Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Person and SAIAT

Tucson, Arizona. Someone calling themselves "Person" posted the following over at Michael's Blog for Arizona a few days ago:

Matt-
In your search for the ultimate meaning to life, perhaps you should remember "what is, is." Nothing more. Let it go. I did. It was dying before it began, and now it has passed.

Good luck to you.
me


The post brings the communications to four that have said the same thing. SAIAT was dead no matter what. Yeah, I know, Cigar Man, it was all about making TREO look good and taking credit for our work. I let them take the credit! I don't care about getting credit. They could have it.

Well, "Person" says he let it go, so that means he was involved. I have no idea who he is. For the record, I have no hard feelings for anyone who actually worked there, so whoever he is, I wish him luck as well.

It was dying before it began? I just don't get how pumping tons of money into a place, millions, only to destroy it when it becomes really good at what it does. With the exception of the very specific and limited areas where demand consolidates in volume and ability to pay, like MBA's at the University of Phoenix, or inexpensive and easy to provide Microsoft courses at New Horizons, training cannot be provided at actual cost. The actual cost of education is higher than people can pay.

If you want to educate people, educational costs = price + subsidy.

Stanford spends over $200,000 to teach a student in a year. They charge (full price before aid) $46,500. The rest is subsidized. At the University of Arizona, Pima Community College, same thing only smaller numbers. At K-12, the students pay nothing. It's all subsidized. I am talking about a subject quite easily understood.

Market forces will not train our workforce. If the price equaled the cost, only the ultra rich could afford an education. The U of A would run well over $25,000 per year if it charged what it truly spends per student. A skilled workforce costs money. SAIAT generated 2/3 of its revenue through "tuition and fees," about $1/2M per year. It required a 1/3 subsidy, $250,000 to provide all sorts of stuff no for-profit operation could touch.

Certain people know the REAL reason why TREO destroyed SAIAT. It has nothing to do with operations. If they knew they were going to destroy it no matter what it did from day one, why did they create it?

Yeah, I know, Cigar Man: To make themselves look good.

They don't look very good to me.

5 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

What jerks.

Be glad you're away from that scene.

1/29/2008 2:53 PM  
Blogger Cigar Man said...

x4mr,
"Person" is in fact correct. I would speculate that it is your predecessor letting you know that he now gets your were as much a victim of dirty dealing as he was, but of course like you I have no way of knowing (except by asking him, which I will not do).

Another good guess is Darth. I know for a fact both men have read SE.

Whoever "Person" is, he speaks the truth, and his advice is sound. Take it.

They tried to shut you down in 2003. You were supposed to implode at once. No one survives a cut from $1M+ to $250K in a single year. No one. It's impossible.

But you did it. Not to make light of your suffering, but I can't tell you how hard it was not to laugh in certain meetings. I remember one person yelling, "Who the #@#$#@ #@#@@ is this guy?!!!!"

I know it's not in the press, Matt, but trust me, EVERYONE knows about "Something Else." MANY have read it. The suits have held meetings and trust me that it chaps them something silly that they cannot do a damn thing about SE or your blog.

They did meet with attorneys. I know the law firm. If you are friends with Michael Bryan, you might ask him to file papers of some kind. Give him the emails, contracts, letters, and charge TREO with criminal conflict of interest charges.

The Citizen as we speak is wrestling with whether to publish something. I don't know the outcome. Possibilities include:

1. Article slamming TREO
2. Article slamming you
3. Article with murky ambiguity slamming neither but raising questions
4. No article.

I hear you're doing great at school.

1/29/2008 5:02 PM  
Blogger Nobody said...

Would you have started the blog otherwise? School? Good stuff, both. AND one hell of a war story to tell...

1/29/2008 5:57 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The Suits have NO idea who is reading this blog.
But they ought to be concerned.

1/29/2008 8:11 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

There is a reason this blog is ranked fifth on the list of the most influential political blogs in Arizona.

1/30/2008 1:07 PM  

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