The Education Boom

Postsecondary education is booming in this country. Pow! While the public universities are doing everything they can to discourage enrollment of the masses, private for-profit colleges are rolling out the red carpet.

Never has the difference been more stark. In fairness to the publics, the legislatures are reducing their budgets in unprecedented ways. However, they need to learn some lessons as well:

• Programs with high demand and high costs (nursing) need to have higher tuition than say social work. The payoff in the end is much higher.
• Programs with low demand need to be dropped at the majority of schools. If they cannot sustain costs, what is the use? Perhaps if these programs were only offered at one school, they would have sufficient enrollment to cover their costs.
• Put some emphasis on student outcomes - retention and job placement specifically. When I went to college, finishing in 4 years was expected. Now they measure 6 year completion rates. Ridiculous. The point of an education is to make a well rounded person. This is something universities do quite well. However, you also do it to get a job in a field that you find interesting. The schools need to follow the career colleges in this manner.
• Understand customer service. I once heard the U. of Phoenix President give a speech to a bunch of educators at the NCA Higher Learning Commission meeting in Chicago. She talked about customer service being important. They practically booed her off the stage.

Interestingly, the public universities initially did a better job in embracing online education than did the private sector. In fact, they probably do better still than most career colleges. However, the U. of Phoenix Online, Grand Canyon University, to name just two, have smoked the publics. DeVry University purchased U.S. Education in 2008 for nearly $300 million. That is about 20 career colleges to go with DeVry, Chamberlain, and Ross University. This is an education juggernaut. Aggressive marketing, top notch facilities, and measured outcomes have made a tremendous difference. Look at their stocks - they have been one of the few bright spots - for a reason.

In the end, public education is what helped spur this country and will continue to do so. However, they need to demonstrate their relevance at a time when they are needed more than ever.

The Hummer - An American Symbol of Greatness

A Phoenix resident wrote in the Opinions section of the AZ Republic that he saw a Smart car and a Hummer in the same driveway and went on to say that the Hummer is a symbol of American Greatness. What?

Have we stumbled so far that a ridiculous vehicle is our symbol of greatness?

Greatness is:

Jonas Salk, an American, creating the vaccine for Polio. Ronald Reagan saying, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall" and ultimately the Berlin wall that divided families for 40 years being obliterated. The U.S. military, supported by a manufacturing marvel, entering and ending World War II.

Greatness in America has been our ability to see problems and solve them, thus creating commerce and wealth. The Hummer is indicative of the problem that now needs to be solved by big thinking entrepreneurs.

Getting One's Arms Around a Problem

This past weekend we had dinner with some very good friends who happen to be an entrepreneur type family. They opined that worrying about the AIG bonuses was small potatoes. I agree.

This morning NY Times Columnist David Brooks basically said exactly same thing - only with that typical east coast preaching style. However, I still agree.

Brooks says it is narrow minded (actually used the term myopic) to latch onto this AIG issue at the cost of more important issues. I agree. He argues that the other issues like a global recession are too painful to think about.

I offer the alternative view - it is the AIG bonuses that everyday people, even congressmen, can understand. I can get a vision of a "suit" actually getting a million dollar check even though he/she participated in destroying the company, the American economy and the world's economy for that matter. That, I can envision and it makes me angry.

I have trouble getting a vision of trillions of dollars and intertwined economies and the mountain of money we owe China. I can think about it, but never really understand all of the nuances of those troubles.

So, I hope that Obama, who seems to be trying to address the problems, is right in his approach. As I have written several times before, I don't know whether he is right or wrong, but at least he is trying.

In the mean time, I think they should tax the heck out of those million dollar bonuses to make most of us feel better - I can envision the "suit" writing a check for $900K and I like it.

Military Revisited

Thankfully President Obama met with leaders of Veterans groups and has nixed the discussions about billing private insurance for their care. A cooler head prevailed.

Only reasonable.

AIG

AIG couldn't be under any more fire and the stock is up from about 38 cents to nearly $1.40 per share in two days. Hmmm? No wonder we can't figure out the stock market.

Some low level payroll person at AIG should leak the names of the recipients of the million dollar bonuses to the press. Embarrass these bloated "professionals" into giving us back our money. That would only be reasonable.

Military

What is it about the poor Veterans in this country? Bush sends them to the ridiculous Iraq war and then takes away their signing bonus if they get hurt and can't finish their tour of duty. Now the Obama administration is considering having them use their private insurance to pay for their medical needs. Now, this hasn't yet been decided, but just considering it seems nutty to me.

