Sunday, April 13, 2008

No Child Left Behind

The agency in Arkansas that provides funding for college loans is unable to acquire money to loan because of the freeze up of the credit markets. It normally sells bonds to raise the cash but nobody is buying student loan bonds.

The state and federal levels need to make this priority one. We can't wait around here because unless something is done, students for the fall semester are not going to be able to get loans. Once you drop out of the college money pipeline you are pretty much out of the pipeline. We can't lose a couple of years worth of kids for this to get corrected.

Companies can also step up. Colleges are prime recruiting grounds and its in their best interests to help take up some slack. The admirable Murphy Oil Company has done just that. Other companies need to follow Murphy Oil's lead. Large wealthy corporations in this state that traditionally do well during recessions can play a big positive role here also.

For what it's worth, these are loans so the buyer gets the money back...they are pretty much guaranteed by the US government so the risk is moderated also. No time to waste.

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