Thank you.
"State lags on student grants; Limiting access for low-income" by Peter Schworm, Globe Staff | July 13, 2008
Massachusetts, a higher education hub known for its wealth of universities, is far stingier than most other large states in awarding financial aid to college students, a shortfall that many educators say is limiting college access for low-income and minority families.
The escalating cost of attending Massachusetts colleges - both public and private - makes the funding shortage more acute. Nationally, state grant aid covers about 19 percent of college costs; in Massachusetts, it covers less than 5 percent. For example, students who qualify for the state's main grant program, which assists low-income residents, receive an average of about $780 - a sum they say does not even pay for their textbooks.
State Senator Robert O'Leary, chairman of the Joint Committee on Higher Education:
"There's simply not enough money in the system. It just hasn't kept pace with the growth in costs and the increasing number of students who need financial aid. Every year, we're losing ground."
Massachusetts has traditionally spent relatively little on financial aid, educators say, relying on the institutions, particularly deep-pocketed private colleges, to provide the bulk of tuition assistance. Because Massachusetts students are much more likely than their national peers to attend wealthier private universities, state lawmakers have long viewed financial aid as a secondary priority. During economic downturns, college assistance has been a frequent target of cutbacks. And in recent years, sharp increases in spending on K-12 education and healthcare have also crowded out increases, lawmakers said.
The state's program awards aid to universities and also directly to students, supplementing any money they may receive through federal grants and loans and, in a growing number of cases, private loans. A huge chunk - about 40 percent - goes to students attending pricier private universities in Massachusetts, according to the National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs.
The dearth of state aid leaves many students unable to cobble together the money they need. That has broad consequences, educators say. It often forces college students to take out more loans and work more hours during school, slowing or derailing their path to a degree. It is likely to prevent countless students from attending at all, hindering social mobility and the strength of the state's workforce, observers say.
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But we care so much about our kids, don't we?!
One wonders why we can't find a few dollars for the school kids considering the TRILLIONS in WAR MONEY, the BILL... awww, forget it!
And look at how poorly run this state is:
"Budget deadline is flying under citizens' radar; Patrick set to ink document but few may notice" by Megan Woolhouse, Globe Staff | July 13, 2008
Yeah, thanks MSM!
Thanks for hiding more stuff we need to know about.
Today at 4:15 p.m., Governor Deval Patrick is scheduled to undertake one of the most important duties of his office: signing the state's $28.2 billion budget. With the flourish of a pen, he can fund or veto hundreds of projects.
Michael MacDonald who lives in Hopkinton and yesterday was in South Boston helping his daughter move into a new condo.
MacDonald said he saw such an increase in his taxes this year that he looked at the state budget online to see where the money was going. He noted how many legislators have pet projects for their districts tucked into the budget, spending often referred to as "pork." MacDonald wondered whether Patrick would eliminate them.
One budget item calls for $200,000 to be disbursed to the Boston Symphony Orchestra for renovations at Tanglewood. There are many more. Halifax is slated to get $25,000 for its 275th July Fourth celebration next year, and $300,000 is scheduled to go to the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield.
But MacDonald said he doesn't imagine much in the way of political consequences if Patrick leaves the budget intact. He said he recently e-mailed several state politicians asking them to lower the state speed limit as a way to conserve gas. He got no response.
Yeah, that's what this state is like now.
Same as Congress; you call down there and all you get is silence, then a click!
Patrick signed into law this month two measures that will bring hundreds of millions in revenue to the state. On July 3 he signed a major corporate tax package that will prevent businesses from declaring some of their profits in states with more favorable tax rates. The budget also will rely on a $1-per-pack increase in the state's cigarette tax, which is expected to bring in $174 million and uses more than $500 million in reserve funds.
Also at stake in this year's budget is funding for Medicaid. The state has also been negotiating with federal officials over extending a Medicaid waiver that helps subsidize coverage for low-income residents. The waiver was scheduled to expire June 30, but federal officials have allowed for a two- to four-week extension for more negotiations. The state budget assumes the negotiations will come out in the state's favor; if they do not, it could create a budget gap of hundreds of millions of dollars.
Kyle Sullivan, a Patrick spokesman, said yesterday that Patrick met with Mike Leavitt, the US secretary of health and human services, to discuss the negotiations this weekend during his visit to Philadelphia for a national conference for governors.
The proposed budget has prompted some analysts such as Michael J. Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, to refer to the current budget as "very risky." For some yesterday, it seemed more like a nonevent.
Mary MacDonald, seated next to her husband at Amrheins bar yesterday, said she wanted Patrick to eliminate tolls on the Massachusetts Turnpike, something not addressed in the current budget:
"I'm upset about the tolls. It's always people from the western part of the state that end up paying."
I could NOT AGREE with YOU MORE, ma'am!!!!
But that's part of a separate budgeting system, said Sullivan, and is under the jurisdiction of the Turnpike Authority.
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"Open road tolling stalled, not installed" by Noah Bierman | July 13, 2008
A quiet decision by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority chief, Alan LeBovidge shut down a bidding process for new technology that would have enabled "open road tolling," a system that without tollbooths collects money from drivers traveling at highway speeds. The technology upgrades were also designed to let the authority charge drivers who do not have Fast Lane transponders, by recording their license plate numbers and mailing them bills.
Well, that is good! We don't need anymore police state!
LeBovidge said he rejected the bids because his heavily indebted agency could not afford to pay for the system.
Even without the upgrades, LeBovidge is planning to add more Fast Lane booths, which could encourage some drivers to switch to electronic payment. He also plans to buy new card dispensers, a technology from the 1960s, so the Turnpike Authority will not have to continue paying workers whose only job is handing out small pieces of cardboard indicating at which exit drivers entered the Mass. Pike.
The biggest problem will be money. The Turnpike Authority has none.
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But they can't fund the college kids education.
Sigh!
Please don't ever move to Massachusetts, folks.
This place if f*****!!!!
