Kansas Senate Candidate Does Youth tour

Jim Slattery, candidate for the U.S. Senate in Kansas, unveiled a new $5,000 college tuition tax cut last week.

"Few investments are more important than ensuring every young person who aspires to attend college has the opportunity," Slattery said.

Slattery said the cost of attending college has skyrocketed.

"Tuition at Pittsburg State has increased 75 percent in the last five years," Slattery said.

In order to pay the increased tuition rates, more students are taking out student loans that are difficult to pay back in the current economy.

"Students are becoming increasingly burdened by student loan debt," Slattery said. "On average, a student owes nearly $20,000 when they graduate."

I was honored to receive unvetted access to follow Slattery along on his tour talking with him as well as other students interested in his plan as well as other important issues this election. Slattery spent time answering questions in townhall style meetings as well as a special candidate forum hosted by the popular site 18 in 08.

In Mississippi! Here We GO!

As I arrived this morning to Memphis,TN I could not believe that I was going to be part of history in the making. As Sarah and I drove up to Ole Miss University, we did not know what to expect. With a smile from cheek to cheek we saw people gather at Grove Square with excitement toward the powerful soul music that was performed by Ole Miss's choir and BSU. 
Watching Ole Miss University    be part of history in the making is great. The students here and the environment is very uplifting and enthusiastic. From place to place people are registering to vote at the Rock the Vote tent. The music is playing and the people are interaction with on another talking about the issues that matter. From McCain supporters to Obama supporters, the Ole Miss college campus is filled with first time voters and even those who cannot yet vote.  They are walking around with stickers, signs, cut out Obama and McCain faces, and just having a great time talking about the issues that matter to the community the most! 

I have had the greatest honor to be able to talk to a lot of great individuals whom when I asked them about both candidates' foriegn policy   the first thing that came up in their minds was the War in Iraq and U.S. Affairs in the Middle East. Students even talked about the stand of the US in our world and its economy and how others view us. It reminded me of the blog I posted weeks ago about How the world sees us and how we as an american community want to be seen. Young teenagers whom are just high school seniors stated that we need to get out of Iraq because it is time to put that money into our economy. They see the relationship between Foreign Policy and our Economy.                                       

                                

Most of the People I spoke to did say that " In this election if you don't Vote Don't Whine!" That is what this election is all about. It is about the opportunities that you bestow being part of the American Society. I will bring you more insights to what is going on after the Debate! 

                                           

Economy Hits Back to School Hard

In a recent article, Associated Press's Education Reporter, Libby Quaid stated that the higher cost of major components to our schools are causing out of step funding to miss its mark.

The article mentions that high fuel costs are causing districts to cut back on busing students from home to class, and delivery of materials such as pencils and paper.

"Field trips? Forget about it."

At a time when the economy is struggling and gas prices were over $4 a gallon this summer, many schools are finding it difficult to pay for the everyday tools their students need to learn, study, and simply be comfortable.  Heating and cooling costs have also increased.  Even keeping an entire building at a comfortable temperature might be compromised.  

"In rural Minnesota, one district is skipping classes every Monday to save fuel. On the other days, classes will be about 10 minutes longer.

"I think it's a great opportunity," said Candice Jaenisch, whose two sons and daughter will be making the switch. "You're cutting expenses that really don't affect school."

The article goes on to say that teachers asked students to bring tissue for the classrooms, but now they ask for things like copy paper instead.

The national site, Donors Choose, allows teachers to talk about a specific project they wish to do but cannot fund. They then ask donors for materials or dollars to help fund the project. But how do you fund the costs of gasoline to get kids to school, or enough to pay for high gas bills in the winter?

No longer are utensils like crayons, art supplies, drama books, or playground equipment suffering from budget cuts. Now they're dealing with school districts and whole days of class.

"In Jacksonville, school lunch prices will rise from $1.45 to $2 for secondary schools. "It's a huge jump," said LaTasha Green-Cobb, whose sons are in the seventh and eighth grade.

