>40,000 jobs lost in Canada in July

More than 40,000 jobs disappeared from Canada's economy in July, driving the national employment rate down to its lowest point since the COVID pandemic. 

Canada's economy shed over 40,000 jobs in July, partly offsetting earlier growth | CBC News | Thomson Reuters:

August 8, 2025 - "The Canadian economy lost more than 40,000 jobs in July, sinking the share of people employed to an eight-month low, Statistics Canada reported on Friday, as the labour market gave back substantial gains seen in June. The unemployment rate, however, remained steady but at a multi-year-high level of 6.9 per cent, the agency said.

"The economy shed 40,800 jobs in July against a net addition of 83,000 jobs in June, taking the employment rate — or the percentage of people employed out of the total working-age population — to 60.7 per cent. The employment rate was the lowest since the pandemic and the loss of jobs was concentrated among permanent employees....

"The declines were largely driven by job losses among young people aged 15 to 24, a cohort that has struggled to find work.... Their employment rate dropped to 53.6 per cent, the lowest since November 1998, excluding the pandemic. 

"The youth unemployment rate, meanwhile, hit 14.6 per cent — the highest rate for this group since September 2010, again barring the pandemic years. High school students returning to class in the fall are having an especially difficult time finding work....

"The sectors hit hardest last month included the information, culture and recreation industry, which lost 29,000 jobs, while construction lost 22,000 jobs, and business, building and support services shed 19,000 jobs. Transportation and warehousing made gains with a 26,000-job bump."

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canada-labour-force-survey-july-1.7604068

Polling shows Canadians sharply divided

Polling on the Canadian general election shows a nation sharply divided by region, by sex, and by age. 

Liberals lead by 5 points over Conservatives in a ‘nation divided between East and West’: Nanos | CTV | Phil Hahn:

April 25, 2025 - "A three-day rolling sample by Nanos Research conducted on April 22-24 has the Liberals at 43 per cent over the Conservatives, who are at 38 per cent nationally. The New Democratic Party is at eight per cent, followed by the Bloc Quebecois (six per cent), Green Party of Canada (three per cent) and the People’s Party of Canada (one per cent).

"It’s a 'nation divided between East and West,' said Nik Nanos.... 

• In Ontario, the Liberals went from a double-digit advantage earlier in the week to seven points and they’re at 47 per cent versus the Conservatives at 40. The NDP is at eight. 
• The Liberals have widened their lead in Quebec and are at 41 compared with the Conservatives at 21. The Bloc Quebecois is in second place at 26 per cent.
• In the Prairies, the Conservatives remain far ahead with 57 per cent of those surveyed backing them, versus 30 for the Liberals. The NDP is at nine. In B.C., the Liberals are at 39 per cent versus 41 per cent for the Conservatives. The NDP is at 13.
• The Liberal lead in the Atlantic region remains strong at 62 per cent versus 34 per cent for the Conservatives. The NDP remains far behind in the region at three per cent....

"A gender breakdown shows women continue to be more likely to vote Liberal than men. 

• Forty-eight per cent of women surveyed said they would support the Liberals, compared with 32 per cent who’d vote Conservative. Eight per cent of women back the NDP. 
• Meanwhile, the number of men who said they would vote Liberal is at 37 per cent, compared with 45 for the Conservatives. Nine per cent of men surveyed would vote NDP.

"The Conservative advantage among voters under 35 continues with 44 per cent of those surveyed backing them versus 31 for the Liberals. Thirteen per cent chose the NDP. Meanwhile, it’s a dead heat among those aged 35 to 54, with Conservatives at 41 per cent versus 42 for the Liberals. Seven per cent would vote NDP.... Fifty-one per cent of those aged 55 and up said they would back the Liberals, versus 32 for the Conservatives. Seven per cent in that age category chose the NDP."

Read more: https://www.ctvnews.ca/federal-election-2025/article/liberals-lead-by-5-points-over-conservatives-in-a-nation-divided-between-east-and-west-nanos/

The boomer/millennial divide defining the Canadian election | National Post | Tristin Hopper, First Reading:

March 27, 2025 - "A Leger poll released Tuesday found that a recent surge in support for Liberal Leader Mark Carney is being driven largely by seniors — and that if the election was decided solely by younger voters it would be an easy Conservative victory. Poll respondents over the age of 55 were the single strongest cohort for the Liberals, polling higher than any other demographic except for Atlantic Canadians. Among seniors, 52 per cent indicated their intention to vote Liberal, against just 34 per cent leaning Conservative.

"In the younger age cohorts, the Conservatives were the clear favourite. Among voters aged 18 to 34, it was 39 per cent Conservative to 37 per cent Liberal. Among those aged 35 to 54 set, it was 42 per cent Conservative to 38 per cent Liberal.

"[T]he 2025 election is the first time on record that young Canadians are leaning conservative at a higher rate than their elders.... It’s a trend that’s been showing up in polls ever since 2022, when Pierre Poilievre first won the leadership of the Conservative Party.... By late 2024, polls consistently showed that under-34 voters made up the strongest base of support for the Tories. It’s a trend that has placed Canada wildly out of step with its usual peer countries, all of whom are still adhering to the traditional metric of progressive young people and conservative old people."

Read more: https://nationalpost.com/opinion/boomer-millennial-divide-defining-the-canadian-election

Young Chinese self-infecting with Covid

China Covid: Young people self-infect as fears for elderly grow | BBC News: 

January 6, 2023 - "When Mr Chen's 85-year-old father fell ill with Covid in December, it was impossible to get an ambulance or see a doctor. They went to Chaoyang Hospital in Beijing, where they were told to either try other hospitals or sit in the corridor with an IV drip.... The elder Mr Chen has now recovered, but his son worries that a second infection in the future could kill him....

"The final step in China's swift reversal of its contentious zero-Covid policy [came] on Sunday when it reopen[ed] borders for international travel. With mass testing, stringent quarantines and sudden, sweeping lockdowns gone, families like Mr Chen's are wary of what lies ahead. But younger Chinese, all of whom did not wish to be named, feel differently - and some told the BBC they were voluntarily exposing themselves to infection.

"A 27-year-old coder in Shanghai, who did not receive any of the Chinese vaccines, says he voluntarily exposed himself to the virus. 'Because I don't want to change my holiday plan,' he explains, 'and I could make sure I recovered and won't be infected again during the holiday if I intentionally control the time I get infected.' He admits he did not expect the muscle aches that came with the infection, but says the symptoms have been largely as expected.