If we are going to send them there, we must take care of the troops and their families. That is a contract that needs to be fulfilled. Hopefully, President Obama will join congress and squash this little idea before it gets any more legs.

The Pope

The Pope is in an awkward position. He must continue to push for moral values (even if they are ignored by a large portion of his own troops) and he sees promotion of condoms as not performing his duties. A real conundrum.

But he is in Africa where the AIDS epidemic is just that, an epidemic. Condoms certainly can help as long as people are going to have sex even though they have the disease. This is the same problem with telling teenagers only about abstinence - it doesn't work.

So, the Pope should continue to push moral values, should probably step up some oversight of his troops in that sense, and give his blessing to condoms if they are going to have unprotected sex anyway.

It is only reasonable.

Phones on Flights

Ugh! Apparently an airline (Ryanair) has decided to allow cell calls on their flights. They will use the technology to make money of course. Hopefully people will opt not to fly on their planes, thus losing money.

I don't want to sit on a plane, 9 inches from some obnoxious person talking about their medical problems, marital problems, boy/girlfriend problems, job problems, favorite movie (which I haven't yet seen), favorite book (which I haven't read yet), what happened on All My Children or worse, My Big Fat Brother Survived Dancing with Stars.

What if they are sitting right next to you and say something like, "the rash on my arm is getting worse and Doctor Peterman says it is highly contagious and will make your arm fall right out of the socket?"

What if they start having phone sex? Argh, a virtual mile-high club would form.

Imagine long sentences that go something like this, "Sandy said blah, blah, blah, and then Betty said yada, yada, yada, and then she said blah, blah, blah, yada, yada, yada." "What do you mean who said blah, blah, blah, yada, yada, yada?" "I am so confused now."

What if you are sitting next to an AIG bigwig discussing how he is buying a yacht with his bonus money? What would you do? This could be dangerous - planes could fall out of the sky, along with the AIG bigwigs.

No phones - please.

Science Versus Religion

The recent decision to allow funding of stem cell research has ignited discussions about science vs. religion. My hope is that the science will flourish and be guided by religious/moral principles of the practitioners.

When I was a teenager in Catechism class at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Wisconsin, I remember a guest speaker came and talked about this very subject. I wish I could remember his name. He made a compelling argument that the two were really not at odds.

For me, that was a backdrop and scientific certainty hasn't swayed my basic belief that they are congruent. Certainly you have to take some of the literal terms in the bible in a non-literal manner. That really isn't that hard. A biblical "day" doesn't have to be 24 hours as it is today. It could mean 1,000,000 years for all we know.

At any rate, schools teaching literal creationism in lieu of Darwinian theory are pretty rare and certainly not supported by scientific fact. I understand there are many scientists who have religious beliefs and really have no problem reconciling them - nor do I.

Only reasonable.

Bernie Madoff

Bernie did the right thing - plead guilty, sparing some of the expense. The poor guy only has net assets of $800M or so. He is in jail and I hope they keep him there. Apparently he is trying to be released until sentencing in June.

Is he kidding? His lawyers looked serious as a heart attack about it today. If they let him out, they are crazy or guilty of something themselves. He should never be out again.

His wife should be destitute also. Instead, she is hoarding $62M - I wonder how she will get by?

Nicely, I bet.

Sometimes You Just Have to Laugh!

A few posts ago I opined that we have so many experts. I received the following from a friend which sort of illustrates that very point and, perhaps more importantly, I found it funny.

A stranger was seated next to a little girl on the airplane when the
Stranger turned to her and said, 'Let's talk. I've heard that flights go
quicker if you strike up a conversation with your fellow passenger.

The little girl, who had just opened her book, closed it slowly and
said to the stranger, 'What would you like to talk about?

'Oh, I don't know,' said the stranger. 'How about nuclear power?'
and he smiles.

OK, ' she said. 'That could be an interesting topic. But let me ask
you a question first. A horse, a cow, and a deer all eat the same stuff - Grass yet a deer excretes little pellets, while a cow turns out a flat patty, and a horse produces clumps of dried grass. Why do you suppose that is?

The stranger, visibly surprised by the little girl's intelligence, thinks about it and says, 'Hmmm, I have no idea.'

To which the little girl replies, 'Do you really feel qualified to discuss nuclear power when you don't know shit?

What if the Republican Had Won?

