For-Profit Colleges Reap Big Benefit from Stimulus

From ACJ.com:

Massage and beauty schools, online universities and other for-profit colleges in Georgia and across the nation are cashing in on federal stimulus spending, collecting $2.2 billion in tuition grants for low-income students, public records show.

That represents nearly a quarter of the stimulus money spent on these grants to date.

The taxpayer-funded grants are flowing to profit-making schools as the government is seeking to revise how those schools qualify for federal aid, partly because of concerns over how some saddle their students with substantial debt. The effort follows a federal report that cited abuses in the recruiting practices of some of the schools.

Georgia’s public colleges, meanwhile, are grappling with deep state budget cuts that are expected to increase tuition costs and class sizes. Some state officials would like to see more stimulus money come to those schools.

Fake A Million Dollar Bill? Go Directly to Jail

Last week, Alexander D. Smith, an Augusta, Georgia resident, was charged with disorderly conduct and two counts of forgery after he walked into a bank and attempted to open a new account by depositing a fake $1 million bill. Not only did he try to deposit the bill, but when the teller refused to accept the fake bill Alexander began cursing at the bank employees. Within a few minutes the police arrived and took the man into custody. Upon investigation the police discovered that Alexander had previously purchased cigarettes from a nearby grocery store using a stolen check, thus the second forgery charge.

It amazes me that some one would be dumb enough to even consider using a fake million-dollar bill. But, at least this time he was trying to deposit the money, unlike the woman a few months ago who tried to break a million dollar bill at Wal-Mart.

The picture below, supplied by the Aiken County Sheriff's Office, shows what the fake $1 million bill looked like.