Tuition has been increasing at four-year public universities as well as private nonprofit universities. However, so has financial aid, according to a new study by the College Board that gets the attention of The New York Times:
“The good news in the 2010 ‘Trends in College Pricing’ and ‘Trends in Student Aid’ reports is that fast-rising tuition costs have been accompanied by a huge increase in financial aid, which helped keep down the actual amount students and families pay.
“‘In 2009-2010, students got $28 billion in Pell grants, and that’s $10 billion more than the year before,’ said Sandy Baum, the economist who is the lead author of the reports. ‘When you look at how much students are actually paying, on average, it is lower, after adjusting for inflation, than five years earlier.’
“In the last five years, the report said, average published tuition and fees increased by about 24 percent at public four-year colleges and universities, 17 percent at private nonprofit four-year institutions, and 11 percent at public two-year colleges — but in each sector, the net inflation-adjusted price, taking into account both grants and federal tax benefits, decreased over the period.”
A new poll finds that more Americans are concerned about making mortgage and rent payments. The Washington Post reports:
“A majority of Americans now say they are worried about making their mortgage or rent payments, underscoring the extent of economic anxiety in the country heading into midterm elections.
“A new Washington Post poll shows that concerns about housing payments have spiked since 2008 despite some improvements in the overall economy. In all, 53 percent said they are ‘very concerned’ or ‘somewhat concerned’ about having the money to make their monthly payment. Worries are the most intense among those with lower incomes and among African Americans.
“The poll results highlight the political challenge facing the Obama administration: Despite committing hundreds of billions of dollars to bail out troubled financial firms, create jobs and keep distressed borrowers in their homes, it has not been able to make many people feel better about their personal situations or even relieve fears about the cost of a need as basic as shelter.”
According to The Arizona Republic, the costs of defending Arizona’s SB 1070 have surpassed $1 million:
“The bill for defending Arizona's newest immigration law has now passed $1 million, and that's for work done only through July.
“Gov. Jan Brewer's office on Wednesday released the latest round of invoices from its outside legal counsel, Phoenix law firm Snell & Wilmer. July costs were $621,846.16. May and June costs had totaled $440,520.25.
“Money to pay for the state's legal costs is coming from Brewer's legal-defense fund, which has received $3.7 million from 42,727 individuals in all 50 states.
“Legal fees are expected to continue to be high over the next couple of months.”
Not many are expected to seek flu shots this season, according to surveys covered by USA Today:
“Only a year after the swine flu pandemic led Americans to line up for flu shots, many people are now spurning vaccines, two studies suggest.
“Only 37% of people plan to definitely get vaccinated this year, a Consumer Reports survey shows. About 30% say they definitely won't get a shot, while 31% of respondents are undecided, the survey of 1,500 says.
“In another survey of 1,300 adults by retailer CVS, 59% of respondents say they were ‘likely’ to get a flu shot this year.
“Nearly two-thirds of CVS survey respondents knew that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now recommends flu shots for everyone over 6 months old. But only half of those said that advice influenced their decision.”