"Another Shanghai resident, a 26-year-old woman, tells the BBC she visited her friend who had tested positive 'so I could get Covid as well'. But she says her recovery has been hard: 'I thought it would be like getting a cold but it was much more painful.'

"A 29-year-old who works for a state-run business based in Jiaxing, in the northern Zhejiang province, says she was thrilled when she heard the country's borders were reopening.... 'Life was ridiculous when I had to ask my manager's permission to travel. I just want life to get back to normal,' she says.... She herself has not tested positive for the virus yet, but concedes that - when her husband did - she wore a mask 24/7 at home, even when she was sleeping. 'I did not want us to be sick at the same time,' she says. 'But I'm not scared of the virus, as the severe symptoms are rare'....

"At least in the big cities, people have been returning to malls, restaurants and parks, and even queuing up for visas and tourist permits. The state-run Global Times newspaper declared 'normal times are back', attributing the line to interviews with Chinese.... But beyond the major cities, it is difficult to know how people - particularly in China's rural regions - are responding to an about-face in government messaging.

"For three years, state-run media presented the virus as a dangerous menace to society, vowing that it would achieve "dynamic zero-Covid" to keep the population safe. But that rhetoric has been turned on its head in recent weeks, with doctors regularly trotted out to call for calm over confusion.

"Mrs Li, a 52-year-old in Beijing, argues the government 'did the right thing' for the first two years but should have ended its zero-Covid policy in early 2022.... 'Also winter is the worst season to do it. Why not wait until next spring? And why didn't the government prepare enough resources before opening up?' she asks. '2022 was the worst year for us. I can only pray 2023 won't be any worse.'"

Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-64183281

Kids for Cash judges ordered to pay $200 million

Judges Who Sent Kids to Detention Centers for Financial Kickbacks Ordered To Pay Over $200 Million | Reason - Emma Camp:

August 18, 2022 - "For almost seven years, two Pennsylvania judges sent hundreds of children — some of them as young as 8 years old — to privately run juvenile detention centers in exchange for financial kickbacks. On Tuesday, Judge Christopher Conner ordered former Judges Mark A. Ciavarella and Michael T. Conahan to pay over $200 million in compensatory and punitive damages to their victims.

"Starting in 2000, the pair sent children into juvenile detention for offenses as innocuous as jaywalking, petty theft, or truancy. In what became known as the "kids for cash" scandal, the children were sent to two privately run detention centers whose builder and co-owner paid the men $2.8 million, according to the Associated Press, over the course of the scheme.

"According to testimony from plaintiffs during the class-action suit, many of the sentences the children received were staggering. One plaintiff, who was 16 at the time, was sentenced to 11 months for driving the wrong way down a one-way street without a license. Another girl, then only 10, was sent to detention for a schoolyard fight with no serious injuries. One child was sent to detention for stealing a Hershey bar, another for writing on a school window with a marker.... One plaintiff was sentenced to an additional eight months in detention after Ciavarella instructed him to pick a sports team, and he picked the wrong one....  

"According to CBS news, following the plot's discovery, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has thrown out 4,000 juvenile convictions between 2003 and 2008. However, many of the plaintiffs still suffer from mental health problems. Several children sent to detention by Ciavarella and Conahan have died by suicide or drug overdose in the years after their detention. 'Children and adolescents suffered unspeakable physical and emotional trauma at the hands of two judicial officers who swore by solemn oath to uphold the law,' Judge Conner wrote in a memorandum on the ruling. 'Ciavarella and Conahan abandoned their oath and breached the public trust. Their cruel and despicable actions victimized a vulnerable population of young people, many of whom were suffering from emotional issues and mental health concerns.'

"Unfortunately, it is unlikely that any of the plaintiffs will receive financial compensation for their unjust detentions as, according to the A.P., Ciavarella and Conahan are now serving lengthy prison sentences. Ciavarella was sentenced to 28 years in prison, and Conahan was sentenced to 17 years, though he was released to home confinement in 2020, citing COVID-19-related concerns.... 

"The plaintiffs in this case 'are the tragic human casualties of a scandal of epic proportions. The law is powerless to restore to plaintiffs the weeks, months, and years lost because of the actions of the defendants,' wrote Conner. 'But we hope that by listening to their experiences and acknowledging the depth of the damage done to their lives, we can provide them with a measure of closure and…ensure that their stories are never forgotten.'

Read more: https://reason.com/2022/08/18/judges-who-sent-kids-to-detention-centers-for-financial-kickbacks-ordered-to-pay-over-200-million/

Denmark ends Covid-vaccination of children

Denmark bans COVID vaccines for children | Western Standard - Jonathan Bradley: 

August 10, 2022 - "The Danish government barred children under 18 years old from taking COVID-19 vaccines because of the low risk they face from the virus. 'Therefore, it will no longer be possible for children and young people under the age of 18 to get the 1st jab, and from 1 September 2022 it will no longer be possible to get the 2nd jab,' said the Danish government in a June statement. 

"The statement said high-risk children can be vaccinated after being assessed by a doctor. 

"The Danish government said many people have been vaccinated and infected with COVID-19. Immunity in Denmark remains high.... Invitations for people to be vaccinated will no longer be sent out. People who turn 18 years old and received two doses will not receive an invitation for the third. If people are older than 18, they can book their third dose. 

"The Danish government said it continues to encourage unvaccinated people 18 and older to be vaccinated, as they are at a higher risk for serious illness. It said it recommends unvaccinated people wait until the fall to be vaccinated. 

"The risk for COVID-19 is greater the older people become, so the Danish government said it will target those 40 years old and older. It added younger people might benefit from vaccines if they have risk factors such as chronic diseases and severe obesity.... 

"This approach is different from what Health Canada recommends, as it approved Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for children on July 14. Health Canada said the Moderna vaccine can be given to children between the ages of six months and five years. It will be administered in doses one-quarter the size of what is approved for adults. Pfizer's vaccine for young children was submitted to Health Canada in June and remains under review.

"Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet apologized for promoting COVID-19 narratives in January. 'We failed,' said Ekstra Bladet. 'For almost two years, the press and the population have been almost hypnotically preoccupied with the authorities (sic) daily corona totals.'"

Read more: https://www.westernstandard.news/news/denmark-bans-covid-vaccines-for-children/article_f9f70ba0-18c4-11ed-89cc-3b914fdcb391.html

Majority of Canadians 18-54 approved of Freedom Convoy

One Canadian pollster found that a "small fringe majority" of Canadians aged 18-54 sympathized with the Freedom Convoy, while the overwhelming majority of their elders opposed it.   

