Neal McCluskey

Any Budget That Cuts Fed Ed Is Good, But…

The Trump Administration’s proposed U.S. Department of Education budget is due some props, but there is also a downside.

Schools Not Crumbling

Education, both constitutionally and as a practical matter, is a state and local responsibility.

Clinton’s Debt-Free Tuition Plan Seems Likely to Flunk

Over the next couple of days, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will be playing up her new, $350-billion proposal primarily intended to make paying public college tuition a debt-free experience.

Student Loan Gifts Don’t Help

Today must be student loan day in President Obama’s “year of action” – also “year of midterm elections” – as the President announced he will expand eligibility for student loan repayment capping and forgiveness. In addition, this week the Senate is set to take up Elizabeth Warren’s (D-MA) bill to federally refinance student loans at lower interest rates, including truly private loans.

Education Guns Fire Blanks in War on Poverty

A lot of federal weapons were created to fight President Lyndon Johnson’s ”War on Poverty,” and some of the biggest were in education. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the Higher Education Act, and Head Start are all parts of Johnson’s overall effort to end poverty and create a “Great Society.” They also share two other things in common: pretty damning evidence that they are failures, and Cato videos laying out the bad news.

A Big, Tiny Deal on Student Loans

After a bit of a false start last week, it sounds again like the Senate is on the brink of a bipartisan compromise that will link rates on federal student loans to overall interest rates. Given all the hubbub that’s surrounded the loans, that’s big news. Given the actual change that would take place, it’s tiny.

Subsidized Student Loans: 6.8 Day is Here!

Washington hasn’t passed a new law to avert it, so today’s the day that all of higher education has, it seems, been dreading: The day that interest rates on subsidized federal student loans double, going from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent.

Don't Bother, HEA Ostriches

If this is how reauthorization of the Higher Education Act is going to go, Congress shouldn’t even bother.

Education Poll Exposes Moochin’ Americans

As we slide towards the “fiscal cliff,” President Obama’s stance seems pretty clear: Americans want lots of stuff but shouldn’t have to pay for it. (It’s a position the GOP has also often taken.) A new education survey suggests the President’s position is politically smart.

Federal Irony Alert!

The nation’s biggest subprime student lender–your federal government!—has just called out private “subprime” lenders.

Downsizing the Federal Government