-through tax debate[29] What you need to know about the Senate's pass-through tax debate[29] What you need to know about the Senate's pass-through tax debate[30] The Definitive Guide to Who Rents and Who Buys in America[30] The Definitive Guide to Who Rents and Who Buys in America[30] The Definitive Guide to Who Rents and Who Buys in America[30] The Definitive Guide to Who Rents and Who Buys in America[31] The Incredible Rise of Renting in the U.S.[31] The Incredible Rise of Renting in the U.S.[31] The Incredible Rise of Renting in the U.S.[31] The Incredible Rise of Renting in the U.S.[32] https://www.jstor.org/stable/1017275?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents[32] https://www.jstor.org/stable/1017275?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents[32] https://www.jstor.org/stable/1017275?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents[32] https://www.jstor.org/stable/1017275?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents[33] Cost of Employer Insurance Growing Burden Middle-Income Families[33] Cost of Employer Insurance Growing Burden Middle-Income Families[33] Cost of Employer Insurance Growing Burden Middle-Income Families[33] Cost of Employer Insurance Growing Burden Middle-Income Families[34] Middle-Income Americans Take The Biggest Hit With Obamacare[34] Middle-Income Americans Take The Biggest Hit With Obamacare[34] Middle-Income Americans Take The Biggest Hit With Obamacare[34] Middle-Income Americans Take The Biggest Hit With Obamacare[35] Steep Premiums Challenge People Who Buy Health Insurance Without Subsidies[35] Steep Premiums Challenge People Who Buy Health Insurance Without Subsidies[35] Steep Premiums Challenge People Who Buy Health Insurance Without Subsidies[35] Steep Premiums Challenge People Who Buy Health Insurance Without Subsidies

After having read an incredible number of abduction and torture crimes, I’ve come to the conclusion that there is never a straight up reason for why the victims can sometimes recover extremely well while some are never able to move away from the horror and the hurt.Although, any kind of an episode of physical torture, being forced or abducted can cause excessive mental trauma, not every individual’s stimulus to such an environment is the same.Here are a few examples I’ve laid down so as to conclude how different the impacts on victims can be varying with the kind of torture one is subjected to , to the time frame of torture.1.Fusako Sano (佐野 房子).Also known by the pseudonym Sachiko Yamada (born 1981) is a Japanese woman who was kidnapped at age nine by Nobuyuki Satō (佐藤 宣行), and held in captivity for nine years and two months from November 13, 1990 to January 28, 2000.Fusako Sano, then a fourth grade elementary school girl, disappeared on November 13, 1990 at age nine, after watching a school baseball game in her home town of Sanjō,Niigata Prefecture. A huge police search failed to find the missing girl. Police even considered the possibility that she had been kidnapped by North Korean intelligence operatives.Actually, she had been kidnapped by Nobuyuki Satō, then a 28-year-old mentally disturbed unemployed Japanese man, who forced her into his car, and subsequently held her in the upstairs floor of his apartment in a residential area of Kashiwazaki, for 9 years and two months. The house is only 200 meters from a police substation, and 55 kilometers from the location where she was kidnapped.While Sano, the victim, was initially scared, according to her own statements, she eventually just gave up and accepted her fate. Allegedly, the kidnapper kept her tied up for several months, and used a stun gun for punishments if she did not videotape the horse racing on TV. Sano was also threatened with a knife and beatings (Sato also stole four camisoles worth some 2,500 yen for his prisoner). Her kidnapper shared his men’s clothes with her and gave her food three times per day, either instant food or meals cooked by his mother, who lived downstairs in the house. He also cut Sano’s hair. Since there was no bath or toilet upstairs where Sano was confined, she was only able to take a bath infrequently, when permitted by her captor.She spent most of her time in captivity listening to radio, and reportedly was allowed to watch TV only in the last year of her ordeal. While the door was never locked, Sano did not take a step outside for nine years. She later told the police:“I was too scared to escape and eventually lost the energy to escape.”Satō’s mother, then 73 years old, lived downstairs and apparently had no contact with her son’s captive, since he became very violent whenever she tried to go upstairs. However, police believe the mother must have had some knowledge of Ms Sano’s presence; for example, it was alleged that she purchased feminine hygiene products for the victim. In January 1996, she consulted the Kashiwazaki public health center, because her son had been acting strangelyand was violent to her. She called again on January 12, 2000, and again on January 19, requesting a visit to her home. Officials finally visited the home on Friday, January 28, 2000. Subsequently, Satō caused a disturbance that resulted in police being called to the scene. On this occasion, Sano, by