A Lesson in Chicanery

More BS About a B.S.

Recently I have noticed more and more ads on TV and radio for colleges seeking students. Star Academy, Berkley College, American International University (AIU for short and catchy), Southern New Hampshire University (again SNHU for shorty and catch) to name a few.

  I never remember colleges openly advertising to such an extent in the past. 

An example of costs per online credit 

Being observant  of all the advertising I began to think - "There must be a ton of money in  higher education these days!" 

But how could that be if online courses are rapidly emerging. Shouldn't the cost to produce online curricula be rapidly amortized as the programs serve increasing numbers of students. Wouldn't it be like the cost of producing the first widget as opposed to the nth widget? Shouldn't online courses be driving the cost of education down and thereby yielding less profit margin?  

Well I looked at the cost of online credits and to me they certainly don't appear to be any bargain. Maybe the cost of production is dwindling but the cost to the student isn't, not after looking at the price per credit for online courses at many of the these schools.

While musing on this situation I happened to read the article below. Maybe its me, but I find Mr. Weinger's predictions about college costs to be naive at best! 

 After reading the article above I went to the Internet (online so to speak) and found the information below. I then calculated the yearly tuition costs for an online education based on this information. Maybe I'm living in the past but a yearly tuition rate of $13,800 (plus I'm sure associated fees) doesn't sound that cheap to me!
I hate to be cynical (not really - I've come to accept it) but the whole thing just looks like the same old college scam on the middle class.

How to Make a Better Dehumidifier for Cheap (+playlist)

Kiss DB Pensions Goodbye!

Christie has two major objectives. 

(1) privatize public education to benefit his well connected cronies and friends and 

(2) privatize the pension system to benefit his well connected cronies and friends.

And it's beginning to look like both may work!

BTW -

This 'Hybrid' Pension Plan is just a foot in the door!

A "flip-flop" - How about a LIE ?

                   

            At what point do we start calling a "flip-flop" what it really is - a LIE ?

It appears "The Governor" (as he likes to call himself) does not want "to blindside our student or our seniors" but it is perfectly okay to "blindside" retirees. He is willing to openly violate a law which he himself negotiated, signed and then bragged about just one year ago. I would bet that he knew fully well when the bill was signed that the likelihood of future pension payments being made on the schedule called for was slim and none!
I am constantly amazed by the ability of politicians to stand before the public, time after time and spew lies with a straight face and then claim ignorance when they are discovered.
I know that we have experienced many bold faced lairs in the past - "I did not have sex with that woman" - "No new taxes" - "They have weapons of mass destruction" - etc, but at the rate Christie is going I think he may overtake and exceed them all.
P.S.
The "new pension reform" proposed by "The Governor" will undoubtedly be a call for a Defined Contribution Plan to replace the current Defined Benefit Plan. In other words, no more pension! It will be replaced by a 401K plan. And then the question will be: Which band of cronies will administer the 401K plan and what choices will the participants have?

PSS
I just received this email - 

 Not sure if you all got this from NJEA - I got this as a forward from a friend in Florida. Not sure why I didn't receive it.   This is an easy thing we all can do. Just a few clicks and your name and address.  Pass it on to all retired and present teachers.

 

NJEA.org - TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT YOUR PENSION!
http://www.njea.org/news/2014-05-22/take-action-to-protect-your-pension

Thanks,

Rosemary

Coming Soon to a Commencement Near You - The Rolling Stones !

If Someone is Never Responsible Is He Then Irresponsible?

* I happened to be watching TV tonight and mention was made of “The Governor’s” seeming involvement in the Hunterdon County Sheriff’s escapade. He claimed no responsibility.

http://bobbraunsledger.com/what-is-christie-hiding-in-hunterdon-county/

Then I began to think:

* The doling out of $25 million of pension fund monies to a hedge fund linked to the Republication Governor’s Association came to mind. Again “The Governor” had no responsibilitiy

 http://www.thenation.com/article/178862/pensiongate-christie-campaign-donors-won-huge-contracts

* Then the loss of $400 million of federal education funds came to mind. The loss was blamed on Schindler. “The Governor” had no responsibility.

http://gawker.com/5622065/new-jersey-loses-400-million-in-education-funding-over-silly-application-error

* The GWB shut down. “The Governor” had no knowledge or responsibility.

