college class

This article has some interesting tidbits on transparency and economic class in higher education. I understand and relate to these issues, particularly the way in which lower income white students face enormous obstacles when seeking to gain admittance to elite universities although this is a contested issue, too, and we need to recognize the "enormous obstacles" experienced by everyone these days, or most everyone save for the economic elites.

And smack in the middle of the article, the author acknowledges clearly why, most likely, little or nothing, will be done about it:

"Addressing class inequality is more expensive than addressing racial and gender inequities because low-income students need financial aid, which may mean smaller budgets for libraries or faculty salaries."

And this anecdote pretty much sums up why recent American Presidents have avoided the topic entirely:

"Class issues popped up periodically in public discussion but never gained traction. In the mid-1990s, when President Bill Clinton briefly suggested shifting the basis of affirmative-action policies from race and gender to class 'because they work better and have a bigger impact and generate broader support,' civil-rights and women's groups killed the idea. While Clinton was right that public opinion supported a class-based approach, no organized constituency championed preferences for the poor and working classes."

Somehow, to move forward, we have to bring all concerned parties, which in the case of accessible, affordable college education is all of us, to the table and clarify why this sort of "either him or me" is not good for anyone.

Meanwhile, college grads are getting better and better at becoming eligible for food stamps, and their economic prospects remain "grim."

The Audacity of Excuses?

Please Mr. President, could you create a single job before your content is more or less the same as George and Bill? As in W. Bush and Cosby, but you are welcome to insist Clinton's "Welfare to Work" was in a similar vein; Costanza wouldn't dare pull the "responsibility card" out unless he thought it could get him laid or fed or both. But back to the Obama link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/17/us/politics/17obama.html?_r=1&hp

We have more population, more high school and college graduates, and millions of more folks who would like more work, not less. You don't have to be John Travolta talking economy with the old dude behind the doughnut counter (the film version of Joe Klein's Primary Colors) to know a change in tone and lofty rhetoric and two dollars will get you on the bus in most cities but rarely pays the utility bills, rent, post-secondary education, medications, groceries, or any other ingredients required for your subsistence.

Okay, so Barbie in Whaleskin Boots can't find the Kurdish region of Turkey on a map of said region. She probably knows how to talk about "responsibility" and uplift her version of "the people." Both of these "leaders" have significant basketball experience although it is Palin who won the state championship, which to my mind makes her the superior WNBA applicant, an old Jrue Holiday if you will, but still doesn't prove she is WNBA-ready. (Check out Jrue's youtube.com links from the McDonald's HS All-American game! If only we all got to play against other 18 year olds for the rest of our lives.)

Is it that bad? Where's the good news???

It's Friday, folks!

So forget the politics, the unemployment rate, the homeless, all the NBA teams losing money, the higher cost of textbooks. Remember this week's lower cost of gas and GO!

I take the bold liberty to send you Cassendre Xavier's blessings and light, Don Riggs's spiritual healing, and my own middle "peace"; if you happen to receive pay on this Friday, the truth is I'm not responsible for it.