The University of California’s headquarters hid $175 million from the public and lawmakers in a secret reserve fund while the Office of the President was asking the state for more money

UC raised tuition on in-state students while keeping millions of dollars in a secret reserve…(1/2) #CADeservesBetter https://t.co/fYpUs0eP1K pic.twitter.com/HbfKIWvTUx

— CA Assembly GOP (@AssemblyGOP) April 25, 2017

Breaking: Auditor rips UC for keeping millions in secret fund https://t.co/Iy8fZ3P0W9

— SFGate (@SFGate) April 25, 2017

The office of UC President Janet Napolitano created a secret reservebudget over the course of four years, the audit found. Included in the reserve was $32 million collected from campuses that could have been spent on students.

“These problems indicate that significant change is necessary to strengthen the public’s trust in the University,” Howell wrote in the audit.

The class of 2016’s student debt has broken the record for the highest ever

ATTENTION: The class of 2016’s student debt has broken the record for the highest ever https://t.co/U1cspkJzXg

— College Republicans (@CRNC) May 25, 2016

Democrat’s college cost plan: Throw more money at it (and keep tuition skyrocketing)

Democrat’s college cost plan: Throw more money at it (and keep tuition skyrocketing)https://t.co/JQG50F8tjd pic.twitter.com/7VLkQQs5ml

— Red Alert Politics (@RedAlert) May 4, 2016

Student Loan Subsidies Cause Almost All of the Increase in Tuition

Student Loan Subsidies Cause Almost All of the Increase in Tuition | Foundation for Economic Education https://t.co/9Occsnsufu

— College Republicans (@CRNC) December 22, 2015

“It created a very uncomfortable environment for us—some of the class even got up part of the way through and left because they were uncomfortable,” the girl said.

Oh my goodness... http://t.co/LBmDW17M2Y

— Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) June 23, 2015

◼ White House Poet Taught Kids to Sit in Circles and Watch Porn for College Class - Washington Free Beacon

A University of Pennsylvania English course taught by a poet who performed for President Obama at the White House ended up exactly as the professor envisioned it: college kids watching porn.

“Wasting Time on the Internet,” a once-a-week creative writing course taught by Kenneth Goldsmith that required students to stare at a computer screen for three hours completed its first class this spring.

Goldsmith wrote last fall that students could use the three hours to watch porn, and then “use it as the basis for compelling erotica.”

“I’ve never taught this class before, but I have a hunch that it’s going to be a success,” he said....

The course cost approximately $3,202.

Janet Napolitano on Protestors: ‘We Don’t Have To Listen To This Crap’

◼ University of California President Janet Napolitano told a fellow regent that they “didn’t have to listen to this crap” as protesters yelled about potential tuition hikes at the university. - CNS

The former Secretary of Homeland Security for the Obama administration had a different tone when she was speaking directly into the microphone at the very same meeting. “They want to be sure that their voices are being heard and I want to commit to them that their voices are being heard,” Napolitano said.

The protesters at the regents meetings were upset about potential tuition hikes at the university.

Shortly after Naploitano’s “crap” remark, the regents left the room and continued their meeting later.

BIG MAN ON CAMPUS

◼ Meet Barack Obama, nonstop college campaigner. - Peter Hannaford/American Spectator 1.23.15

Expecting it to be another campaign speech, I sent this to several friends ahead of Tuesday’s State of the Union address:

Recipe for Watching Obama’s State of the Union Speech Tonight:

1—Build and light a fire in the fireplace
2—Put some Mozart on the stereo
3—Pour a highball or a glass of wine
4—Open a good book
5—Enjoy

We spent a pleasant evening and, as it turned out, President Obama ran true to form.

After six years we know that the only thing he enjoys doing and at which he is good is making campaign speeches. When he gets restless dealing with issues that require statesmanship, he goes on a campaign swing, getting friendly audiences to smile and laugh at his jibes at Republicans, whom he despises.

This time he was off the next morning for Idaho and a speech to college students; then on to Kansas for another college audience. One would think he was running for student body president on both campuses. He was relaxed, enjoying self-congratulation and taunting Republicans to “bring me their ideas” so that he presumably he can “work” with them. His idea of negotiation and compromise meant, as usual, the other side adopting his position.

