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Newton Iowa considering free college tuition
See the story here in the Des Moines Register
An excellent idea, in my opinion. College education is becoming more and more vital in the US as our manufacturing job base shrinks. But of course, we all know that as it has been drilled into our heads since at least the early 1980's. But, the question is, how do we get more people college educations, without pricing college out of range of the middle class and the poor? The other question is, how can we do this without saddling graduates with an immediate student loan debt load of $15000 to $100000?
Is education a commodity, like orange juice and SUV's? Or, should it be a public investment in our children?
While the rich will always have their private universities, the rest of us are left to fend for ourselves. Frankly, the "you can get student loans so don't complain about the cost" argument is a red herring. Government guaranteed student loans are little more than taxpayer welfare for huge banks. They get to write loan after loan to students whose families aren't wealthy enough to pay for college out of pocket, and goverment guarantees that the loan will be paid back. That equals a potentially crushing debt load for the graduate, and guaranteed profits for banks!
As a Green, I support publicly financed college education at state and community colleges. It is not an egalitarian or utopian idea, it is vital to the expansion of the middle class, the future of poor people looking to better themselves, and the future of our country as a modern, post-industrial, capitalist state.
Where will the money come from? Lets discuss that. All options are on the table. You are the citizen, you make the decision.
Where do Greens stand on education?
An excellent idea, in my opinion. College education is becoming more and more vital in the US as our manufacturing job base shrinks. But of course, we all know that as it has been drilled into our heads since at least the early 1980's. But, the question is, how do we get more people college educations, without pricing college out of range of the middle class and the poor? The other question is, how can we do this without saddling graduates with an immediate student loan debt load of $15000 to $100000?
Is education a commodity, like orange juice and SUV's? Or, should it be a public investment in our children?
While the rich will always have their private universities, the rest of us are left to fend for ourselves. Frankly, the "you can get student loans so don't complain about the cost" argument is a red herring. Government guaranteed student loans are little more than taxpayer welfare for huge banks. They get to write loan after loan to students whose families aren't wealthy enough to pay for college out of pocket, and goverment guarantees that the loan will be paid back. That equals a potentially crushing debt load for the graduate, and guaranteed profits for banks!
As a Green, I support publicly financed college education at state and community colleges. It is not an egalitarian or utopian idea, it is vital to the expansion of the middle class, the future of poor people looking to better themselves, and the future of our country as a modern, post-industrial, capitalist state.
Where will the money come from? Lets discuss that. All options are on the table. You are the citizen, you make the decision.
Where do Greens stand on education?
