In recent years, the for-profit college industry — which runs veritable “subprime schools” which get billions of dollars from Uncle Sam and then deliver low-quality education while loading students up with debt  — has come under increasing scrutiny. As a result, it has ramped up its lobbying operations in Washington, D.C. Earlier this week, I
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The for-profit college industry  — which runs what some would refer to as “subprime schools” — is facing more and more scrutiny for its abusive practices that leave students drowning in debt and taxpayers on the hook for paying for worthless degrees. That’s why it’s ramping up its lobbying in Washington, demanding that the federal government continue
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As we head into an election year, we’re going to increasingly hear that Democrats and Republicans fight like cats and dogs, that there is a civil war in Washington. This describes the state of play on some issues, but on others there is bipartisan agreement to do the wrong thing: Both parties do what the money
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It’s not just NASCAR.  Mitt Romney’s “great friends” tend to be owners of things, owners who can make large contributions to his campaign and associated Super PAC. Large donations are troublesome because they suggest the donor will have outsized influence on the politician if elected. It’s more troublesome when these great friends own businesses that
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On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives, by a vote of 303-114, passed a bill to block Department of Education rules that would help hold for-profit colleges accountable for abusing students and taxpayers.  The vote represented another effort by the House, under the sway of campaign contributions and intense lobbying from the wealthy for-profit college industry, to
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Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) just released new Defense Department data showing that the troubled for-profit college sector — which has left many American deep in debt — received half of all military Tuition Assistance dollars last year — $280 million out of $563 million for college grants for active duty military.  During their decade of explosive
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As Ricksanity intensifies, Mitt Romney’s upstart challenger, Rick Santorum, appears ready to compete on yet another plane. Call it the For-Profit College Primary, with no delegates but lots of campaign cash up for grabs. Romney certainly has staked his claim to be the For-Profit Education President. He has gushed on the campaign trail about for-profit
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Former President George W. Bush will speak at the annual meeting of APSCU, the leading association of for-profit colleges, on June 22 at the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Bush is an appropriate speaker, in a sense, because his Administration’s deliberate actions made it easier for bad actors among for-profit schools to
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