Actually that is a pretty obscure reference for this post. But it holds true for me. In 1995 I visited by my thesis adviser (the recently retired Bruce Fetter) and asked him for advice. I had recently completed a program in Israel (the late, lamented WUJS Post Graduate Institute) and was thinking about embarking on a PhD program in history (I was thinking about an investigation into the historiography of American Zionism- for the truly curious). What I was hoping to hear was some suggestions for professors and programs where I could pursue such work. What I got instead was a stern warning.
Bruce, who never held a punch, gave me a quick lesson in the realities of university economics. He pointed out that upon his retirement (still more the decade off) his corner office and tenured position would simply disappear and the university would likely hire a couple of lecturers to cover his courses on a part time basis. None of them would get health benefits, a pension or any of the other traditional perks of academic life. In short it was a warning, and one I took seriously.
More than a decade later I have pursued an alternate path in another branch of the educational world, with great satisfaction. All of this becomes relevant again with the much read op-ed in the NYT over the weekend End the University as We Know It. Another salient critique of the current situation in academia, which will only become worse in the next few years.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Time to hunker down?
A new study out reports that Americans are moving from home to home at a rate not seen in years. In fact the last time this few of us moved around this little it was 1962 and there were far fewer of us then.
It was only a few months ago that we were still treated to a nightly onslaught of programs on TLC about people moving into new houses with a celebratory display of ikea wares. But that was then, this is now. Now, there is no moving up. Now, we are hunkering down.
Of course hunkering down is both a symptom and a cause of greater economic stress. A symptom as people who are worried about their financial future (even if they have jobs) start to hedge their bets by staying put in homes that they might have deemed too small, or in neighborhoods felt to no longer be desirable. That of course is one more factor in the ongoing meltdown in the housing market. Add it to the constrained credit markets and you start to see why even with a growing stock of ever cheaper homes on the market there are fewer shoppers.
But this immobility is also a cause of further stress. As people hunker down, both by not moving or shopping for smaller goods and services, they depress multiple sectors of the economy. To lure shoppers in, merchants and professionals lower their prices. Buyers then start to sense a pattern of sinking prices and realize that by holding off on a purchase a bit longer they will have greater buying power and their money will be worth more. Welcome to the wide world of deflation.
Deflation is, oddly enough, a situation where money becomes worth more. Spain is now in the early stages of what might be a deflationary spiral as prices come down in an attempt to spur business. But with little disposable income, no one is buying. Merchants, suppliers, professionals and factories shed staff, fewer can buy anything at all.
Of course the upside to deflation is that for anyone who has cash in hand it will be a buyers paradise- so hang on to your piggy bank. The US is unlikely to face such a fate however since the Fed has also said that it will issue up to one trillion dollars of debt to cover losses in various financial firms and housing loans. That is in effect printing another trillion dollars, something that in normal times would trigger inflation- where money loses its purchase power. Will the Fed, and the Obama administration be able to hold this balancing act until the bottom strikes and we start to move back up? Time will tell, but there is always the memory of the stagflation 70's to keep us up at night.
It was only a few months ago that we were still treated to a nightly onslaught of programs on TLC about people moving into new houses with a celebratory display of ikea wares. But that was then, this is now. Now, there is no moving up. Now, we are hunkering down.
Of course hunkering down is both a symptom and a cause of greater economic stress. A symptom as people who are worried about their financial future (even if they have jobs) start to hedge their bets by staying put in homes that they might have deemed too small, or in neighborhoods felt to no longer be desirable. That of course is one more factor in the ongoing meltdown in the housing market. Add it to the constrained credit markets and you start to see why even with a growing stock of ever cheaper homes on the market there are fewer shoppers.
But this immobility is also a cause of further stress. As people hunker down, both by not moving or shopping for smaller goods and services, they depress multiple sectors of the economy. To lure shoppers in, merchants and professionals lower their prices. Buyers then start to sense a pattern of sinking prices and realize that by holding off on a purchase a bit longer they will have greater buying power and their money will be worth more. Welcome to the wide world of deflation.
Deflation is, oddly enough, a situation where money becomes worth more. Spain is now in the early stages of what might be a deflationary spiral as prices come down in an attempt to spur business. But with little disposable income, no one is buying. Merchants, suppliers, professionals and factories shed staff, fewer can buy anything at all.
