Texas Governor Rick Perry’s has had a tough go with higher education. Costs to attend the state’s college have shot past the support the state provides to students. State community colleges, for example, are 90 percent more expensive since 2000 while, over the same period, government spending increased only 23 percent. The disparity is even […]
Sam Petulla
Sam Petulla is a writer based in Washington, DC. His writing has appeared in Wired, Inside Higher Ed, and at the Nieman Journalism Lab's Web site.Follow @spetulla
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For Whom the Pell Tolls
The Hill reports that Pell Grants have become a sticking point between the freshman GOP and John Boehner for the passage of his debt-ceiling compromise plan. Representative Denny Rehberg described the right’s grievances with the program on a talk show in April: “So you can go to college on Pell Grants — maybe I should […]
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The Future of Low-income Students
Yesterday, a number of groups, including Campus Progress and The Education Trust, came together for “Save Pell Day.” The reason? Pell’s in trouble. The budget passed by the House earlier this year reduced the maximum grant by 45 percent, kicking about 1.5 million students out of the program. Representative Paul Ryan’s proposal for next year […]
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Did We Create a Monster?
Does the federal government need to regulate enrollment in Women’s Studies programs based on how their graduates fare in the job market? What about Chinese Literature? Religious Studies? Last week’s announcement of new rules to bear down on career colleges like the University of Phoenix, which offer degrees in programs like Health Administration and Criminal […]
Posted inEducation in America
Pass Without Distinction
The Department of Education cracks down on the worst for-profit scams,
but lets those that are just “bad” off easy.
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Haiti’s Post-Election Unrest
TAP talks with a foreign-affairs expert about the protests in Haiti following disputed election results.
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Some Citizens United Numbers.
As TAP has documented, this election season has seen more than its share of organizations buying expensive airtime to run ads in favor of candidates and issues. Here’s a breakdown of spending by 501(c)s — organizations with Orwellian names like “Americans for Prosperity” that can take unlimited contributions from anonymous, private donors — in key […]
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The Lowdown on Election Spending
TAP talks to Sheila Krumholz about the real effects of the Citizens United decision on the midterms.
Posted inArticle
Unequal Politics
TAP talks with Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson about their new book on income disparity and how Washington has abandoned the middle class.
Posted inArticle
Lightning Round: The Senate Is Not Full of Lady Gaga Fans.
In a dismaying reminder of the poor state of government, Senate Democrats came up short of the 60 votes necessary to proceed on a defense spending bill that included an amendment repealing DADT. Greg Sargent says GOP obstructionism works as a tactic, exposing Dems to the charge that they’re not trying hard enough, possibly hurting […]
