Bah Humbug to Student Aid

Everyone who has a kid in college knows how expensive it is...especially if you don't qualify for a boatload of aid. Right now my son is going to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute which is pretty expensive. He wouldn't be going there if he hadn't gotten the bill almost totally covered by aid of one sort or another. Still, we were left with a bill of $8,000 for the year.

They don't provide much (especially after they've been cut and cut) but the Pell grants and other federal programs for students have really been a big help...but will they be around much longer? We have to pay for the war and for the aid to Katrina victims and what have you with something and so the powers that be are "eviserating" student aid, medicaid, and food stamps.

Oh...and they're trying to give a five year $54 million dollar break to wealthy people and corporations. That makes sense, doesn't it? Read more in this editorial.

So what happens? Less money for these programs means that poorer kids have a tougher time going to school because there's so much less help out there. The schools raise tuition to make up for the loss in income because students aren't able to go to those institutions. It's harder for students in the middle class to go now because they're expected to pay more with less.

My son got a lot of his aid because TB was out of work on disability for 2 years (a workman's comp accident and 3 surgeries to repair the injury kept him off the job). Now TB is back to work full time. Even with all our expenses and another child starting college in the fall, I still have a feeling our expected contribution is going to be a lot higher than we can afford. My son is still considered a dependent. He won't qualify for aid because of what we earn.

I'm mad about the cuts in the programs not only because it's going to hurt my kids but also because it's going to hurt so many other kids.

Know who will go to college? The kids of the millionaires getting the billions in tax breaks over the next five years!

Four For Friday

Q1 - Kids and School: A local car dealership in Yuma, Arizona, has announced it will hold a raffle at the end of the school year awarding brand new cars to two high school students who achieved perfect school attendance records for the year. How do you feel about incentives and awards for perfect school attendance?

I think it's a great idea! It'll reward the kids who are dedicated and show up for school every day and maybe encourage others to try harder. On the downside, once a kid misses a day the incentive's gone. Still...I think it would be great to reward a couple of kids with something--after reading the article I did, maybe a college education would be a better reward!

Q2 - Religion and Government: Earlier this week, a federal district court judge ruled that the prayers opening the daily sessions of the Indiana House of Representatives must be nondenominational and may not advance any one religion in particular. In the court-issued opinion, U.S. District Judge David Hamilton wrote that the "official prayers" offered at the Indiana House “consistently advance the beliefs that define the Christian religion", and that moving forward, prayers in Jesus’ name--or anyone else's name for that matter--would no longer be allowed. How do you feel about Judge Hamilton's ruling? Should prayers invoking Jesus, Moses, Allah, etc. be allowed during the opening of the daily sessions at the Indiana House of Representatives, or do you feel the judge's ruling was appropriate?

Personally, I really think things are getting ridiculous. I think prayers should be allowed, even if there's got to be one for the Christians, one for the Jewish folk, and one for the Muslims. Let us be able to acknowledge and honor what we believe!

Q3 - Christmas Decorations: According to the National Christmas Tree Association--yes, there really is such an organization--in 2004, Americans purchased 27,100,000 real Christmas trees (with an average price of $42.60) and another 9,000,000 fake trees (with an average price of $96.50) for a total of 36.1 million trees valued at $2,000,190,000.00. Do you plan on purchasing a Christmas tree this year? If so, will you be buying a real tree or a fake one?

We're not buying a tree this year. We have an artificial tree and it's been hanging in there for the last couple of years. I don't miss the mess and clean-up involved with a real tree but I do miss the piney smell.

Q4 - Cheese: What's your favorite kind of cheese? How often do you eat it?

My favorite is Cabot's horseradish cheddar and I eat it as often as it's on sale. It's a good thing it's not on sale much or I'd be a lot fatter than I already am!