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Why Do We Save Billionaires, but Not Teachers? by Les Leopold, Huffington Post | April 30, 2010
This week thousands of New Jersey public school students walked out of class to protest draconian school budget cuts. "Save my teacher," their signs read. In a state that is home to a bevy of high finance billionaires, with the highest per capita income in the nation, teachers are being sacked left and right. In our town half the student body protested outside the high school. Perhaps the protesters should turn their eyes towards the twenty-five top hedge fund honchos who took in $25 billion in 2009. Their "earnings" alone could fund 658,000 entry level teachers. It's ironic that the battlefield in this war over resources is public education. Because the public remains entirely uneducated about the connection between those billionaires and school budget cuts. We are clueless about what the Wall Street billionaires do to earn their riches and whether it's of any value. We might be able to understand "weapons of mass destruction," but financial weapons of mass destruction are way beyond us. read more »"Re-shoring," "On-shoring" and "Insourcing" - The Coming New Era Of American Manufacturing by Dave Johnson, OurFuture.org | April 2, 2010
What will it mean to American businesses if - I should say when - Chinese imports cost as much as they should cost? read more »Obama Sells Out College's Working Class by Andy Kroll, Mother Jones | March 31, 2010
President Obama took a huge step toward expanding access to higher education. Yet conspicuously absent from the bill Obama signed, the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act, was a much-touted effort to bolster community colleges, the nearly 1,200 schools that cater to students who can't afford a traditional university, need a stepping stone to a four-year school, or want job re-training when looking to change careers. read more »Why Are Student Loans In the Health Bill? by Michael Tomasky, The Guardian | March 26, 2010
Believe it or not, liberals would be perfectly happy in a world where regulation weren't needed and government didn't need to run student loans. It would be great, because it would cost taxpayers less, which we're actually quite fine with, and it would mean that people in the private sector were being honest. But that ain't the world. Polluters dump crap into rivers and the air. Employers in dangerous workplaces cut corners, resulting in death and injury. Car companies knowingly put gasoline tanks in dangerous places. Lenders rip people off. When conservatives ask, how much regulation exactly do you advocate?, I say, no set amount — enough to protect the public weal. read more »Student Loan Reform is Within Sight! by Armand Biroonak, OurFuture.org | March 25, 2010
We at the Campaign for America’s Future congratulate the Senate today for passing historic student-loan reform, via a budget reconciliation bill that also contains historic health-care legislation. This reform ends wasteful billion-dollar bank subsidies with a shift to federal direct lending, and invests much of the savings to students. But before we break out the bubbly, the House needs to pass the legislation later this evening. read more »What Next? by The New York Times, The New York Times | March 24, 2010
If President Obama draws no other lesson from health care reform, it is that his early and forceful personal engagement on big issues is indispensable. Mr. Obama’s victory celebration had barely ended before people were asking, “Now what?” First and foremost is the economy, specifically the creation of jobs. He will also have to take the lead in improving the financial regulatory bills moving through Congress. President Obama has promised to reform the country’s education system, and to address climate change and oil dependency by transforming the way Americans produce and use energy. These are lofty objectives, and Mr. Obama may not reach them all. But the health care victory shows that big goals can be achieved — with Mr. Obama’s personal intervention and sustained leadership. read more »Stop Student Loan Sharking, Make College Free by Les Leopold, Huffington Post | March 19, 2010
Unfortunately we're having the wrong debate here. The important question isn't who should be saddling students with enormous debt — the government or private banks. It's why anyone should be saddling them with enormous debt. The fact is, we don't have to run up a tab to get free higher education. Imagine turning a fee on Wall Street gambling into a "college education for free" card for every American. A small financial transaction tax on bankers' speculative deals could fund free higher education in perpetuity. To jump start the program, we could put a windfall profits tax on the $150 billion in bonuses Wall Street executives are now collecting, thanks to our bailout. read more »Using Bank Interests to Help Students by George Kaiser, Politico | March 17, 2010
