It seems to be a compromise but in the end I think even the new policies will be overturned in court or by the next administration. Simply put Obama has no qualms whatsoever using law and policy to impact the free market, overtly picking winners and losers like he did with GM. Additionally he has no hangups about leaving investors high and dry, which I think dries up a lot of investment dollars and pretty much hurts the economy as a whole but that's a bigger issue I suppose. Education is just one of many markets that the government has overstepped their scope of authority only to make matters worse than they otherwise would be.
I hope you're right, but it seems like every time I think the next administration can't be worse I get disappointed.... -=Steve=-
I hoped he was going to be better than Bush but he is the same person, just on the other end of things. Oh and it will get worse, Palin/Trump 2012! lol
So putting less federal dollars into private programs is anti-free market? My head is spinning on that one. Given that a disturbingly high percentage of students who attend certain schools default on federal loans, what else could the solution be? My other side of the coin on this one is that a quality education does not always lead to a quality job. A school may do an outstanding job at training someone for employment, but not have the prestige necessary Oooh and Ahhh HR. Should the school be, in effect, punished despite fulfilling its obligation to its students?
I have to jump to the aid of the left on this one and say that yes there may be more defualts in these types of schools but they allow a part of the popualtion to attend school that never could have anyother way. Yes they may not be always right with loading huge amounts of debt on the poor or lower middle class. But that's no different than what the other schools do on the upper middle class.
The "left" is the side that wants to shut down the for-profit education sector. Judging by its actions against the entire private sector, the Obama administration appears to be acting as though any organization that has the gall to actually take in more money than it spends must be greedy, corrupt and dishonest. I suppose that Senator Harkin, Arne Duncan and President Obama would be happier if the private sector modeled its business and budgetary practices after our federal government.
And like you, I disagree with their approach. However, the devil's advocate in me has noticed that there's little they've done that would shut down those for profit schools that don't participate in the Title IV federal student aid money firehose. Those who pay the piper call the tune, and all that. -=Steve=-