THE COST OF COLLEGE

The title of the article couldn’t be ignored: “Who should pay your college bills?” Before I read the very first sentence, I glanced down at author’s credits – Andrew J. Policano, Professor of Economics and former dean at UC Irvine’s School of Business. I had a feeling he and I would be on different tracks.

Dr. Policano quickly assures the reader that, despite the fact higher education is so expensive, the cost of educating a student “has been restrained.” He further states “at the University of California, expenditure per student has fallen by more than 20% since 1991 while tuition has risen … the consequence of decreasing state support for public higher education.” While I struggled to figure out what that meant, I spotted the matter of primary importance: “What’s really at issue isn’t the price but who should pay for it: students, parents or donors.”

From that point on the article became a complex dissertation involving legislative involvement, public university policies, university-designed redistribution programs and the qualm that “tuition is not rising by a large enough amount to replace the significant decreases in state support.”

Though I read through to the end, I never learned who should pay your college bills. For this reason, I’ll offer my opinion – and I’ll not beat about the bush. The student benefiting from the education is the logical payor. If that’s not possible, a devoted parent or other agreeable relative is next on the list. If money is in short supply, a low cost community college should be chosen for the first two years, with a reasonably priced state university chosen for the junior and senior terms. Student loans should be avoided whenever possible, even if it results in a later date graduation than originally intended. And if the student must obtain employment while attending college part time, this is the way it should be.  The key is to obtain the diploma while incurring no loan obligations.

A final thought: Education is more than a university degree. It’s the learning you acquire. After your books have been disposed of, the names of your instructors forgotten, and your framed certificate of completion relegated to a wall at which you seldom glance, the information you acquired which resides in your head is what your schooling was really all about.

 

TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY SCHOOL WARFARE

On Feb 7, 2015, President Donald Trump’s choice for Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate. With Vice President Mike Pence casting an historic tie-breaking vote, the final tally of 51 to 50 ended an unusually contentious fight over this cabinet post. The largely partisan vote stemmed from Ms. DeVos’ long history of advocacy for charter schools and school vouchers in her home state of Michigan, a pair of programs heavily opposed by the Teachers Unions which are universally supported by the Democratic Party.

During confirmation hearings, Ms. DeVos reiterated support of charter schools with the statement “I am a firm believer that parents should be empowered to choose the learning environment that’s best for each of their individual children.” The following day Eric Heins, president of the California Teachers Association, declared “It’s clear to us: she is an anti-public education activist more interested in funneling public monies into private schools and for-profit charter schools.  She doesn’t value the diversity we celebrate and hold dear here in California.” And upon her confirmation, Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said “DeVos shows an antipathy for public schools; a full-throttled embrace of private, for-profit alternatives and a lack of basic understanding of what children need to succeed in school.”

As the participants in the schools wars continue to engage in combat, let me interject a few comments to which both sides would object. I contend neither the public school nor the charter school has a monopoly on educational expertise. In both settings bright students who strive to learn will do well, while those that are dull or who fail to apply themselves will do poorly. Of particular concern to me is the dogmatic belief that how the school hierarchy functions will dictate the scholastic outcome. The implication is clear – and faulty – that learning is something done to the student, not by the student. And finally, I’m appalled that none of the combatants appear to phrase their arguments or address their comments to the very persons on whom education is presumably directed: the students. These appear to be the forgotten ciphers in this never ending battle, who will perform as directed, but enjoy no say in how they’ll be required to learn.

A final thought: I’m convinced the intent of all parties in this fracas is funneling public monies into schools they control. It’s nothing more than a fight over the loot.

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If you enjoy this weekly Straight Talk by Al Jacobs, you’re invited to check out my monthly Financial Newsletter, as well as my new book, Roadway to Prosperity

Click onto http://www.roadwaytoprosperity.com/

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OFF TO THE BEACH - ON THE CHEAP

It appears California’s state legislators are set to zero in on yet another critical problem facing its citizens. The article describes the cauldron of injustice: “Visiting the coast has become too expensive for the average family – A bill aims to lower costs.” Assembly Bill 250’s sponsor, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego), announced: “I grew up in a working-class family and got to enjoy the beach. There was easy access then. Now people who grow up like I did don’t have that opportunity – it can be cost-prohibitive to enjoy the beach.”