Trudeau’s convoy response gets failing grade, but even fewer support protesters: Ipsos poll | Global News - Aya Al-Hakim:

February 24, 2022 - "As the so-called “Freedom Convoy” comes to an end in Ottawa, Canadians remain divided on how they feel about the protests. According to a new Ipsos poll published Thursday, Canadians’ approval of Justin Trudeau’s handling of the convoy blockade was only seven points higher than that of the protesters. 

"The poll conducted exclusively for Global News showed that 43 per cent of Canadians approved of the way Trudeau handled the three-week long protests in Ottawa while 36 per cent per cent supported the way the truckers handled themselves throughout the occupation. In Ontario ... 49 per cent approved of Doug Ford’s handling of the situation, narrowly beating the 46 per cent who approved of Trudeau’s performance.

"'What’s particularly worrying is that 52 per cent of the people that we interviewed said that the prime minister’s divisive rhetoric and the way that he approached the protest was mostly responsible for what happened,' Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos public affairs, told Global News. Bricker explained that Trudeau characterized people who were part of the protest as the ones who voted for the opposition parties, particularly the People’s Party and the Conservative Party, but 'the data shows that people aren’t particularly united around any sort of partisan choice.' 

"'This is really a group of the population…who really are feeling left out, left behind and very concerned about the way that the government is not only managing the pandemic, but also the way that the economy is going right now,' said Bricker. 'They have a very challenged sense of hope. But it’s not defined in partisan terms. The prime minister chose to define it in those terms, and the reaction from the public to that has been quite negative. As we’ve seen in the polling results, 52 per cent of the population said he added fuel to the fire,' he added.

"According to the poll, nearly 46 per cent say that while they may not agree with everything that the convoy participants have said and done in Ottawa, their frustration is legitimate and worthy of people’s sympathy. 'So as bad as things got during the course of the protest, it really didn’t affect how people felt about the protesters themselves,' Bricker said.

"About 48 per cent of people also said that the protest probably wouldn’t have taken place if people weren’t feeling the level of economic frustration that they’re feeling. On top of that, 54 per cent of Canadians also believe the protests in Ottawa at least partially contributed to the loosening of COVID-19 restrictions in the country.

"Bricker said the issue here is that 'even though authorities may not like it,' data is showing that protesters have gained a certain amount of sympathy among the Canadian population.

"The poll also states that 'a deep generational divide is evident,' with a majority of those aged 18-34 (58 per cent) and 35-54 (53 per cent) sympathizing with the protesters compared to only 32 per cent of those aged over 55. Bricker said that younger Canadians are feeling very insecure in this economy and are sympathizing more with the frustration that the convoy is presenting compared to older Canadians and those who are more economically secure. 'Usually, we see things through a partisan lens or we see them through a regional lens. Not this time. It’s a different type of division that we’re seeing,' he said.

Read more: https://globalnews.ca/news/8640772/ipsos-poll-trudeau-convoy-response/

Mental disorders rose globally during lockdowns

Covid Anxiety Is a Health Problem Too | Wall Street Journal - Dr. Marc Siegel:

October 15, 2021 - "In New York City, I often see people walking down the sidewalk, masks hanging low over their chins, looking fearful and dodging one another. The health benefit from these wary rituals is minimal to nonexistent, and they illustrate the toll that fear of Covid-19 has taken on mental health.

"A new global study published in the Lancet examines 48 data sources in an attempt to quantify that toll. The authors report a world-wide increase of more than 129 million cases of major depression and anxiety disorders compared with pre-pandemic figures. They attribute this to the 'combined effects of the spread of the virus, lockdowns, stay-at-home orders, decreased public transport, school and business closures, and decreased social interactions, among other factors.'

"The rise in mental-health problems was correlated with both infection rates and restrictions on personal behavior: 'We estimated that the locations hit hardest by the pandemic in 2020, as measured with decreased human mobility and daily SARS-CoV-2 infection rate, had the greatest increases in prevalence of major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders'....

"As in previous studies, the mental-health effect was most severe on younger people, likely because their need for social interactions is stronger and their social lives depend more on people outside the household. They are also at considerably less risk of severe disease, so restrictions pose a relatively heavy burden on them primarily for the benefit of their elders.

"From the beginning of the Covid outbreak in China, studies have found a connection between the severity of lockdowns and depression rates.... In most states, the average anxiety and depression scores increased during the late summer, fall and winter of 2020, while lockdowns were still in place. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, almost a third of adults in the U.S. reported symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder in late April and early May 2021, triple the number in 2019 before the pandemic started. But in South Dakota, which has had very few restrictions, the numbers were lower, with 24% reporting these symptoms.

"Government overreach in closing schools has caused a great mental health tragedy among our young. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has declared the Covid-19 pandemic the most severe disruption to education in history, with 1.6 billon learners in more than 190 countries out of school at some point in 2020.... A University of Washington study published last month by the Journal of the American Medical Association surveyed more than 2,300 American parents and found that remote learning negatively affected mental health and that 'older and Black and Hispanic children as well as those from families with lower income who attend school remotely may experience greater impairment to mental health than their younger, White, and higher income counterparts.'

"Badly conceived methods for stopping infection can be harmful to public health. Lockdowns and business closures were based on a model that ... proved ineffective at containing SARS-CoV-2, ... while causing enormous psychic damage. Even many people who didn’t get sick with Covid-19 will never be the same again."

Read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-anxiety-health-problem-isloation-school-youth-mental-lockdown-social-distancing-11634324802

Read study: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)02143-7/fulltext

Covid-19 FAQ vs GBD (5): Youth and Long Covid

Anti-virus: The Covid-19 FAQ on the Great Barrington Declaration 
V: Youth and Long Covid

by George J. Dance

from "A Defence of the Great Barrington Declaration from Its Powerful Critics", The Daily Sceptic, 22 March 2021. 

6) Younger, healthier people don’t want this virus either. Just because younger, healthier people who catch the coronavirus die at lower rates than the elderly or those with pre-existing medical conditions, it doesn’t mean that it’s fine for them to catch the virus. (9)

"Lower rates" sounds deliberately misleading; the FAQ's own cited source says that “For every 1,000 people infected with the coronavirus who are under the age of 50, almost none will die” and “The IFR [is] close to zero for people between the ages of 15 and 44” (15) . But that does not mean that young people have no risks at all. It is prudent for them to manage their risks, too.

