Reply #27: A side comment about Pell grants

[Inuca]

Until a couple of years ago I knew close to nothing about them, though I worked in higher ed for many years. But I am now working at a community college, at a huge proportion of our students fund their studies through Pell grants. Which is of course a good thing. BUT I keep hearing stories of students gaming the system by registering for courses and then dropping them after they got the full Pell grant for the term. And they can do this a number of times, the system allows it. I do not know the details, I am not directly involved with financial aid in any way, but I know it happens quite a lot, it's considered a problem. And I doubt that this specific in any way to the college I work. Again, I have no idea what percentage of students are doing this, butit is non trivial by any means.

The point I am trying to make is that maybe there are ways to tighten the Pell grants system to make it more difficult for people to game it. The famous "fraud, waste and abuse" thing. It's real, it's not only a joke or a talking point. And maybe we (meaning liberals in general) should not have a knee-jerk reaction whenever Pell grants, Medicare, etc. are mentioned. I think (hope?) that that's the kind of things Obama has in mind, though so far he was not exactly good at achieving his goals.

Also, beyond the fraud and abuse thing, I think that the democratic "sacred cows" DO have problems. Now or in the not so distant future. And it is better to try to do something about it before a problem becomes a crisis. SO I do not automatically cry foul when I hear about changes to SS, Medicare, etc. Even changing eligibility age to 67 for Medicare which made me cringe big time (still does, I guess...), rationally speaking MAY make sense. There is no denying that on an average people live longer and are in better shape physically for longer (60 is the new 50, or whatever). It all depends on the damned details, for instance do not have a one size fits all rule, it much depends on the kind of work you do and did for most of your life. I always had a white collar job, and lived in relative confort (money always tight, but that's a different story). I will be 60 in a few months. Short of something really bad health-wise happening, I can see myself perfectly well working until I am 67 and staying on my employer's health insurance. But I would like ot know that if something bad happens, I am not left hanging, and I can go on SS and Medicare, even if possibly at a penalty.

Anyway... just some thoughts... it's good to have this bunch of people here that, agree or disagree on the topic, stay sane. My short forays into GD/P and Kos yesterday were not healthy. Not only, not even mainly, because I disagreed with what most of the people said, but the amount and intensity of vitriol was sickening. I may be a liberal, which I am and always will be, but I still think that tolerance of other people's oppinions and other people's faults is at least as important as one's political standing. Insults and idiocy are sickening, whther they come form the right or the left.