Free Republic

Surprising news from Germany where AIDA Cruises have applied for financial aid in the form of a credit application. The credit is said to be in the region of €400 million. The news comes from the North German radio station NDR, which first reported it. AIDA Cruises is the German subsidiary of the Costa Group, which belongs to Carnival Corporation. The cruise industry is not doing well since the industry had to go to an operations stop in March. Companies are currently struggling to maintain profitability. Ships that have been sold or offloaded, loans have been taken out, and employees...

The $26 billion aid package has cleared the Senate. It is up to the House to give their approval. This bill is packaged as an aid program to prevent states from laying off teachers. Where have we heard that before? Ah yes, the stimulus package was supposed to do that! VideoIt had to be passed “immediately” to prevent local teachers, firefighters, and police officers from being laid off. President Obama claimed it was “under budget” and working “exactly as we had anticipated.” That is the $862 billion stimulus bill alright. How’s it working for you? But this time Democrats are...

Gov. Chris Christie is making good on his promise to get tough with New Jersey's $2.2 billion budget gap -- by taking aim at one of the drivers of the state's out-of-control taxes: school budgets. Under Christie's budget, New Jersey's 605 school districts will see their state aid reduced by 5 percent of their last budget. That trims state spending by $820 million, forcing school districts to make deeper cuts or raise property taxes. If it stopped there, Christie's one-time aid cut would do nothing but aggravate property-tax payers. But he's also seeking a constitutional amendment on the November ballot...

Employees of the City of Minneapolis were advised Tuesday of the “extremely damaging” effect Governor Tim Pawlenty’s proposal to solve a $1.2-billion budget deficit could have on “core services.” Pawlenty’s plan would “take another $29 million out of Minneapolis’ 2010 budget,” an e-mail from Mayor R.T. Rybak and City Council President Barbara Johnson stated. On top of $21 million in previous aid cuts, the governor’s proposal would “represent a 56% cut in the Local Government Aid that Minneapolis was supposed to receive from the State in 2010.” The text of the e-mail seems intent to incite the passions of city...

This issue's question concerns a question states face in supporting higher education. Should the State provide more student financial help (e.g. loans, grants, scholarships, tax breaks) to help counter increases in tuition and fees?