Summertime

June is such a great month: Father's Day, the summer solstice, graduations, and vacations. Hope you have plenty to celebrate!

I am proud to share with you that, later this month, I will be receiving "Communicator of the Year" from IABC/LI. It has been my privilege to serve as chapter president for this international group. I have served with a Board of Directors that, while small, was energetic, sincere, and successful in keeping the chapter running. It was a challenge, and could not have been accomplished without them. Next year's Board is just as terrific, and I am looking forward to working with them.

The American Brand 

Niall Ferguson recently appeared on a PBS show in which he gave six reasons why the West has dominated the world economically and culturally for the past several hundred years. His six "killer apps" for accomplishing and sustaining this domination are:

• Competition
• Science
• Medicine
• Democracy
• Consumerism
• Work ethic

An Investment or An Expense?

With Memorial Day just observed, and the marking of the 68th anniversary of D-Day this month, I have been thinking of what a boon the GI Bill was: how many people were able to achieve a college education and how much they contributed to our economy and society. Compare that with our attitudes and practices regarding higher education today. So it begs the question: is higher education an investment in our collective future--both economically and culturally--or is it an expense to be borne by individuals and families for their own benefit?

Sadly, it seems to be the latter, these days. In a recent study of the process of college selection, financing higher education emerged as one of the most important factors in selecting a school. Examples were cited in which good students were accepted at Ivy League schools but chose other universities because of better financial offers. With private colleges charging upwards of $50,000-$60,000 per year, students must have either wealthy parents, the ability to obtain scholarships and grants, or the willingness to assume substantial debt just for their undergraduate educations. The implications for our economy and society are huge. 

• About two out of three students graduating with a Bachelor's degree leave school in debt, an average of $23,000.*
• Nearly all of those graduating from private for-profit schools (96%) leave school with debt--$32,900 on average.*
• About 6% of students who earn a 4-year degree and graduate with debt default on that debt.**
• In private for-profit colleges, the default rate goes up to nearly 25%.** 
• Loan defaults are even more common among students aiming for a 2-year degree or Certificate program.**

Sixty years ago, when veterans returned from World War II, the country was so grateful for their service that it offered to send anyone to college who wanted to go, under the GI Bill. Of course, back then, college didn't cost what it does now--even at State and Municipally supported colleges. For example, Brooklyn College was, essentially, free, except for books and some lab fees. Private colleges cost a fraction of what they do today, even in equivalent dollars. Nevertheless, lots of people thought this was tantamount to welfare. The net result of this government largesse was (a) keeping thousands of people out of the workforce until it could retool to a peacetime economy, thereby insuring stability and avoiding a return to Depression Era breadlines; and (b) the infusion of trained engineers, businesspeople, doctors, teachers, and lawyers who would fuel an economic boom the likes of which the world had never seen--and may not ever see again.

An old saying goes: "Give a man a fish and he can eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he can feed himself for the rest of his life." The first part really is the equivalent of welfare, which most people (including those who have been on welfare) believe does not work. It breeds dependency, a lack of self-confidence, and social instability. Investing in education does exactly the opposite. So why is Congress trying to limit aid to education? What do we, as a society have to gain by restricting access to education? Not much.

* www.finaid.org/loans

**"Default Rates by Institution Level and Degree Program," Mark Kantrowitz, July 15, 2010.