Nov 22, 2013 4 min read

Editorial voices from around the United States as compiled by the Associated Press:

Though getting government spending under control often is seen as a Democrats vs. Republicans battle, some of the most egregious waste gets bipartisan support.

“Farm support” spending is exhibit No. 1. Taxpayers fork over about $30 billion a year in various agriculture subsidy programs. Originally created to help small family farms and otherwise ensure this country produces enough food, the spending too often benefits big agri-corporations and rich investors, not farmers.

About $5 billion a year is sent out in direct payments to alleged farmers. But the Government Accountability Office has revealed that during the past five years, such payments went to about 2,300 farms that have grown nothing except their bank accounts.

Another report was that 18,000 recipients of such payments live in cities, not on farms.

But both Republican and Democrat lawmakers vote to continue the handouts, year after year.

It is long past time they were plowed under.

Exorbitant student debt is keeping graduates out of grad school.

Graduate school enrollment is on the decline at the University of Minnesota, Minnesota Public Radio reported last week. Over the past five years, the university’s graduate enrollment has dropped by 9 percent, while the state has seen a more than 13 percent decline systemwide.

The drop in graduate enrollment is part of a nationwide trend. The U.S. has seen an 11 percent drop in the number of students pursuing graduate and professional programs, according to MPR’s report.

The drop is the result of a long trend of rising tuition costs as well as shrinking government funding for student positions. According to a recent survey, roughly one in five postgraduate applicants at the University of Minnesota declined an offer of admission for financial reasons.

Large debt accrued as an undergraduate can become a serious deterrent regarding the decision to go to grad school. Interest remains high – applications are up nationally – but graduates either can’t or aren’t willing to take on more student debt. This has serious consequences for universities and the U.S. as a whole. Administrators at the University of Minnesota may have to restructure graduate programs, and the nation’s talent pool will inevitably shrink if this trend continues.

The solution may be uncertain, but the cause is clear: Rising tuition prices are keeping graduates from reaching their full potential. Lawmakers at both the state and federal levels should understand that the urgency to decrease tuition costs at public universities has never been higher.

Miley Cyrus would be wise to go back and view some of her performances in her former TV show “Hannah Montana” and take some lessons on how a young lady should carry herself.

The girl we saw then is definitely not the same person we see today.

The sweet, innocent girl from years ago is now a 20-year-old pop star who has turned her nice girl image into one of a trashy vamp who allegedly smoked marijuana during an appearance in Amsterdam at the MTV European Music Awards and seems to care more about making some kind of statement about herself.

What kind of message does this send to the millions of her teenage followers?

It tells them that drugs are OK and that flaunting their bodies is how young women can get ahead. Talent alone not enough?

Cyrus should remember those who got her to where she is now. Many of them are the people who remember her as the innocent Hannah Montana.

Cyrus has become a horrible role model. She should apologize to her fans about the dangers of drugs and begin ramping down her edgier performances.

She owes that to her younger fans who might draw the wrong conclusions from her actions.