IAmA tree climber for the the Capitol building! (Just got my dream job!!)

Sal4m4nd3r · 20 days

Congrats! I'm a Congressman and work at the Capitol so when u see me around come say hi and show me a good tree to climb so I can escape from all the craziness! My only question is, what do I have to do to get a tree named after me?

jaredpolis · 27 days

I think the rate is likely to be kept down. This is an example of the President using his soapbox to move the country (and even the Republicans) to pass something. The House and Senate will negotiate with the President on a final package, the main question is how to pay for it, it would not be acceptable to take all the money out of healthcare to pay for it.

jaredpolis · 29 days

I give it 50/50 odds of getting passed. We'll see in the next few weeks.

xrthrowaway · 29 days

I voted against it. Congressman Jared Polis

jaredpolis · 29 days

yes it is very realistic. Much of the talk now in DC is about how to pay for it. This was a rare instance where the President taking to the stump and rallying people seems to be causing congress to act. The House will likely pass a version tomorrow (Friday!). Then they have to agree on a way to pay for it w the Senate

jaredpolis · 29 days

I'm a big supporter of science in general and work closely with NOAA on defending the budget, thanks for bringing my attention to the NERRS Operation line.

jaredpolis · 29 days

Welcome to Reddit! I'm only a few months old here myself.

Your first proposal would help align incentives, but it would also be unfair to the poorest states as they can't afford to spend as much but arguably need the federal help the most. Colorado is a relatively prosperous state but we do underfund higher education relative to most.

I haven't seen the exact mechanism the President has proposed along these lines. It would have to be done carefully if at all. Our urgent issue is to make sure that the rate can remain 3.4% and doesn't go up to 6.8%.

jaredpolis · 29 days

if you mean the specific proposal to keep the rate at 3.4% rather than 6.8% it's very very very real. The rate WILL go up to 6.8% in the fall unless we act in Congress.

If you mean the broader issue, obviously this student loan rate piece, while urgent, is far from everything we need to do to make college more affordable.

jaredpolis · 29 days

also health care costs for the University's own employees has gone up just as they have for everyone else... another cost.

An actual solution is harder to come by, but I'm sure it's out there. The "Expanding the risk pool" universal insurance model, whether it's a mandate, a public option, or a government insurer, should bring down the rates by making sure more young healthy people are in the pool.

jaredpolis · 29 days

Thanks for posting that report. Looking through the tables, the strangest thing is that tuition really starting going up fast during the same periods of time (90s and 00's) when inflation was slowing down from it's high rate in the 70s and 80s! Counterintuitive.

Maybe if for the same cost as the student loan program, we used it as direct aid instead (money paid directly for tuition) it would better align incentives.

You are spot on about the private providers. They are basically making profits from taxpayer subsidies. Education Secretary Arne Duncan was working on creating accountability there but the rules got watered down because of the intense lobbying of the industry. Here's an article from Education Trust, a group I work closely with, on this issue: http://www.edtrust.org/dc/press-room/news/battle-on-for-profits-moves-to-senate

I am really enjoying getting to know the CSU community and I look forward to representing you! I think you will find I am pretty good about responding, both through my office and on blogs and in our many town halls (if you see me around, come say hi and introduce yourself as the person who did the reddit post about higher ed costs)

jaredpolis · 1 month

Here's a good way of putting it: There are some who should go to college and would thrive there but can't go because they can't afford it

There are others who probably shouldn't go to college because they won't thrive there but their families can afford it and push them in that direction

jaredpolis · 1 month

Great idea! Americorp was originally conceived as something like this (public service in exchange for some college money) but the money for college is not enough to actually pay for college ($5,550/year).

But what you're talking about is much more robust, basically a general services scholarship modeled after ROTC. We will look into this and how it can make sense fiscally and maybe even save the government money in the long run. Great suggestion!

jaredpolis · 1 month

Someone just mentioned this idea to me last week! Thank goodness for deferment but you're right it can lead to digging the whole deeper and deeper. I am looking into this concept

jaredpolis · 1 month

Book Recommendation: http://www.amazon.com/Debt-The-First-000-Years/dp/1933633867/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335411182&sr=8-1

"Debt: the first 5000 years" David Graeber

I don't agree with much of what he writes, but it helps one look at debt in a new way.

jaredpolis · 1 month

We need both, and a lot of the trade school gap is now filled by for-profit colleges. Community colleges also do a lot of "vocational" education.

Where we need to do a better job is high school. Only about half of kids graduating high school go to college, but there are many trade skills we can deliver in high school, or at least introductions to trade skills that will allow them to get apprenticeships, etc right out of high school.

That being said, many of the fastest growing and best paying jobs require a college education, so it still has to be affordable.

jaredpolis · 1 month

So public universities like CU publish detailed annual reports that describe their costs. Their costs have gone up, and universities pass this along to students. I would love to figure out policy solutions to some of those cost-drivers and then pass savings along to students rather than more costs!

jaredpolis · 1 month

Good points. There is no doubt that making loans available at below-market rates can be one of many factors that contributes to higher tuition rates. In Colorado, a bigger factor is cutbacks in the state funding levels which have led CU for instance to increase their tuition by so much the last few years.

I see where you're coming from about a tuition cap, but I think that would be too much of a federal role. It is something that states including Colorado should look at. I like the idea of making knowledge and the ability to attain it free/cheap. If someone could think through this virtual national university concept it might be something worth looking at. There is a bill it brings to mind that I support that would make studies published with federal grant-based funding publicly available. That's not the same thing you're talking about, but it would help reduce the cost of graduate level studies in particular if the studies that were funded by NIH, Dept of Ag, etc had to post their results publicly instead of only publishing in subscription-based publications.

I assume that you have heard of Khan Academy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khan_Academy if not worth checking out. Thanks for the input!

jaredpolis · 1 month

blush Thank you for the kind words, tell your friends come November so I can do this for two more years :-)

I'm always trying to find new ways to listen to constituents and get ideas, so I'll be posting from time to time on Reddit.

So working with many of the other elected officials, I have to say that for most of them their heart is in the right place, but many of them are too hesitant to step out front on much. I wish that the voters rewarded authenticity and politicians speaking out more.

jaredpolis · 1 month

That's a tougher one. The problem with student loan forgiveness is that if we were to do it, all those making loans in the future, knowing that it might happen again, would charge more. So it would help students now at the expense of raising the borrowing costs of future students. I do think keeping the interest rate low is key, but I am also hoping to find ways that universities can save money and pass the savings on by reducing tuition. Thanks for the suggestion! Congressman Jared Polis

kristiancee · 1 month

Lai's Alterations 2027 Broadway St Ste 2 Boulder, CO 80302

He used to be the tailor at Kinsley and Company the clothier that was on the hill and then off Pearl

jaredpolis · 2 months

I'll take it.

jaredpolis · 2 months

And let's give him a nice reddit ride into the sunset with one of his best sales weeks ever!

jaredpolis

TROPHY CASE

you'll need to login or register to do that

create a new account

login