Of course the upside to deflation is that for anyone who has cash in hand it will be a buyers paradise- so hang on to your piggy bank. The US is unlikely to face such a fate however since the Fed has also said that it will issue up to one trillion dollars of debt to cover losses in various financial firms and housing loans. That is in effect printing another trillion dollars, something that in normal times would trigger inflation- where money loses its purchase power. Will the Fed, and the Obama administration be able to hold this balancing act until the bottom strikes and we start to move back up? Time will tell, but there is always the memory of the stagflation 70's to keep us up at night.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Controlled implosion
In New Orleans when confronted by the fact that an entire district of the city had been washed away (and the rest soaked deep in water) the city punted by not re-zoning the land as non-residential. The reasons for this were mostly political, the reasons to do it have mostly to due with the city's inability to safeguard against a repeat of Katrina style flooding. So today, Brad Pitt and others are building houses in the Lower Ninth and hoping that they will be high enough to stay above the water line, but not so high as to become a sail in hurricane force winds.
Flint MI has different plans afoot to deal with its shrinking population and loss of infrastructure, controlled implosion of residential and commercial districts to use less land and preserve community. Of course another outcome of rejiggering the urban landscape is the creation of less transportation needy environments. How about a LEED certified city?
Flint MI has different plans afoot to deal with its shrinking population and loss of infrastructure, controlled implosion of residential and commercial districts to use less land and preserve community. Of course another outcome of rejiggering the urban landscape is the creation of less transportation needy environments. How about a LEED certified city?
Monday, April 20, 2009
If your adventure setting is over 7
If your adventure score is over a 7 and you find yourself on our local continental isthmus you should try this: A Sport Erupts on a Live Volcano in Nicaragua
Downtown on the Corner
As a result of some work I am doing I have gotten to spend a bit more time in downtown SF than I have up until now. Actually, I am spending a bit more time downtown anywhere than I have in a while. Years ago I worked in downtown Milwaukee for almost five years. When you work in a downtown area you start to take for granted the environment there. The noise, traffic, smells and the people.
There is no more striking example of a mix of people than standing on a street corner at the edge of a downtown's redevelopment zone. Right there where the suits and the homeless mix brings you an incredible range of the American experience. In San Francisco you get the added bonus of tourists of all stripes (from the backpacking college students to the families with their $800 strollers) digital cameras in hand.
So there I was standing on a street corner just beyond the fancy lunch spots and just where the transitional living facilities start taking in the parts of American society that are hidden from many of us. It is there that you are reminded that there are still a lot of people who are not only struggling, but are in many cases sliding backwards. Actually these folks were sliding backwards during the "Bush boom" (as Paul Krugman calls it) and are now in free-fall today. The coming cuts in social welfare programs, charitable giving and menial employment will undercut the few support systems that are left. The result will be more evocative of the third world than the shiny city on the bay that San Francisco wants to be. But SF is not alone. Go stand on a street corner in Oakland, Richmond or even Concord and you will see the same struggle for survival. Even the Safeway in my neighborhood has acquired a few resident pan-handlers, sitting outside on the bench with a constant request for small change.
You might well ask, what can be done? Well in addition to all the volunteering that is going on these days (which is laudatory) I would encourage folks to continue to donate in whatever way they can to agencies that are engaged in direct service. Also, people might want to start thinking about how the tax structure of our communities, counties and states has contributed to the current problem. Think Global- Act Local.
There is no more striking example of a mix of people than standing on a street corner at the edge of a downtown's redevelopment zone. Right there where the suits and the homeless mix brings you an incredible range of the American experience. In San Francisco you get the added bonus of tourists of all stripes (from the backpacking college students to the families with their $800 strollers) digital cameras in hand.
So there I was standing on a street corner just beyond the fancy lunch spots and just where the transitional living facilities start taking in the parts of American society that are hidden from many of us. It is there that you are reminded that there are still a lot of people who are not only struggling, but are in many cases sliding backwards. Actually these folks were sliding backwards during the "Bush boom" (as Paul Krugman calls it) and are now in free-fall today. The coming cuts in social welfare programs, charitable giving and menial employment will undercut the few support systems that are left. The result will be more evocative of the third world than the shiny city on the bay that San Francisco wants to be. But SF is not alone. Go stand on a street corner in Oakland, Richmond or even Concord and you will see the same struggle for survival. Even the Safeway in my neighborhood has acquired a few resident pan-handlers, sitting outside on the bench with a constant request for small change.
