Democrats Want Free College But Have No Plan to Lower Costs
It’s so easy for Democrats to just say college should be free but that’s not how the real world works.
Red Alert Politics reported.
Democrats debate free college, but have no plans to lower costs
The Democratic debate on Saturday night teased out a divide on higher education between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, and Clinton dismissed Sanders’ plan as too expensive and limiting.
When Neil Levesque, the executive director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics, asked Sanders how his plan for free college would lower costs instead of “just shifting the cost to taxpayers,” Sanders laid out the basics of his plan, but couldn’t explain how it would lower costs.
“My proposal is to put a speculation tax on Wall Street, raise very substantial sums of money, not only make public colleges and universities tuition-free, but also substantially lower interest rates on student debt,” Sanders said.
He pointed toward high salaries for vice presidents, “fancy dormitories,” and “giant football stadiums” that add to the high cost of college. Those costs add up, but are responsible for a small fraction of tuition increases. Sanders’ plan to create a speculation tax would shift costs to taxpayers, though a specific subset, but he didn’t confront the issue of lowering costs.
Clinton glossed over lowering costs as well, but presented a more limited plan.
“Under my compact, the federal government will match money that the states begin to put back in to the higher education system,” Clinton said.
Clinton blamed the rise in tuition with state disinvestment in public colleges.
“I don’t believe in free tuition for everybody. I believe we should focus on middle-class families, working families, and poor kids who have the ambition and the talent to go to college and get ahead. So I have proposed debt-free tuition, which I think is affordable and I would move a lot of the Pell Grant and other aid into the arena where it could be used for living expense,” Clinton said.
Democrats debate free college, but have no plans to lower costs (Red Alert Politics)
Comments
Why not start with something simple like a full income adjustment on student loan interest instead of the stupid arbitrary cap of 2500 (and that’s combined when married filing jointly). Then, when it’s hitting the government directly in the pocket book they will be more apt to look at reducing cost in higher ed.
When Democrats say ‘middle class’ they mean poor black people. Sanders can tax rich people at 100% and Hillary can make all college free. The middle class will never see a nickle of it.
BTW what about people who can’t or won’t attend college? Are they not entitled to a multi hundred thousand dollar handout as well? This scheme might very well result in most of the labor pool of college age people simply dropping out of the work force?