First of all let me say that I don't trust much of anything the government does. After all, look at where we are as a nation with the economy in ruins, unemployment still around 10%, and more debt everywhere than ever before in our history.
So, it should come as no surprise that I have lots of doubts about President Obama and his Race To The Top program for schools. It seems every president has his pet school program. For Bush it was No Child Left Behind and look where that got us: nowhere.
Now we have Obama pledging to give around 4 billion of our tax dollars to states that jump through some hoops and make the right changes as judged by the President and his people. Texas, not wanting anything to do with the Federal government, never even was in the running for these so called Obama school grants. There were only 36 initial applicants so that means that a lot of other states never bothered either.
Right now, as of 7/27/2010 there are 18 finalists and you can read about the whole process here at the government education website. It seems the states can win money at each phase of the process and Tennessee and Delaware have already won money in phase 1. The ed.gov website itself calls it winning grants and that seems like the wrong choice of words to me. Is that what our public education system is depending on: the need to "win" money and grants to survive?
How many times have we talked about better teacher accountability and all the other things that go along with making our schools better? This has been going on for 30 years now where we have been aware that schooling in other countries is superior to ours. And here we are, still throwing money at it hoping it will get better.
Every president has got to seem concerned about our public school system: it is part of the job requirement. But every president has failed and I don't think Obama will be any different. All he knows how to do is to spend money anyway and that is not making things better as we are all seeing first hand.
Showing posts with label obama moms back to school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label obama moms back to school. Show all posts
EMAIL SCAMS FOR OBAMA GOVERNMENT GRANTS
This is a problem that is not as prevalent as it was 6 months ago but it is still around. The Obama government grants scammers had to be addressed by the FTC and they forbid the use of the Presidents picture or likeness in association with any federal grants advertisements.
Most of these ads have been removed but there are still grant companies that are trying to fool people and they can be doing it through email. I have gotten several of these stimulus grants emails trying to convince me that grant money was waiting for me and all I had to do was click through and sign up.
As previously mentioned, government grants are free and you shouldn't have pay money to apply for them. However, since grants are confusing and the application process can be tedious, many companies are there to "help" you get your grant. You are usually prompted to sign up for a "free" grant kit that costs $1.95 for shipping or some other small amount that seems reasonable. Sometimes there may not be a kit involved and you have to pay a small fee to get into the membership site to look around.
The scam or dishonesty comes in because after you give your credit card, you will be charged additional fees of $49.95, $79.95 or higher after the short 3 day or 7 day trial period is over. This information can never be found in a visible place but is only found after clicking a very small "terms & conditions" link which takes you to another page with a lot of legal mumbo jumbo.
Most people never click the terms and conditions link and have no idea that they are giving their credit card which can be charged a much higher amount several days later. This is exactly what the grant companies are counting on: that 9 out of 10 people will forget to cancel and then they can charge them the bigger charges.
Is this technically a scam? Because the information is there, these goverment grant advertisements are probably legal but they are very shady for sure. You can now find these ads in emails that are regularly sent to millions of people. Out of those millions, you know that hundreds of financially desperate people are being fooled into signing up. So, beware what you click on in your email and be careful when you give your credit card information out. Even though you think you are signing up for just a $1.95 shipping charge, the fine print may tell you that you are authorizing much bigger charges down the line!
Most of these ads have been removed but there are still grant companies that are trying to fool people and they can be doing it through email. I have gotten several of these stimulus grants emails trying to convince me that grant money was waiting for me and all I had to do was click through and sign up.
As previously mentioned, government grants are free and you shouldn't have pay money to apply for them. However, since grants are confusing and the application process can be tedious, many companies are there to "help" you get your grant. You are usually prompted to sign up for a "free" grant kit that costs $1.95 for shipping or some other small amount that seems reasonable. Sometimes there may not be a kit involved and you have to pay a small fee to get into the membership site to look around.
The scam or dishonesty comes in because after you give your credit card, you will be charged additional fees of $49.95, $79.95 or higher after the short 3 day or 7 day trial period is over. This information can never be found in a visible place but is only found after clicking a very small "terms & conditions" link which takes you to another page with a lot of legal mumbo jumbo.
Most people never click the terms and conditions link and have no idea that they are giving their credit card which can be charged a much higher amount several days later. This is exactly what the grant companies are counting on: that 9 out of 10 people will forget to cancel and then they can charge them the bigger charges.
Is this technically a scam? Because the information is there, these goverment grant advertisements are probably legal but they are very shady for sure. You can now find these ads in emails that are regularly sent to millions of people. Out of those millions, you know that hundreds of financially desperate people are being fooled into signing up. So, beware what you click on in your email and be careful when you give your credit card information out. Even though you think you are signing up for just a $1.95 shipping charge, the fine print may tell you that you are authorizing much bigger charges down the line!
FREE OBAMA DOLLARS - HAVE YOU GOTTEN YOURS?
Why do so many people think there are free Obama dollars being given away? Where does this all come from? Take a look at the video below which is of a mad scramble in Detroit of folks thinking they are in line for free Obama money.
It is amazing that this many people can still be under the impression that there is free money to be given away. It is clear that many of those waiting more than 8 hours had no clue what was really going on and just showed up to get some free money.
