Political Equinox

Last week Republican Governor Mitch Daniels proposed privatizing the state lottery to pay for his proposed Hoosier College Promise scholarship program. The program offers Indiana residents two years free tution at Ivy Tech Community College or $6,000 to attend another college. Of course, we can’t afford to give this offer to everyone so the program will only be available to those who earn less than $60,000. Sounds great, right?

I’m all for helping people who are on the lower rung of the economic spectrum get ahead and become highly successful individuals (not saying success is measured by an income lesser or greater than $60,000, but I think you get my point). However, Daniels program of privatizing the lottery to pay for …

Tags: educational savings, financial, governor mitch daniels, hoosier, ivy tech community college, Middle Class, money, promise scholarship, republican, republican governor, scholarship program, state lottery, tution

Presumptive nominee Barack Obama promises a windfall profits tax on American Oil companies. He claims this will force them to bring jobs back overseas and that the proposed tax will help the middle class, but Obama seems to be missing a major point in the situation.

Like many companies in America, a majority of these companies are traded on a stock exchange, whether that be AMEX, NYSE, or NASDAQ. Therefore, when these publicly traded corporations make a profit, those profits head to the shareholders in the form of dividends. And when they don’t get dividends, the value of the company often rises which gives the shareholder an increased value for their shares. (Sorry to go through the stock market tutorial, but …

Tags: America, Barack Obama, Gas, IRS, Middle Class, obama, Oil, president, taxes

The Issue: In today’s New York Times there was an interesting article regarding Harvard University’s change in the way they distribute financial aid. They have decided to “…expand financial aid to students from families earning as much as $180,000 a year” which would include many middle and upper middle class families. Harvard, as a leader in financial aid practices, has already inspired other institutions to follow their lead. Some believe this is fortunate for the US postsecondary system, as it would expand financial access to elite private institutions, not just to the wealthiest and to the poorest that already receive significant “need based” financial aid.

Many colleges and universities feel they would not be able to provide that much financial …

Tags: financial, income tax, Middle Class, New York Times, tution