Want to know what it would look like had the Republicans not been drubbed in November and in fact won the majority? Look no further than AZ.

A conservative state with the Republicans in complete control. They say things like, "we will cut funding at the University by 40% but still be among the finest institutions in the land." Hmm?

Even the newly appointed Governor has figured out that perhaps some tax increases are necessary in order to mitigate this problem. Her name is Jan Brewer and she took over for Janet Napalitano when she accepted the Homeland Security gig. Jan started out by tackling important issues like photo radar. We are $3B in the hole and she is worried about people getting a ticket when they drive 11 miles over the speed limit. 10 MPH over - no ticket, no problem.

I digress - she has now proposed a tax increase with a sunset provision - smart. The legislature of course won't do it. They would rather kill education because, in the end, educated folks tend to gravitate to cities and then do the unthinkable - vote for Democrats.

Stem Cells

I for one am glad that Barack Obama followed through with another of his campaign promises and has lifted the ban on federal funding of Stem Cell research. Like renewable energy, this is an area that the U.S. should be able to be a world leader.

Find the method to repair a spine and reap the rewards for years to come! Replace cancer cells with good cells and we all win. Help those with Parkinson's (If Rush doesn't mind too much - he was so nasty about Michael J. Fox) or other neurological disorders and retire a very wealth person, leaving behind a very wealth company that employs people in high paying jobs.

Other countries are going to continue to look in this area and we must also. It was a shame that it was derailed over the last years. Bush didn't ban Stem Cell research as some have suggested, but his moral and religious beliefs did slow funding and therefore progress. In some ways I appreciated that he took a stand, but the stand did not match that of the American populace.

So Many Experts

I find it fascinating that so many people opine what is the proper way to get out of this financial mess. I didn't know we had so many experts. Interestingly they are in Phoenix as evidenced by their writing to the editor of the newspaper. They are in rural AZ and other rural areas as evidenced by their folksy way of describing a dying small town lifestyle. Dying because of the liberal press.

On the other end of the spectrum is the east coast bloggers, writers, and indeed, liberal press. They too know exactly how to fix the problem as evidenced by the well worded attacks on the conservative right.

In the end, I have no idea on what is the best course of action and am not afraid to say so. My basic conservative fiscal manner would lead one to believe that the market should have been left alone. On the other hand, the idiots in charge of banks and Wall Street screwed us and are still doing so. Another bank with their hand out gave a handout (called a bonus) to its employees. Yikes - do these people have no scruples, brains, heart, etc.?

As I wrote earlier, my advice - take care of yourself in the most responsible manner possible. The Dems and Reps are not looking out for any of us.

Random Thoughts of Reasonableness (Or Not)

GM - let it go into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. They lose billions and are trying to sell those gas hog vehicles that they built. They have no choice really to try to sell them. It was unreasonable to build them in the first place.

Obama - Should have fought harder against congress on the earmarks. Unreasonable.

Obama - Good that he put the EPA back into the process of determining appropriateness of projects. Bush shouldn't have jammed that through in his last week in office. Totally unreasonable.

Madoff's wife - She thinks the can keep $62M- put her in jail too. Only reasonable.

Time Magazine - great article about 2 weeks ago about the 25 people responsible for the meltdown. U.S. consumers were #5. I highly recommend you all find and review the list. Clinton and Bush were 12 and 13 respectively for pushing home ownership for everyone. One guy, who's name escapes me, and was #18 (should have been #1), said that Americans were idiots for taking ARM mortgages and then when on to say how good they were for his company. Wow. Totally unreasonable.

Rush - Steele - Rush said he wants the U.S. (read Obama) to fail. "What is so strange about being honest to say that I want Barack Obama to fail?" Limbaugh said on his show. He should be kicked out of the country. Republican National Chairman, Michael Steele criticized Limbaugh, calling him "incendiary, ugly and nothing more than an entertainer." I imagine Dems find this entertaining and incredibly reasonable. God help us Republicans.

Speedy Deportations

The U.S. has an expedited method of deporting people which allows the illegal immigrant to be in their own country instead of sitting in a jail in America. Sounds good. Win-win.

Now, immigration rights groups think these illegals are being deprived of their rights. What rights? To see a judge who will deport them anyway? They have the right to be treated humanely. That is it - nothing more and that is totally reasonable.

Instead of wasting their time on illegal immigrants, these groups should be representing individuals who have come here legally and can't get through the process. Now that would be reasonable as well.