All this on-campus verve was going on while terrorism threats increased, Yemen was in turmoil, Iran continued to stall and ISIS was no closer to defeat than five months ago.

In his SOTU campaign speech he said he would not be on the ballot again and got a hand for it. His riposte was, “and I won twice.” True, but over the course of his six years in office, his party has lost both houses of Congress, governorships, and state legislatures.

He moved from that to the centerpiece of his agenda, which amounted to the dawn of an old era: income and wealth redistribution. This plays to the belief of the left wing of the Democratic Party that economics is always a zero-sum game. That is, if one person does well, someone else must do poorly. His answer: more taxes on success, coupled with more government spending. This was accompanied by his new pet, free tuition to community colleges.

His purpose in hammering away on these was not that he expects them to be passed, but to embarrass the Republican Congress ahead of the 2016 election. Apparently, he is convinced his agenda will be popular with the public. Shortly after the election he demonstrated his new-found gift of mind-reading when he said he’d “heard” the approximately 60 percent of Americans who didn’t go to the polls in November. From this mind-reading he has conjured his current agenda.

The American public, however, does not agree, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll. It gave respondents a list of issues and asked “whether you think it should be an absolute priority for the Obama administration and THIS year’s Congress; or is something that can be delayed until next year; or something you think the Obama administration and Congress should not pursue.”

A strong majority said the “now” priority issues are creating jobs, defeating ISIS, cutting the federal deficit, securing the southern border and dealing with Iran’s nuclear threat.

About “reducing income inequality,” a majority said it should be put off or not pursued. The same was true of “increasing the minimum wage” and passing legislation to create “a pathway to citizenship” for illegal aliens.

When it comes to climate change, nearly twice as many said it should be delayed or not pursued as those who gave it high priority.

Of the fifth issue, closing the Guantanamo Bay prison, 72 percent said to delay or not pursue it. Only 24 percent thought it should be a priority.

Elections have consequences. Like King Canute in days of yore, Barack Obama cannot command the waves to go backward and expect them to follow his command. He should stick to entertaining college students.
__________________
Peter Hannaford was closely associated with the late President Reagan for a number of years. He is a member of the board of the Committee on the Present Danger. His latest book is ◼ “Presidential Retreats.”

Against GOP critics who said taxing 529 plans taxes middle-class families...

◼ Obama adviser defends proposal to tax college savings plans - Washington Examiner

Obama's proposal, introduced before Tuesday's State of the Union Address, would tax withdrawals from the college savings plans created under section 529 of the tax code, and expand other tax incentives for college-goers.

Chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers Jason Furman defended the change in an interview with Bloomberg News Friday, saying that the president's plan as a whole created more tax savings for college than it took away with the section 529 plan.

◼ Tax Benefits of College-Savings Plans Would Be Cut by Obama - Wall St Journal

◼ Obama wants to start taxing 529 college savings withdrawals, but only after exempting his own - Dan Calabrese/Herman Cain

One of the less talked-about proposals President Obama offered this week was to take away the tax-exempt status of 529 college savings plans. These very popular plans allow parents to defer income - before it's taxed - into savings accounts to then be withdrawn, also tax-free, to use for qualified college expenses.

I'll dispense for the moment with the larger question of whether stuff like this represents a wise overall approach to the tax code (it doesn't) and just focus on the particular change Obama wants to make. That is: He wants to start taxing the withdrawals parents make from their 529 accounts when it's time to pay for college, so there would be far less reward for socking that money away in the first place. But the federal government would get to confiscate more capital from the private sector! The Democrat dream is fulfilled every time a dollar goes from private hands to politicians' hands.

But here's the kicker: The Obamas themselves have already put more than $240,000 into a 529 account. So they'll now have to pay the tax, right?

No, sillies. Obama only wants the government to tax withdrawals of funds deposited after the change is made. So those who have already made the deposits - like him - can still withdraw them tax-free. Nice, huh?

