Clark Eagling has $45,000 in student loans — and he’s the lucky one in the family. His wife, Aimee Kessel, owes $90,000 for her undergraduate and graduate college education. The debt is so large that the couple may be collecting Social Security before they finish paying for college. “We’ve both essentially said that we don’t […]
Parting gift for college grads: $25k in debt
Posted inTalent & Education
Student debt snapshot for each Michigan university
Is Michigan experiencing an unsustainable student loan bubble? Students at Michigan’s 15 public universities took out nearly $2 billion in student loans in the 2009-10 school year. That one-year, statewide student debt load increased $600 million – or 49 percent – in just three years (from 2007 to 2010). Click on the university names at […]
Posted inTalent & Education
EMU prez: Tuition is 'safety valve' for state budget
Legislators know universities are going to make up lost state revenue by raising tuition. In fact, that’s what makes cutting funds to higher education so easy, says Eastern Michigan University President Sue Martin. Martin knows what she’s talking about. She has a Ph.D. in accounting. She was deputy state treasurer under Govs. William Milliken and […]
Posted inTalent & Education
Paying for 'dream' — house and car cost extra
Eric Skibbe could buy a 2-bedroom, 1.5 bath house in a solid Detroit neighborhood for $60,000. He could buy a nice Ford sedan for $19,500. He could fly from Detroit Metro to Orlando, Fla., this winter for $300, round trip. All these elements of what many would consider the good life could be had for […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Legislator: Taxpayers get bad deal from universities
State Rep. Bob Genetski doesn’t have many fans at Michigan’s public universities. As chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education, Genetski, R-Saugatuck, has been an outspoken critic of how universities spend money — and a leader in the movement to reform the state’s higher education funding formula. A Bridge analysis found that Michigan […]
Posted inMichigan Government
The business of business is business
Rick Snyder campaigned primarily in 2010 on his credibility as a businessman. He wanted to fix, not fight; optimize, not antagonize. Snyder also campaigned, however, as someone interested in getting past labels and promoting shared solutions. He pledged to seek that often-sought, yet never-quite-reached bipartisanship. In Michigan, the political divide between Republicans and Democrats plays […]
Posted inLand O Links
Land O Links
“If money is your hope for independence you will never have it. The only real security that a man will have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience, and ability” — Henry Ford. * Colleague Ron French directed my attention to this report on what is, in certain circles an old story now: […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Time to try Bernero's bank idea?
Banks being stingy with small business loans are choking off America’s economic recovery, argues blogger Matt Yglesias at his new home at slate.com. He is reporting on new research that purports to show that small businesses that just want to do business and need some bank money for investment have been hurt disproportionately during the […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
U-M research gives split image of Michigan Works
Noticing Bridge’s recent coverage of the effectiveness of Michigan Works agencies around the state, Tom Ivacko of the Center for Local, State and Urban Policy at the University ofMichigan directed our attention to two pieces of research at U-M. One casts the MW agencies in a good light; the other is not quite as favorable. […]
Posted inMichigan Government
'College tax' burdens students, state
Caroline Robinson and Barbara Twist are cousins who share far more than bloodlines. They are both seniors in college; each attends one of the top public universities in the nation. The similarities stop, however, when the tuition bills arrive. Barbara is paying twice as much for her education at the University of Michigan as Caroline […]