Obama wants public funded Community College

WTF is he thinking? Seriously?

Marketable degrees change almost daily. Currently, our kids are debt ridden with student loans, and cannot find employment despite having a degree. How many people working minimum wage jobs with minimal hours have a degree? Most of them. Nearly all of them are working outside of their field, which means they still have ZERO experience in their chosen field.

So enough of the "a college degree means a job". It's total BS and everybody knows it.

Next, is just where does he think this money is going to come from? As a tax payer, I'm certainly not paying for it. My state won't either. And not to mention, the nation cannot afford it.

And lastly is education standards. Across the board, it has been in a decline for decades. It's so poor now, even my children are noticing it. So all it is, is money wasted.

If Obama, or any politician, wants to do something to help education there are three things I can think of off the top of my head. 1) Return bankruptcy protection to college loans. 2) Enforce drastically cheaper tuition/room/board rates for state funded schools. 3) End the practice of sex/race favoritism on admissions.

Have you ever gone to a Community or state college?

Bandit wrote:

WTF is he thinking? Seriously?

Marketable degrees change almost daily. Currently, our kids are debt ridden with student loans, and cannot find employment despite having a degree. How many people working minimum wage jobs with minimal hours have a degree? Most of them. Nearly all of them are working outside of their field, which means they still have ZERO experience in their chosen field.

So enough of the "a college degree means a job". It's total BS and everybody knows it.

Next, is just where does he think this money is going to come from? As a tax payer, I'm certainly not paying for it. My state won't either. And not to mention, the nation cannot afford it.

And lastly is education standards. Across the board, it has been in a decline for decades. It's so poor now, even my children are noticing it. So all it is, is money wasted.

I rather suspect that part of the motivation is that the feds will be able to attach strings to this money, and then use those strings to dictate the curriculum at any school that accepts those funds.

Bandit wrote:

Have you ever gone to a Community or state college?

Yes. I have a couple of degrees from a State University and I took a few classes at a community college.

He got this idea from the state of Maine. Which now you can earn a associates degree at high school for free. I have no problem if states want to do this.

Annoyed wrote:

I rather suspect that part of the motivation is that the feds will be able to attach strings to this money, and then use those strings to dictate the curriculum at any school that accepts those funds.

To what end?

eber322 wrote:

Yes. I have a couple of degrees from a State University and I took a few classes at a community college.

Degrees you may or may not have are irrelevant, as we are discussing the cost part of the admissions process. Do you have children that also attended? If you have no children, perhaps Nieces or Nephews that did?

Pissedoffvulcan wrote:

He got this idea from the state of Maine. Which now you can earn a associates degree at high school for free. I have no problem if states want to do this.

I disagree. The abomination you reference is the Early College high school. All three of my kids went through it. Over half the states participate in the initiative, but it isn't free. That whole mess is because of the NCLB Act.

Bandit wrote:

Degrees you may or may not have are irrelevant, as we are discussing the cost part of the admissions process. Do you have children that also attended? If you have no children, perhaps Nieces or Nephews that did?

No, you asked "Have you ever gone to a Community or state college?" I answered. My answer is exactly relevant to what you asked. I've actual seen zero discussion here of the "cost part of the admissions process". But since you've now brought it up, it's probably about 1000 more expensive then it should be, just like everything associated with college.

As far as I'm concerned if a truly private college, as in one that receives NO state or federal funding or kick backs (if there even is such an animal), wants to drastically overcharge or have discriminatory admissions practices, that's their business. But all these colleges that do get governmental funding, which is most if not all of them, need to have their outrageous costs cut drastically and stop discriminating. And of course the cost issue was brought on by the fed backing college loans, removing bankruptcy protection, and allowing colleges to milk that system.

Bandit wrote:

Annoyed wrote:

I rather suspect that part of the motivation is that the feds will be able to attach strings to this money, and then use those strings to dictate the curriculum at any school that accepts those funds.

To what end?

Proper indoctrination of the nation's youngsters. Tyrannical governments always establish control over what information the peons have access to. And our government has been growing more and more tyrannical for a long time now, regardless of whether the Republicans or the Democrats are in charge at any particular moment.

