President to propose free community college on Friday

[rico x hood]

POLITICS PRESIDENT
Obama Proposes 2 Years of Free Community College
Zeke J Miller @ZekeJMiller
6:30 PM ET Updated: 7:02 PM ET SHARE
President Obama at the Ford Motor Company's Wayne Assembly
President Barack Obama delivers remarks at Ford Motor Company's Wayne Assembly in Wayne, Mi on Jan. 7, 2015.
Jeff Kowalsky—EPA
Obama Proposes 2 Years of Free Community College

President Barack Obama announced a proposal Thursday to provide two years of free community college tuition to American students who maintain good grades.

“Put simply, what I’d like to do is to see the first two years of community college free for everyone who’s willing to work for it,” Obama said in a video filmed Wednesday aboard Air Force One and posted to Facebook. He made the announcement as part of his pre-State of the Union tour and will formally lay out the proposal Friday in a speech in Tennessee.

The White House estimated it would save the average community college student $3,800 annually and said it could benefit nine million if fully realized.

White House Domestic Policy Director Cecilia Munoz said the proposal is a federal-state partnership, with federal funding covering 75 percent of the tuitions and participating states will be expected to pick up the rest of the tab. Munoz said legislation would be needed to approve the plan and repeatedly declined to say how much it would cost, saying more details about the funding source would come in the president’s budget for the next fiscal year due next month.

“This is a moment that is equivalent to the moment when we made high school universal,” Munoz added.

The proposal would undoubtedly face opposition from the new Republican-controlled Congress. Munoz did not say how the president hopes to pass the legislation through Congress, adding the White House had yet to run it by lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

Not excited about this at all.

How will we pay for it?

If everyone can go to a two year university, an associates degree will literally be worthless. I mean they aren't much now but it still sets you apart.

 

[Bert.]

people been going to college for free...

How would that devalue a degree because more people have it?

not everyone can afford to go to college because their parents dont make enough. So a smart child has to suffer and repeat the cycle of their parents because its some how their fault they cant get a better education?

SMH

 

[johnnyredstorm]

i love this idea education should be free its a god given right to become educated

 

[rillo561]

Excellent, other countries do it. We can pay to go to useless wars, why not pay to have a educated populace.

 

[rico x hood]

It most certainly will devalue an associates degree as far as employment goes. If candidate A has a associates and candidate B has a HD degree. In most cases the guy with the HS degree will get curved. Now evertone will be walking around with an Associates so employers will have to find another way to weed people out. They'll start looking at strictly Bachelors.

Fast food places will start requiring Associates. They only positive I see is some people will be exposed to higher education and perhaps be encouraged to keep at it. But eh, I'll wait until Friday to hear the fulast proposal.

 

[ravagebx]

College and Universities have become purely tools to squeeze money out of anyone trying to make something of themselves in life. I'm all for any initiatives to even the playing field a bit.

 

[danikerhino]

Smart, smart move, some just need to get in and experience it to figure out its worth the effort.

 

[frank mucus]

How are they going to offset the costs though?

Raise taxes like they did in Germany? Higher cost of living throughout the entire US?

 

[Bert.]

College and Universities have become purely tools to squeeze money out of anyone trying to make something of themselves in life. I'm all for any initiatives to even the playing field a bit.

/thread

you know how many smart kids even adults we have without going and furthering their education simply because they cant afford it?

dudes getting mad at free school

 

[aquatic barefoot]

Excellent, other countries do it. We can pay to go to useless wars, why not pay to have a educated populace.

 

[blastercombo]

Would like to see how this changes this in the job market. More educated people doesn't = more jobs

 

[rico x hood]

I've said it many times on this board just because something is difficult doesn't mean it's impossible. Simple as that.

 

[Based Jesus]

 

Excellent, other countries do it. We can pay to go to useless wars, why not pay to have a educated populace.

 

[ramonayala]

So say this comes into effect, then what?


Federal spending is to cover 75% TUITION and we pick up the rest, but with the higher CC population, am i supposed to lose more tax money to fund the building of the newer, bigger campuses?

 

[blastercombo]

And where's the money coming from to pay for all this? I mean ultimately it's out of our pockets in some way

 

[johnnyredstorm]

federal reserve will just print more money it's ok guys

 

[aquatic barefoot]

Why aren't you all complaining this much over defense spending, or the billions (sometimes trillions) in corporate welfare/tax breaks?

 

[rillo561]

It's always going to come out of the taxpayers pockets, you pay taxes now and you don't have a say on anything where the money goes. You don't get a receipt either.


I rather this than nation building and stupid conflicts that NEVER benefit the 99% of people here.

 

[rico x hood]

Yes because this is going to end all the nation building, wars, etc. You act like this is going to replace something. He's creating another damn entitlement. More money out of my pockets.

 

[fontaine]

I think this is good...

But I think something that would be MORE effective is simply regulating tuition.

Those rates have outpaced every major metric exponentially.

Of he could curve the universities charging ridiculous fees, I think that would be more impactful...

Because community colleges are just going to raise their rates to get more money from the government

 

[rexanglorum]

To me, this shows me how far to the right we have moved politically. Higher Education was once seen as a public investment and starting in the late 1960's and increasingly in the 1980's, it came to be seen as an entirely private undertaking. In 1950, you could get a PhD from Berkeley and not pay a dime in tuition.

Ronald Reagan, as governor of California in the 1960's and as President in the 1980's, saw to it that Public Universities charged more and more to students. Combine that of the cynicism and profit motives of the ostensibly liberal administrators and we are now at a point that community colleges cost more today than UCLA charged in the 1960's.

Here comes Barack Obama with his hyper-timid style of liberalism. His bold new plan is to make community college free? Wow, he is to the left of Ronald Reagan on higher education fees! Although his is still to the right of Earl Warren, a Republican Governor of California, in the 1940's.

 

[nawghtyhare]

I think it's good
Idc what anyone says
I rather my tax money helps someone further their education than a war
Props to Obama

 

[rillo561]

Yes because this is going to end all the nation building, wars, etc. You act like this is going to replace something. He's creating another damn entitlement. More money out of my pockets.

Straight out of the GOP playbook, as expected. Guess the current way is just peachy. Educating people, your country shouldn't be viewed as an "entitlement".

Education cures conservatism, which is why the GOP will fight against this tooth and nail.

http://www.businessinsider.com/proof-republicans-really-are-dumber-than-democrats-2012-5

 

[aNYone]

CC is basically free for a lot of people here in NYC.

If you are in the situation where you are unable to pay for CC out of pocket TAP and FASFA will usually cover everything if youre going to a CUNY

A lot of people i know actually had a bunch of money left over

 

[rico x hood]

It isn't peachy. But if you're in debt you don't go out and keep spending money. And it is most definitely turning community college into another entitlement.