I am intrigued by the use of the term “populist” to describe sound and desperately needed financial services industry reform. In its pejorative (and intended) sense, a populist policy is one that is popular, but anti-establishment and anti-intellectual.
Given that our latest economic troubles were caused by a financial services industry run amok, financial services reform may be anti-establishment, but it’s certainly not anti-intellectual or unorthodox. It’s good public policy and common sense.
WorkForceWV has received a $6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to support the State’s efforts to provide green jobs education and training. The grant will support four major activities:
The West Virginia GREEN-UP Council, along with five regional teams, will coordinate grant activities.
DCT Advisors LLC is pleased to have been able to assist WorkForceWV in obtaining this grant and looks forward to working with WorkForceWV on initial project start-up and facilitation of GREEN-UP Council activities over the next several years.
After a decade-long hiatus, Marshall University began hosting the John Marshall High School Speech and Debate Tournament again last year. This year’s tournament is 5-6 February, and Dennis Taylor will be coordinating debate. If you are interested in judging speech or debate, please contact him at 304.541.0332. MU tries to see that all volunteer judges are treated well.
At the end of my last post, I asked a question that I said I would answer tomorrow. Tomorrow came and went as I became extremely busy with a work-related project. But here’s the answer to the question:
What major sector of the United States economy has seen costs rise more quickly than the health care sector – and by a wide margin?
Higher education, of course.
Why have higher education costs risen so quickly? Certain higher education officials would like to convince you that it’s because state appropriations have not kept pace with inflation. But that’s really only a small part of the explanation – and not even that if you factor in all the new federal and state funding coming through the back door in the form of merit- and need-based financial aid. The dirty little secret: The back door funding of rich and poor kids with financial aid has removed market forces from the fee-setting calculus. With almost no pressure to control prices, tuition costs – and thus the revenue institutions have to operate in real dollar terms – has increased exponentially. I’m oversimplifying a bit here, but this certainly is the case for West Virginia’s four-year higher education institutions over the last decade – and what the public higher education sector tries to hide using an inflation measure called the higher education price index. (It has a legitimate purpose, just not the purpose for which it is most frequently used.)
Were I less busy, I would connect the dots that support my contentions for you sooner, rather than later. But alas market forces require me to do real, paying work. When I return to posting on this blog (this coming weekend), I will share my thoughts about our newest higher education market force – the Governor, who’s saying “no” to tuition increases, as well as address the legislative auditor’s assessment of the appropriate number of four-year institutions, which I think may be wrong-headed. Plus I’ll flag three interesting news articles about subjects that I think may have a larger impact than people realize.
But alas it’s back to paying work.
For those who like the cold, and that certainly doesn’t include me, Covenant House is holding a benefit at Little Creek Park on Saturday, 13 February 2010, beginning at 9 AM (8:30 AM registration): the Little Creek Ice Bowl.
If you’re one of those people who has threatened serious harm to Punxsutawney Phil if he sees his shadow this year, my recommendation is that you deliver $20 and 10 canned food items to Covenant House in advance of the event – and stay warm. For the rest of you, I’ll see you at the Ice Bowl.
