Josh 'hire mates in contradiction to campaign comments-fake southern drawl' Mandel in Ohio shook Romney's hand in a firm and forthright manner, then in an interview said 'when i go to Washington student debt will be a major issue' .. i wonder if he is up on Romney's student package ..
What Romney's Education Plan Means for College Students
In addition to providing must-watch late night television, student debt continues to play a role in the presidential election. On May 23, Mitt Romney unveiled his own education plan, "A Chance for Every Child: Mitt Romney's Plan for Restoring the Promise of American Education."
While the plan is relatively lacking in shock-value, your Student Loan Ranger will take a stab at breaking down its implications for higher education from our own inimitable student debt perspective.
According to A Chance for Every Child, higher education is ensconced in a "new normal" in which "education is unaffordable, a government loan is an entitlement, default is the norm, and loan forgiveness is the expectation." Despite this somewhat hyperbolic description, the issues it highlights are not unfamiliar to even casual followers of higher education or this blog–although our take on some of these issues may differ from Romney's.
For example, the report worries about a misplaced focus on four-year degrees, claiming two-year degrees, occupational certificates, and apprenticeships may be more appropriate for many jobs. (We prefer to highlight how community college can help reduce student debt and keep low-income students in school.)
[Get tips on how to finish community college.]
It states that prioritizing college access has distracted attention from college completion. (College completion is a real issue, especially for low-income and minority students, but conflating those two might be a bit of a stretch.)
It appears we all agree that skyrocketing college tuition (although this is understated by the paper, which says nearly half of undergraduate students take out loans to pay for college when it's actually two-thirds), a total student debt burden over $1 trillion and rapidly rising default rates are big problems.
[Find out how to pay for college.]
So what would a Romney presidency look like for college students?
A Chance for Every Child proposes a number of small bore reforms that are similar to proposals already made by the Obama administration.
Romney would "make it clear" that the federal government will not reward universities for increasing tuition and would support institutions that are driving down college costs. (President Obama said this in January.) He would simplify the federal financial aid system ("simplification" sounds great but not if it means a reduction in the availability of federal financial aid) and "refocus" Pell grant dollars on the most needy students. (If by "refocusing" Pell grants Romney means a further tightening of requirements, which translates to fewer grants, the Student Loan Ranger would definitely oppose that.)
[Read about current changes to Pell grant eligibility.]
And Romney would enter into public-private partnerships to ensure students and their families are able to make informed decisions about college. (We believe the financial disclosure work already being done by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau addresses this.)
But what might be more problematic for those unable to afford college or struggling with student debt is not what Romney proposes but what he opposes. In addition to tightening their eligibility requirements, he appears to be against increasing funding for Pell grants. At the same time, he opposes "gainful employment" regulations implemented by the Obama administration aimed at preventing students from racking up student debt in pursuit of degrees issued by sub-par schools.
A Chance for Every Child also takes aim at improvements designed to cap monthly student loan payments at 10 percent of borrowers' incomes. If you're reading this blog, you probably already know that we think ensuring borrowers can afford their monthly payments is a good idea and that we support President Obama's Pay As You Earn proposal to speed up implementation of the 10 percent cap.
And while stating "loan forgiveness is the expectation" may be mere campaign rhetoric, it may also be an indication that Romney would attempt to dismantle programs like Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
Finally, A Chance for Every Child decries the termination of the FFEL loan program, despite the fact that revoking this subsidy to private banks was projected to reduce the deficit by $68 billion between 2010 and 2020 and reduced incentives that led some student loan banks to make illegal payoffs to college financial aid officials.
Overall, Romney's plan appears at best to continue policy proposals already made by the Obama administration but would prioritize public-private partnerships rather than utilizing (currently) existing government agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
At worst, it could provide a basis for reducing or eliminating programs like Pell grants, income-driven repayment plans and loan forgiveness, and consumer-friendly regulations like the gainful employment rule. Absent a feasible plan to reduce the cost of college and lower skyrocketing tuition–and there is no such plan in A Chance for Every Child–this could be a financial disaster for thousands of college students and graduates.
[...]
Isaac Bowers is a senior program manager in the Communications and Outreach unit, responsible for Equal Justice Works' educational debt relief initiatives. An expert on educational debt relief, Bowers conducts monthly webinars for a wide range of audiences; advises employers, law schools, and professional organizations; and works with Congress and the Department of Education on federal legislation and regulations. Prior to joining Equal Justice Works, he was a fellow at Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger LLP in San Francisco. He received his J.D. from New York University School of Law.
LOL Romney's prime advice to the student on a question re college debt is to "shop around" .. as if the student and others wouldn't do that?? .. what a patronizing flip .. big cheer to 'i won't give you any (more?) government money' .. not sure if he said more ..
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It's Josh Mandel Y'all!
August 16th, 2012 By Andy Brownfield
Northern Ohio senatorial candidate affects Southern drawl for western Ohio coal miners
Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel
I, for one, was comforted to hear the warm Southern drawl put on by Ohio treasurer and senatorial candidate Josh Mandel while he campaigned for Mitt Romney before Beallsville coal miners on Wednesday.
As someone who recently spent six months living and working in Montgomery, Ala., it brought me back to simpler times when summer nights were spent drinking sweet tea spiked with rum on a porch and it was for some reason still OK to refer to a grown black man as “boy.”
So when I heard Josh Mandel extoll the virtues of coal in a drawl reminiscent of fresh butter spread on cornbread, I immediately thought, “shucks, this guy gets me — he’s one of us.”
Wait, what’s that? Mandel hails from Lyndhurst, a Cleveland suburb that’s the Hyde Park of Northern Ohio? He’s never even eaten cheese grits? (Editor’s note: CityBeat could not independently verify that Josh Mandel has in fact never eaten cheese grits.) Well now I just feel put on.