Just like Ms. Gonzalez, I too can recall back to my teenage years when money was hard come by. My job as a drug store soda jerk, paying 67¢ per hour, didn’t enable me to enjoy the high life. As I lived nearly twenty miles from the ocean, the prospect of bicycling there seemed a tough way to go. So, if my friends and I wanted a day at the beach, we figured out how to do it.  The Pacific Electric Red Car tracked line, which rattled noisily along from 1901 until 1953, wasn’t terribly expensive and could get us to Venice or Santa Monica.  As for grub, it was usually a choice between the almost digestible 5¢ hot dogs from a seaside vendor or the brown bag sandwiches we could whip up and take with us.  And a “day at the beach” proved to be exactly that, for we always returned the same day.  The thought of plunking out four hard-earned dollars for a motel room was out of the question.

Today’s poor people are better represented than we were, thanks to the political muscle their champions muster. No need to wait for public transportation; just drive there and enjoy subsidized parking. As for food, with millions of our less advantaged citizens on the California Food Assistance Program (CFPA), there are plenty of the finest delectables to go around. And finally, the trip to the beach needn’t end as the sun goes down. Thanks to Ellie Sanders, Vice Chair of the Coastal Commission, there will be more lower-cost rental accommodations available, as “The commission takes this very seriously because it’s getting difficult for even average families to visit our coast.”

A final comment: Neither my friends nor I ever resented the effort we went to for a day at the beach. None of us looked to someone else to provide us with simple luxuries.  Whether America is a better place today because of the pandering practiced by our elected and appointed officials is questionable.

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If you enjoy this weekly Straight Talk by Al Jacobs, you’re invited to check out my monthly Financial Newsletter, as well as my new book, Roadway to Prosperity

Click onto http://www.roadwaytoprosperity.com/

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THREE CHEERS FOR GOVERNMENT WASTE

The article on government waste by Adam B. Summers, columnist with the Southern California News Group, spells it out clearly: “The federal government wastes taxpayers’ money in thousands of ways, large and small.” Among the examples he gives is the $3.1 billion the Federal Railroad Administration has made available for California’s “doomed” high-speed rail project. He then goes on to describe how the Energy Department has wasted $450 million on a clean energy project, now six years behind schedule, on which ground has yet to be broken.

However, with Mr. Summer’s next revelation, I did a double take. He discloses that the IRS spent $12 million on an archiving system which was never used in any way. The implication is clear; this branch of government is not functioning efficiently. I then scratched my head as I contemplated whether we want this particular governmental organization to be efficient. And more to the point, with the many funded projects which allocate taxpayers’ monies for functions thoroughly antithetical to the desires of most rational persons, perhaps waste is a desirable quality. Consider, for example, a massive federal program established for the purpose of providing every elected official in the nation with a 6-figure lifetime retirement benefit together with full family health care. This is an activity I’d never want to see carried out. In this case, the less efficient the operation, the better for us all.

Let me now share my personal bias on the government’s use of those funds collected from me as a taxpayer.  As long as the money is in my pocket, it’s rightfully mine to spend. Once it passes to the tax collector, it’s rightfully the government’s to spend. For all practical purposes, I have no say in how it’s used. Though I may choose to criticize from afar, there’s nothing much I can do about it. Thus, they may waste it as they wish or apply it effectively if they’re able. But what really matters is that I use whatever money is mine to keep with frugality and discretion. The government may blow what it chooses; it’s far more important that each of us conduct our own financial lives wisely.

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If you enjoy this weekly Straight Talk by Al Jacobs, you’re invited to check out my monthly Financial Newsletter, as well as my new book, Roadway to Prosperity

Click onto http://www.roadwaytoprosperity.com/

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