I wish I could tell those young people to also get vaccinated. Unfortunately, they are not legally allowed to do so at this time [March 2021]; governments have monopolised the vaccines, and nobody is allowed to take them until their government lets them. As not just a Covid libertarian but a full libertarian, and in light of my earlier vaccine comments: I would like to see a legal vaccine market for those excluded from the Government program. That need not drain vaccines from the Government program: one possibility is a Right to Try law, letting people import, buy, and sell vaccines that have been authorised in other countries; a ‘Dallas Buyers Club’-type solution. Alas, governments have put themselves in charge; and they have decided that no one can receive a vaccine without their permission.

I can only advise those who do not want catch the virus, and cannot legally be vaccinated, to take the common-sense steps I mentioned earlier:  limit contacts, give other people their space, avoid crowded and closed-in spaces, take extra vitamins and zinc, and discuss with your doctor what else you can do.

Many sufferers of the coronavirus have found it to be an unpleasant few weeks, have been hospitalised, or have developed “Long Covid” – symptoms that persist long after the initial infection. The evidence for “Long Covid” is growing, although it remains inconclusive. Doctors from intensive-care units have written about their experience of watching as even young patients die from the disease. Hospitalisation rates, although highest for the elderly, have been accelerating in the UK across all age groups. Even for young people, Covid risks being far worse than just a bad cold or bout of the flu.

I know little about “Long Covid”, but I suspect I am not alone. As the John Snow Memorandum put it, “we still do not understand who might suffer from long COVID,"(3)  nor do we understand precisely what their 'suffering' entails. “Long Covid” is being used as a blanket term for a number of distinct syndromes and a whole host of symptoms, ranging from observed physical damage like scarring of the lung tissue, right through to purely patient-defined symptoms like “breathlessness, muscle pains, palpitations and fatigue”(20) (all of which I have suffered from myself through the lockdowns). The bottom line: the risks and harms of Long Covid are largely unknown.

Which appears to be the point. Normally one would expect extreme interventions to be supported by strong evidence; but if people are afraid enough of the unknown, a very lack of evidence can be used to justify extreme measures. That was the case in the March lockdowns, and it appears that a similar tactic is being tried here. Fortunately, this new variant of alarmism may not work as well. “We have to close everything, or millions may die!” has a certain cachet; “We have to close everything, or millions may have an unpleasant few weeks!”, not so much.

3. Nisreen A. Alwan et al., “Scientific consensus on the COVID-19 pandemic: we need to act now” The Lancet, October 15th, 2020.

9. All quotations in italics are from: “Claim: The Great Barrington Declaration gives a good alternative to lockdown”, Anti-Virus: The Covid-19 FAQ.

15. Smriti Mallapaty, “The coronavirus is most deadly if you are older and male — new data reveal the risks”, Nature, August 28th, 2020.

20. “Long COVID: let patients help define long-lasting COVID symptoms”, Nature, October 7th, 2020.

Read full article here

Over 40% of UK youth ignoring lockdown rules

Young people are sick of lockdown | Spiked: 

March 24, 2021 - "Two in five young people are regularly disobeying the government’s Covid advice, according to a new poll. Data from Savanta / ComRes reveal that 42 per cent of 16- to 34-year-olds only follow government Covid guidance ‘sometimes or less’. This is a rise of seven percentage points since January.... 

"This is hardly surprising. Young people are among the least at risk from Covid-19, but have been some of the hardest hit by lockdowns. For most of the pandemic, they have been unable to attend school or university in person. And they are also more likely to be in the kind of precarious jobs crushed by lockdown. They can hardly be blamed for getting fed up with it all.

"And they aren’t the only ones in revolt. Grannies have been joining in, too. Four in 10 over-80s broke lockdown rules after being vaccinated, it was reported in March.... 

"[O]ver 25 million people in the UK have been given their jabs – including nearly every vulnerable person. Deaths and hospitalisations have collapsed. We can’t expect young people – or anyone – to wait around for the government’s glacially slow plan for reopening society. It’s time to end the restrictions and get back to normal."

Read more: https://www.spiked-online.com/2021/03/24/young-people-are-sick-of-lockdown/

Pandemic response harms children in many ways

Covid: The devastating toll of the pandemic on children | BBC News - Nick Triggle:

January 30, 2021 - "They are not likely to get seriously ill with Covid and there have been very few deaths. But children are still the victims of the virus - and our response to it.... From increasing rates of mental health problems to concerns about rising levels of abuse and neglect and the potential harm being done to the development of babies, the pandemic is threatening to have a devastating legacy on the nation's young.

"The closure of schools is, of course, damaging to children's education. But schools are not just a place for learning. They are places where kids socialise, develop emotionally and, for some, a refuge from troubled family life. Prof Russell Viner, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, ... told MPs on the Education Select Committee earlier this month: 'When we close schools we close their lives.' He [noted] a range of harms to children across the board from being isolated and lonely to suffering from sleep problems and reduced physical activity - alongside school closures all children's sport is currently banned.... Many experts are baffled by the approach to children's sport given the low risks of transmission outdoors and the clear benefits for emotional and physical wellbeing.... 

"The stress the pandemic has put on families, with rising levels of unemployment and financial insecurity combined with the stay-at-home orders, has put strain on home life up and down the land.... Unsurprisingly, there are clear signs the upheaval in children's lives is having an impact on children's mental health. The Mental Health of Children and Young People in England 2020 report, which is ... the official stocktake of the state of children's well-being ... found overall one in six children aged five to 16 had a probable mental health disorder, up from one in nine three years previously. Older girls had the highest rates.

"Older teenagers and adolescents have been affected too as they have seen their prospects shrink. The Youth Index, published in January by the Prince's Trust in partnership with YouGov, has been tracking the well-being of young people aged 16 to 25 for 12 years. It found more than half of young people were always or often feeling anxious - the highest level ever recorded. Jonathan Townsend, of The Prince's Trust, fears young people are 'losing all hope for their future'.

"At the opposite end of the age spectrum, health visitors, who support parents and babies during the early years, are worried about the impact on newborns. Research shows the first two to three years of a baby's life is the most crucial period of human development.... In some areas, health visitor numbers have dropped by half. This and the social distancing rules mean for a lot of parents the only support they have received has been online.... [T]he absence of baby and parent groups, and the friendships that naturally develop from them, has meant the babies of the pandemic have not benefited from the stimulus of social contact that is vital to their development. Alison Morton, head of the Institute of Health Visiting, says this has been an 'invisible' cost of the pandemic, but one that will have a lasting impact, particularly in the most deprived areas....

