L.R. #5

Mettler, Suzanne. Degrees of Inequality: How the Politics of Higher Education Sabotaged the American Dream. Print.

The excerpts from this book i have read first background how for-profits made there way just after WWII. Also, in regards to the GI bill, it was a key role in allowing for-profits to gain an edge on the competition. However, the bulk of my reading was about the early work done by congress and policy makers to try and halt for-profits from retaining all of government aid. The little legislation they did do in the middle 20th century was rarely enforced even after reports were made on for-profits that showed how criminal they behaved as a business. After 1984, the for-profits just became an extension of the government. Incredible lobbying was done and to top it off a lobbyist for for-profits was hired as Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education. These two led to direct undoings of any regulation on for-profits and then spurred the boom of the for-profit sector. 

"Suzanne Mettler is the Clinton Rossiter Professor of American Institutions in the Government Department at Cornell University. Her research and teaching interests include public policy (including social welfare, tax, health, and education policies), American political development, political behavior and civic engagement, and inequality." This taken directly from a Cornell website, shows that she is well qualified.

 Bipartisan- In the book, this word describes the collaboration between Republicans and Democrats.

PAC is defined as Political action committee. This was created by many for-profits for obvious reasons.

“None of the Apollo group companies would exist without the ability to protect them from regulatory and political attack.”(100)

“If you cant tie a good knot, tie lots of bad one”.(99) 

Value- I wish she would have written this book months earlier!