The Freedom Watch

Food Stamp Nation

"The USDA has acknowledged a formal partnership with the Mexican government to boost food stamp enrollment among Mexican nationals. In fact, in response to oversight inquiries from Republicans in Congress, the USDA revealed that the current administration has met with Mexican officials approximately 30 times as part of the partnership. The USDA has also adopted a range of strategies and programs designed to enroll more people in food stamps by overcoming the notion of self-reliance. A 2011 USDA Hunger Champions Award document reveals that local assistance offices have been rewarded for 'counteracting' pride when pushing more people to sign up for benefits." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFood Stamp Nation

Is Your College Going Broke? The Most And Least Financially Fit Schools In America

"Almost all colleges have noble mission statements, but few have pervasive cultures or are able to focus employees on core competencies the way great companies like Coke, IBM and Wells Fargo do. Most colleges and universities try to be all things to all people. That way of doing business was tolerable when the market of high school graduates was expanding, as it was from 1990 to 2010. However, the production of high school graduates has fallen from its 3.4 million peak in 2011 to a current 3.2 million–and is likely to stay there until 2020. This ugly demographic fact, plus the decline in household wealth brought on by the Great Recession, has exacerbated the problem." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIs Your College Going Broke? The Most And Least Financially Fit Schools In America

Obama offers plan to deal with the high cost of college

"Barack Obama took aim at the spiralling cost of higher education on Thursday, threatening US universities with a new official ranking system he claimed would help students identify whether they were getting value for money. As crippling student loans are increasingly seen as a impediment to social mobility and a check on US consumer confidence, the president used the latest of his economic speeches to propose a series of limited reforms to encourage lower fees. Besides the new ratings system, Obama’s proposals amounted to a call on state legislatures to stop cutting subsidies, universities to stop putting up fees, and Congress to pass laws limiting loan repayments." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama offers plan to deal with the high cost of college

Stat of the Day: Tuition Discount Rate

"The NACUBO tuition discount rate for 2012 was 45% and has risen every year for the last six years. Despite all the stories about tuition hikes, the fact is that many colleges that lack elite status (and huge endowments) are struggling to make money while maintaining the overall quality of their student body. Their solution appears to be to raise the sticker price while offering deep discounts at the same time, usually on a sliding scale based on student attractiveness. This Forbes article talks about schools so desperate that let students walk up weeks before school starts and get an admission decision on the spot." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingStat of the Day: Tuition Discount Rate

Cameron Herold: Let’s raise kids to be entrepreneurs [2010]

"Bored in school, failing classes, at odds with peers: This child might be an entrepreneur, says Cameron Herold. At TEDxEdmonton, he makes the case for parenting and education that helps would-be entrepreneurs flourish -- as kids and as adults." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCameron Herold: Let’s raise kids to be entrepreneurs [2010]

Homeland Studies

"Salt Lake Community College in Utah joins numerous other institutions of higher spending now offering an 'associate of applied science [sic for ‘baloney’] (A.A.S.) degree in “Homeland Security and Emergency Management.' Yes. Seems there is a correct way to grope a victim while stealing his iPad, and by gum, the instructors are gonna learn rookies to do it right. You won’t be surprised at this propaganda’s sponsors: 'the Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, the Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake, various medical institutions and other regional agencies and employers.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHomeland Studies

Librarian wants to ban 5-time reading champ from contest

"After Tyler Weaver read 63 books between June 24 and Aug. 3 to win this year’s Dig Into Reading competition at the Hudson Falls Public Library, director Marie Gandron told a reporter from the Glens Falls Post-Star that Weaver 'hogs' the contest every year and should 'step aside.' 'Other kids quit because they can’t keep up,' Gandron said. Gandron's declaration didn't sit well with Tyler and his family. 'When he heard what the director said [about him] he was very upset,' Katie Weaver, Tyler’s mother, told TODAY. 'He’s never seen being good at reading to be a negative thing. And he shouldn’t! He realized that the director was wrong.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLibrarian wants to ban 5-time reading champ from contest

Successful Entrepreneurs Share a Common History of Getting in Trouble as Teenagers

"They found that successful entrepreneurs possess distinct traits identifiable back when they were teenagers. Some of the not-so-surprising traits include having a high IQ, coming from a stable family, having parents who earn a higher than average income, and having exceptionally high self-esteem and confidence. However, some other common traits are often associated with juvenile delinquency. The study found that successful entrepreneurs displaying these traits typically started their careers as top high earning salaried workers, and when they branched out on their own and successfully established their companies, they tended to enjoy a boost in earnings of 70%." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSuccessful Entrepreneurs Share a Common History of Getting in Trouble as Teenagers

Facebook launches global Internet access initiative

"Facebook and other technology giants launched an initiative Wednesday designed to give the whole world access to the Internet. The project is entitled Internet.org and its goal is to cut the cost of smart phone-based Internet services in developing countries. Today some 2.7 billion people, just over a third of the world’s population, have access to the Internet and the number of new users is growing only slowly each year, a statement said. The other partners in the project are Nokia, Ericsson, Samsung, Qualcomm, MediaTek and Opera, while Twitter and LinkedIn also also due to sign up." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFacebook launches global Internet access initiative

I Am Young Detroit: Andy Didorosi

"Andy Didorosi is a serial social entrepreneur. He’s founded several ventures including Paper Street, Detroit Bus Company, The Thunderdrome, and Wireless Ferndale. He started working when he was sixteen, buying and selling auction cars. He would buy them really cheap and spend a long time fixing them up and sell them for a lot more online through Craigslist. At the same time he’d be working at a little Italian restaurant bussing tables, but realized it wasn’t for him. 'I’m a terrible, terrible employee,' he says, 'I could never work for anybody ever again.' Detroit is better off with him doing his own thing anyway, because he’s helping to fill in a few of the gaps the city has failed to." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingI Am Young Detroit: Andy Didorosi