"There are around one million children with special educational needs and disabilities - around one in 10 of whom have complex and life-limiting conditions, such as severe cerebral palsy or cystic fibrosis.... Those with the most complex conditions can require care at home from specialist nurses and carers. This has become harder to obtain as staff have been redeployed or charities forced to cut back on their support networks.... Dame Christine Lenehan, director of the Council for Disabled Children, says in some cases children have ended up 'incarcerated' in their homes. 'There are some who have barely had any formal education since lockdown began.' She says even those who are the most independent have struggled, with many schools - she estimates more than half - unable to address the additional learning needs of children with special needs who are learning remotely....

"Between April and September there were 285 reports by councils of child deaths and incidents of serious harm, which includes child sexual exploitation. This was a rise of more than a quarter on the same period the year before. But children's commissioner for England, Anne Longfield, is worried this is just the tip of the iceberg, arguing the lockdowns, closure of schools and stay-at-home orders have led to a generation of vulnerable children becoming "invisible" to social workers. Referrals that would normally come in from a variety of sources, form health visitors to school nurses, dropped last year.... 

"Figures show that before the pandemic there were already more than two million children in England and Wales living in households affected by one of the 'toxic trio' - domestic abuse, parental drug and alcohol dependency or severe mental health issues. The fear is this will have risen significantly."

Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/health-55863841

Dutch youth riot to protest Covid curfew

Rioting Dutch youths torch Covid testing center | Joy Online - Source: DW:  

24 January 2021 - "Youths torched a Covid-19 testing center and threw fireworks at police in the central Dutch fishing village of Urk overnight into Sunday. They were protesting a nationwide curfew that went into effect on Saturday in a bid to rein in the coronavirus pandemic. The curfew runs from 9:30 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. local time (2030 to 0330 UTC/GMT) and will remain in place until February 9.... Exceptions to the curfew include medical emergencies, people performing essential jobs and people walking their dogs. Violators can be fined €95 ($115).

"Across the Netherlands, police said they arrested a total of 25 people and handed out 3,600 fines for violations of the curfew from Saturday into Sunday. Last Sunday, Covid lockdown sceptics clashed with riot police on horseback in a central square in Amsterdam. A total of 143 people were detained. Another protest against the new measures is planned for Sunday afternoon in the same square. Mayor Femke Halsema designated the area as a “high-risk zone” to give police the power to frisk people for weapons."

Read more: https://www.myjoyonline.com/rioting-dutch-youths-torch-covid-testing-center/

Dutch streets relatively calm as police out in force following days of anti-lockdown riots | CBC News - Thomson Reuters:

January 26, 2021 - "With shops boarded up and riot police out in force, it was relatively calm in Dutch cities on Tuesday night after three days of violence during which around 500 people were detained. In several cities, including the capital Amsterdam, some businesses closed early and emergency ordinances were in place to give law enforcement greater powers to respond to the rioting, which was prompted by a nighttime curfew to curb the spread of the coronavirus. On Tuesday when the 9 p.m. curfew went into effect, rowdy crowds of youths gathered in Amsterdam and Hilversum, but were broken up without incident. In Rotterdam, 33 people were detained for violating physical distancing regulations and vandalism.

"That was in stark contrast to Monday night, when rioting rocked cities across the country and more than 180 people were arrested for burning vehicles, stone throwing and widespread looting.... National Police chief Willem Woelders told Dutch public television[:] 'We did not need to use the riot police or other forces.' But he cautioned that one night of quiet did not mean they could let down their guard....

"The Netherlands' first curfew since the Second World War was imposed on Saturday despite weeks of falling infections, after the National Institute for Health (RIVM) expressed concern over the presence of a faster-spreading variant first found in England.

"A hospital in Rotterdam had warned visitors of patients to stay away, after reports that rioters tried to attack hospitals in various cities. A countrywide appeal issued by law enforcement authorities Tuesday called on parents to keep teenagers indoors, warning they could end up with a criminal record and forced to pay for damage to cars, shops and public property.

"In Amsterdam on Monday, groups of youths threw fireworks, broke store windows and attacked a police truck, but were broken up by a massive police presence. Ten police officers were injured in Rotterdam, where 60 people were detained overnight after widespread looting and destruction in the city centre, a police spokesperson said. Supermarkets in the port city were emptied, while rubbish bins and vehicles were set ablaze. Two photographers were hurt after being targeted by rock-throwing gangs, one in Amsterdam and another in the nearby town of Haarlem, police said.

"Coronavirus infections have been falling in recent weeks, with the number of new cases down by eight per cent over the past week.... Schools and non-essential shops across the Netherlands have been shut since mid-December. Bars and restaurants were closed two months earlier."

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/netherlands-braces-anti-lockdown-riots-1.5887948

Lockdown recession hits youth the hardest

Coronavirus has created a 'lockdown generation', with one in six young people forced to stop working, UN warns | Daily Mail - Harry Howard:

May 27,2020 - "The ,,, International Labour Organisation said the COVID-19 crisis has disproportionately affected young people and could impact upon their work opportunities and career options for decades to come....

"'I don't think it is giving way to hyperbole to talk about the danger of a lockdown generation,' ILO chief Guy Ryder told a virtual press conference. 'As we recover from the pandemic, a lot of young people are simply going to be left behind. Big numbers,' he said, warning ... that 'this initial shock to young people will last a decade or longer.

"A survey of young people across the world by the UN's International Labour Organisation showed that 17.1 per cent of them have stopped working since the coronavirus pandemic struck. The figures show that 16.1 per cent of women and 18.1 per cent of men under 30 have stopped working. Even before the crisis, the global youth unemployment rate stood at 13.6 percent in 2019 - far higher than for any other group - while some 267 million young people were neither employed nor in education or training (NEET).

"Overall, the ILO study said it expected the coronavirus crisis to obliterate 10.7 percent of working hours worked globally during the second quarter of 2020 compared to the final three months of 2019 - the equivalent of 305 million jobs.... But while all age groups are suffering, the UN agency pointed to recent data from a range of countries indicating 'a massive increase' in youth unemployment since February, with young women particularly hard-hit.

"In the US for example, the jobless rate for young men went from 8.5 per cent in February to 24 per cent in April. The rise for young women - from 7.5 per cent to 29 per cent in the same period - was even greater. In Canada, the overall jobless rate rose six percentage points from February to April, but for young men it swelled by 14.3 percentage points (to 27.1 percent) and for young women it ballooned by 20.4 percentage points to 28.4 percent. Similar trends were seen in countries including Australia, China, Ireland, Republic of Korea, the Netherlands and Switzerland....