then 19 years old, approached the officers and identified herself. She reportedly said:“I was abducted near the school by a man who forced me into a car. For nine years, I did not take a step out of the house. Today, I went out for the first time.”Upon her rescue Sano was found to be healthy, although extremely thin and weak due to lack of exercise: she could barely walk. She was also dehydrated. Due to the lack of exposure to sunlight, she also had a very light skin tone and suffered from jaundice. While her body was that of a 19 year old woman, mentally she acted like a child. She also suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.In the years following her release, Sano’s physical health improved, and she now helps out in her family's rice paddy. As a result of her lack of normal social interactions during her captivity, she still has difficulties adjusting to normal life, has very few friends, and likes to take walks alone. She enjoys digital photography, especially of flowers, and obtained a driver’s license. Neighbors comment that she is a fan of the local J. League Football (soccer) team Albirex Niigata, and goes to some of their games.In 2007, a new tragedy was added to her family when her father drowned in her presence in a pond where the two went for fun.[1][1][1][1]2. Mademoiselle Blanche Monnier – the girl who who was locked in a dungeon for 25 yearsThe disturbing picture above is not a still shot from a horror movie, but rather is a hospital-room photo of Blanche Monnier, a French girl who was kept captive for 25 years in a padlocked, shuttered room where she was forced to live amidst pests, rats, human excrement, and filth. Her discovery occurred on May 23, 1901 after the Paris Attorney General received an anonymous letter indicating a woman was being held captive in a home located on “21 rue de la Visitation” street in a wealthy neighborhood of Poiters, France.The anonymous letter read in part:“Monsieur Attorney General: I have the honor to inform you of an exceptionally serious occurrence. I speak of a spinster who is locked up in Madame Monnier’s house, half starved, and living on a putrid litter for the past twenty-five years – in a word, in her own filth.”The letter surprised the police as they knew that 75-year-old widower, Madame Louise Monnier Demarconnay and her son Marcel Monnier, a law-school graduate and previous sub-prefect of Puget Théniers, lived at the address noted in the letter. The Monnier family were an upper-middle class family who hailed from the aristocratic Poitiers family and were honored in the region (the Paris suburb of Poitiers was named after). Madame Louise’s husband, Emile Monnier, who had been the head of a local arts faculty, died in 1879, many years earlier. The family had even earned the prestigious Committee of Good Works award, a prize honoring citizens who displayed the highest of virtues. On the other hand, police recalled that 25 years prior, without drawing any suspicion from the authorities, their daughter, Blanche Monnier, a “joyous and playful” woman with a “wealth of beautiful hair and big, brilliant eyes”, disappeared without a trace when she was 25 years old.Police discover the captive woman shuttered in a dark roomPolice arrived at the home, forced the door open, and found an emaciated Blanche Monnier lying in a pool of feces and food debris on a bed in an upstairs room. Her head hidden under the covers, the 49-year-old woman, who now weighed a mere 55 pounds, was naked, scared and deranged. She hadn’t seen the Sun in 24 years. A witness to the event described how Blanche was discovered:“We immediately gave the order to open the casement window. This was done with great difficulty, for the old dark-colored curtains fell down in a heavy shower of dust. To open the shutters, it was necessary to remove them from their right hinges. As soon as light entered the room, we noticed, in the back, lying on a bed, her head and body covered by a repulsively filthy blanket, a woman identified as Mademoiselle Blanche Monnier. The unfortunate woman was lying completely naked on a rotten straw mattress. All around her was formed a sort of crust made from excrement, fragments of meat, vegetables, fish, and rotten bread. We also saw oyster shells and bugs running across Mademoiselle Monnier’s bed. The air was so unbreathable, the odor given off by the room was so rank, that it was impossible for us to stay any longer to proceed with our investigation.”Blanche’s healthThe terrified woman was quickly wrapped in a blanket and rushed to theHôtel-Dieu Hospital in Paris where doctors initially thought that she would die. Blanche’s mother, 75-year-old Madame Monnier, was found sitting calmly in the living room garbed in a dressing gown decorated with little black and white squares. Police searched the home and questioned both the mother and brother.At the hospital, workers noted that Blanche took great pleasure at being washed and able to breathe clean air. She exclaimed, “How lovely it is.” They noted that she had a great aversion to light, according to her instincts, she couldn’t stand it. Despite claims by Blanche’s brother that she was “foul, angry, overly excited, and full of rage”, doctors noted that Blanche was