I remember reading in one of Jim Hightower’s books (sorry, can’t remember which) about how EMT’s, those capable heroes in charge of saving your life, are a relatively new entity. In fact, it wasn't too long ago that ambulance services were provided exclusively by another organization – your local funeral home. Now if that’s not a conflict of interest, I don’t know what is. Oh, wait – here’s one:

The telephone number looks like any other university extension. And when students call with questions about financial aid, the recorded voice at the other end says, "Thank you for calling Texas Tech University's student financial center."

But what is remarkable about the center is not so much that it is actually located hundreds of miles away from Texas Tech's Lubbock campus. It is that the people giving advice are not university employees at all -- instead they work for Nelnet, a company that made more than $68 million last year off of student loans.

Nelnet's role staffing the help line -- which is not disclosed to callers -- is a window into the often hidden relationships between loan companies and the colleges that students rely on for advice about how to finance their schooling. Nelnet is one of several lenders that the university recommends to its students, though it is not among its 10 largest lenders.

As long as we’re on a role, why not put pharmaceutical companies in charge of healthcare, oil companies in charge of energy policy, and Halliburton in charge of national defense. Oh, crap … looks like all those are already taken!