"The ILO said it did not yet have enough data to determine the overall global youth unemployment rate since the crisis began. But in a survey of people aged 29 and under, it found that globally, over 17 percent of those who were working when the pandemic hit had been forced to stop. And those who have continued to work have meanwhile seen their working hours cut on average by 23 percent, the study found.

"The report warned that young people are facing a 'triple shock' from the crisis, which is not only destroying their employment but has also disrupted education and training, and has made it far more difficult to try to enter the labour market or move between jobs. It found that around half of students expect their education to be delayed, while 10 percent now believe they will be unable to complete their training at all. And a full 60 percent of young women and 53 percent of young men surveyed viewed their career prospects 'with uncertainty or fear', the report found."

Read more: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8361629/Coronavirus-created-lockdown-generation-one-six-young-people-forced-stop-working.html

Students for Liberty cancel 2020 LibertyCon

Important Update on LibertyCon 2020 - Students for Liberty:

"Students For Liberty values our community of supporters from all over the world. However, in light of the current health climate, we deeply regret to inform you that we have decided to cancel this year’s scheduled LibertyCon on April 3-5, 2020 in Washington, DC.

"Due to the ongoing concern and spread of Covid-19, many academic institutions are closing, corporate leaders are halting travel for their staff, and the threat of quarantines is increasing exponentially.

"Safety for our attendees and staff is always our first priority and LibertyCon brings together over 1,000 people from around the world each year. Due to all of these factors, and the uncertainty of what the next few weeks will bring, we came to the conclusion that it is not possible for us to host this annual conference successfully....

"If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at libertycon@studentsforliberty.org.

"We hope that you will all join us at our next LibertyCon in DC, happening on February 5-7, 2021!

Read more: https://www.libertycon.com/blog/important-update/

Underage cannabis use drops after legalization

Teen cannabis use is on the decline, while adult use is increasing overall: StatsCan | The Growth Op - Emma Spears:

February 20, 2020 - "Legalization seems to have put a damper on teens’ enthusiasm for cannabis consumption, perhaps indicating yet again that the best way to discourage teens from doing something is to get their parents into it. While cannabis use has increased in almost all age demographics across Canada since federal legalization came into force in October 2018, teenagers saw consumption decline, according to new numberts released by Statistics Canada.

"Pre-legalization, the number of teens aged 15 to 17 who reported having consumed cannabis over the past three months was just under 20 percent. Post-legalization, that number has dropped to just over 10 percent....

"A larger group of 15- to 24-year-olds also showed slightly declining rates of use, although they largely remained steady. Approximately 27.6 percent reported using cannabis within the past three months pre-legalization; post-legalization, that number had declined to 26.4 percent.....

"[A]ll other age demographics demonstrated increased cannabis use since legalization. The most dramatic bump was among 25- to 44-year-olds, who reported a 3.2 percent increase post-legalization, followed by 18- to 24-year-olds, who reported a 2.5 percent increase ... with 45- to 64-year-olds reporting an increase of users of just 1.9 percent, and seniors (those aged 65 and older) reporting a rise of just 1.8 percent."
Read more: https://www.thegrowthop.com/cannabis-news/teen-cannabis-use-is-on-the-decline-while-adult-use-is-increasing-overall-statscan

Another Survey Shows Teen Marijuana Use Declines After Legalization | Fresh Toast - Brendan Bures

March 3, 2020 - "And now, Denver is finding similar results.

"City officials surveyed 537 teenagers in 2019, so they could statistically measure how their High Costs campaign — a youth marijuana education program — affected consumption habits. According to the results, 81% of Denver teens ages 13-17 say they don’t currently use marijuana. Only 18% of male adolescents in that age range reported using marijuana, down from 27% in the previous year’s survey."
Read more: https://thefreshtoast.com/cannabis/more-than-80-of-denver-teens-dont-smoke-marijuana/

Ontario court blocks Student Choice Initiative

Provincial government releases official guidelines on Student Choice Initiative, details of tuition cuts | The Varsity (University of Toronto), Adam A. Lam & Andy Takagi:

March 29, 2019 - "The Ontario government has released official guidelines for the Student Choice Initiative (SCI), the provincial mandate to give students an opt-out option for certain ancillary fees.... Incidental fees charged by universities to support clubs, student societies, and programs that fall outside of the provincial framework for compulsory fees will be required to have an opt-out option for students. The ability to opt out, according to the guidelines, must be presented to students before paying fees for that semester....

"Services can be deemed 'essential' by individual institutions, as long as they fall within the government’s established framework, which includes athletics and recreation, career services, student buildings, health and counselling, academic support, student ID cards, student achievement and records, financial aid offices, and campus safety programs. Levy-funded groups like various student unions — including college student associations, [student newspapers], and campus radio stations — will require an opt-out option, unless the university rationalizes these services as falling within one of the essential categories."
Read more: https://thevarsity.ca/2019/03/29/provincial-government-releases-official-guidelines-on-student-choice-initiative-details-of-tuition-cuts/

Province reviewing decision that struck down Student Choice Initiative | The Journal (Queen's University), Raechel Huizinga:
November 29, 2019 - "The Divisional Court of Ontario unanimously struck down the Student Choice Initiative on Nov. 21.... In May, the Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario (CFS-O) and the York Federation of Students filed an application for judicial review against the Ford government over the SCI. The court heard arguments from both parties on Oct. 11.

"While the Ministry of Colleges and Universities (MCU) confirmed in a statement to The Journal on Monday it’s reviewing the court decision, there has been no word yet on whether the Province will appeal the decision. 'We will have more to say on this at a later date,' Tanya Blazina, team lead of the Ministry’s issues management and media relations, wrote....

"According to court documents published by The Varsity, the judges unanimously agreed neither the Cabinet nor the Minister had the authority to interfere with the 'democratic decisions taken by students respecting their student association membership fees. There is no statutory authority authorizing Cabinet or the Minister to interfere in the internal affairs of universities generally, or in the relations between universities and student associations specifically,' the decision read."
Read more: https://www.queensjournal.ca/story/2019-11-28/news/province-reviewing-decision-that-struck-down-student-choice-initiative/

'via Blog this'

‘Kids for Cash’ scandal documented (video)

Corrupt ‘Kids for Cash’ judge ruined more than 2,000 lives - Larry Getlen, New York Post:

February 23, 2014 - "Hillary Transue, 14, created a fake, humorous Myspace page about her school’s vice principal. Justin Bodnar, 12, cursed at another student’s mother. Ed Kenzakoski, 17, did nothing at all. It didn’t matter.