calm, never wavering for a moment into fits of anger or excitement.Imprisoned in her room for 25 years, she refused to forsake her true loveDuring the subsequent investigation, the truth began to trickle forth (although many questions remain unanswered to this day). Around her twenty-fifth year, Blanch Monnier fell in love with an older attorney who lived nearby, possibly even bearing a child from the liaison. Her mother forbade the relationship, first arguing, then pleading, and when Blanche refused to not marry the “penniless lawyer”, Louise plotted with her son to develop a plan to stop the marriage. One night Blanche was locked in an upper room of the house until she agreed to abandon the relationship. The mother thought at the time that the girl would relent and agree to her demands.A June 9, 1901 New York Times article explained what happened next:“Time passed and Blanche was no longer young. The attorney she so loved died in 1885. During all that time the girl was confined in the lonely room, fed with scraps from the mother’s table – when she received any food at all. Her only companions were the rats that gathered to eat the hard crusts that she threw upon the floor. Not a ray of light penetrated her dungeon, and what she suffered can only be surmised.”Time passed slowly for Blanche, who spent the next 25 years locked away in the room.Blanche’s brother, Marcel, would later claim that Blanche was insane, and never attempted to escape the locked and shuttered room. But according to court testimony, several witnesses claimed that they often heard Blanche screaming and pleading, including clear mentions of words such as “police”, “pity”, and “freedom”. On August 16, 1892, one witness heard Blanche scream the following words:“What have I done to be locked up? I don’t deserve this horrible torture. God must not exist then, to let his creatures suffer in this way? And no one to come to my rescue!”The aftermathAlthough Blanche Monnier did put on some weight over time, she never regained her sanity. She died in a Blois psychiatric hospital in 1913, 12 years after she was discovered captive in her room.[2][2][2][2]3. Jaycee Lee DugardJaycee at the mere age of 11was kidnapped by Phillip and Nancy Garrido in 1991 . She spent 18 years in captivity, during which time she was raped repeatedly and gave birth to two daughters, before being freed after the Garrido's arrest in August 2009.Jaycee spent more than 18 years in captivity with the Garridos, who fed her countless lies and largely prohibited her contact with the outside world. During that time, she wrote in a journal frequently, documenting deep depression, fear, loneliness and feelings of being "unloved." She constantly wondered about her family members and whether they were searching for her, but over time—and cut off from any relationships outside of the Garrido home—the severely depressed victim grew to cherish any human interaction, even that from her kidnappers. Jaycee didn't know how to leave, and after years of lies from her captors about her family's lack of love for her, she wasn't even sure whether she had anyone to flee to.In July 2011, Jaycee Dugard published a harrowing memoir, A Stolen Life, about her years spent with the Garridos. In March 2012, in an interview with Diane Sawyer, she spoke about her recent activity, discussing her happiness to be back with her family and her struggle with "learning" how to be free. During the interview, she recalled being overly joyed after ordering pizza during a recent trip to New York City: "Just walking down the street. With everybody. It was my favorite moment," she said.In July 2016 Dugard published a follow up to her memoir entitled Freedom: My Book of Firsts, in which she described her experiences after years of captivity. "There is life after something tragic happens," wrote Dugard. "Life doesn't have to end if you don't want it to. It's all in how you look at it. Somehow, I still believe that we each hold the key to our own happiness and you have to grab it where you can in whatever form it might take."This is what she looked like when she was freed at the age of 29.My conclusion :While Fusako Sano lost out on her life because she could not grow mentally has left her mind severely handicapped while Blanche was never able to regain her sanity.While Sano was held captive for 9 years, Blanche was held for 25.Sano had food in her stomach thrice a day and Blanche survived on bits of bread.Sano may have been tortured occasionally, but Blanche was tortured by her circumstances each day.Unlike Sano who had at least one person for human contact, Blanche had just plain while walls and rats as her friends.Therefore, Sano relatively recovered well also due to her young age while Blanche’s sanity had been forever stripped off.Again, both the factors contributing to the recovery became : Time period of torture and the kind of torture.However Jaycee beat it all, she was raped at a mere age of 11, gave birth to her daughters at 13 and 15 respectively, remained under a lock down for 18 years and yet made it out emotionally sane and stable.She ended up writing two books and is a great mother.She truly fought her circumstances and beat the stereotype that one must be mentally traumatized by abduction and never recover from it.Footnotes[1] The Niigata Girl Confinement Incident[1] The Niigata Girl Confinement Incident[1] The Niigata Girl Confinement Incident[1] The Niigata Girl Confinement Incident[2] Mademoiselle Blanche Monnier - the girl who who was locked in a dungeon for 25 years[2] Mademoiselle Blanche Monnier - the girl who who was locked in a dungeon for 25 years[2] Mademoiselle Blanche Monnier - the girl who who was locked in a dungeon for 25 years[2] Mademoiselle Blanche Monnier - the girl who who was locked in a dungeon for 25 years

