Beyond Labels

A 360° Discussion of Foreign, National and Local Policy Issues

Future

Description

Federal Student Loan Programs

Renewal of the Federal student loan program is in the press these days as debate takes place over what rates are appropriate and what the programs should look like in the future.

  • Should the Federal government be in the student loan business?
  • Given the concern about graduating students’ debt load (and, even more so, about the debt load of students who fail to graduate), is a Federal subsidy to encourage more borrowing appropriate?
  • Do other ways to finance education (such as a “levy” on future income) better align costs and benefits?

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Related Materials:

As a registered Beyond Labels participant, consider the following resources:
Uncle Sam’s Phantom Loan Revenues (WSJ 7/22/2013)

 

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Infectious Diseases

  • Have we become complacent as a result of relatively few massive US epidemics?
  • How should the risk of epidemic be managed?  Global (WHO), national (CDC), local?
  • Are we doing what we need to do to manage the risks?
    • Annual flu vaccines?
    • Stockpiling other vaccines and treatments for the epidemic risks?
  • Do we need to do more to curtail the risk, or is the current system sufficient?
  • Who should pay for enhanced “epidemic prevention/management?

Local Food Ordinances: Fair to all?

  • What should the role of the Federal, state and local governments be in regulating food safety?
  • Should local jurisdictions be able to supercede Federal or state regulation?
  • To what degree does relaxing the rules for small farmers’ local sales put food safety at risk?
  • How will the general population “know” whether less-regulated local products are safe until there is an issue?
  • Assuming support for local farmers is a key objective, are such ordinances fair to those farmers who follow the rules?
  • Does this issue cut across traditional ideological lines, aligning “conservative libertarians” with “organic liberals?”
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