Month: March 2011

I found a great article about the potential for a revolution against the rich. The writer isn’t exactly succinct but if you stay with it he makes some excellent points, most notably that the rich need to be taxed now or face revolution later. He notes that Arab leaders weren’t expecting a revolution:

Then, suddenly, out of the blue, a new “educated, unemployed and frustrated” generation turned on them, is now rebelling, demanding their share of economic benefits, opportunities, triggering revolutions, seeking retribution.

Worldwide, youth unemployment is fueling the revolution. In a New York Times column, Matthew Klein, a 24-year-old Council on Foreign Relations researcher, draws a parallel between the 25% unemployment among Egypt’s young revolutionaries and the 21% for young American workers: “The young will bear the brunt of the pain” as governments rebalance budgets. Taxes on workers will be raised and spending on education will be cut while mortgage subsidies and entitlements for the elderly are untouchable,” as will tax cuts for the rich. Opportunities lost. “How much longer until the rest of the rich world” explodes like Egypt?

Good question. How much longer until students finally get tired of having their lives mortgaged so that Al Lord and greedy deans can live large off them? How much longer until students realize they cannot have families, homes or futures because their law school dean likes living in a mansion?

How much longer until we take to the streets and start riots until the government stops allowing banks to abuse and take advantage of students, and stops allowing them to conduct business in ways that is illegal for all other types of loans and credit? How much longer?

Nando tipped me off to this exciting bit of news. Senator Barbara Boxer of California has joined the fight against the law schools. It was reported on ATL that she sent a letter to the ABA asking them to require schools to “provide accurate employment and salary information.” Oh yes!!

Senator Boxer, while you’re at it, could you work on getting school loans dischargeable in bankruptcy? And if it’s not asking too much, investigate the predatory loan practices and get that all changed? Thanks!

Villanova, the only law school to come out and admit that they “fudged numbers” has just watched its numbers slide from 67th to 84th in those all important U.S.News rankings.

Frankly, dropping from 67 to 84 doesn’t really matter, it just means the school sucks a little more than previously thought. But I think they should get points for admitting they are liars. The other schools haven’t fessed up yet, and US News hasn’t admitted its part in the law school scam. At least Villanova had the balls to admit they are filthy cheating .

The article quotes a student who believes that Villanova’s misinformation affected data for five years. I’d say that’s optimistic.

US News, the folks that aided and abetted law schools for years, is now giving advice to law students about their “investment” in a legal education.

The image that came to my mind when I read this was of a guy holding down a woman while she was raped, and then giving her advice after she was violated on how not to get raped again.

Not only do they quote Law School Transparency, they try to back off from the false statistics they have been printing:

While U.S. News offers some school-reported employment data that can serve as a foundation, the newest data, which is most pertinent to an individual’s needs, is accessible only by requesting it from the schools themselves.

Sounds like US News is worried they might be held accountable for helping so many innocent students down the path of financial ruin. Too little, too late. And all in the interest of protecting themselves, not the students.