If you don't make a lot of money, or you're trying to get a college educartion (or both), you may feel the walls of life are closing in on you. You are not crazy. They are. In case you haven't been told, interest rates on college loans are set to double in July. While both President Obama and presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney agree the rates ought to be frozen, there's a message coming from Republicans in Congress. Suck it up college kids! We're busy catering to the job creators, not you. You don't count. And by the way, don't try to use that college ID to vote, either!
I hate to say it, but I would dread being a college student in 21st century America, especially if your parents aren't rich. That this generation wants to better itself through higher education seems lost on those who had a much easier time attaining it. There are some in America who believe this country is somehow going to maintain its vaunted greatness by saddling is young with debt, then having them work as grocery clerks and Starbucks baristas after they graduate. Try paying back tens of thousands of dollars in debt on $20-30,000 dollars a year.
Yet one holds out hope that those who suck up to the 1% will see the error of their ways and do the right thing on interest rates. I've always thought that college loans (and scholarships and grants, those dying instruments) were an investment not just to make money, but in the nation's future. Call me silly, but I think we all benefit from an educated, informed mass of young people making their way in the world. The selfish preoccupation with making money at all costs is the ugly underside of the American Dream.
So it is here in New York City, where Mayor Michael Bloomberg seems to think that asking businesses that benefit from taxpayer largesse to pay workers a decent wage is like making the Communist Manifesto required reading at City College. No sooner does the City Council pass a prevailing wage bill for certain workers in buildings where tax incentives have been granted that Hizzoneer yelps about a court challenge should the Council have the temerity to override his veto. Then, in the strangest frame of all, he makes it seem as though paying workers a little more somehow hurts those looking for work. Every now and then, the Marie Antionette in Mike Bloomberg shows through, and this is one of those times. All those who lambast him for being an out of touch billionaire now have new ammunition. He truly seems tone deaf about how everyday New Yorkers live their lives, and how government can, under certain circumstances, ease the burden of struggle in this, the greatest city in the world.
Yes, wheher you're a college kid, or someone trying to make ends meet on $25,000 a year, there are some folks who just aren't paying attention, or they just don't care.
Which one is it? You tell me.
Listen to me Monday through Friday from 6 AM to 9 AM on WWRL AM 1600. Follow me on Twitter @MarkRileyMedia.
Your blog makes good sense. Now, even if you want a job as a barista, at Starbucks, you have to have a college degree. That is ridiculous.
Our dear mayor never met a real estate developer he didn't like. He doesn't care how much of our tax money he gives them. But, he doesn't think that they should have to do anything for those subsidies. But, how dare he take the City Council to court with our tax money?
It seems that everybody wants to know what's been going on at the NSA. Everybody, that is, except for 53 US Senators. Last week Senators were given a briefing by high-ranking intelligence officials about the surveillance programs. Only 47...
Tea Party senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) says that "restoring faith in government" is "the wrong solution." Well then by all means, keep talking, Senator. Instead, Johnson says "we need to engender that healthy distrust, that healthy...
Senator Elizabeth Warren is fighting hard for government transparency, and it has nothing to do with the NSA. On Thursday, Senator Warren sent a letter to President Obama's U.S. trade negotiations nominee, calling on the Administration to...
While signing a Merry Christmas bill in June, legalizing usage of phrases like 'Merry Christmas' on school property, Texas Governor Rick Perry took the opportunity to appeal to his evangelical base. "I'm proud we are standing up for...
The Supreme Court ruled that human genes cannot be patented, because they are a product of nature. However, the offered a compromise which allowed synthetic, complementary DNA, known as cDNA, to be protected by patent law, because it is not...
Before last week, very few people knew the name Edward Snowden. Not the case now. It seems he's either a hero or traitor, depending on who you talk to and their political ideology. No matter what you think of him, however, we owe him a...
The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives will do anything to avoid getting any actual work done. As if 37 votes to repeal Obamacare didn't waste enough taxpayer time and money, the House GOP has decided to vote on a...
We need to have a debate over surveillance. Even more, we need to have a debate over exactly who is doing the surveilling. Government surveillance can be worrisome, but it's much more worrisome when the surveillance is being done by private...
Today, the United States Senate will begin debate on the so-called comprehensive immigration plan. Senators will consider the overall legislation, and dozens of amendments, before a final vote can be reached. The debate is likely to last...
Is Edward Snowden a whistleblower or a leaker? This story still has a lot of gray areas. For now, he's something like a whistle-leaker. To some people, Snowden is a hero, to others he is a traitor. To most Americans, he's the guy whose face in...
