<p>It’s difficult to generalize about that, considering the range of colleges you include in the US. It depends on the school, it’s structure and the specific contributions that professor tier can make. Friend in the CSU system made less than DH, who made less than certain colleagues at other colleges. Some also get distracted by big-name folks lured for grad programs or specialty science research, lumping them into averages.</p>
<p>It is difficult to generalise of course, but in general, if you compare a prof in the USA with a prof in a similar job at a corresponding uni in Britain, the American will earn far more, and teach less.</p>
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<p>Haha, couldn’t I return the compliment? Obviously, there will always be fanboys who are determined to spin the facts until there is little to no semblance to any reality. </p>
<p>The beauty of all is to everyone here is entitled to pick and select what appears to be the most plausible. If some believe Mrs. Obama slaved at an important job, so be it. If some believe that sinecures and blatant corruption are not part of today’s landscape, so be it. </p>
<p>Petraeus’ appointment is what it is. And so was Mrs. Obama.</p>
<p>It’s interesting that people are so skeptical that professors actually deserve their pay (not just Petraeus and his 150 K, but that professors contribute to society beyond propping themselves up with meaningless publications in so-called “self-referential academia”). Yet, these same people are completely confident that there is no cronyism behind creation of a job for someone intimately involved in the Chicago political machine.</p>
<p>Well, don’t look at me. I know M. Obama had a real job, and I don’t have a problem with Petraeus making what he makes for a speech and / or seminar.</p>
<p>What do people mean by the “Chicago political machine” … do they just mean lots of black people and unions?</p>
<p>No. There ARE Chicago politics. Nothing to do with race. I happen to know that having Michelle on your side helps in Chicago. Since when did that make your job LESS important or real? I know she helped get the president to where he is today and not the other way around. If you meet her you will understand.</p>
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<p>Is this a joke? You should become a little informed before lobbing thinly veiled accusations of racism.</p>
<p>Corruption in Chicago has been a notorious problem since Big Bill Thompson in the 20’s and probably before that. The organization of the political machine probably peaked under the first Daly, but is still going on today. </p>
<p>For what it’s worth, if Michelle Obama’s job was created to take advantage of her connections in the city, then it was money well-spent.</p>
<p>It’s odd beyond belief that you guys wouldn’t actually see the real need for U of Chicago hospitals to have that kind of position, as bclintonk so well laid out. It says – I don’t know anything about how big organizations work, but I’m just going to make up baseless accusations that a made-up position was created. The woman didn’t NEED a made-up position. She was already well-employed at one of Chicago’s leading law firms. Sometimes, accusations make the accuser look unsophisticated.</p>
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<p>No. The term “political machine” was coined in the 20th century to describe tightly organized and highly disciplined political party operations in a number of cities, counties, or states. The most powerful of them effectively created one-party rule in their respective jurisdictions, and often were headed by a single powerful “boss” or a small circle of powerful chieftans. The “boss” might or might not be an elected official, but often (though not always) was the titular head of the political party in control. At various points Boston, Chicago, Kansas City, New York City, and Philadelphia were said to be controlled by political machines–mostly Democrats, but Philadelphia for many generations was run by a powerful Republican machine, and the highly organized Republican parties in some suburban counties like Nassau County, Long Island; Dupage County, Illinois; and Orange County, California have at various times been described as political machines.</p>
<p>Chicago was most clearly run by a machine during the era of Mayor Richard J. Daley (mayor from 1955 until his death in 1976 and chairman of the Cook County Central Democratic Committee from 1953 to 1976). Daley exercised autocratic control over city government, with the City Council a pliant rubber stamp. He controlled party politics in Chicago and Cook County, deciding who would get the Democratic nomination for virtually every office–and most of the time getting the Democratic nomination was tantamount to election. He also indirectly controlled Cook County government, because the people who ran it were his lieutenants and, effectively, his appointees. He had great influence over statewide elections; no Democrat could get elected statewide without the Daley organization pulling out all the stops in Chicago, and in many cases no Democrat could even be nominated without his blessing. Thousands of city and