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Thanks! July 10, 2006 Another Wedge in the Education Gap We've told you about the widening gap between the wealthy and poor and the average CEO salary and that of his/her employee. Now we're seeing a widening gap in those who can afford college and those who can't, and that gap will only grow, thanks to raises in student loan rates that took effect on July 1st. We have the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 to blame for the near-2 percent rise in student loan rates. Already, graduation rates for students from high-income families is 60 percent higher than for students of low-income means. Financial aid, largely in the form of Pell Grants, has not kept pace with the increases in college tuition, making student loans more necessary than ever for most Americans. The higher interest rates will make it even more difficult for students shouldering post-college debt to take entry-level jobs in fields like social work, teaching or early child education. And all of the above will mean a lessening of diversity on our country's college campuses - which translates to a lack of diversity in upper management jobs and leadership roles. Fortunately, "Increasing College Opportunity and Completion" is number 4 of 15 New Ideas in his publication titled New Challenges, New Ideas by American Progress Senior Fellow Gene Sperling. To read about it or link to a pdf of the entire document, go to: http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=1375093
Every day it seems as though the government is peering into some new corner of our alleged private lives - from looking through our library records to the more recently revealed monitoring of phone and banking transactions. The reason given is always the same: It's for our own safety. Funny thing, that same argument is missing when it comes to tracing another common transaction - the sale of guns. Data from the ATF has linked the vast majority of guns used to commit crimes to a handful of rogue or corrupt gun dealers. But the law prevents the ATF from sharing this information with the public and local law enforcement agencies. This not only makes it difficult to bring pressure against these dealers, but it also deters criminal investigations. So why does our government want to withhold this valuable information? Thank the NRA, the nation's wealthiest and most powerful special interest group. Fortunately, legislation has been introduced in the Senate that would repeal these dangerous restrictions. What You Can Do: Go to the Brady Campaign's website and join in their Campaign Against Illegal Guns at: http://www.bradycampaign.org/ A Healthy Read The Albuquerque Journal recently ran an excellent editorial by Steven Hill of New America Foundation. In it Hill refers to the report from the Citizens' Health Care Working Group (the very one we told you about several weeks ago), which concluded that Americans want universal health coverage. Hill then goes on to talk about the universal coverage systems in several European countries - and points out how much they differ from the government-run single-payer systems like Canada's that Americans fear so much. These European systems offer plenty of choice, short waiting periods and high quality care. Sounds just like what we're looking for here at home. Read Steven Hill's editorial at: http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/opinion/14937478.htm Read about
Steven Hill's book, 10 Steps to Repair American Democracy, at:
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