UC’s new motto: Take the money and run

◼ link - Debra J. Saunders/SF Chronicle via Americans for Prosperity California

When Gov. Brown pushed Prop 30 in 2012, he sold his measure with the promise that the income and sales tax increases in his measure would put off sharp tuition increases in the higher education systems. Two short years later after state budgets that heralded a 4-year deal to keep tuition flat, UC solons say there never was a deal to freeze tuition. At the urging of UC President Janet Napolitano, the UC Board of Regents voted last month to raise tuition substantially — by up to 28% over 5 years — because there never was a meeting at which university officials pledged not to raise fees.

When they raised taxes two years ago, they said it was because they needed more money for the colleges. Now, CSU administrators have been exposed for spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on parties and alcohol.

◼ Fancy parties, alcohol, $7,000 season tickets to the Hollywood Bowl, and top LA restaurants are a number of things this donated money is paying for. - CBS LA via Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association

...the discovery of how CSU administratorsare spending large amounts of donated money, meant to benefit the universities, is shocking.

CBS2 investigative reporter David Goldsten found hundreds of thousands of dollars, donated with the intention of supporting students’ educations and benefiting the schools, yet being spent by administrators on amusements.

Fancy parties, alcohol, $7,000 season tickets to the Hollywood Bowl, and top LA restaurants are a number of things this donated money is paying for.

The money comes in from private donations, including alumni, and is funneled through non-profit foundations, located on every Cal State campus.

After examining the tax returns, millions of dollars were found in contributions and grants.

While some of this money did go to student aid, thousands of pages of receipts revealed plenty of surprising charges.

While the Education Department is cutting off minority and low-income access to these critical skills, President Obama is playing lip service to creating more opportunities

◼ Obama proposes education mandates his own education can’t meet - Dan Spencer/Red State

In yet another cycle of what’s good for the government goose is not good for you, President Obama’s Department of Education proposes rules for private-sector colleges that his own education at Harvard Law would fail to meet.

The new leaner and meaner rules require that students graduate with less than 12% debt-to-income ratio or debt-to-discretionary-income ratio lower than 30%....

Harvard Law fails to meet the new rules. Yet the rules wouldn’t impact Harvard – instead the rules would impact all the private for-profit colleges that help millions of minority and low-income Americans earn a college degree and work toward a better life. At four-year non-profit and public institutions, like Harvard, just 21 percent of graduates are black – compared with 28 percent of graduates at for-profit colleges and universities.

In total, a million students’ programs will be impacted by the new regulation, causing a third to half of students to leave the college system:

“Of those affected, some 300,000 to 500,000 individuals would likely leave the system of post-secondary education entirely. Many of these students are from lower income and minority groups.”

...But, while the Education Department is cutting off minority and low-income access to these critical skills, President Obama is playing lip service to creating more opportunities:

“The idea that so many children are born into poverty in the wealthiest nation on Earth is heartbreaking enough,” Obama said. “But the idea that a child may never be able to escape that poverty because she lacks a decent education or health care or a community that views her future as their own — that should offend all of us.”

Is it really any wonder then that 53% of Americans do not view President Obama as “honest or trustworthy?” Is this the turning point where America will start to rebel against the Liberals’ “We know best” policies? Perhaps, but it may be too late for millions of aspirational students.

Students suffer ObamaCare sticker shock as premiums soar, plans get cut

◼ While millions of Americans are watching their individual polices get canceled due to ObamaCare regulations, the new health care rules are also having a major impact on college campuses. - FOX

For decades, universities and colleges have offered students bare-bones policies. But because of the Affordable Care Act, those policies no longer cut it – and universities are forced to decide whether to offer significantly higher-cost plans or cancel coverage altogether.

The new rules affect a broad swath of American schools, especially the small ones.

At Bowie State University in Maryland, the cost of student health insurance policies went from roughly $100 a year to $1,800 a year....

The sticker shock didn’t sit well with some students who spoke out against the price hike.

“You’ve haven’t done anything Obama and I am disappointed in you,” one student said. Another told Campus Reform, “We don’t have that money. We can barely afford books.”