First of all, this question needs to be a lot specific. Comparison between Bits Pilani Pilani campus and one of the new IITs is meaningless. Same applies to comparison between an old IIT and Bits Goa/Hyderabad/Dubai(?) campuses.Secondly, what makes a college better depends on the individual and his requirements. But answering the question in a general sense, the real bugger is comparison between Bits Pilani Pilani Campus and an old IIT like IIT Bombay.Since this answer requires a subjective treatment,there is a lot of ground to cover, so hold back,stretch your hands,relax, make yourself a coffee and find a good couch as this will take time to read.First lets analyze on points that are believed to give Bits an edge over the IITS:(1)Reservation:Reservation is one messed up system and we do have students above 5k rank in core branches, boasting their IITB credentials. Situation is even worse in other IITs as IITB witnesses higher cutoffs than any other IIT. However the rest half are arguably the cream students of the country and for a population of 1.3 billion, that’s saying a lot. This makes IITB an incredibly competitive place and in general, the level and quality of competition is definitely much higher than that in Bits.Besides majority of students in Bits also have ranks above 5k ,so even the reserved crowd logically offers more or less the same competition. IIT(old)ians in departments like electrical and cs, whether reserved(OBC) or not, still possess much higher ranks than Bitsians. The OBC btech cutoff for cs and electrical at iitb remains around 300 and 1200 respectively. Nobody with right mindset would have chosen Bits with those ranks. SC/ST’s are whole other stories but they comprise just 22% of the population. So the general crowd in an old IIT based on entrance tests is better than the regular Bitsian crowd. The best in IIT are at whole new level while the mediocre are not so far behind.The impact of reservation on overall quality is felt only in new iits. It may feel not difficult (but only in your first year) to score more than the average even if you perform poor, thanks to reservation. On the flip side, try to score maximum marks in an exam and you will regret being born.(2)No attendance: This is a major argument given against IITs that Bits follows zero attendance policy and hence gives more freedom to its students. However this hardly makes a difference as professors in Bits ensure attendance through unannounced tut tests or covering stuff out of slides in lectures. Besides most of the courses at IITB also are relaxed on attendance and it really depends on the professor. Most of the courses in the first year IITB had no attendance requirement. Following a passion during lecture hours doesn’t make much sense if you want a decent academic record. The only relaxation that zero attendance policy provides is that one will still be allowed to give term end exams even with zero attendance, or one can pay uninterrupted attention to private endeavors like startup, etc.(3)Dual Degree: This is really a very nice policy at Bits where they have integrated Msc courses with BE ones. Hence one can graduate with both a bachelors and a masters degree in different streams and this allows for a lot of flexibility. Any engineering stream of one's choice can be clubbed with the dual at a low cgpa cutoff. Dual degrees certainly provide Bits an edge over IITs. There is no such concept at IITB.For people smartly pointing out that IITB also has dual degree courses, take a deep breath and try to understand what's being said here. The dual courses in iit is very different from bits pilani even though both are called dual degrees. See comments for more info.(4)Practice Schools: Another good policy of Bits. Students are almost certain to be interned at the end of second and fourth year. There are extremely high number of opportunities at IITB also but there is no certainty. The minor flip side is that you cannot attend PS2 if you missed PS1.(5)Deciding own timetable: In Bits you can choose own timetable but that’s only if you have a high PR number(randomly generated each semester) else you will have to compromise on your instructors/schedule. All this is not of much consequence overall.(6)Fees: Fees in Bits is a tad higher than IITB but you get exemption on fees if you perform well in Bits. There is no such provisions at IITB. SC/STs study at this premier most institute for free and no reason at all. The closest you can come is a Merit-Cum-Need or some private scholarship. All this is pretty irritating.Edit: Fees is no longer a tad bit higher in bits as the administration there treats the students as gold mines for its vision 2020.