I had gotten an alert about a bond sale in Indianapolis
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Category / Department of Education
Graph: Insane College Tuition Inflation
Photo via Carpe Diem Blog
Teacher Faces Fine For Handing Out Candy
Photo courtesy of barrjoneslegal.com
Kids at an West Virginia school are learning an economics lesson about their government by witnessing Continue reading →
Graduation Gift Economy: Cash Is King
Graduation season is upon us and
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Industrial Food Stamp Complex
Milton Friedman once said, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch” and the Government Accountability Office is proving this to be true. The GAO is reporting the federal government last year spent $100 Billion in food assistance programs. Giving people money to get food is now a big Continue reading →
Teens Getting Driver’s License Declining
I was running some errands this morning and caught Glenn Beck on the radio. He was discussing some societal trends that related to economics and brought up the fact that 19 year old people are declining in getting their drivers license. Here is what he said:
Nineteen year old people getting driver licenses has declined to 65%. Down from 93% just ten years ago.
This is a big drop so I decided to look up this decline and found the Washington Post wrote about it in 2013. Here’s what they found:
Back in 1983, about 87 percent of 19-year-olds had drivers’ licenses. But in 2010, only 69.5 percent did.
They also cited reasons in a survey of why they didn’t obtain the license and here is the breakdown:
—37 percent said they were either too busy or didn’t have the time to get a license.
—32 percent said that owning and maintaining a vehicle was just too expensive.
—31 percent said they could hitch a ride with someone else if needed.
—22 percent said they’d rather walk or bike.
—17 percent said they’d rather use public transportation.
—9 percent said they were worried about driving’s effects on the environment.
—8 percent said they could work or communicate online.
—7 percent cited disability or medical problems as their main reason.
How the State of Indiana Budget is Spent
H/T BallotPedia.org
More Proof Student Loan Debt Will Crash in the Future
Robert Wenzel over at EconomicPolicyJournal.com posted two impressive charts which defy the reality of economics and shows the coming student loan debt bubble will be a hard crash when it happens. Biggest reason student debt is skyrocketing is because most student loans are financed by the federal government. Unfortunately the only ideas being floated is more government intervention.
First chart is the mega growth of student loans compared to other loans in the economy
Another chart he posted shows that only 29% of people paying off student debts and the principle is going down.
Visual of the Federal Government School Lunch Mandate Part 2
Back in November I posted a write up called “Visual of the Federal Government School Lunch Mandate”. I received A LOT of negative comments from people saying I didn’t know how the school lunch process works. One person even claimed I was a liar and I challenged that person to eat what the school lunch program suggested. Person hasn’t talked to me since. Problem with some people today is they don’t grasp how fast social media can tell the truth. A picture can be sent out and in the matter of minutes the entire U.S. can view it.
Now another picture has been sent out of what a lunch looks like under the federal government mandate. It’s not pretty. You can read the whole article here at EagNews.org. I’ll give you a brief snippet:
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PORTSMOUTH, Va. – That’s not really a fish filet with a whole wheat bun resting on top.
Nah, your eyes are playing tricks on you.
That’s what administrators at Virginia’s Portsmouth Public Schools want parents to believe after a mother took a photo of her child’s paltry school lunch and posted it on social media.
The mom says James Hurst Elementary served the lunch Tuesday.
After the photo began circulating around the community, Food Service Coordinator Jim Gehlhoff admitted the lunch “concerns us,” but added that it might not actually be as bad as it looks.
portsmouth-lunch“Poor lighting and food presentation make this lunch unappealing,” he said in a statement released to the media.
Inflation Alert: College Textbooks
Recent data compiled is showing college textbooks are rising at a double digit rate. The National Association of College Stores has price comparisons on new textbooks college students buy.
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Average Price of New Books
2007: $56
2015: $72
Price increase of 22%
Here are some other stats concerning college students and textbooks
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Average student spending for a semester of course materials
$509
Average college bookstore profit margin for a new book
21.1%
Percent of students who buy their books at their college bookstore
47%
Percent of students who say they have skipped buying a textbook because it was too expensive
65%
Hoosier Econ 