You might well ask, what can be done? Well in addition to all the volunteering that is going on these days (which is laudatory) I would encourage folks to continue to donate in whatever way they can to agencies that are engaged in direct service. Also, people might want to start thinking about how the tax structure of our communities, counties and states has contributed to the current problem. Think Global- Act Local.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
More cycling news upon us, we have been discovered!
Good news, cycling to work is officially a trend as deemed by no less than the New York Times (or "The Paper" to its friends). Now, as someone who never rode to work in a suit (or even a tie) I cannot vouch for how good an idea it is to risk your dry cleaning bill to the elements of the city streets. But it goes without saying that more exposure for non-oil burning alternatives in urban areas are good ones. My big gripe is the reporter's focus on Dutch bicycles (it was the style angle). For my money style points should also go to the old school Cannondale city bikes that were made with bent wood fenders in the 90's. Electra cycles has a much more Cali hipster vibe (not surfer, more punk writer) but are a homegrown phenomenon nonetheless. Also there should be a bit more attention paid to the emerging single-speed scene. Not the messenger fixee no brakes part of it. But the more refined offerings like Haro's Beasley which comes in a single speed and 1x9 configuration. And we would be seriously remiss if I did not mention the champion of retro design and the company that made upright riding hip, Rivendale.
Well then, perhaps we could get congress to recognize bicycle purchases as eligible for commuter Flex funds just like parking and transit passses. Call your representatives and demand action.
Well then, perhaps we could get congress to recognize bicycle purchases as eligible for commuter Flex funds just like parking and transit passses. Call your representatives and demand action.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Bike Month and some questions
So, for those of you who are unaware, May is BIKE month. That's a whole fun month for those of us who derive spiritual bliss from those two wheeled human powered vehicles. Of course during May, and the other 11 months of year we still get to dodge traffic, put up with poorly maintained roads and the occasional moron who has confused his privilege of driving a car with a right to run everyone else off the road.
When oil prices where up to $140/barrel last year many of us in the cycling world (especially the cycle commuter set) were pretty sure that for some parts of the US northern European style cycling was just around the corner. But with the drop in oil removing the incentive for people to reconsider their driving habits (and the fact that buying a bike does not seem like a good move in a recession) one might wonder where exactly we are headed. But all of the upsides remain. More bikes=fewer cars. Fewer cars=less oil purchased from non-democratic regimes, fewer greenhouse gases and of course healthier people (which also saves a lot of money).
As many before me have noted, most of America is set up to make driving the easiest option. Big parking lots, freeways, suburbs, even office parks are all a byproduct of how people move from place to place. There have been a few stabs in the other direction. The newer bridges here in the Bay Area have bike lanes (including the new Bay bridge- whenever its finished), many cities have designated bike lanes and bike streets. All that is great, but it does not seem to be making a dent in the amount of traffic headed down I-80 each morning. So, short of uprooting 50+ years of infrastructure what can we do to effect this change? We could jack up taxes on cars or oil (a carbon tax?) but that might be a tough sell in the middle of a huge recession.
How about providing more tax incentives to cycle commuters? Perhaps a depreciation schedule for bicycles used for commuting. How about a tax incentive to live within 10 miles of your job? That alone might not only encourage smaller commutes (and more cyclists) but also help to stabilize communities in cities that are otherwise suffering from brain-drain and capital flight.
Imagine if on your tax form you had a chance to take a credit based on your distance from work? This would not be a tax on your commute, but a credit for not having one. I am sure there is someone out there who could do the math and tell me if this is practical.
When oil prices where up to $140/barrel last year many of us in the cycling world (especially the cycle commuter set) were pretty sure that for some parts of the US northern European style cycling was just around the corner. But with the drop in oil removing the incentive for people to reconsider their driving habits (and the fact that buying a bike does not seem like a good move in a recession) one might wonder where exactly we are headed. But all of the upsides remain. More bikes=fewer cars. Fewer cars=less oil purchased from non-democratic regimes, fewer greenhouse gases and of course healthier people (which also saves a lot of money).
As many before me have noted, most of America is set up to make driving the easiest option. Big parking lots, freeways, suburbs, even office parks are all a byproduct of how people move from place to place. There have been a few stabs in the other direction. The newer bridges here in the Bay Area have bike lanes (including the new Bay bridge- whenever its finished), many cities have designated bike lanes and bike streets. All that is great, but it does not seem to be making a dent in the amount of traffic headed down I-80 each morning. So, short of uprooting 50+ years of infrastructure what can we do to effect this change? We could jack up taxes on cars or oil (a carbon tax?) but that might be a tough sell in the middle of a huge recession.