(7)Seclusion: Pilani is located very remotely with nearest cities being Delhi and Jaipur, both around 200 kms far. So for every little initiative or career requirement you have to shuttle between cities. Though the enthusiasm for startup is great at Pilani, one has to travel to Delhi again and again to run it. IITB being located right in the financial capital of the nation offers much more opportunities and attracts companies more.Comparison of experience at both the institutesCampus: Both the institutes have a breathtaking campus to boast, with IITB campus being larger and greener, while the Pilani campus being cosier and less green due to the geographical location of Pilani. The Bits campus is slightly better maintained and has got more places where you can simply lay down,relax and stargaze or something like that. The Saraswati Temple , the grass area of NAB(New Academy Buildings), and the Sky Lawns are great places to spend time in peace.Meanwhile the IITB campus feels more spacious and has a cooler appeal to it.Overall, both campuses are worth taking a pause to appreciate their beauty.2.Clubs: Club culture in Bits is more or less meaningless. The first few weeks of a fresher is spent in tedious interactions with seniors and if you can impress them, you might get selected in a department. Interactions for clubs are meaningless as ultimately auditions for them are what that matters eventually. Further if you somehow couldn’t make into a club that you are interested in, there is very little possibility you will be given a second chance. However once you do get in a C/D, you will spend a good time. One positive aspect of this is that senior-junior interaction at bits is very high from the start. You make contacts with tons of seniors effortlessly, which kind of felt missing at IITB where there was minimal interaction in the beginning. Gradually however, through various channels like working in institute bodies, department events, etc. you get in touch with a large number of seniors in IIT also.In IITB, scenario is different as “enthu” is the main thing that’s required. Anyone can work if one is interested. For tech teams, of course they expect you have the required skills if you join late, but the process is much less stringent. The orientation of each club were exciting events and the participation was purely voluntary. This system works way better as you get to freely experiment with the work involved in different bodies at your comfort level and then gauge your interests accordingly. All this freedom and opportunity to explore varied sorts of work was highly missing in Bits.Both institutes have clubs for most of the activities.3.Ragging: Zero(rather negative) in IITB, dismal in Bits Pilani. Only during interactions when you visit seniors, you might be asked to give your intro and stuff but everything’s under control. In IITB if a senior is caught in a fresher hostel in the first month, he will face a hard time justifying that.Besides that, there is an excellent system at IITB to provide a 4th-year student as ISMP mentor to the freshers to assist them in all their difficulties and guide them, and a DAMP mentor (of the same branch) in the following years to help you regarding all academic or curriculum problems. Such a system really ensures one gets a proper guidance and stay comfortable with the insti life and policies.4.Facilities:Mess- Food quality is definitely better at IITB especially in senior hostels. IIT mess is markedly better as it serves 4 times a day, provides a lot more variety to food than Bits’ mess, has wifi, TV and is more spacious. However, Bits somewhat compensates that by having a nice canteen in the mess itself and by organizing regional dinners called “Grubs”, but even that is retaliated in IITB by organizing multiple gala dinners and hostel events.Library-Bits library is better hands down. Its much larger, aesthetically much more beautiful, calmer and has got an excellent environment and facilities to read and study. Obviously, all sorts of books and facilities are available at both libraries, it is just that the Bits library is better built and maintained. Plus its got a nice CCD machine.Workshop-Mechanical Workshop in Bits was much better than at IITB with more shops and a stricter first-year course that focused heavily on the details of the processes involved. Plus the equipments were provided in the workshop itself and needn’t be bought, unlike at IITB.Internet-The net speed at Bits made me laugh and cry at the same time. Wifi speed is okayish while Lan speed is laughable. There were restrictions on many sites. The only relief was the software labs in NAB but that too was closed after midnight. One had to rely on mobile data outside hostels and DC++ to download stuff.IITB, on the other hand, offers high Lan and wifi speed clocking around 100mbps and has got wifi in every building. There is no restriction of any kind, except torrents. So IITB has a lot better internet connectivity.Hospital-Bits had a medical center that closed down in the evening(lol) and in cases of emergency, you would have to call the warden who will in turn either come himself with his car or send for an ambulance. Besides one cannot expect very good medical