"As we see in the documentary “Kids for Cash,” ... all three Luzerne County, Pa. teens met the same fate for their minor infractions.... They were brought before Judge Mark A. Ciavarella and, without warning or the chance to offer a defense, found themselves pronounced guilty, shackled and sentenced to months of detention in a cockroach-infested jail. They were trapped in the juvenile justice system for years, robbing most of them of their entire high-school experience.

"Judge Ciavarella, who sentenced around 3,000 children in a similar manner, was later sentenced himself to 28 years in prison for financial crimes related to his acceptance of $2.2 million as a finder’s fee for the construction of a for-profit facility in which to house these so-called delinquents. The scandal was called 'Kids for Cash,' and it rocked the state in 2009.... Ciavarella had 2,480 of his convictions reversed and expunged....

"At the end of 'Kids for Cash,' directed by Robert May, information flashes across the screen saying: 'Two million children are arrested every year in the US, 95% for non-violent crimes'; that '66% of children who have been incarcerated never return to school'; and that 'the US incarcerates nearly 5 times more children than any other nation in the world.'”

Read more; https://nypost.com/2014/02/23/film-details-teens-struggles-in-state-detention-in-payoff-scandal/
'via Blog this'

Sheriffs won’t enforce new Washington gun law

Sheriffs Say They Won’t Enforce New Washington Law Raising Gun Purchase Age to 21 – Reason.com - Ben McDonald:

July 5, 2019 - "Washington state has raised its minimum age for purchasing a semi-automatic rifle to 21, along with other new rules governing gun ownership. The age restriction went into effect in January, with the other changes taking effect July 1. But some in state law enforcement have vowed not to enforce the measure, arguing that it violates the Second Amendment.

"Under the new law, someone buying a semi-automatic rifle has to be at least 21 years old, pass a stricter background check, take a safety training course, and complete a 10-day waiting period. The law does not impose a retroactive ban on people under 21 owning such guns, but it does increase the restrictions on where they can possess them. Washingtonians under 21 can only have a gun in their homes, in a fixed place of business, or on real property under their control.....

"And people of all ages are supposed to comply with strict new storage requirements. 'A person who stores or leaves a firearm in a location where the person knows, or reasonably should know, that a prohibited person may gain access to the firearm' is now 'guilty of community endangerment due to unsafe storage of a firearm' if 'a prohibited person' accesses the gun and uses it. This requirement has been met with heavy backlash, with critics pointing out the potentially dangerous consequences of making weapons more inaccessible in a life-threatening situation....

"Sheriffs across the state have denounced the law, saying it is harmful to the people they are sworn to protect by making it harder for them to defend themselves. Some go further, declaring that they will not enforce it.

"Bob Songer, a sheriff in Klickitat County, told KTTH: 'I understand there's an argument that a sheriff has to follow the rule of law [but] as an elected sheriff, I have the authority and right to protect the rights of the citizens of Klickitat county that I serve.'

"The Spokesman Review reports that Stevens County Sheriff Brad Manke and his deputies 'won't be issuing citations or making custodial arrests for most suspected violations'....  'When my 19-year-old daughter can't carry a .22 rifle off our property but we can send her off to war — I don't agree with that at all," Manke told the Chinook Observer.

"In February, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson stated that sheriffs who do not enforce the law will be held liable.... 'In the event a police chief or sheriff refuses to perform the background check required by Initiative 1639, they could be held liable if there is a sale or transfer of a firearm to a dangerous individual prohibited from possessing a firearm and that individual uses that firearm to do harm,' Ferguson said.

"In September of last year, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed similar legislation raising the minimum age for rifle and shotgun purchases to 21. The Second Amendment rights groups Calguns Foundation and Firearms Policy Coalition are now suing California over that law. John Dillon, an attorney representing the groups, told the Los Angeles Times that when people turn 18 they are legally considered adults and should be able to benefit from the same rights other adults have. 'Law-abiding adults are entitled to fully exercise all of their fundamental rights, including their 2nd Amendment right to keep and bear arms for all lawful purposes, not just hunting or sport,' Dillon said."

Read more: https://reason.com/2019/07/05/sheriffs-say-they-wont-enforce-new-washington-law-raising-gun-purchase-age-to-21/
'via Blog this'

Oxford study program a big libertarian conspiracy

The Oxford Study programme faces a worrying lack of scrutiny | Cherwell - Libby Cherry:

June 10, 2019 - "Academic freedom is being threatened at Oxford University ... behind closed doors as part of a global attempt by a small sect of libertarians to ... exercise undue influence over those in power: legislators, policymakers, and, most insidiously, students and academics....

"[T]he Oxford Study Abroad Programme ... acts as an intermediary between US students and ... specific colleges, facilitating placements as Associated Members or Visiting Students for up to a year..... OSAP also runs ‘Specialised Summer Programs’. Whilst these ‘Programs’ use college facilities and are often instructed by handpicked Oxford academics, students are taught using custom reading lists and lectures developed by the 'faculty leaders' of the programmes ... without ‘interference’ from OSAP itself. Nor does OSAP’s educational scheme show evidence of being overseen by the central University or departments....

"Not only does this seem a singularly irresponsible model, a closer look at OSAP’s sample lectures, lecturers, and academic advisors reveals a highly commercialised organisation aimed at pushing a far-right agenda that is not only similar to those being propagated in the US but is directly funded from the same Koch sources....

"OSAP is the brainchild of the late Chicago-trained economist, Robert L. Schuettinger.... Trained under Friedrich Hayek in the 1950s ... Schuettinger was an Associate Member of Christ Church, and a Visiting Research Fellow at the University’s Rothermere Institute.... Not only was he Director of Studies at US conservative thinktank the Heritage Foundation, which received $300,000 from the Koch-affiliated organisations in 2013, he was also a contributor to the Mises Institute’s online journal. The [Mises] Institute’s board of directors includes Bob Luddy, who founded the Thales Academy, a chain of private schools teaching 'free-market economics' to school pupils.... But perhaps most damningly, Scheuttinger was a member of the Mont Pelerin Society, near-universally considered the most exclusive club of libertarian ideologues internationally ... with members including Charles Koch himself....