As fuel prices have rocketed, the cost of food has followed suit, especially for lunch-tray staples like milk. As a result, most schools will charge more for lunch, the School Nutrition Association said.

Schools will still not break even. More than half of all school children in this country get free and reduced-price lunches, and the government reimbursement is often not enough to cover the cost."

It goes on to say that costs of more nutrient rich foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains and the like are often twice as expensive.

In the end, its young people who are being asked to compromise.... again....

The Subprime Blues

The US Senate passed a housing and foreclosure prevention bill last Friday. This is in effort to stop the growing foreclosures on homes and families in crisis. The bill would create a $300 billion government-backed foreclosure prevention program and increase oversight of major government backed lending institutes Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

However, this Monday the Federal Reserve announced the approval for a "final rule for home mortgage loans." The Fed says this final rule "prohibits unfair, abusive or deceptive home mortgage lending practices and restricts certain other mortgage practices. The final rule also establishes advertising standards and requires certain mortgage disclosures to be given to consumers earlier in the transaction. "

But according to a CNN report, consumer groups believe these new regulations

"contain too many loopholes, allowing reckless lending to continue. Industry executives say the proposals place too great a burden on lenders and will prompt them to further restrict credit."

Oklahoma RoseRock Bank Senior Vice President Sue Pyle says the home foreclosure crisis and new guidelines will have a major effect on new home buyers, who are often young.

"These new changes in the underwriting guidelines make things more difficult for first time home buyers," Pyle says. "When a loan application is submitted it's reviewed in much more detail with more financial documentation. What could have been approved in the past may not be today."

One monumental item Pyle says, is the increased importance of a buyer's credit score. With recent changes the minimum requirements have been increased substantially.

"If you missed a few student loan payments, which resulted in your score being lower, this could prevent you from being able to buy a house. It wasn't that tough in the past."

In addition to requiring a higher credit score, the minimum down payment required has gone up.

"We are seeing guideline changes where a great deal more financial documentation is required including deposit statements, pay stubs, with many more items being verified and re-verified than in the past," she says.

She describes a client who recently submitted 2 years of tax returns, 2 years of W2 forms, 2 recent, consecutive pay stubs, a verbal verification of the borrower's employment was completed by the mortgage processor, as well as another verification by the mortgage underwriter. This example was a home buyer that had very high credit scores and sufficient down payment funds Pyle explained.

"Even after all of that," she said, "the mortgage investor re-verified employment after the loan closed. In the past new home buyers could get a home loan with zero money down and the only verification of employment completed was one pay stub. Many changes have taken place. All home buyers, including first time home buyers, have been effected."

The changes are also causing problems for all residents who are renting homes. Investors renting homes also have stricter requirements, like bigger down payments. These end up being passed on as higher monthly rental payments. At the same time, some homeowners buy a property at an adjustable rate. This means as time goes on the interest rate on the loan fluctuates up and down and can influence the cost of the payment on the house. If someone is renting that house it means their rent can go up and down, too.

A story about local rent prices near Howard University was posted in the Hilltop Online. According to local resident R'Keim Young the cost of housing was so much that he had to go back to living in the college's dorms.

"Within the last two years, prices have risen significantly," Young said. "The same houses that were about $500 monthly have now gone up $300 more."

Housing foreclosures on younger families also have a critical impact on children. According to First Focus, a Washington DC based organization that advocates on behalf of children

"An estimated 2 million children are directly impacted by the subprime mortgage crisis as their families lose their homes due to foreclosures."

First Focus's recent report shows:

• "Due to the increasing number of foreclosures, school districts across the country are experiencing increases in the number of homeless children entering their classrooms;



• Children impacted by the mortgage crisis are likely to experience excessive mobility and as a result are only half as likely to be proficient in reading as their peers. Moreover, they are much more likely to be held back and eventually drop out of school;



• Children forced from their homes experience behavioral problems, such as increases in violence."

The crisis has inspired a number of comedic mash-ups. This one, from NauticalFilms, features the Rambo solution, and BillyBobStewart brings us The Subprime Blues.