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/05/05/wcbs-880-nj-taxpayers-pay-725k-on-bridgegate-lawyers/

* The improper and slow distribution of Sandy funds. It was FEMA’s fault. “The Governor” had no responsibility.

http://videos.nj.com/nj/2014/02/hurricane_sandy_recovery_delay.html

* “The Governor’s” brother’s company made a huge profit on land purchases associated with the Harrison Train Station renovation.  “The Governor” had no responsibility.

http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/01/christies_brother_bought_houses_in_harrison_ahead_of_port_authority_approval_of_path_staion_renovati.html

All this leads me to the obvious conclusion that “The Governor” is just plain irresponsible!

$140K per Hour and She'd be Underpaid !!

The cost of a college degree in the United States has increased "12 fold" over the past 30 years, far outpacing the price inflation of consumer goods, medical expenses and food.

According to Bloomberg, college tuition and fees have increased 1,120 percent since records began in 1978.

The average debt owed by New Jersey college graduates in 2012 was $29,287, according to the Project on Student Debt 2012. That’s up from an average of $27,610 in 2011 and $23,792 in 2010.

Most of New Jersey’s public colleges and universities do not pay their commencement speakers, though they often cover their travel expenses. Rutgers recently began paying speakers $30,000 to $35,000 in a bid to attract bigger names to its ceremony. The money comes from donations to the university’s foundation, not tuition or state funding, Rutgers officials said.*

Rice was scheduled to receive $35,000 for her Rutgers speech before she bowed out. (The speech was planned for 15 minutes - that's $140,000 per hour.) Kean, her replacement, has turned down the fee and Rutgers has not said if LeGrand will be paid for his remarks.

Kean University has also paid its speakers in recent years. Musician John Legend earned $25,000 in 2011 for a 15-minute speech and the performance of two songs. In 2006, Kean paid filmmaker Spike Lee $25,000 for a 10-minute graduation address (that's $150,000 per hour).

New Jersey colleges seem to want to give away over two years of tuition for a typical undergraduate student so as to have a "Big Name" commencement speaker? I think this shows the height of  arrogance and total disregard for the students who struggle to pay the exorbitant tuitions and fees these school demand.

*Should such donations be used to line the pockets of "Big Name" fifteen minute speakers? I certainly think it would be better used to help lower tuition costs if even just an iota! They say that university foundations pay the speaker fees?  Does that mean that when I get phone calls for contributions to Rutger's Foundations I  was being asked to contribute to this pompous folly.? I had no idea that might be the case!

Had I known I surely would not have contributed as I have done over the past fifteen years. The next time I am called I will be sure to ask if any of my money will be eligible for the "Big Name" speaker program? If  the answer is "yes" - I will just simply hang up the phone!

Pensions & Patronage - "Perfect Together"

Does anyone actually believe that New Jersey politicians would ever even think of "reforming" their "patronage bottomless well"?

If you believe that you probably believe the "Mastro Report" too -                      

"The Governor's" million dollar excuse note that we bought for him!

PS

Again, more fiddling with the New Jersey Public Employee's Pensions! The people in Trenton seem to think that the Pension Plan is the State's asset. In reality it should be viewed as an asset of the employees who have faithfully contributed to it year in and year out for decades.

Maybe if we changed the name to the Public Employees of New Jersey Escrow Account (PEBIA for short - everybody likes acronyms) it would make it clearer as to who owns those funds. 

Now the plan to balance the New Jersey State budget is to put off the legally required pension payment for this fiscal year until July (the "pension reform" law which was so greatly heralded by "The Governor" requires it to be funded during the current fiscal year - before the end of June). Paying the bill in July will simply put it in next year's budget and hopefully avoid another credit rating reduction by Fitch and S&P. (There had been five already under "The Governor's" leadership!

Here's we go again - more Pension Fund tomfoolery. The next cry from Trenton will be a plan of "pension re-reform" when they decide not to make the legally required payments once again during the next fiscal year! Pretty soon the pension with be reformed out of business! It's only a matter of time!!

"Big Name Speaker" How About "Big Price Tag Speaker"!