What better way is there to use the current government giveaway to private lenders than to work toward restoring the promise of equal opportunity? And, high quality early education pays. Long-term studies have demonstrated that taxpayers actually save money from public investment in high-quality early childhood education through reduced special education and correctional system costs, a lower crime rate and a more skilled workforce. Why should taxpayers continue to give large student loan companies both high rates and a government guarantee? Let’s transfer those excess bank profits to students, especially our youngest, while we can still change the trajectory of their lives. read more »Single-Lender for Student Loans: A Good Thing by Armand Biroonak, OurFuture.org | March 17, 2010
Government in many instances can do it better. Student loan reform –that awaits passage through reconciliation –will end tens of billions in wasteful bank subsidies and give much of the savings to students (via Pell Grants). How? read more »The Peasants Are Revolting by Mike Lux, openleft.com | March 12, 2010
The American people are not peasants. But they are getting treated like peasants, and their anger is growing. The Republicans don’t care: they don’t believe poor people and working class people deserve any help. A lot of Democrats do care, but they need to deliver the goods, one way or another. It’s good to see them take that attitude on health care and now, apparently, on student loans. Now we need to seem them to do the same thing on the other big issues in front of them. read more »
The Latest
Grandparents Help With Back-To-School , USA Today | August 29, 2008
In the midst of one of the toughest back-to-school buying seasons in years, grandparents in many families are pitching in to get kids clothed. read more »
Army Opens Dropout Prep School, time.com | August 27, 2008
The U.S. Army, eager to fill its ranks amid wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, formally opened its first prep school for dropouts. The soldiers work in small classrooms outfitted with simple desks, chairs, and dry-erase boards. In-desk computers are used for test-taking. read more »
Private Student Loans Scarce, USA Today | August 26, 2008
In recent months, several large lenders have stopped providing private student loans, stranding families that were counting on private loans to cover some of their costs. Education Finance Partners, the fourth-largest private lender, recently announced on its website that it had ceased operations. read more »
School Lunch Prices Rise, The New York Times | August 25, 2008
Prices on some school lunch lines are going up this fall as school officials, like many others, struggle to pay higher prices and delivery fees for staples like bread, milk, fresh fruit and vegetables. read more »
Sallie Mae Spent $640K Lobbying, money.cnn.com | August 19, 2008
Sallie Mae, the nation's largest student lender, spent $640,000 lobbying in the second quarter for government help to shore up the troubled student loan market and on legislation related to other issues affecting the industry, according to a recent disclosure report. read more »
More Families Need Reduced Lunch , USA Today | August 19, 2008
The troubled economy may be prompting more families to turn to federal school nutrition programs that aid poor children, a survey suggests. For the first time since 2004, a majority of cafeteria operators say the number of children getting free or reduced-price lunches has risen. read more »
Schools Adopt Four-Day Weeks, time.com | August 18, 2008
As the price of diesel — which most school buses run on — topped $4.70 per gal. last spring, school officials across the country watched their transportation costs skyrocket as much as 40 percent. Maryland's Montgomery County is debating whether to shrink its school-bus routes. read more »
Low-Income College Students Too Few, Christian Science Monitor | August 7, 2008
About 50 percent of low-income students enroll in college right after high school, compared with 80 percent of high-income students, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. That's a gap of 30 percentage points, a gap that over the past 30 years has fluctuated between 22 and 49 points. read more »
Poll: Schools Not Preparing Kids, USA Today | June 30, 2008
Half of Americans say U.S. schools are doing only a fair to poor job preparing kids for college and the work force. Even more feel that way about the skills kids need to survive as adults, according to a recent Associated Press poll. read more »
Food Prices Hit School Lunches, MSNBC News | June 9, 2008
The cost of staples that make up the backbone of school meal programs has soared in the past year, far outstripping federal subsidies. While inflation has driven up the price of milk by 12 percent, cheese by 15 percent and bread by 17 percent, the National School Lunch Program has increased what it pays local school districts to feed 30.1 million schoolchildren by only 3 percent. read more »