There are no Obama stimulus grants for individual people and President Obama is NOT giving away free money. If people tell you that you are entitled to some Obama dollars just because you voted for him, because you are black, because you are poor, or any other reason, it does not mean that you will be getting money.
It is amazing that this many people can still be under the impression that there is free money to be given away. It is clear that many of those waiting more than 8 hours had no clue what was really going on and just showed up to get some free money.
There are no Obama stimulus grants for individual people and President Obama is NOT giving away free money. If people tell you that you are entitled to some Obama dollars just because you voted for him, because you are black, because you are poor, or any other reason, it does not mean that you will be getting money.
HOW CAN I GET SOME OF THAT STIMULUS MONEY?
Everyone has heard about the stimulus bill and knows there is a lot of money being given away by our government. I think the number is about 787 BILLION dollars that this administration is handing out to anyone who is smart enough to get it.
That is the problem: you have to be smart enough to understand what is being given away or in a position to receive it. If you want to see the government's website on how the money is being distributed you can go to Recovery.gov. There is no doubt that it is a slick website but it is totally overwhelming to the average Joe. There is no way that a simple person like you or me will be able to gain any useful knowledge from that website.
If you want to get some of the Obama stimulus money in the form of a grant, the site directs you to the Grants.gov. There again, if you do a keyword search for what you need a grant for, you will be totally confused with all the differnt grants and information that comes up. Most people want to keep things simple and they need college grants, business grants, back to school grants, medical grants, or they just need money. I think if you go to the site you will find that nothing is as easy or as clear as that.
There are so many Obama grant scams because of this very fact: the govenment grant process is totally confusing and you almost need to be a lawyer to figure it out. Many times, poor people or people who are down on their luck are the ones searching for grants. These are the very people that will find it the hardest to understand grants and how to apply for them. This is why the grant scammers can make money because they have easy targets in these people who need help.
It is quite clear that average people are not going to profit much from this stimulus bill. The ones who are making money are big companies and other entities that are in a position to get grants and loans and know how to apply. For you and me though, getting Obama stimulus grants is just a fantasy.
That is the problem: you have to be smart enough to understand what is being given away or in a position to receive it. If you want to see the government's website on how the money is being distributed you can go to Recovery.gov. There is no doubt that it is a slick website but it is totally overwhelming to the average Joe. There is no way that a simple person like you or me will be able to gain any useful knowledge from that website.
If you want to get some of the Obama stimulus money in the form of a grant, the site directs you to the Grants.gov. There again, if you do a keyword search for what you need a grant for, you will be totally confused with all the differnt grants and information that comes up. Most people want to keep things simple and they need college grants, business grants, back to school grants, medical grants, or they just need money. I think if you go to the site you will find that nothing is as easy or as clear as that.
There are so many Obama grant scams because of this very fact: the govenment grant process is totally confusing and you almost need to be a lawyer to figure it out. Many times, poor people or people who are down on their luck are the ones searching for grants. These are the very people that will find it the hardest to understand grants and how to apply for them. This is why the grant scammers can make money because they have easy targets in these people who need help.
It is quite clear that average people are not going to profit much from this stimulus bill. The ones who are making money are big companies and other entities that are in a position to get grants and loans and know how to apply. For you and me though, getting Obama stimulus grants is just a fantasy.
OBAMA MOMS BACK TO SCHOOL
I wrote a post here about the Obama back to school grants for moms that so many people are looking for. My conclusion was that there is nothing new that is specially set aside for school grants from this new President.
He has raised the Pell grants cover by about a $1000 and there are some tax benefits too that you can get for part of the tuition cost. Other than that, there is nothing really specific or new from Obama regarding new grants or new loans.
If you are looking for some Obama moms back to school grants, there is a free drawing every month for a $10,000 scholarship. It is totally free to enter and all you have to do is sign up for it. They have additional drawings every month and actually you don't have to be a mom to win. All you have to be is 18 or older and it is 100% free to sign up - Scholarships 4 Moms.
Any moms return to school program sounds great but my research shows there isn't any such specific program. (if I am wrong please leave a comment and let me know) Getting a job right now is hard so it is a good time to return to college (if you can afford it) and finish your degree. If you are able to do that, by the time the economy picks up, you will be better equipped to get a job with your completed education. You might be able to use an Obama grant or loan to go back to school but it seems there are no such things, at least at the present time.
He has raised the Pell grants cover by about a $1000 and there are some tax benefits too that you can get for part of the tuition cost. Other than that, there is nothing really specific or new from Obama regarding new grants or new loans.
If you are looking for some Obama moms back to school grants, there is a free drawing every month for a $10,000 scholarship. It is totally free to enter and all you have to do is sign up for it. They have additional drawings every month and actually you don't have to be a mom to win. All you have to be is 18 or older and it is 100% free to sign up - Scholarships 4 Moms.
Any moms return to school program sounds great but my research shows there isn't any such specific program. (if I am wrong please leave a comment and let me know) Getting a job right now is hard so it is a good time to return to college (if you can afford it) and finish your degree. If you are able to do that, by the time the economy picks up, you will be better equipped to get a job with your completed education. You might be able to use an Obama grant or loan to go back to school but it seems there are no such things, at least at the present time.
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