Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Bonus News Round Up!

"McConnell: ObamaCare to blame for higher student loan rates,"  by Ramsey Cox (The Hill)

Money Quote: "'Rates are going up, and the tuition is going up so [students] have to pay back more at a higher rate ... all because of something young people had nothing to do with -- and that's the passage of ObamaCare,' [Sen. Mitch] McConnell said on the Senate floor."

It's called misdirection. Get people riled up about the interest rates and they won't think about the principal.

*****

"How is Student Loan Debt Affecting Your Post-Graduate Life?" by Newsdesk (PBS News Hour)

Money Quote:




  • .@NewsHour no, but i'll have $250,000 worth of loan debt by the time I finish law school.

  • Not so brilliant, Howard.

    *****


    "Taste Law School Before You Buy,"  by Monica Bay (Law Technology News)

    Money Quote: "'This [new] program can help people decide whether law school is right for them. If they do go to law school, it should give them a major leg up in their first year,' said [Fredrick] Lederer, who was involved with W&M's Legal Skills Program, which helped prepare law students for practice."

    Please feel to let us know in the comment section below what you think the "aftertaste of law school" is like.

    *****


    Money Quote: "'Participating students will save a full year of tuition, room, board and books, and this will make law school more accessible and more affordable," according to a press release quoting associate dean John Nussbaumer of Cooley's Auburn Hills campus of the new 3 + 3 program with Oakland University.

    Yes, you can join the ranks of other attorneys in Michissippi even one year sooner!

    *****


    Money Quote: "Are bar examiners who take their sweet time releasing test releasing test results hurting law schools' employment statistics? Some law school deans think so, and now the American Bar Association is considering whether to delay collecting jobs data for a month to allow straggling states to license new graduates before schools must poly up their numbers."

    Yeah, right.

    14 comments:

    1. you had me til the part about tuition going up because of Obamacare. Maybe tuition is going up because Deans and professors want more money, want to live in $900,000 houses and annual European vacations. Just a thought.

      ReplyDelete
    2. as I drive through Michigan I see at least two cooley bill board advertisements.

      I would love to see a bill board right next to that one:

      50% of cooley grads passed the state of Michigan Bar in 2012
      30% have jobs requiring a jd

      and a big pic of clint eastwood - "do you feel lucky punk?"


      lol. I would donate to such a worth while cause. I wonder what the cost would be.

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. U of D also has billboards up. Someone should do a Kickstarter. I'd contribute.

        Delete
      2. That effort's got 20 bones from me.

        Delete
      3. I'm not sure if my comment was posted, but I would definitely donate to this. Promote it on here as well. I think we should get at least one billboard next to a law school's billboard showing the actual employment rate. Then we can send out a press release and try to get as much attention as possible.

        Delete
      4. Whoever that anonymous ideasman is, you may have hit upon a winning piece of activism. Does anyone know what a billboard costs to rent for a short time? That would make some news stories that would get some national coverage. I'd throw 20 bones into that project too.

        Fuck, even getting it set up on Kickstarter would make news.

        Delete
      5. lol. thanks for the positive feedback. every time I drive by that cooley billboard it just drives me nuts.

        it made a lot of news when the people put up bill boards questioning obamas birth certificate. I seem to remember a number of about 25000, but I would imagine the location can greatly increase or decrease the amount.

        i'm in for at least 500 if someone can take the lead. I a, confident that I could raise several thousand dollars more if someone can set up a 501c. or would this get extra scrutiny by the irs?

        anyway, I am in and will raise money for the cause.

        Delete
      6. Idea man here. I've posted before. I'm in publishing. (I've mentioned this before). Newspeople are lazy. This would be a great story and easy for someone to research. If we did it and issued a press release and got someone from this blog to give quotes, you'd see some great headlines. Here's where we need to go from here.

        We need someone in a smaller market (Michigan would be good). Scope out the billboard space and call in to see how much it costs. Then throw up a link to kickstarter. I'm sure you can start a 501c3, but that might take more time than it's worth.

        The only issue is that the media seller might not like potentially giving up a big advertiser (a school) to a little guy who might only run one ad (us) so when you're dealing with them, you have to make it sound as if you're in it for the long haul.

        Someone volunteer themselves. My market is no good otherwise I would do it myself.

        Delete
      7. Also, if one of the big dog blog writers could bring this up that would be great.

        Delete
      8. I'll kick in a Benjamin on a billboard. Can the Admin do a blog post on this project. I would suggest that it just say "Law school is a scam." then refer to the blog. Cooley will sue if its name is used.

        Delete
    3. Im too lazy to research this, but didn't the Obamacare bill also federalize pretty much the whole student loan program? E.g. made the federal govt. the direct lender, rather than just a backer? And doesn't Congress set student loan interest rates? (See good post at thelawyerbubble on how this country is using student loan interest to make money on the backs of our young people.) And isn't Obama's claim that the health care bill "will cut the deficit" is based partly on anticipated profits the govt. will make on student loans?

      I'm not saying skyrocketing tuition isn't a huge problem. It is. But ridiculous interest rates (on loans that are taxpayer backed and non dischargeable, e.g. as risk free as one can get) are also part of the problem. This is another example of how Obamacare is shifting more costs onto the young and financially struggling--in addition to the fact that they will have to pay more for health insurance that most of them will not need, in order to subsidize the care of older, wealthier, and sicker citizens.

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. You're absolutely right. Obamacare is shifting the costs onto the young and financially struggling. It's so brilliant... that the obvious answer is to repeal Obamacare, and when we do that, student loans are going to go down to 2%, costs are going to go down, young people will pay less for health insurance, and everyone will get out from struggling financially. Right?

        Delete
      2. The only link between student loans and Obamacare is the government making money off student loan interest to offset some of the costs of Obamacare. Do you dispute that this is the case?

        The government should get out of the student loan business and end taxpayer guarantees for student loans. At that point lenders will only lend money that is likely to be paid back after graduation. Tuition will drop because of this and lots of law schools will close because JD mills would not survive if any basic underwriting was applied to these loans.

        BTW do you dispute that Obamacare is shifting costs to the young and financially struggling? The combination of community rating, guaranteed issue, and mandated coverage means that the young and healthy end up subsidizing the old and sick (and wealthier) segments of society.

        Delete
    4. Also: Law school applications continue to slide

      http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/law-school-applications-continue-to-slide/2013/06/02/db4929b0-c93f-11e2-9245-773c0123c027_story.html

      ReplyDelete