Obama Proposes 2 Years of Free Community College

[Linc]

Keystone may be dead in the water, but if he wanted to poke at the Republicans some more about infrastructure, he's got it. Over the next few months internal developments will be a big talking point. If Obama wanted to do all that you were discussing, I think he would have picked another target instead of what amounts to being merely an extensive scholarship for people going to college.

Obama continues to bedevil the GOP since the election, as you've already seen with the lame duck.
Boehner had 67 GOPs vote against him on the cromnibus and 25 more on his Speakership.
And then he had his Grimm problem and still has his Scalise problem.

So Obama's doing what he does best--get out of DC and use the bully pulpit.
Though I agree he should have waited on the veto threat.
Instead he should have said he would trust McConnell on the open amendment process .

 

[iguanaman]

Keystone may be dead in the water, but if he wanted to poke at the Republicans some more about infrastructure, he's got it. Over the next few months internal developments will be a big talking point. If Obama wanted to do all that you were discussing, I think he would have picked another target instead of what amounts to being merely an extensive scholarship for people going to college.

Obama can't do anything with Congress it is dead to him. The Republicans are planning "poison pen" appropriation bills with riders dismantling anything from the ACA to the EPA that he will need to veto regardless of the economic hit the country may take. The Republican can't work with the Dems even if they wanted to because they risk being branded RINO and get booted next election. surely you have seen all this in the last 2 years, nothing has really changed. Only that the bills will stop at Obama desk instead of Reids. The Republicans are in no shape to govern in any meaningful way. Obama is on his own as usual. He's gotten pretty good at it too.

 

[Fiddytree]

Obama can't do anything with Congress it is dead to him. The Republicans are planning "poison pen" appropriation bills with riders dismantling anything from the ACA to the EPA that he will need to veto regardless of the economic hit the country may take. The Republican can't work with the Dems even if they wanted to because they risk being branded RINO and get booted next election. surely you have seen all this in the last 2 years, nothing has really changed. Only that the bills will stop at Obama desk instead of Reids. The Republicans are in no shape to govern in any meaningful way. Obama is on his own as usual. He's gotten pretty good at it too.

What I am saying is that this plan isn't to call the GOP's bluff so much as to try to continue swaying young people.

 

[upsideguy]

Nothing is free and someone is going to pay for it.

As most Progresssive Policies wind up nailing the Middle class consumers I'm guessing it will be them.

Anyway, whats the point of 2 years of free College ? In the Obama economy it just means you're still unemployed in 2 years.

nice quip, but incorrect as the jobless rates for college graduates and community college graduates was much lower than national average, currently and through the recession....

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/29/u...raduates-is-also-low.html?_r=0&abt=0002&abg=0
http://www.businessinsider.com/college-vs-no-college-unemployment-rates-2013-6

 

[iguanaman]

What I am saying is that this plan isn't to call the GOP's bluff so much as to try to continue swaying young people.

And their parents....Most parents want their children to have a chance to go to college don't they?

 

[Deuce]

Flooding a market just means that you are going to have a bunch of people with skills they can't find work doing. Promoting the idea that supply should just ignore demand is going to lead to people suffering.

You think people's prospects will get worse if they get more education?

Interesting theory.

 

[Fiddytree]

And their parents....Most parents want their children to have a chance to go to college don't they?

If polling data continues to bear out issue priorities and preference between the the generations? No.

 

[digsbe]

I agree with the exception that I don't think we should be helping out with law school as there are already way too many lawyers anyway.

I think if anything they could reduce the interest back down to 3% or so and make institutions comply with tuition standards in order to receive federal loans. If students can't get federal loans that institution will likely not attract the best students and the reputation will fall. The problem is if you look at things historically schools have been increasing tuition by 3-5% annually. That adds up tremendously when you factor in that this has been going on for 10-20 years or so. To be honest I think the government sees the loans as a cash cow. You can't erase the loans with bankruptcy and the government can dip into your finances. If you have a license like a pharmacy, medicine, law or other the government can revoke it if you are late on payments. They're going to make money on the higher salary you earn and hundreds of thousands in student loan interest. I honestly think the gov wants the loans to be high because it profits them and the schools in the long run.

 

[WallStreetVixen]

nice quip, but incorrect as the jobless rates for college graduates and community college graduates was much lower than national average, currently and through the recession....

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/29/u...raduates-is-also-low.html?_r=0&abt=0002&abg=0

The underemployment rate for college graduates and community college graduates is higher than 15%%.

Gallup Daily: U.S. Employment

Who needs a high school diploma to wait tables, flip burgers and clean bathrooms, when the college degree has become the new high school diploma?

 

[iguanaman]

The underemployment rate for college graduates and community college graduates is higher than 15%%.