county employees got and retained their jobs through political patronage, which meant they needed to be loyal foot soldiers in political campaigns. The city of Chicago is divided into 50 wards; the Democratic Party (or “regular Democratic Party” as it came to be known) in each ward was headed by a ward committeeman, 90+% of whom were Daley loyalists; each ward committeeman had a precinct captain in every precinct; and each precinct captain often had several assistants. The ward committeemen took their marching orders from Daley, and the precinct captains and their assistants took their marching orders from their ward committeemen. Through this tightly organized structure, the Daley organization was able to reach into every household in the city, communicating the machine’s message and often dispensing small favors (Need a new garbage can? We can get that for you. Want that pothole in the street in front of your house fixed? Let me talk to the ward streets & san superintendant) in order to influence votes.</p>
<p>Chicago politics mostly doesn’t work like that anymore. There are still remnants of it in some wards, but it’s a shadow of its former self. After Richard J. Daley’s death, the old machine broke into factions, and some parts of the city broke from old-fashioned machine politics entirely. Rifts developed between the city’s black and Latino populations and the mostly white-dominated regular Democratic organization, especially when the independent-minded Harold Washington, a black congressman from the south side who had successfully bucked the machine and won reelection several times, had the audacity to run for mayor and win, becoming the city’s first black mayor, on an anti-machine platform. Old-style dispensing of public patronage jobs was made illegal. After Washington’s death, Richard J. Daley’s son Richard M. Daley became mayor and re-consolidated some of his father’s power, but he was never the kind of autocratic political boss his father had been, and he was elected more on the basis of modern PR and media politics than old-fashioned machine politics.</p>
<p>People who make reference to a modern-day “Chicago political machine” generally either don’t know what they’re talking about, or are falsely and maliciously using the label to smear present-day Chicago politicians. There are remnants of machine-style politics in some corners of the city, but the city’s politics overall are much more fractious, polycentric, and contested than in the bad old days of the Daley machine. The Obamas came to political maturity in that more complicated, polycentric, and contested political environment. In Chicago, they’ve worked hard to stay on good terms with virtually all factions, from the remnants of the old machine to “independent Democrats” (i.e., anti-machine Democrats) to genuine independents to new interest-group voters (e.g., LGBT communities). The allegation that Barack Obama is a “Chicago machine politician” is a bald-faced lie, intended as a political smear.</p>
<p>Well, I’m glad to hear that Chicago no longer has no-show patronage jobs. LOL.</p>
<p>I guess things have improved since the latest Illinois governor hasn’t been indicted yet.</p>
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<p>But clearly she magically morphed from being a rising young star with strong employment prospects to wanting some kind of job where all she did was show up, file her nails and leave at 2 pm. @@ You’d have some kind of point, xiggi, if we were talking about someone who DIDN’T have a stellar record of high achievement who suddenly got a big-deal job out of the blue.</p>
<p>BClintock, as usual, you have your history right, to some extent, but your current day facts re: Chicago not quite right.</p>
<p>I am an Obama voter, and was a fundraiser for his campaigns, to both the senate and the Presidency, and I can tell you, unequivocally, there are Chicago politics, the last Daley was a complete Chicago politician, and Rahm would have never been able to get n the ballot if not for Chicago politics.</p>
<p>Here is a story:</p>
<p>There was a airfield in Chicago, south of the Loop. The property there was not that valuable for a long time and then a consortium of investors, including the most recent Daiey (the mayor) bought this up. There was an attempt made to get this air field turned into a park, but the state wasn’t cooperating.</p>
<p>In the middle of the night, Daley sent in crews and they tore up the landing strip. End of airfield.</p>
<p>The outcome: a park, rising property values, and a really great neighborhood in the south loop.</p>
<p>Chicago Politics exist. Michelle Obama is far more, or was far more, connected up to that than her husband. </p>
<p>I’m not trying to smear anybody. I completely support what Rahm is trying to do, and I don’t think you can get anything done in Chicago without this group, but he is a Chicago politician. And this is a specific type.</p>
<p>Why else do you think the FBI would have basically set up shop on the pols in Chi town? </p>
<p>All that said, Michelle Obama was not “given” a job as a favor. Are you kidding??? She was courted so that she would come work there and HELP get them what they needed.</p>