How about providing more tax incentives to cycle commuters? Perhaps a depreciation schedule for bicycles used for commuting. How about a tax incentive to live within 10 miles of your job? That alone might not only encourage smaller commutes (and more cyclists) but also help to stabilize communities in cities that are otherwise suffering from brain-drain and capital flight.
Imagine if on your tax form you had a chance to take a credit based on your distance from work? This would not be a tax on your commute, but a credit for not having one. I am sure there is someone out there who could do the math and tell me if this is practical.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Free-Range Trichinosis?
Ok, everyone once in a while the NYT crosses the line with its op-ed lineup from interesting perspectives not often considered by regular readers, to the typewritten equivalent of the infomercial.
James McWilliams piece on the 9th was one such piece of rubbish. Without delving too deeply into the numerous bits of flotsam and jetsam that McWilliams places in our path (I am sorry he won't try wild boar) lets reduce his argument to its little tiny nub. As he puts it:
The truth be told, it is long overdue that consumers take a good hard look at the meat (and everything else) in the supermarket and contemplate exactly how much fuel, toil and suffering is represented in a box of cheap bacon.
But let me be clear, this is not an argument for vegetarianism. I would only suggest that McWilliams and everyone else be willing to look that animal in the eye before you eat it. But the real hand tip about McWilliams' true agenda is revealed at the very end where we are promised that he is hard at work on a book about the terrible things that locovore movement will visit upon us.
James McWilliams piece on the 9th was one such piece of rubbish. Without delving too deeply into the numerous bits of flotsam and jetsam that McWilliams places in our path (I am sorry he won't try wild boar) lets reduce his argument to its little tiny nub. As he puts it:
IS free-range pork better and safer to eat than conventional pork? Many consumers think so. The well-publicized horrors of intensive pig farming have fostered the widespread assumption that, as one purveyor of free-range meats put it, “the health benefits are indisputable.” However, as yet another reminder that culinary wisdom is never conventional, scientists have found that free-range pork can be more likely than caged pork to carry dangerous bacteria and parasites.So here it is, the quality of life of pigs (and their flavor) is less important than eliminating a disease that is easily dealt with by cooking and engaging in safe food handling procedures. That's it. What is he defending? Industrial hog production. What does that give us? Well for starters, very unhealthy pigs. Now, I am not sure about McWilliams but as a child my parents kept a sow that we bred each year. Pigs (as opposed to wild boar) are a domesticated species. They seem to be at their happiest rooting, wallowing and being with other pigs. Pigs are perhaps the most intelligent of the barnyard animals (even exceeding horses- who I am told are roughly as smart as a 3 year old which explains many horse temper tantrums). Are they, and we, better off when instead of being free to do these things they are confined to small pens and subjected to so much stress that their systems are flooded with cortisol (to a point where some say that it affects the flavor of the meat). Also, what of the giant lagoons of pig shit that litter the Midwestern landscape? Perhaps those too are to be explained away by the bogyman of trichinosis.
The truth be told, it is long overdue that consumers take a good hard look at the meat (and everything else) in the supermarket and contemplate exactly how much fuel, toil and suffering is represented in a box of cheap bacon.
But let me be clear, this is not an argument for vegetarianism. I would only suggest that McWilliams and everyone else be willing to look that animal in the eye before you eat it. But the real hand tip about McWilliams' true agenda is revealed at the very end where we are promised that he is hard at work on a book about the terrible things that locovore movement will visit upon us.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Was there a prince in Egpyt?
Well its Passover again, and its yearly infliction on the digestive systems of the Jewish people as we struggle to find fiber substitutes for our oatmeal. As part of our family observance my kids like to watch the Dreamworks movie, the Prince of Egypt. It is by far the best of the many movies about the exodus story with great art, good music and a basic adherence to the biblical text.
Of course the one thing it cannot overcome is the factual basis of the exodus story overall. It is at this time every year that Slate or someone else feels the need to run a piece on how the exodus story might have happened (the darkness was a eclipse, the Red sea was actually a small lake and the parting an odd wind). But none of these work-arounds can get around the big problem. There is no evidence that the Jews were ever in Egypt in the first place.