"As if blowing off work and hiring unqualified campaign workers and friends at taxpayer expense wasn't evidence enough of his blatant disregard for the people who elected him treasurer expecting that he'd do his job, Josh Mandel has now stooped to faking his accent as a means of earning votes," Ohio Democratic Party spokesman Andrew Zucker said in a statement.
"It's sad, it's pathetic and unfortunately it's concrete proof that he is just another politician who can't be trusted."
Sounding folksy or down-homey is nothing new in presidential politics.
When campaigning in Alabama, Romney famously dropped “y’alls” into his speech and spoke of his newfound love for “cheesy grits” and catfish (my editor in Montgomery was quick to point out to me, another carpetbagger, that any real Southerner knows they’re cheese grits, not cheesy grits).
If there’s one thing Southerners don’t take too kindly to, it’s Yankee pandering.
“People in the Deep South have a bit of a natural distrust for Northerners, especially folks from the Northeast,” said Gordon, who is not affiliated with any campaign in the Republican presidential contest. “There are cultural differences, stemming all the way back to the Civil War, and they affect the way people perceive Mr. Romney.”
Romney is by no means the first to affect an accent to fit in with the natives.
Both Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Bill Clinton adopted drawls while on campaign stops in the South. Though those two former presidents, from Texas and Arkansas respectively, had the bona fides to pull it off.
Josh Mandel Will Keep Saying Things Even If They Aren't True Posted by Vince Grzegorek on Mon, Mar 26, 2012 at 2:48 PM
No, no, no, this shirt is yellow.
The beauty of politics is the license to say whatever you want — true or otherwise. Actually, no, that kind of sucks, but it's an everlasting truth we all must acknowledge, like the fact Dick Cheyney will never die.
On Sunday, The Plain Dealer broke down the great political fib in the era of ubiquitous fact-checking .. http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2012/03/even_in_an_age_of_fact-check_j.html .. and found that despite a plethora of folks, both regular and of the media variety, pointing out when politicians say very stupid, very false things, politicians continue to say very stupid, very false things with little to no repercussions.
In fact, lying about your opponent remains as vital to campaigning today as it was back in 1908 when William Taft told the press William Jennings Bryan was so fat he once got stuck in a bathtub.
One great tidbit from the PD article focuses on Josh Mandel, that boyish used car salesman who's running against Sherrod Brown. Mandel had charged that Brown, a noted and distinguished foreign trade opponent, was responsible for Ohio jobs being lost to China.
Asked to provide examples, Mandel had zero that stood up to any scrutiny. PolitiFact in turn took a book of matches and lit Mandel's pants on fire.
When asked again by The Plain Dealer to give examples of specific Ohio jobs lost to China, this is what Mandel had to say:
"If that's the level of specificity you're looking for, you're the reporters — you go do the grunt work," said Mandel, who lives in Beachwood. "Any reporter who doesn't believe Sherrod Brown is responsible for jobs going to China is simply out of touch."
PolitiFact Ohio already had done the "grunt work" and found that the examples cited by Mandel's campaign failed to back up his claim, hence the Pants on Fire rating. Right or wrong, Mandel vowed to repeat the assertion "again and again" and said he sees no downside.
His claims, he added, are "100 percent" truth.
"In the minds of so many Clevelanders we talk to, The Plain Dealer's PolitiFact project has zero credibility," said Mandel, a former state legislator and suburban councilman. "People we hear from — Democrats, Republicans and independents — feel The Plain Dealer's PolitiFact project is completely biased, sensationalized and without credibility."
To paraphrase: It's not my responsibility to say something true to the voters; it's the press' responsibility to tell the voters if what I'm saying is true. And, hell, as long as the voters are buying what I'm selling, I don't have to stop saying it.
Ouch. Senator Sherrod Brown's opponent's family takes out ad denouncing him
Mon Nov 05, 2012 at 06:07 PM PST
by SteveningenFollow - 143 Comments
This has got to sting. Josh Mandel, the ultra-conservative, anti-gay bigot running in Ohio against Senator Sherrod Brown has been given quite a comeuppance by his own family. The Cleveland Leader .. http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/19319 .. reports they collectively took out a smoldering ad in The Cleveland Jewish News denouncing his stance on LGBT rights.
Your cousins, Ellen Ratner and Cholene Espinoza, are among the many wonderful couples whose rights you do not recognize. They were married almost eight years ago in Massachusetts, at a time when it was the only state in the nation to allow same-sex marriage. Their wedding, like yours, was a beautiful and happy occasion for all of us in our family. It hurts us that you would embrace discrimination against them and countless other loving couples in Ohio and around the country.??
We are equally distressed by your belief that gay men and women should not be allowed to serve openly in the military. Like you, Cholene spent many years in the armed forces. A graduate of the Air Force Academy and an accomplished pilot, she became the second woman in history to fly the U-2 reconnaissance plane. And yet, you have argued that she, like many gay and lesbian soldiers, should be forced to live a life of secrecy and lies.??
Josh, as you know, our roots are deep in the Cleveland area and we have friends and family we love throughout Ohio. This family is sprawling and diverse, but it has always believed strongly in the values of equality and inclusiveness. Your discriminatory stance violates these core values of our family. Nevertheless we hope that over time, as you advance in years and wisdom, you will come to embrace the values of inclusiveness and equality as well.??.?? ??
The open letter was signed by nine of his cousins. This "family values" guy must be completely wrecked to have his twisted values denounced by his own family. That took a great amount of courage and I applaud them for standing up for decency and equality. I've always respected Senator Brown and I hope this letter helps assure his victory tomorrow.
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