Correct. College textbooks are the biggest moneymaker. They've moved from a place where you could sell last year's books to a new student to becoming worthless by the end of the term. Used books? Forget it.
The New York program was set up to help high school to college students from middle class homes ($125K/yr) that don't qualify for other student aid. If you have scholarships, you can even lose some of the benefit.
It's a start, though. Now that corporate America is realizing that they need tech skills domestically, It will help train machinists, mechanics, and electricians
