Wonkbook: A popular college investment promised students a career, but didn't pay off

(Bigstock) By Max Ehrenfreund Students who earned vocational certificates from for-profit colleges made an average of $900 less annually after attending the schools than they did before, according to a new study, leaving those who took out loans hard-pressed to pay them back. By contrast, demographically similar students who received the same certifications from public community colleges earned $1,500 more than they did before attending school. The paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research, published this week, offered new evidence for critics who say the for-profit college industry swindled students by pressuring them into racking up tens of thousands of dollars in debt while adding comparatively little value to their careers. Read the rest on Wonkblog. Chart of the day The U.S. government has concocted some mightily inefficient ways of reducing cocaine consumption, such as spraying coca crops in Colombia with herbicide from the air. Christopher Ingraham has more.