They already pretty much dictate what is taught in the primary public school system and we see the results such as revisionist history, political correctness run amuk to the point where if you or your group has ideas counter to what the powers that be want to have expressed, you are silenced.

This is simply a way to extend that control to the secondary education system.

Has he explained how it can be free? Unless the teachers are volunteering and the text book publishers are donating books someone is paying for this. Are the states and locals involved or is this strictly a federally financed program? What else can we have for free Mr.President?

ford plasko wrote:

Has he explained how it can be free? Unless the teachers are volunteering and the text book publishers are donating books someone is paying for this. Are the states and locals involved or is this strictly a federally financed program? What else can we have for free Mr.President?

Well it supposedly would be tuition free, but the tax payers would be footing the bill.

eber322 wrote:

ford plasko wrote:

Has he explained how it can be free? Unless the teachers are volunteering and the text book publishers are donating books someone is paying for this. Are the states and locals involved or is this strictly a federally financed program? What else can we have for free Mr.President?

Well it supposedly would be tuition free, but the tax payers would be footing the bill.

Right. The tax payers pay but at what level? Are my property taxes involved or will the state raise the sales tax? It's one thing to say free this and that, but nothing is free. This is just a way for the Democrats to regain losses in their youth voter base. I expect those who pay no taxes will jump all over this.

ford plasko wrote:

Has he explained how it can be free? Unless the teachers are volunteering and the text book publishers are donating books someone is paying for this. Are the states and locals involved or is this strictly a federally financed program? What else can we have for free Mr.President?

It's all "smoke and mirrors". Yeah, like we have $60 billion just lying around. Last I checked, that money won't even pay for the yearly interest on our TRILLIONS of dollars of debt.

I suspect you are correct in your assessment on who would take advantage of this. Perhaps that is who Obama is actually targeting with his pitch.

ford plasko wrote:

I expect those who pay no taxes will jump all over this.  

Especially the illegals.

At the end of World War 2, America created the G. I. Bill of Rights.  This act fueled the greatest expansion of wealth in the history of the world.  The three parts were support for education, guaranteed loans for housing, and guaranteed loans  for business.  

The success of the G.I. Bill can't be denied.  

I agree with the idea that student loans should be treated the same way as any other debt and be allowed to be eliminated by bankruptcy. As far as were is the money going to come from? The growth in the economy with the increased skills and disposeable income will grow us well past any cost.

What Obama has proposed has a track record that we have documented evidence that works. In addition to expanding education we need to start to play catch-up right here at home. The nation needs infrastructure, and it can be built if we have the will and decide to allocate the resources.
Cut the weapons and programs that the military says they don't need.

Focus on developing domestically. High Speed Rail, Upgrading Airports, Repair and Replace Bridges and Roads, Upgrade the Electrical Grid and the Internet, Invest in Renewable Energy and scientific research.  Basic economics tell us its all about "Guns or Butter". We need more butter and less guns.

The public education system in this country as it stands today is a joke. It would be more accurately referred to as the public indoctrination system.
In many areas, the system is owned and operated by and for the benefit of the public employee unions, the needs of the children are secondary.

Until the system is fixed, I cannot support spending any more taxpayer dollars on education. We are wasting most of what we are spending already.

Annoyed wrote:

The public education system in this country as it stands today is a joke. It would be more accurately referred to as the public indoctrination system.
In many areas, the system is owned and operated by and for the benefit if the public employee unions, the needs of the children are secondary.

Until the system is fixed, I cannot support spending any more taxpayer dollars on education. We are wasting most of what we are spending already.

Amen.

Also, giving away "free" college education will do little good when our already "free" primary school eduction is next to worthless. They no longer even teach kids to write. They no longer teach kids to do math in their heads. All they do is teach them how to push buttons on a computer. So if the computer says 2+2=74, they will not only go with that, they will defend it as an absolute because the computer told them so. The rest of their "education" consists of indoctrination, rewritten history, and intolerance. All of which ends with them making statements online like; "U R stoopid i smarterd then U". And so called professional writers from the millennial generation that can't even write a decent sentence or paragraph let alone an article.