Obama's main man Rahm Emanuel hinted at a big announcement that's coming from the administration soon to get 5 million extra students through community college in the next 10 years. Mainly the new funding will go toward vocational programs, likely through the reauth of the Workforce Reinvestment Act.

Obama's...

Generally, I think my fellow Yahoo! Finance Expert gives pretty solid financial advice. Sure, she's compromised somewhat by her endorsements like MyFICO.com, but she seems to genuinely care about helping people, the opposite of an irresponsible stock hustler like Jim Cramer.

However, after reading her profile in the...

(crossposted from FastCompany.com )

MyRichUncle was an intriguing startup student loan company with an innovative, white-knight approach when I wrote about them in the 2006 Fast Company 50.

When I talked to them, the two 20something founders seemed cocky, but sincere. They believed they could bypass the...

One day soon most Americans won't be able to afford college educations.

According to a new report from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education:

"Published college tuition and fees increased 439 percent from 1982 to 2007, adjusted for inflation, while median family income rose...

The new president's first task is to control expectations for his many supporters, especially among the millions of young people who turned out for him in record numbers.

No, President-Elect Obama won't fix the economy overnight. And you are not getting a jetpack.

Among his likely policy proposals,...

Last night was a truly novel experience.

I was in a bar full of young people cheering, screaming, clapping and crying over our new president. My heart swelled with brand-new emotions -- political emotions of pride, inspiration, patriotism and hope. I was in tears throughout his acceptance speech.

Who...

Bob Herbert in the NYT today:

"The landscape is changing before our eyes. Younger voters struggling with the enormous costs of a college education, or trying to raise families in a bleak employment environment, or using their credit cards to cover everyday expenses like food or energy costs...

Last night I went to the following event (video here):

On Thursday, April 24, the Museum of American Finance (did you know there was one?) will host a panel discussion entitled "Finance, Energy & the Environment: Changing Markets & Opportunities to explore the sources of power that will...

Yesterday we drove upstate to go rock climbing and stopped in the usual awesome little bakery in New Paltz to get our sandwiches. A little sign on the counter warned customers that the price of flour, which was $8 a bag just a couple of years ago, had gone up...

Ever since Generation Debt came out in 2006 I have been very lucky to be able to occasionally comment on TV and radio on generational and economic issues. I respect what broadcasters do. Broadcast communication requires special skills of confidence, improvisation, and wit -- it's a tough job.

Yet...

Last Wednesday a big student aid bill passed in the House, with cuts in student loan interest rates, big boosts to the Pell Grant, fair payment assurance for those who get stuck under a wad of debt with low incomes, and much more--all paid for with $19 billion in...

On Wednesday the students of Maine won an amazing victory. Opportunity Maine is a citizen ballot initiative that will provide a tax credit to all graduates of Maine colleges to offset their student loan repayment for each year they stay in the state. Employers can also take the tax...

Even big corporate lobbyists sometimes forget to use BCC.

The following email answers the question: "If you're a DC-based bank lobbyist trying to stop reform to student lender subsidies, who's on your email list?" Well, if you're Terry Muilenburg, former Senate staffer and lobbyist for Sallie Mae subsidiary...

Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings' testimony before the House Committee on Education and Labor about the scandal-eaten student loan program followed the Bush administration official template: Complain about how hard your job is, Obfuscate and Deny.
In her case, she insisted that the Department of Ed was...

In continuing coverage of the mess that is our federal student aid system, the NYT today ran a story about the private sector's often below-the-belt tactics competing with the less costly direct loan program.

"The companies have offered money to universities to pull out of...

The New America Foundation has a roundup of the widening investigation into corrupt relationships between colleges and Student Loan Xpress. Johns Hopkins, Widener in Pennsylvania, and the for-profit Capella University are three more names on that list. The Times today focuses on the way that Student Loan Xpress...

The New America Foundation first reported that Matteo Fontana sold over $100K of Student Loan Xpress stock while he was overseeing lenders at the Department of Education. This story made it to the Times today.

What none of the stories mention is that before he became a...

New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has got the student loan industry running scared by pointing out an open secret: Student lenders pay various kickbacks to financial aid offices to drive business their way, rather than negotiate the best deals for students. With barely a few letters...

Is there anyone else who thinks it's awesome that Obama grew up Muslim?
The LA Times has the utterly charming story of his early childhood in Indonesia today--playing in the muddy streets, raising pet crocodiles, and attending mosque on Fridays.

America, the world's most multicultural...

There's something bothering me about all this coverage of the subprime mortgage lending bubble finally bursting. I couldn't put my finger on it. Then I realized it seems like the stories I'm reading place more emphasis on the poor traders who are losing their figurative shirts in the market, not...