services in a small town like Pilani. The medical center was also not very up to the mark.The IIT hospital is a very large one with 24-hour emergency service, very sincere ambulance service and highly skilled doctors. A medical file of each student is maintained and the medicines are supplied free/subsidized rates. One can find medical assistance for any trouble.Hostel-Bits has better living conditions :P if you think for 4 years. Gandhi, SR,Ram and Buddh bhawans are very nicely built and are spacious. Rest all hostels can be described as “meh”. The rooms are sufficiently large, open; no space crunch so hostels are only one story high. There are small courtyards in the hostels where one can play cricket, badminton, etc. and the common room had TT tables, TV and CCD service at night. Any complaint was immediately dealt with. However the washrooms in older hostels were miserable and cleaning staff wasn’t very sincere.IITB hostel rooms for the first year are as good as it gets, offering a very nice view of Sameer hills from the windows and with a nice large Refugee area on the 7th floor where one can chill out and enjoy the scenic beauty of the Powaii area(including Vihar and Powaii lakes). The common rooms are spacious and have TT and foosball tables. Besides rooms get cleaned once every month by the staff. However things go somewhat ugly after the one year paradise. The hostels for sophomores and third year UG male students seem no less than haunted places with rooms small enough to put slums at Dharavi to shame and old enough to remind us of the colonial era.Edit: Most of the crowd in the older hostels have been shifted to the newly formed Hostel 18 with single rooms, which has top notch infrastructure and facilites.For any recreation, one needs to go to SAC which is not very far away.Infrastructure:The Saraswati Temple,Rotunda, NAB area and FD5 are really well built and comfortable to spend time in. The Bits campus is small so reaching from one place to another usually take no longer than 15 minutes. However the SAC and GymG(sports ground) were small and very ordinary and there was not much scope to pursue a new skill/sport if you are a beginner, or barring a few activities there was not much emphasis overall on extra-currics. IITB on the other hand has a very good Lecture Hall Complex and excellent facilities at SAC, better roads in the campus, more comfortable classrooms and really nice auditoriums.Transport in Pilani is a big pain in the ass with no direct trains and limited connectivity to the nearest station Loharu. Inside the campus, the autos charged profusely though there was never a need to ride with them. On the other hand, IITB is located right in the city and inside the campus, tumtum services are good and the autos charge moderately.The FD2/FD3 divisions in Bits were old. IITB does have more halls for teaching and better maintained department classrooms.5.Sex Ratio: Both are engineering colleges at the end of the day. Be prepared to die single, no exceptions here.6.Life in the campus:In bits life was more chilled out(or lite) as the academic pressure was a little lesser and the no attendance rule always cut off some slack. Beside the late night culture in bits is really popular and the campus is much more alive at night. Places like ANC, SR reddy , Rotunda see a lot of footfall and team meets. Such thing is missing at iitb as people mainly gather in the canteens but don’t roam around the campus or carry out their business too late at night.There are many places in Bits where one can hang out to eat or celebrate. There were reddys for each of the 14 hostels, ANC, Sky Lawns and a few restaurants inside the campus. As compared to that, IITB also has a similar case with many canteens and cafes to eat. However, outside the Pilani campus, there were not many options. The Connought place was at a stone’s throw but had substandard food at high prices. There were very few restaurants/bars outside, no Dominoes, no McDonalds,no anything. On the other hand, outside the campus of IITB there is Hiranandani and the whole Mumbai city. Obviously there is no further need to mention anything more, you can explore new places and restaurants every day of the year if you want to.Being located in city area has its own perks. There is an ocean of options if one wants to hang out or plan a one day trip in IITB, notably for trekking. In Pilani, there is a lot of seclusion and less exposure. To have any little excursion or adventure outside the campus, one has to consider Delhi or Jaipur.Freedom: In IITB the institute gives somewhat more freedom to its students. You can leave or enter the campus at any time and roam outside all night if you want. In Pilani until this year, girls had to return back to their rooms by 10pm which I guess, sucked a lot, and is a pretty seneseless rule. Further there is no restriction in iitb to enter hostels of the opposite sex until 10 pm.Edit on the request of Navneet Prabhat : boys are not allowed to enter the girl's hostel at all(Mira Bhavan) in Bits Pilani :PYou don’t need to take your wallet when you go out of your room in Bits. Your ID card takes care of that as transactions in most of the shops happen against your mess bill. So its a good step