"Edwin Feulner, cited as a member of OSAP’s ‘Academic Advisory Board’, was former President of the Heritage Foundation and member of the 2016 Trump transition team.... OSAP’s website also includes praise from Texan Public Policy affiliate Ronald Trowbridge, who has formerly argued for the privatisation of universities....

""[T]he Reagan-Thatcher Lecture Series ... OSAP’s 'latest offering' ... received $10,000 from the Charles Koch Charitable Foundation.... The lecturers on the Reagan-Thatcher series ...  includ[e] historians Mark Almond, formerly a lecturer at Oriel College, and Norman Stone, former Chair of Modern History at Oxford and foreign policy advisor to Margaret Thatcher.... Almond also has his own personal ties with the American libertarian network, acting as an Academic Advisor for the Ron Paul Institute....

"This fatal combination of narrow political ideology, politicised funding, poor educational materials, and questionable lecturers makes OSAP’s course the paradigmatic opposite of academic freedom.... Putting aside the fact that their political philosophy encompasses those who have espoused racist, anti-democratic, and elitist viewpoints, simply allowing the University’s name to be associated with completely unregulated educational programmes seems absurd."

Read more: https://cherwell.org/2019/06/10/the-long-read-the-libertarian-links-of-a-private-tuition-programme/
'via Blog this'

Millennial socialism based on entitlement

College Student: My Generation Is Blind to the Prosperity Around Us - Foundation for Economic Education - Alyssa Ahlgren:

April 24, 2019 - "'I'm sitting in a small coffee shop near Nokomis trying to think of what to write about. I scroll through my newsfeed on my phone looking at the latest headlines of Democratic candidates calling for policies to “fix” the so-called injustices of capitalism. I put my phone down and continue to look around.

"I see people talking freely, working on their MacBooks, ordering food they get in an instant, seeing cars go by outside, and it dawned on me. We live in the most privileged time in the most prosperous nation and we’ve become completely blind to it....

"We are so well off here in the United States that our poverty line begins 31 times above the global average. Thirty. One. Times. Virtually no one in the United States is considered poor by global standards. Yet, in a time where we can order a product off Amazon with one click and have it at our doorstep the next day, we are unappreciative, unsatisfied, and ungrateful.

"Our unappreciation is evident as the popularity of socialist policies among my generation continues to grow. Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently said to Newsweek talking about the millennial generation, 'An entire generation, which is now becoming one of the largest electorates in America, came of age and never saw American prosperity.'

"Never saw American prosperity. Let that sink in. When I first read that statement, I thought to myself, that was quite literally the most entitled and factually illiterate thing I’ve ever heard in my 26 years on this earth.... I do think she whole-heartedly believes the words she said to be true. Many young people agree with her, which is entirely misguided. My generation is being indoctrinated by a mainstream narrative to actually believe we have never seen prosperity....

"Let me lay down some universal truths really quick. The United States of America has lifted more people out of abject poverty, spread more freedom and democracy, and has created more innovation in technology and medicine than any other nation in human history. Not only that but our citizenry continually breaks world records with charitable donations, the rags to riches story is not only possible in America but not uncommon, we have the strongest purchasing power on earth, and we encompass 25 percent of the world’s GDP. The list goes on....

"Why then, with all of the overwhelming evidence around us, evidence that I can even see sitting at a coffee shop, do we not view this as prosperity? We have people who are dying to get into our country. People around the world destitute and truly impoverished. Yet, we have a young generation convinced they’ve never seen prosperity, and as a result, elect politicians dead set on taking steps towards abolishing capitalism.

"Why? The answer is this, my generation has only seen prosperity. We have no contrast. We didn’t live in the Great Depression, or live through two world wars, or see the rise and fall of socialism and communism. We don’t know what it’s like not to live without the internet, without cars, without smartphones. We don’t have a lack of prosperity problem. We have an entitlement problem, an ungratefulness problem, and it’s spreading like a plague....

"My generation is becoming the largest voting bloc in the country. We have an opportunity to continue to propel us forward with the gifts capitalism and democracy has given us. The other option is that we can fall into the trap of entitlement and relapse into restrictive socialist destitution. The choice doesn’t seem too hard, does it?"

Read more: https://fee.org/articles/college-student-my-generation-is-blind-to-the-prosperity-around-us/#disqus_thread
'via Blog this'

Higher education's biggest scandal

Seven Troubling Facts On American Higher Education You Probably Don't Know - Adam Andrzejewski, Forbes:

April 10, 2019 - "The recent cheating scandal in which wealthy and well-connected parents paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to illegally game admission at elite universities exposed a rigged system. However, the biggest scandal facing higher education today isn’t the illegal activity – it’s what’s entirely legal. It’s a system so expensive that the $1.7 trillion in student debt now exceeds America’s credit card debt and auto loan debt.

"Last week, our organization at OpenTheBooks.com released our oversight report on the U.S. Department of Education (ED). We found billions of taxpayer dollars wasted on outdated policies, misaligned priorities, and weak accounting controls....

""The top 25 universities with largest endowments (collectively $272 billion) reaped $7 billion in federal student aid. Rich schools are getting richer and taxpayers paid for it....

"26 percent of federal undergraduate student loans made in 2018 will enter default at some point. Considering that $100 billion in student loans were originated last year, it’s a billion-dollar boondoggle. A Brooking Institution study found that 28 percent of college students signed up for student loans don’t even realize that [they] must be paid back....

"The largest chain of beauty schools, Empire Beauty School, received more than $500 million in federal student subsidies between 2014 – 2017. Empire admits to charging up to $22,100 in tuition ... to cut hair, manicure nails, and do massage therapy. Gambling, bartending, golf, and seminaries [also] reaped huge federal subsidies....

"$1 billion in taxpayer subsidies flowed to the 50 worst performing junior colleges as ranked by WalletHub last year. The 10 worst junior colleges had an average graduation rate of 12 percent. Students aren’t graduating. Yet, they’re saddled with large debts....

"Who’s to blame? Recent polling released by Scott Rasmussen shows that a majority (51 percent) of respondents feel the federal government has too much influence over higher ed and only 21 percent believe the feds have too little influence.

"Since 1980, tuition has increased 6.5 times the rate of income growth and is currently outpacing increases in other cost areas like housing, food and health care. Student aid was supposed to make college affordable again, but is simply going to straight to education institutions that continue to increase tuition."

Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/2019/04/10/seven-troubling-facts-on-american-higher-education-you-probably-dont-know/#5d4beaa73659
'via Blog this'

Also read: Libertarian offers college education for $11K / year