◼ In this video by CampusReform, students at Bowie State University share their dismay over news that the historically black college will be dropping student insurance plans due to increased costs. - IJ Review

Obama touts states providing quality higher ed, all led by Republican governors

Obama applauded several states for their higher ed programs today - yet they're all led by Republicans! http://t.co/LJYwye7qby

— Red Alert Politics (@RedAlert) August 22, 2013

◼ Of the 10 states Obama mentioned, either directly or by referencing a school in the state, eight are led by Republican governors with the exception of Missouri and New Hampshire, where Central Missouri University and Southern New Hampshire University are located, respectively. - Red Alert Politics

TUITION JUST 1 OF COLLEGE COSTS

◼ UP, UP, UP: Despite the focus on tuition increases and student loan costs, other college expenses also are going up. Even with the lower interest rates on student loans, students are seeing costs grow on just about every line. - AP

COST OF LIVING: A College Board survey finds the price of housing and food trumps tuition for students who attend two- and four-year public universities in their home states.
_______

then you'll have to add the cost of Obamacare.

Columbia Journalism School Tuition Costs a Whopping $83,884 A Year

◼ The median income for a journalist these days is around $34,000 annually and starting pay is often in the $25,000 range. But if a budding journalist takes his education at the Columbia School of Journalism, he’ll pay a whopping $83,884 for his one-year Master of Science j-school degree, far more than he’ll make in his first few decades as a working journalist. - Warner Todd Huston/Stop The ACLU

Journalism itself is moving in a downward direction. As John Nolte reported March 19, “According to a new Pew study, the number of newsroom jobs have hit a 35-year low. The industry peaked in 2000, but over the last thirteen years, there has been a 30% cutback in personnel. Now, for the first time since 1978, there are fewer than 40,000 full-time newsroom jobs.”

What's going on in California Colleges?

You're Welcome, America! Up to 600,000 College Students to Lose Health Care Coverage or Face Dramatically Higher Costs

◼ Thousands of college students face serious sticker shock this year if they want school-subsidized health insurance... The cost is expected to be sharply higher at some schools, while others have dropped coverage altogether. - Doug Ross

They’ve discovered that the health care reform law sets dramatically higher coverage limits for student insurers [which] will require higher premiums that colleges and students, particularly at smaller schools, are worried they can’t afford.

...Some schools won’t even try [to offer insurance any more]... This year, for the first time in decades, Avila University will not offer health insurance plans for domestic students. Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kan., also opted out of health coverage — leaving more than 100 students potentially uncovered — after premiums were projected to rise from $450 a year to $2,500.

“It’s going to be scary given the number of students who were participating in those plans,” said Bob Schmoll, Bethany’s vice president for finance. “It’s going to be a lot of people who aren’t covered.” ...Federal studies suggest roughly 600,000 students — about 7 percent of those attending college — get their insurance at school...

...Diana Boyd McElroy, dean of student life at Park University, said she anticipates some concern when students see their health insurance premiums double this year from $600 to $1,200...

Empty Promises: College Costs Still Rising

◼ RNC hits Obama on rising tuition ahead of Biden's Keene State speech - Geneva Sands/The Hill

In his campus speeches, Obama stumped for keeping low interest rates on student loans. But young people may be figuring out that colleges and universities are gobbling up the money government pours in, leaving them saddled with debt.

◼ Obama losing rock star status with young - Michael Barone/Washington Examiner

It's a side issue. The Harvard survey showed 58 percent of Millennials saying the economy was a top issue and only 41 percent approving Obama's handling of it. Like Romney, they seem to be saying, "It's the economy, and we're not stupid."

House defies Obama to pass student loan bill

◼ Defying a veto threat from President Obama, the House voted Friday to extend federal student loan subsidies for another year, and cover the added cost by slashing a prevention fund from Democrats’ health bill. - Stephen Dinan/Washington Times

“My God, do we have to fight about everything?” said House Speaker John A. Boehner in an angry speech from the House floor accusing Democrats of trying to create a political fight where there is general agreement.

◼ Obama Threatens To Veto GOP Student Loan Extension To Protect Fund He Planned to Cut - ABC

...House Speaker John Boehner’s office countered the president’s threat by saying President Obama already authorized trimming down the Prevention and Public Health Fund in his proposed FY2013 budget.

“The president is so desperate to fake a fight that he’s willing to veto a bill to help students over a slush fund that he advocated cutting in his own budget. It’s a simple as this: Republicans are acting to help college students and the president is now getting in the way,” Brendan Buck, a spokesman for Boehner, said....