Is college worth it?
By CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Turns out a four-year college degree might be a lousy investment.
Newsweek magazine reports in this week's cover story that for a growing number of young people, the extra time and money spent getting a college diploma will leave them worse off.
Many are pointing to the troubling similarities between college tuitions and the housing bubble:
Things like the rapid increase in tuition prices at rates higher than inflation, and people borrowing large sums of money and incurring huge debt.
Part of the problem is that the federal government has increased student aid big time. More people are taking loans - and students are told that this is "good debt," that they're investing in themselves.
But what kind of investment is it if you can't find a job when you graduate?
It's estimated that as many as two-thirds of undergrads come out of school with debt. For many, their loan balances are in the tens of thousands of dollars. Meanwhile half of all recent college graduates are either unemployed or have jobs that don't require a degree. And many are in debt up to their ears from student loans.
As Newsweek writes, "these graduates were told that a diploma was all they needed to succeed but it won't even get them out of the spare bedroom at mom and dad's."
Of course there are all kinds of degrees: a degree in engineering will help you find a job and pay off your loans a whole lot quicker than a liberal arts degree.
But, it's past time to rethink how we invest in higher education.
Some say we should put more young people to work through apprenticeship-style programs where they learn specific jobs skills and also "soft skills" - or how to succeed in the workplace.
Here’s my question to you: Is college worth it?
Tune in to the Situation Room at 4pm to see if Jack reads your answer on air.
And, we love to know where you’re writing from, so please include your city and state with your comment.
How much safer do you feel 11 years after 9/11?
By CNN's Jack Cafferty:
9/11 changed our world forever.
But a lot more has changed in the 11 years since those scary moments immediately after the terror attacks.
Think back to the days of duct tape, Homeland Security's color-coded terror alerts and anthrax scares.
Going through airport security can still be a hassle – even invasive – but for most of us, that's where the inconvenience ends.
With Osama bin Laden and many of his lieutenants gone terrorism is no longer a major source of worry for most Americans. It has been replaced by fears of an economy gone south and high unemployment.
But the threat of terrorism is far from gone.
In a piece called "A Stubborn Terror," Newsweek magazine reports on how al Qaeda keeps fighting back, with bin Laden's successor Ayman al-Zawahiri calling the shots for this global terror network.
Al Qaeda continues to grow in areas like Pakistan.
The group based in the Arabian Peninsula has staged three attacks on the United States, including the infamous Christmas "underwear bomber."
In Iraq, al Qaeda carries out bombings every month.
In North Africa, it has joined forces with other Islamist extremists and the groups are training terrorists from Algeria, Morocco and Nigeria.
In Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, a new al Qaeda group is trying to start a war between Egypt and Israel.
The fastest growing al Qaeda operation of all is in Syria, thriving on the Civil War and chaos. It carried out more than 60 attacks in June alone.
But the priority remains attacking the United States and Europe.
As Newsweek writes, "In fighting terror, our team has to stay lucky 100% of the time. Al Qaeda needs to be lucky only once."
Here’s my question to you: How much safer do you feel 11 years after 9/11?
Tune in to the Situation Room at 5pm to see if Jack reads your answer on air.
And, we love to know where you’re writing from, so please include your city and state with your comment.
What does it mean if more than 50 million Americans couldn't afford to buy food last year?
By CNN's Jack Cafferty:
More than 50 million Americans couldn't afford to buy food at some point last year.
Stunning - and very sad.
Government data shows that children in nearly 4 million households didn't have enough to eat at some point last year.
And almost 17 million Americans were at the borderline of not having enough to eat.
This means they had to eat less because the food they bought didn't last and they didn't have money to buy more.
People suffering from this condition said they found themselves in this situation for a few days a month for seven months of the year. That's a long time to be hungry.
The number of Americans in this category shot up by more than 800,000 from 2010.
Those finding it hardest to buy the food they needed include women living alone, blacks and the poor.
With numbers like these it should come as no surprise that food stamp use is at record levels.
According to the government, 46.7 million people used food stamps in June. That's up more than 3% from a year ago.
In fact, food stamp use has stayed above 46 million all year long just as unemployment has stayed above 8%. That's some economic recovery.
And it's costing all of us... federal food stamp spending neared a record $76 billion last year.
Nonetheless, President Obama has pushed to grow the program - with the Department of Agriculture running radio ads encouraging more eligible people to enroll for food stamps.
Republicans want to cut back on food stamp spending.
Here’s my question to you: What does it mean if more than 50 million Americans couldn't afford to buy food last year?
Tune in to the Situation Room at 4pm to see if Jack reads your answer on air.
And, we love to know where you’re writing from, so please include your city and state with your comment.
Why is Congress so good at kicking the can down the road?
By CNN's Jack Cafferty:
They're at it again.
After a five-week vacation, Congress is back to doing nothing.
Lawmakers are back on the Hill - although most of them aren't really there. They're worried about Election Day, which is less than two months away.
If it's at all possible for the atmosphere in Washington to get any more partisan, now is the time.
And while the country is knee-deep in serious problems, Congress is focusing on politics. What else is new?
The only must-pass measure before them is a short-term continuing resolution to fund the government and avoid a government shutdown.
Aside from that, look for lots of meaningless hearings and votes on measures that both sides know won't pass: The Republicans want to roll back automatic defense cuts and repeal Obamacare. The Democrats want to vote on a jobs bill with no Republican support.
Also, expect a lot of these votes to echo themes we're hearing on the campaign trail from Messrs. Obama and Romney.
Pathetic is what they are. All this as the U.S. hangs off the edge of that fiscal cliff.
If Congress chooses to do nothing about the deep automatic spending cuts and the expiring Bush tax cuts coming soon, economists warn we likely will be headed for another recession.
And there's loads of other unfinished business too - like a farm bill, a veterans jobs bill, and a housing bill.
Urgent matters, to which the response is - ready? The Senate might leave town again for another seven-week recess as soon as September 21.
But be sure to vote to re-elect the incumbents in your state or congressional district, because they're doing such a great job.
Here’s my question to you: Why is Congress so good at kicking the can down the road?
Tune in to the Situation Room at 5pm to see if Jack reads your answer on air.
And, we love to know where you’re writing from, so please include your city and state with your comment.
@jackcafferty on Twitter
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