towards going cashlessWeather: The weather at Bits is another pain in the ass. Being located in Rajasthan, the temperature goes from 45C to all the way down to -2C. The rains are torrential and sometimes choke the campus. Mumbai on another hand remains mild, showery and pleasant all the year long.Lingo: There is virtually nothing to call a lingo at iitb. Words like craxx and machauu seems too forced to be used in regular conversations. In bits “lite” culture is really popular and the lingo was addicting. Words like “phoda”, “ghot” really slip out of the mouth.Fests: Oasis is not very interesting and rather a little over-hyped. Yes I said it. Not sure about being the second best but surely it lags behind Mood-I. The only flip side to Mood-I is that the institute provides no food or accommodation to the first year students. However loads of people get room retention on the pretense of projects under profs, IB work or sports camps.A lot of cultural, entertainment, technical and academic events are organised all the year round in both the colleges, the frequency being more in IITB.DC++: Dc++ sharing at IITB is very poor. Not many hubs and very limited files. Meanwhile at Bits, DC++ was the lifeline with many hubs and almost all sorts of files were available. Plus I don't believe IITB can ever have a DoPo of its own :P7.Academics:The first few weeks at both the colleges felt same in terms of quality,pressure and peer group. However differences segregated out a lot gradually.In Bits, almost all the courses were dealt superficially with a less in-depth treatment. Many courses could easily be nailed by properly covering the slides and practicing a particular set of questions. There were rare surprises in the evaluative papers in many courses although some courses like CP, Meow, EG, Bio and Thermo were challenging. Situation in IITB was different as the courses are much more detailed and depend more on implementation of the concepts taught rather than simply understanding them. Plain slide reading wouldn’t ensure a good grade at IITB. Conclusively, the evaluatives in Bits didn’t compel one to appreciate or explore the subject.The quality of interaction between students and the instructor during lectures was dismal. Some professors like Rishikesh Vaidya, Sunil Kumar, and Vishal Saxena were amazing and even received ovations. However lectures were usually rushed and less time was devoted to entertain doubts. The quality of discussions was also very ordinary. A lot of this depends on the peer group also. In IITB according to my experience the students take a much greater interest in initiating these discussions which sort of felt missing in Bits.In IITB, the instructors are academically more qualified and the student-prof interaction is very rich. The doubts are highly entertained and the discussions are very stimulating. In general the professors at IITB teach better, focus on intricate points, and resolve doubts effortlessly. Overall for similar courses at both the places, IITB covered them in a more comprehensive and conceptual manner, rather than stressing on formulas or on concise/shallow coverage of more topics; as was the case in Bits.A lot of open-book exams were held in bits which really was a good thing. Open book exams were a lot more challenging and really tested one’s level of understanding of the topic/course. There were fewer open book tests in IITB.The tutorials in Bits were taught by professors while in IITB mostly senior students took them. Obviously a professor with PHD has a more in depth grasp on the course and a much higher expertise in teaching than a 2nd/3rd year student. Thus tuts in Bits were more beneficial than tutorials at IITB, provided one opted for decent profs when deciding the timetable.Relative grading is followed at both the colleges. In bits performance of students are evenly distributed and its easier to score a good grade and even if one messes a course, the grade doesn’t fall down drastically. In IITB, scoring a top grade can suck the life out of you and if you ruin your paper, the grades slip down sharply. Even 0.5 marks are sufficient to push down the grade. The peer group is very competitive,which is natural considering that majority of under 500 rankers choose IITB. Consequently, academic pressure at Bits is more relaxing and less stressful.A good initiative at IITB is that each student has to compulsorily have to enroll in NSO(sports),NSS(social work) or NCC(cadet corps) zero credit course. This was missing in Bits.8. Internship opportunities: Probably this point is one of the most impactful one to establish a contrast between the two institutes. Internship and research opportunities offered by an engineering college, particularly in the third year, are the benchmark for deciding its eminence and IIT-B for all purposes comprehensively edges over Bits in this regard. Right at the onset of the fifth semester, a plethora of companies, universities and firms approach the institute for extending internship and work opportunities, and a good majority of them extend PPOs to the students after the third year summer. The situation is such that maximum students get interned by the end of the semester in a highly reputable company or a notable