And that lack of evidence, both in the Egyptian archives and the absence of physical remains (600,000 people schlepping across the desert would leave a wide trail, even thousands of years later) is compounded by the chronology problem.
Simply put, the window of opportunity for the exodus exists between Ramses II construction of the cities of P'tom and Ramses (he ascends the throne in 1290 bce, and the bible mentions these cities as being built by the Israelites) and Merenptah's campaign in the Levant circa 1208 bce. There he mentions Israel as one of the people/places he has laid waste to during the course of re-subjugating the area to Egyptian rule. It is actually the first written reference to Israel anywhere and certainly provides evidence of the people of Israel in the Land of Israel for over 3000 years (take that, revisionists).
So, that leaves a short 80 year period for the exodus and 40 years in the desert to have occurred. Therefore, all of the events described in the book of Joshua (i.e. the conquest of the land of Israel) should be reflected in the archeological record. This is simply not the case. Many places, especially Jericho and HaAi are simply not inhabited at this time. Others like Hazor were not burned or destroyed at this time (it's easy to see ash in the strata).
Nonetheless, its a great ritual and a great story of national origin. It might be that is more myth than fact- but it is a 2000 year old ritual (the seder) and a wonderful way to celebrate family and community. Perhaps most importantly, its ours. Our ritual, our collective memory and our own story of redemption and origin- that makes it worth celebrating. Even without a mention in the royal archive.
Now, if I could just find a high fiber corn cereal.
Of course the one thing it cannot overcome is the factual basis of the exodus story overall. It is at this time every year that Slate or someone else feels the need to run a piece on how the exodus story might have happened (the darkness was a eclipse, the Red sea was actually a small lake and the parting an odd wind). But none of these work-arounds can get around the big problem. There is no evidence that the Jews were ever in Egypt in the first place.
And that lack of evidence, both in the Egyptian archives and the absence of physical remains (600,000 people schlepping across the desert would leave a wide trail, even thousands of years later) is compounded by the chronology problem.
Simply put, the window of opportunity for the exodus exists between Ramses II construction of the cities of P'tom and Ramses (he ascends the throne in 1290 bce, and the bible mentions these cities as being built by the Israelites) and Merenptah's campaign in the Levant circa 1208 bce. There he mentions Israel as one of the people/places he has laid waste to during the course of re-subjugating the area to Egyptian rule. It is actually the first written reference to Israel anywhere and certainly provides evidence of the people of Israel in the Land of Israel for over 3000 years (take that, revisionists).
So, that leaves a short 80 year period for the exodus and 40 years in the desert to have occurred. Therefore, all of the events described in the book of Joshua (i.e. the conquest of the land of Israel) should be reflected in the archeological record. This is simply not the case. Many places, especially Jericho and HaAi are simply not inhabited at this time. Others like Hazor were not burned or destroyed at this time (it's easy to see ash in the strata).
Nonetheless, its a great ritual and a great story of national origin. It might be that is more myth than fact- but it is a 2000 year old ritual (the seder) and a wonderful way to celebrate family and community. Perhaps most importantly, its ours. Our ritual, our collective memory and our own story of redemption and origin- that makes it worth celebrating. Even without a mention in the royal archive.
Now, if I could just find a high fiber corn cereal.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Go nuts for the Food section
The Atlantic now has a large food section with blogs, reviews and all sorts of fun food thinking. From the joys of press pot coffee to the thoughts of Bill Niman there is plenty here to chew on.
The New York Times Discovers Neuro-Science
There is a convergence going on over at the NYT over the last few days. First, this interesting article on how researchers are unlocking the chemistry of memory, and have demonstrated how to disrupt that reaction in lab rats (i.e. induced amnesia) Fascanating, but for a longer view about the origins of the field (which is not as new as the NYT thinks), a good read is Soul Made Flesh: The Discovery of the Brain--and How it Changed the World.
Of course for those of you of a more philosophical bent, please read David Brooks this weekend as he muses about the evolutionary roots of morality. Its actually an interesting question, I have often held that morality is simply a construct we use to identify the line where we cease to believe that the ends justifies the means.
