<p>"The stimulus plan emerging in Washington could offer an unprecedented, multibillion-dollar boost in financial help for college students trying to pursue a degree while they ride out the recession."</p>
<p>WHO</a> GETS WHAT: Billions to colleges and students - Yahoo! News</p>
<p>Go to Inside Higher Education for a chart that compares Senate to House versions The</a> Senate Sheds Education Aid :: Inside Higher Ed :: Higher Education's Source for News, Views and Jobs</p>
<p>I'm glad that facilities money for colleges was cut; college have been obsessed with building new building and creating a country-club environment. But the roads and bridges to the school are falling down. Taxpayers don't get wide screen TV and in home gyms - but college studnets have been, on the taxpayer's nickle. Lets get back to basics. If students want taxpayers to foot the bill, they need to get back to the books and skip the fluff.</p>
<p>The same logic should be applied to the jail system. Why are they able to watch TV and work out at the taxpayers expense? Most of universities budget money comes from endowment and tuition fees anyway.</p>
<p>Toadstool, I agree. Some of that stuff is put in through private donations, but I'll bet a lot of it is not. Do schools really need to have climbing walls? Some have granite countertops in some of the powder rooms. I'd like that in the bathrooms in my home that require renovation.</p>
<p>toadstool - hah! what, do you think this money goes toward building up Harvard and Yale's campuses?! As if your local community college and small state schools have wide screen TVs and home gyms... more like a campus that is falling apart, subpar research and technological facilities (my local schools at least, I don't know about yours, maybe you live in a rich/generous-to-education state).</p>
<p>My college certainly doesn't have any of the luxuries toadstool was talking about...</p>
<p>All I ask is for the folks in Washington to focus on reducing the costs of tuition, textbooks, and dormitory. I don't give a damn about gyms/computers/buildings/new books/etc.</p>
<p>Billions sounds like a lot but how much per student is this going to give? I have heard that the PELL will be increased a bit, and the income threshhold raised a bit, but I haven't heard anything that will be benefitting the middle class.</p>
<p>cptofthehouse, I have not heard about a thing that reallyhelps the middle class pay for college in this stimulus bill. I only heard about Pell grants going up about $500 (guess that is per year) and they are touting it as the biggest increase ever, or something to that effect. Have politicians had a look at how much tuition goes up annually? It isn't by $500 per year at many state schools. I did read about a 2500 credit taking the place of the Hope tax credit temporarily. I have no idea as to what that might mean for my wallet, and how temporary it is. SUNYs just went up 2700 for OOS kids for next year anyway, so this would not do much more me if I sent my kid to a SUNY (which I probably won't at this point). I think that I can count myself lucky that he is not stuck paying those increases as freshman this year, and we can move on.</p>
<p>I think we have to remember that this is meant to be a stimulus bill--that is, it's purpose is to provide money to things that will increase jobs. </p>
<p>Increasing the financial aid to students/parents that are likely to pay the current/next year's cost of tuition at their chosen college would therefore not fall within the definition of "economic stimulus".</p>
<p>Yes, we are all going to have to "bite the bullet" and pay for the increases in tuition out of our already declining paychecks, but the hope is that providing jobs for those with no income (or likely to soon have none) is a preferable choice to cutting the pain for those of us with jobs--and is also likely to get our own companies back to a point of relative prosperity where we won't have to continue to take pay cuts.</p>
<p>P.S. Everyone remaining at my company (and layoffs have been over 30%) is taking a 10-15% pay cut--and my son's college will likely increase tuition at least 9% for OOS students (about a $2,300 a year increase) that we will need to pay--so I do understand your concern. But I do realize my family and I are much better off than those currently without a job.</p>
<p>Calcruzer, if you believe that this is a stimulus bill, then why are Pell grant increases included? BTW, this IMO, this is not entirely a stimulus package. I see it as a spending package, and a stimulus bill.</p>
<p>if they give you those grants, that frees up money that you would have been spending otherwise, to put into the economy.</p>
<p>fendergirl, of course. You are absolutely right. For those who also need to take on less debt, it keeps more money their wallets for spending. If a parent had no or less Plus Loans to take out, it gives them more freedom to spend on something else.</p>
<p>SUNY's raised the tuition for instate for this semester as well as for next year. So much for the PELL helping anyone here.</p>
<p>The government is spending to much money...thanks for ****ing over my generation.</p>
<p>^^^Soon it seems the US government will be crimpled from actually being able to do anything. I mean we STILL have to pay the interest on the national debt, has anyone thought about this? I am not an economic genius or anything, but my eco teacher said the largest portion of the national budget is towards the national debt.
This stimulus bill will probably do nothing, the thing Geithner is working on however seems really promising. I fear that when the stimulus has no effect though, that the solution in washington will be too spend more money. And the most problematic part is not that they are spending money, but that they are not spending it wisely.</p>
<p>To fendergirl, the logic behind what you say makes sense except for the fact that tuition increases yearly. That compounded with the increase in inflation that spending about 900 Billion dollars will have on the economic would make the marginal increase in available funds practically useless. Plus it is more common for people to save during a recession, which is not what needs to be done.
Tax cuts and spending for job creation should IMHO have been the only things that the bill was after. With that I bet you could decrease the overall cost and have a more direct impact on the economy.</p>
<p>i realize tuition increases yearly.. everything increases yearly.. but people are aware of that.. when a kid goes to college do you honestly expect tuition to be the same all 4 years.. no... logically speaking, giving extra money to spend on something else makes sense... now if people will save it since we're in a recession or spend it, who knows.. everyone is different.. i mean, i personally am spending money left and right unlike any other time in my life. if you have a secure job, this is a great time to be spending money... if you don't have a job, probably not so much a great time to be spending money... you know?</p>
<p>There are two forms of stimulus, one is for immediate jobs the other is for a retooling for a new economy, both are important and both need immediate attention. Having an educated workforce is critical to long term economic growth that is why Pell grants, tuition tax credits, etc. are important. Further, if an increase in Pell grants helps keep someone in school and from needing a full-time job it may help someone else get one.</p>
<p>I would argue that long term growth is more a focus when in ample economic times. Whereas now the short term is much more important, so a more efficient use of funds would be to spend on the short term to stimulate the economy. Then in a few years start to invest heavily in long term growth.</p>
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"if you have a secure job, this is a great time to be spending money... if you don't have a job, probably not so much a great time to be spending money... you know?"
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<p>This is another issue, those who recieve the benefits from pell grants probably populate jobs with the lowest job security so they are more likely to save. So an increase in the pell grant is probably not the best use of federal funds.
On a side note now that republicans are out of power it certainly seems easier to criticize than to lead. At least we have something to look forward to for four years. But in all honesty republicans are greatly to blame so the attacks are a little pointless now, but come 2010 I think Republicans can make a great case especially since ppl will likely forget about George Bush by then.</p>