university with lucrative stipends, just because of the sheer volume of companies/univs that approach IITB.In Bits, the large majority of students mostly venture on opportunities that they have to create for themselves, be it through apping or personal contacts, for the third year summer. Barring a few, the masses either spend the summer learning stuff on their own, without a professional guidance, or engage in self undertakings, which is quite a waste of a golden period. However the 7th sem is spent in PS -2 which does provide a comprehensive working experience with reasonable stipend.In general, the trend to intern in a company or take up a research project is markedly more in IIT-B, where staying idle even in the second year summer is scorned upon.9.Alumni Support: This is again an important area where IIT-B considerably triumphs over Bits-Pilani. There was hardly a body in Bits that meliorated the student-alumni interaction in the institute to benefit the students. In contrast, the Student Alumni Relations Cell (SARC) in IITB, is a committed and highly active body to foster productive and constructive relations between the students, the alumni and the institute through a variety of initiatives, most notably the Alumni Student Mentorship Program (on the same lines as ISMP and DAMP), and Alumination (a plethora of events for career boosting and personal guidance). Consequently, the alumni side engagement is also very high, leading to enrichment and high networking opportunities.10.Tag value: No doubt tag value of IITB is more marketable than that of Bits Pilani. This difference is even more pronounced internationally. The local population also tend to respect the IIT tag more, no matter whether you enter by merit or through bogus means like reservation. That’s a hard fact and there are no if or buts.11.Connection of Campuses: It doesn’t matter whether you graduate from Bits Pilani or Bits Goa, you will get the same graduation certificate and treatment by every recruiter. The course structure, curriculum and administrative policies at all campuses are identical. In IITs this is not the case and each IIT isn’t bound by same curriculum and policies.12.Experience after one year: Iitb definitely felt like a more dynamic institute with a hell lot of more opportunities to learn and apply after the first year. The aggressive and productive environment was sort of missing in Bits. The provisions are such that one can pursue whatever one wants whenever one wants in IITB. The programs like ITSP, SOS and SOC, plus surplus internship opportunities, coordinator work, social programs, summer courses, adventure trips, and various other workshops at IITB felt missing a lot at Bits where maximum students are compelled to waste their summers doing nothing or next to nothing. Further over-viewing the curriculum at the end of the year, IITB curriculum felt more relevant, rigorous, qualitative and productive. There is much more clarity regarding future years. Further Bits also pays the price of seclusion as the IIT experience felt more wholesome. The peer group is also very challenging in IITB that automatically induces one to not to lag behind.So that indeed was a comprehensive comparison between the two institutes. And though IITB is definitely better than Bits Pilani Pilani Campus on many parameters, including the important ones, the Pilani campus is one of the most unique ones in India. Furthermore all the comparisons I have done is on the basis of limited knowledge gathered over just one year and there can be a lot of aspects that might make a difference.Besides an ideal college also depend on what courses/stream one wishes to pursue. Leaving CS/Elec at IITB to study the same at Bits is one horrible decision, and leaving the same at Bits to study non core courses/courses you have no interest in, at IITB just for the sake of it, is also a very bad decision. Needless to say, perspective guides me . Someone else might observe things differently.The real difference to a college is brought about by its students. Since old IITs has top rankers of JEE, they definitely accept the cream. If the same students go into Bits, it may supersede IITs.So “Is Bits a good college?”: yes. Its rare for a completely autonomous private college with no government support and ties: to engage in a somewhat close battle with completely government funded premier institutes, and still maintain its identity and reputation both internationally and locally. Furthermore Bits has really been efficient at progressing on limited resources and finding its own way. If it had its own lavish research funding and government support, it would improve way much more than other colleges.However nothing can be said for 5–6 years in the future. The way Bits is going on regarding low cutoffs, increased strength and fees has really put its reputation at stake.I hope I have been thorough and gave a glimpse of what it is like to spend time in these colleges and hence give my version to the long debate of which college trumps over the other.Leave in comments any correction or any more parameter that should have been discussed.Edit: More than 100 upvotes in less than a day. Thanks for the response.Edit2: Addd a lot of stuff in the answer.