Unfortunately for the absolutists out there, that line moves. It moves for each individual and every society. It changes for each action, big or small. Can I take this penny off the floor? Can I eat the last piece of bacon? Is it OK to plunder the pension fund of a small town in east Kansas? All of these questions require making a decision about ends and means. Draw that circle too tightly and you will cease to be effective in the world. Draw it too wide and you risk becoming a monster. According to the people Brooks is speaking with, those choices are influenced by two competing ideas. The idea of competition with other groups of people balanced against cooperation within our own group.
I believe that ultimately all human behavior can be reconciled in some way to an evolutionary imperative, our task at this stage of our history is to figure out what they are without resorting to the easy answers of theology or compulsion.
After all, the first step towards a cure is identifying the problem.
Of course for those of you of a more philosophical bent, please read David Brooks this weekend as he muses about the evolutionary roots of morality. Its actually an interesting question, I have often held that morality is simply a construct we use to identify the line where we cease to believe that the ends justifies the means.
Unfortunately for the absolutists out there, that line moves. It moves for each individual and every society. It changes for each action, big or small. Can I take this penny off the floor? Can I eat the last piece of bacon? Is it OK to plunder the pension fund of a small town in east Kansas? All of these questions require making a decision about ends and means. Draw that circle too tightly and you will cease to be effective in the world. Draw it too wide and you risk becoming a monster. According to the people Brooks is speaking with, those choices are influenced by two competing ideas. The idea of competition with other groups of people balanced against cooperation within our own group.
I believe that ultimately all human behavior can be reconciled in some way to an evolutionary imperative, our task at this stage of our history is to figure out what they are without resorting to the easy answers of theology or compulsion.
After all, the first step towards a cure is identifying the problem.
Friday, April 3, 2009
David and Jonathan
So, for those of you who have not caught wind of this there is a new drama series on NBC, called Kings. It is a modern rendition of the story of the rise of King David, and the downfall of Saul. The show, set somewhere in the present day is complete with cell phones and paparazzi. It centers on the royal house of a kingdom called Gilboa (site of Saul's death in the bible) and its mortal foe Gath (one of the five city states of the Philistines in the bible). The writing is good, the acting solid and the occassional slip of whole sentences from the King James bible are a nice touch for those of us who a familar with them.
So, the big question is this. Did the writers trace their narrative arc beyond the death of Saul (Silas)? Will they (in a second season) show us the rise of David? Will there be a Bat Sheva on the roof top and an old David whose chief enforcer (and assassin) is Yoav?
We will see, for myself I am simply happy that I can watch on-line since I am pretty bad at remembering to watch shows when they're really on.
So, the big question is this. Did the writers trace their narrative arc beyond the death of Saul (Silas)? Will they (in a second season) show us the rise of David? Will there be a Bat Sheva on the roof top and an old David whose chief enforcer (and assassin) is Yoav?
We will see, for myself I am simply happy that I can watch on-line since I am pretty bad at remembering to watch shows when they're really on.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
College for All?
There are several articles (Salon, NYT) in the last week or so describing the new playing field in post-secondary education. Namely, private colleges (their endowments shrunken like dried fruit) are very excited by candidates who can pay full fare. If that sounds a tad old fashioned- well perhaps it is. Old fashioned in an elitist, whites only kind of way.
What should be interesting is how the public universities react to this. Each year the best public institutions are flooded with applicants. As more qualified, but non-rich, applicants set their sights on Cal instead of Harvard (or even Drexel) the competition will increase. That will have a knock-on effect into the next tier of schools (Davis, KU, etc) where those students who were on the back edge get tossed back into the smaller state schools.
At the end of this little food chain are the community colleges and third tier state schools. What they lack in name recognition they make up for in value. Community Colleges in California are $20/credit, unsurpassed value in America.
Now, the real question is whether state governments (and the Feds) will step forward to maintain or even increase the number of opportunities for students in the coming years as Cornell and Yale wait for their broker statements to recover.
What should be interesting is how the public universities react to this. Each year the best public institutions are flooded with applicants. As more qualified, but non-rich, applicants set their sights on Cal instead of Harvard (or even Drexel) the competition will increase. That will have a knock-on effect into the next tier of schools (Davis, KU, etc) where those students who were on the back edge get tossed back into the smaller state schools.
At the end of this little food chain are the community colleges and third tier state schools. What they lack in name recognition they make up for in value. Community Colleges in California are $20/credit, unsurpassed value in America.
Now, the real question is whether state governments (and the Feds) will step forward to maintain or even increase the number of opportunities for students in the coming years as Cornell and Yale wait for their broker statements to recover.
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