I was elated to see that Ms. Rice was not "hired" as the commencement speaker not because of her political affiliations but because of the exorbitant  fee she was to be paid for a fifteen minute banter. For me, "freedom of speech" was irrelevant and besides this speech was certainly not to be free.
Thankfully, Governor Kean has replaced her as commencement speaker. Governor Kean not only has significantly more prestige he is speaking for FREE and he will not be paid the equivalent of an RU student's two years of in state tuition to do so.
As I read the paper regarding Ms. Rice's replacement as RU's commencement speaker I happened to also read the Letter to the Editor shown here.
It was disheartening!
Disheartening because I have always considered RU to be a fine school which produces intelligent and clearly thinking graduates.
Mr. Stevens the writer of this letter who claims to have been graduated from RU certainly does not appear to live up to those standards I have come to expect.
Firstly, Condoleeza Rice- a "big name speaker"? Well maybe a "big price tag speaker" - yes!
Secondly, "Travis Smiley - Who?" truly demonstrates his ignorance.  Well I guess Mr. Stevens has been spending most of his time watching sitcoms or the Cartoon Channel.
Smiley is a nightly talk show host on PBS following Charlie Rose. He has interviewed hundreds of well known artists, writers, musicians, politicians, etc.
It is unfortunate that Mr. Stevens identified himself as an RU graduate thereby contaminating the reputations of the thousands of well informed and bright RU graduates.
If hearing fifteen minutes of banter from Ms. Rice would make that day "one of the best days" of one's life these graduates certainly shouldn't expect very many good days ahead of them!
Lastly, most disheartening  of all, is much of the public may have opinions similar to those of Mr. Stevens!
PS
I have added some info about Smiley who has risen from obscurity to a position of prominence and success on his own steam (and without killing and torturing people)  - just in case you're interested.

Tavis Smiley (born September 13, 1964) is an American talk show host, author, liberal political commentator, entrepreneur, advocate and philanthropist. Tavis Smiley was born in Gulfport, Mississippi, the son of Joyce Marie Roberts, a single mother who first became pregnant at age 18

In 1982, Smiley enrolled in Indiana University Bloomington (IU). Because Smiley's parents refused to complete financial aid papers, Smiley entered Indiana University with only $50 and a small suitcase.[18] Administrators let Smiley complete the paperwork to become a full-time student. Smiley moderated two live presidential candidate forums in 2007: a Democratic forum on June 28 at Howard University in Washington, D.C.,[43] and a Republican forum on September 27 at Morgan State University in Baltimore. In 1999, he founded the Tavis Smiley Foundation, which funds programs that develop young leaders in the community. Since its inception, more than 6,500 young people have participated in the foundation's Youth to Leaders Training workshops and conferences. On December 12, 2008, Smiley received the Du Bois Medal from Harvard University's W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research. Smiley was named No. 2 change agent in the field of media behind Oprah Winfrey in EBONY Magazine's POWER 150 list. In 2014, Smiley is set to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, honoring his contributions to television.[53] As of date, Smiley has received 16 honorary doctorates.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tavis_Smiley

Defining "Charter"

I looked up the definition of "charter" and found many. Definition number seven at "World English Dictionary" I think was most befitting for describing Charter Schools -
7. a law, policy, or decision containing a loophole which allows a specified group to engage more easily in an activity considered undesirable
Read below and you will understand why this definition is most apt!

Charter schools in Camden aren't just draining students - they're draining money, close to $66 million worth in 2013-14, compared with just just $52 million the year before. Next year, Camden has budgeted $72 million to transfer to charters. There's your $75 million shortfall. - See more at: http://thecontributor.com/how-charter-schools-are-strip-mining-one-nj-school-district#sthash.ltC8aekW.dpuf

• While Gov. Chris Christie rails about the pay of public school superintendents, top employees at these schools live in another world, spared from his rancor. Nineteen directors were paid the maximum allowed salary — $225,734 — to oversee schools with anywhere from 30 to 327 students a day. And 52 people at these schools took home more than $175,000, the most superintendents are allowed to earn in public schools with up to 10,000 students.

• About a third of the schools did business with companies owned or controlled by the same people who run the schools, or their relatives or associates, oftentimes at a higher cost than other schools pay. The deals ran the gamut from real estate to bus rentals to food.

• Nearly one-fifth of schools had instances of nepotism. One school had four related directors, three of whom earned the maximum $225,734. Another employed a part-time classroom aide related to the director who earned $94,000 in 2013, three times other aides’ salaries.

• Three dozen schools offered generous pension plans paid for by the public but requiring no contributions by employees, in stark contrast to public school teachers and administrators’ plans. At one school, a former official collected retiree health benefits after she served time for ripping off taxpayers.

• Twenty-two cars — including two BMWs, a Land Rover, three Lexus and two Mercedes — were charged in part to taxpayers despite being used for personal transportation by officials. School disclosure reports show many cars were kept at officials’ homes.

"Free Speech" - I Don't Think So!

"Her grandfather was a sharecropper" - my grandfather was in the Prussian Army -  "So what ??"

