corrente

The NYTimes reports today that, thanks to changes in government formulas calculating how much students and their parents should pay toward college before receiving financial aid, this year fewer people than ever will be able to afford higher education:

"The Department of Education says that any changes to the formula are driven by a legal obligation to keep it current, reflecting what families can truly afford to pay. For example, the administration determined that more of a parent's assets must be counted toward college expenses this year because it predicted better economic circumstances, including substantially lower inflation. Under that scenario, the administration argues, families need to save less money for retirement...
Some economists consider the administration's economic assumptions deeply flawed. The department's estimates for inflation were, in fact, far enough off that it has now revised the formula it will use for the 2006-2007 school year, much to the benefit of families with assets. But the latest round of changes will not help parents in the coming school year."

Add to this the fact that last year Bush successfully lobbied Congress to reduce the eligibility for Pell grants so drastically that over 92,000 low-income students are now no longer able to qualify for them, and we have the makings of a whole generation of gamma slaves, fit for nothing but the simplest and lowest-paid tasks, and of course, much less likely to challenge the status quo.

But, as eRobin over at Fact-esque points out, we can count on WalMart to help the kids out.