Gallup Daily: U.S. Employment

Who needs a high school diploma to wait tables, flip burgers and clean bathrooms, when the college degree has become the new high school diploma?

OK So now what is your answer to the under-employed then? Pick themselves up by their bootstraps?

 

[WallStreetVixen]

No because it still depends on what you choose to get that diploma in. If you give everyone 2 years of community college, then its a given that the ones that choose to get an Art History Major will have an even less valuable diploma now because there is just not that much demand for Art History Majors out there in the economy. However, the ones that choose to get their 2 year degree in Computer Science are not going to have a worthless degree because there are more jobs today for IT professionals then there are adequately skilled IT candidates to fill them.

Where you attended school matters just as much as what your major is, contrary to popular belief. Plenty of research have shown that the more elite the school you have attended, the higher paychecks the alumi receive.

So while the idea of free two year community college may SOUND good in theory, it's not going to help in the long run.

 

[Henrin]

You think people's prospects will get worse if they get more education?

Interesting theory.

If you go out and get a degree that you can't use to get a job, then yeah, you're worse off. Maybe I'm wrong, but I get the feeling that having a bunch of debt from a useless degree isn't going to help you in your life. :lamo

 

[WallStreetVixen]

OK So now what is your answer to the under-employed then? Pick themselves up by their bootstraps?

Just let supply and demand work. While we need people to fill these subpar jobs, they don't need to be filled by our brightest pupils. There was a time when they could easily be filled by high school grads. I don't understand why anyone needs a college degree to have a better shot at taking my order at applebees...

 

[Kal'Stang]

Why force the taxpayers to pay for someone's college education. If someone wants free education, there is Coursera, Khan Academy, and a host of other resources where a free education can be obtained.

Why educate anyone? Why not just let everyone stay ignorant except for the wealthy? I mean come on, 4000 some odd years of that took us a long ways didn't it?

Look to history and you should be able to figure out the answers to your own question.

 

[WallStreetVixen]

Why educate anyone? Why not just let everyone stay ignorant except for the wealthy? I mean come on, 4000 some odd years of that took us a long ways didn't it?

Look to history and you should be able to figure out the answers to your own question.

Why the false dichotomy?

 

[Henrin]

Why educate anyone? Why not just let everyone stay ignorant except for the wealthy? I mean come on, 4000 some odd years of that took us a long ways didn't it?

Look to history and you should be able to figure out the answers to your own question.

What would the world come to if people actually paid for what they received. The horror.

 

[WallStreetVixen]

You think people's prospects will get worse if they get more education?

Interesting theory.

We're not exactly giving people free vouchers to sit in at Laura Alfaro lecture halls at Harvard.

We're sending them to community college...

 

[danarhea]

Why educate anyone? Why not just let everyone stay ignorant except for the wealthy? I mean come on, 4000 some odd years of that took us a long ways didn't it?

Look to history and you should be able to figure out the answers to your own question.

Sure, a free education is a good thing, but I don't want to pay for someone else's free education.

 

[Kal'Stang]

Sure, a free education is a good thing, but I don't want to pay for someone else's free education.

Of course you don't. You won't receive any immediate benefits. Its all about the "me" complex that everyone seems to have.

 

[joko104]

Obviously if everyone had 2 years of college everyone could get a job and a better job. No one would have to work in fast foods or any manual labor anymore. Wouldn't that be wonderful!

Why doesn't the government make everything free? Then there would be no poverty, everyone would have everything they want, and everyone would be happy.

It's so simple.

 

[WallStreetVixen]

Yeah yeah, money money money, blah blah blah. There are some things in this world that shouldn't be about money in the slightest. Education is one of them.

Things that are free have a reputation of sucking.

Community college is one of those things...

 

[Henrin]

Of course you don't. You won't receive any immediate benefits. Its all about the "me" complex that everyone seems to have.

Then I suppose it's ironic that this entire issue revolves around the me complex you find so much contempt for.

 

[Kal'Stang]

Things that are free have a reputation of sucking.

Community college is one of those things...

Really? Love sucks? Friendships suck? Breathing sucks? Learning something sucks? Or do you not believe that people learn every single day of their lives even beyond schools?

 

[WallStreetVixen]

Really? Love sucks?

It could. Depends on the relationship.

Friendships suck?

It could. Depends on who your friends are.

Breathing sucks?

It could. Depends on the air you are breathing.

Learning something sucks?

It could. Depends on the learning environment.

Or do you not believe that people learn every single day of their lives even beyond schools?

Then why bring up the idea of free 2 year community college education at all? Just let their life experiences guide them to prosperity.

 

[Kal'Stang]

Then I suppose it's ironic that this entire issue revolves around the me complex you find so much contempt for.

You're right. I do find contempt in the "me" complex. It is deserving of such.