Ms. Rice is to be paid $35,000 plus expenses for this commencement address!
Does that sound like "free speech"?
And who is paying - RU students with tuition and fee costs that have risen almost 100% during the past decade (much paid with student loans).
Couldn't they find someone to give the address for free and award an honorary degree to that person as compensation?
How about Cory Booker?

Oh - wait a minute - I almost forgot!
He gave a commencement address at The College of New Jersey a year or two ago and charged $10,000 !
Well but at least he's cheaper -
Oh -wait a minute again - now that he's Senator Booker maybe he wouldn't be that cheap after all?
Maybe we could go with "The Governor"?
He's always talking about containing costs and saving taxpayer's money (unless it's being handed out to lawyers)!
I bet he would do it (if there was a free meal involved)!

Saying It Like It Is - I Don't Think So!

Some other common euphemisms:

* Tenure reform - tenure elimination
* Pension reform - reneging on promises given to retirees (for over fifty years) by the State and raising pension and medical insurance costs to current employees
* Education reform - the State dictating what is taught, when it is taught and how it is taught
* Accountability - evaluating teachers based on student test results and observations many of which are made by people with no knowledge of the subject matter
* Core Curriculum Standards - a plan which allows government to tell schools what to teach, how to teach and when to teach it
* Charter School - a private school funded by the State many of which are run by politically connected cronies with large salaries and benefits
* Education experts - those who claim to know everything about public education even though they have had little or no first hand experience but are highly experienced in BS!

I am sure you have many more! Send them in!

Find Me a Millstone and a Pit !

         The lack of integrity on the part of “The Governor” is astonishing!!But his deceitfulness isn’t!
 He signs a bill to “reform” the pension plan and praises it far and wide as a major accomplishment and now wants to renege on its primary component – funding the pension!
       I can’t believe that this wasn’t his intent right from the get go. By agreeing to fund the pension as he did he was merely using it to get “his foot in the door” on his way to eliminating tenure and privatizing public education. And believe me folks tenure has not been “reformed” it has been eliminated! If teachers can now be fired without tenure charges being filed and a hearing but merely on the basis of two consecutive “poor evaluations”; how can this be considered a tenure system?

        Now we see “The Governor” decrying his $10M cut to cancer research and blaming it on pension costs to which he himself agreed! He not only agreed he extolled himself as being the first governor in years who pledged to make full payments. 

In order to get public sympathy for his reneging on his promise (and now a law) he is citing it to be the causative factor for cuts to cancer research. The whole thing is kind of like drowning a puppy and then saying ‘It really wasn’t my fault– the Devil made me do it!’

      If he wanted to point the finger at factors that forced him to make those cuts might he have chosen some of these instead?

- Special election costs of $12M designed to serve his political aspirations

- A botched Fed Ed grant of  $400M which he then blamed on Schindler and then fired him as a sacrificial lamb for his own poor oversight

- Bridgegate legal expenses $1M+ paid to his pal Mistro to write him an excuse.

- Nineteen directors at charter schools who were paid the maximum allowed salary — $225,734 — to oversee schools with anywhere from 30 to 327 students a day. And 52 people at these schools took home more than $175,000, the most superintendents are allowed to earn in public schools with up to 10,000 students.

- Corporations which (or should I say ‘who’ because as we all now know – corporations are people!) received over $2.6 billion in wasteful corporate tax breaks.

- Pension double dipping by cronies

- Politicians collecting pensions while still working the same job

- The myriad of companies supplying testing services to the State (about $23M worth last year)

- The companies supplying teaching programs and schemes to public schools

     But then again why should I expect “The Governor” to suggest any of these reasons as a basis for cutting cancer research? Any of them might help to expose the man behind the curtain as the hypocrite he is!

P.S.

Since we have just celebrated Easter let me add that which Christ said about hypocrites-

“It better be that  millstones be tied around their necks and they be thrown into a pit where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth”

Can anybody tell me where can I get a millstone and pit?

"The Governor's" Silence is Golden - For Lawyers That is!!

"The Governor"  (as he likes to call himself) finds it easy to decry spending when it comes to the salaries, benefits and pensions of public employees.

But why have we heard no outcry from him regarding taxpayer spending on legal costs? 

*(Please see the excerpt from the 2013 NJ Comptroller's Report below)

Why does he not propose a cap on the fees charged to the State by law firms?

His lack of comment on this issue speaks volumes about his hypocrisy!

Bunny Tails (+playlist)

Paid College Athletes - But Who's Paying??

