In a recent story on Frontline entitled, "College Inc.," correspondent Martin Smith interviews for-profit ilk (particularly a so-called "Christian" named Michael Clifford) about their soaring profits and how great their schools are for populations who previously had no access to such great and . . . uh (ahem) PHONY and WORTHLESS paper degrees. (Blame a Ph.D. from Cambridge for unleashing this "market" in the U.S. of for-profits, who was none other than the founder of the highly hailed and fully federally funded Universities of Phoenix. Conveniently located at every highway stop every 20 minutes. But I digress).
Moreover, Sec. Arne Duncan was interviewed by Mr. Smith in a few segments. Of course, Frontline showed some students who were deeply in debt with basically worthless degrees to show for it, after which Frontline confronted the proprietaries' lobbyist, Harris Miller. Miller immediately said that if the allegations were true, the Department could cancel the debt. Frontline then immediately switched to Sec. Arne Duncan, who seemed totally unfamiliar with his own powers, and denied that he could do anything about it. Yikes! Waa? Is he not aware of what he could be doing for students? Because if he were, I am pretty sure he'd be a huge hero, as would his boss, Pres. Obama.
So, was the gaffe that of Harris Miller's, for suggesting that taxpayers should bear the burden of unscrupulous schools and lenders? Yeah, that's a shameful position, but I am to believe that Miller is right in terms of the law, i.e. the Secretary has powers to act. If I were the Secretary, you better believe I'd be stripping these schools of their accreditation, so that taxpayers weren't subsidizing for-profit ventures.
Here's a quick list that the Sec., and his staffers with whom I've been in touch, may benefit from reading:
So, was the gaffe that of Harris Miller's, for suggesting that taxpayers should bear the burden of unscrupulous schools and lenders? Yeah, that's a shameful position, but I am to believe that Miller is right in terms of the law, i.e. the Secretary has powers to act. If I were the Secretary, you better believe I'd be stripping these schools of their accreditation, so that taxpayers weren't subsidizing for-profit ventures.
Here's a quick list that the Sec., and his staffers with whom I've been in touch, may benefit from reading:
1) The Secretary can discipline schools, lenders, guaranty agencies, and even discharge loans in response to certain situations.
2) If the Secretary does not think current regulations are adequate, he can issue emergency regulations to protect consumers.
Since Sec. Duncan admitted to needing to do better, here are some questions I have for him: what has he done in his year in office? How many schools, lenders, guaranty agencies has he disciplined in any way? Has he even explored the possibility of canceling borrowers' debts for school or lender fraud?
If he has done any of this, it's news to me. Trust me, if it's been done, I'd be the first to let ya'll know and praise Sec. Duncan!
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