Experiences

I don’t like the idea of waving college loans 🎓

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I was hearing again on the radio that there is a movement to allow more students to waive or reduce their college loans for free. I think that’s a complete slap in the face to people like myself who didn’t rack up any debt in college but chose the lowest cost options when attending college.

The problem with waving college is that it’s both unfair and rewards wasteful spending. Why economize at college if the government is going to waive your costs it just away? I took a lot of steps to save in college – including attending Community College then a college I could commute to from home. When I attended SUNY Plattsburgh, I waived all optional fees that I could, bought the smallest meal plan I was allowed and parked on the street rather than pay the parking fee. I didn’t have my own laptop, instead I used the computer lab or typed up papers on my parents old typewriter (in 2006). I did work study and then worked down in Albany, taking off semesters and commuting from home.

I certainly support making college more affordable by increasing government support for public colleges and rewarding schools that stay within a spending cap with additional aid. Steps should be taken to make it easier for students to opt out of optional fees, and providing additional discounts for online classes that don’t require providing a physical plant such as a classroom with desks, heating and lighting. Larger class sizes are also possible online, saving on staffing costs.

Public colleges could reduce tuition and fees to an affordable couple thousands a year if they aggressively persued efficient online learning with a much smaller physical plant. While some classes and laboratories are best done in person, most universities have significant physical plant and they don’t have to be constantly upgrading. Colleges can make do with older buildings, older technologies and still provide a cost effective education to students.

Students that got into significant debt should be held accountable for their actions. Instead of bailing them out, we should focus on driving down college costs – not just by increased funding but also reduced spending at colleges.

Resturants and Vending Machines are So Much Waste

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Every time I pass by a vending machine or restaurant, I often think what a waste of money and resources. I really hate wasting money and I hate relying on others for services I can provide for myself. A hot meal or a snack might be good, but I’d rather buy food in bulk and cook it myself, for less waste and less money.

Cooking Dinner

Restaurant food is often wasteful, but so is so much of the take-out you get that comes in a styrofoam or paper box. When you shop at the store, you can buy things in large packages, make several meals out of the food. You can compost your food scraps, burn or recycling the much more minimal packaging. You don’t have to live the high-waste life.

Full Dumpster

It’s not rocket science to pack your own lunch in a reusable plastic container like I have done for over an decade for work. A home-packed lunch with a microwave at work is often good, and there are many things you can put in lunch box. I generally prefer a hot lunch nowadays that I make from things previously prepared at home, but for many years I packed sandwiches. Likewise, if you pack food for a road trips, you can skip the vending machines for healthier options that involve less waste.

For Health, More Nuts, Beans and Whole Grains In Your Diet – The New York Times

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For Health, More Nuts, Beans and Whole Grains In Your Diet – The New York Times

An analysis published Wednesday in the journal BMC Medicine, drawing on data from 37 studies, adds to the evidence that eating fewer animal-based foods — especially processed meats — and replacing them with whole grains, legumes and nuts is linked to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes.

The study is particularly useful because it details which dietary changes are most strongly linked to better health, said Qi Sun, an associate professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, who was not involved with the study. For example, the study estimated that replacing one serving per day of processed meats, like hot dogs, sausage, deli meats or bacon, with a serving of whole grains, nuts or beans was associated with a 23 to 36 percent lower risk of cardiovascular issues, including stroke, heart attack and coronary heart disease.

The analysis combined the results from studies in the United States, Europe and Asia that asked participants detailed questions about the foods they typically ate. Researchers followed them for an average of 19 years and looked for correlations between their diets and health. They adjusted for other factors that can affect health, including calorie intake, physical activity, smoking and alcohol use.

These types of studies can’t determine if plant-based foods directly prevent cardiovascular disease or Type 2 diabetes — only that there is an association between eating more of such foods and a lower risk of developing these conditions, said Sabrina Schlesinger, an epidemiologist and nutrition scientist at the German Diabetes Center in D?sseldorf, Germany, and a lead author of the study. But the findings were consistent between studies, she said, and are supported by other research that points in the same direction.