The current controversy is now whether college athletes should be paid. The NCAA of course opposes this while many others laud it’s coming to pass.

Now I think we need an objective look at the situation. A starting point might be the question as to why colleges and universities need or even should have “big time” athletics.  A second question might be – what purpose do athletics serve at colleges and universities and what purpose should they serve?

A constant cry from those supporting “big time” college athletics is that they bring revenue to the school primarily from bowl games and the alumni. Does the amount of revenue received exceed the expenditures? Well in some cases yes and in many other cases no!

If the revenues received are so vast then shouldn’t the tuition rates at “big time” sports institutions be exceedingly low because of the dollars flowing into them via the sports programs? Looking   at the chart below, I noticed that Penn State for example receives millions of dollars from their sports programs yet the in-state tuition is one of the highest in the nation? The same seems to be true at other institutions with high caliber sports programs.

Let’s pretend that rules are instituted that call for the paying of college athletes- who will do the paying? Will it be the NCAA? I doubt it since this could severely impact the lucrative salaries of its executives

Will it be the NFL or NBA?  They have had the advantage of no cost “farm teams” at the expense of college and university students for decades. I am sure they would sorely object to begin paying for these programs. They never have and I don’t think they would be about to start!

Well, then whose left? It looks like tuition paying students and state taxpayers.

Getting back to the actual purpose of college sports, I always thought that it was a mechanism to allow young people to participate and learn the lessons of competition and healthful exercise during their college years. Instead the purpose at many institutions has become the grooming of players (most notably in football and basketball) for professional sports careers (or at least for an attempt at a professional sports career).

In conclusion I believe the only way to justifiably begin to pay college athletes is to require the NFL and the NBA to sponsor the “big time” teams and contribute to the programs as they should have been doing all along!  Adding to this logic is the fact that not only are these organizations getting free “farm teams” from the tuition and fee costs of college students they are also registered as “non profits” which gives them a significant tax break on top of it. Allowing college athletes to be paid without the aforementioned changes to the system would just be another scam foisted on the public.

******************

According to the College Board, the average cost of tuition and fees for the 2013-2014 school year was $30,094 at private colleges, $8,893 for state residents at public colleges, and $22,203 for out-of-state residents attending public universities.

Many of these school list large financial aid packages but – “Financial aid packages typically consist of several components that make up the entire financial aid award. Often, the financial aid package will include components with obligations, such as repayment, that the student and/or student’s family will need to fulfill. Understanding these individual components will help you understand which financial aid package (if you are comparing multiple options) provides the best benefit for you. The most common types of financial aid are grants, scholarships, loans, and work-study. Certain states also offer their own particular financial aid programs.”

 Some “big time” college tuitions – out of state / in state 

(* higher in state tuition than average) p= private

Boston College  $43,878 p

Duke University $43,623 p

University of Notre Dame $42,971 p

Stanford University   $42,225 p

University of Miami        $41,220 p

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor $40,392/ $12,994 *

St. John's University - New York $36,450 p

UCLA     $35,570/ $12,692 *

Syracuse University        $36,300 p

Boston College  $43,878 p

Duke University                $43,623 p

Clemson University         $30,004/ $13,076 *

Penn State          $28,746/ $16,444 *

Indiana University - Bloomington              $31,483/ $10,033 *

University of Georgia     $28,052/ $9842 *

UConn - Stamford           $27,190/ $9358 *

University of Iowa           $26,279/ $8057

University of South Carolina $27,644/ $10,488 *

"Educational Experts" are Succeeding Again ! (In Reaping Rewards for Failure)

The State has run Newark, Paterson and Jersey City schools since 1995, 1991 and 1989 respectively.

It's hard to believe, that all the "education experts" in Trenton cannot concoct not even one scheme to miraculously improve these schools after over twenty years of effort!

The lack of success in these districts tells me one of the reasons why the DOE is currently handing out reams of dictates,standards and teacher evaluation criteria to all New Jersey schools. This is designed to draw attention away from the State's failures in these state controlled districts. 

Of course another reason for the constant attack is to exact retribution against teacher's unions for not having supported "The Governor" (as he likes to call himself) and his cohorts.

Additionally, all these demands continually placed on New Jersey schools allows corporations which supply the ingredients for their implementation to extract huge amounts of money from state and local coffers. Also, the constant testing and "reforms" are being used to sully the reputation of public education so as to help bolster public support for eventually driving the entire system into private corporate hands

Thank You Sir! May I Please Have Another!

It Ain't Me !