Obama to Propose 2 Years of Community School for 'Free'

Obviously, free means coming from taxes

President Barack Obama announced his 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 millions.

inb4 "He's destroying our country with communism!"

Tennessee already does that. Took a huge chunk of the money from Hope Scholarship recipients, but they did it to large amounts of foot stomping and the distaste of Uni kids everywhere.

This could be a really, really terrible idea.

This could be a really, really terrible idea.

All comes to implementation and what the proposal actually says tomorrow.

All comes to implementation and what the proposal actually says tomorrow.

Of course, but it just seems like a more mature "think of the children" style of political expediency.

I'd oppose this on any grounds unless the administration can provide solid evidence that I) this won't substantially increase credential inflation, II) the community colleges have the infrastructure and expertise to handle the influx and III) the community colleges don't suffer financially because of it.

All comes to implementation and what the proposal actually says tomorrow.

Of course, but it just seems like a more mature "think of the children" style of political expediency.

I'd oppose this on any grounds unless the administration can provide solid evidence that I) this won't substantially increase credential inflation, II) the community colleges have the infrastructure and expertise to handle the influx and III) the community colleges don't suffer financially because of it.

And I would also say IV) Long term stability

My biggest gripe is that this move is another step towards making college essential education and ruining the value of a diploma.

All comes to implementation and what the proposal actually says tomorrow.

Of course, but it just seems like a more mature "think of the children" style of political expediency.

I'd oppose this on any grounds unless the administration can provide solid evidence that I) this won't substantially increase credential inflation, II) the community colleges have the infrastructure and expertise to handle the influx and III) the community colleges don't suffer financially because of it.

isnt credential inflation already happening? there are more people going to college than ever before. bachelor's degrees mean less and less by the year. im not sure free community college education for 2 years would really be all that bad. though, i think subsidies for free/cheap tech school education might be a better way to go. idk. i dont know any stats. these are just observations ive drawn from incidental knowledge.

isnt credential inflation already happening? there are more people going to college than ever before. bachelor's degrees mean less and less by the year. im not sure free community college education for 2 years would really be all that bad. though, i think subsidies for free/cheap tech school education might be a better way to go. idk. i dont know any stats. these are just observations ive drawn from incidental knowledge.

Point being we should do absolutely nothing which could make it worst.

isnt credential inflation already happening? there are more people going to college than ever before. bachelor's degrees mean less and less by the year. im not sure free community college education for 2 years would really be all that bad. though, i think subsidies for free/cheap tech school education might be a better way to go. idk. i dont know any stats. these are just observations ive drawn from incidental knowledge.

Point being we should do absolutely nothing which could make it worst.

i can see where you're coming from. we have a lot of problems with our existing educational infrastructure which should probably take priority over things like this, certainly.

i can see where you're coming from. we have a lot of problems with our existing educational infrastructure which should probably take priority over things like this, certainly.

We really, really need to improve primary and secondary education before anything else.

Which gives me an idea for a thread, actually.

Here's a better idea:

Decrease federal loan interest rates. For certain degrees, either remove interest rates period or forgive the loan.

Last thing we need is to have 2-year degrees become worthless, sending more people into debt because they have to pay more for another 2-years at a 4-year university

For certain degrees, either remove interest rates period or forgive the loan.

there are already systems like this in place around the country, iirc. in georgia, for example, there is student loan forgiveness in place for teachers who take jobs at title I schools.

I know for sure this will be met with massive public support because it is based entirely on feels.

Sometimes I wish I had mass brainwashing technology.

Meh. More college degrees won't necessarily solve the problem of the public education system being lousy.

By 'good grades', I hope he means having a 3.25 GPA or higher.

By 'good grades', I hope he means having a 3.25 GPA or higher.

wouldnt a 3.0 be reasonable? that's a B average

By 'good grades', I hope he means having a 3.25 GPA or higher.

wouldnt a 3.0 be reasonable? that's a B average

All B's. At least put some effort in an A and you can get some free money. 3 seems too low.

By 'good grades', I hope he means having a 3.25 GPA or higher.

wouldnt a 3.0 be reasonable? that's a B average

All B's. At least put some effort in an A and you can get some free money. 3 seems too low.

i think that's reaching a little bit. seems like an arbitrary choice, really. what's the big deal if a student makes a couple of C's, especially considering the nature of our public education system and its standardized curriculums? if they have a 3.0, they made enough As to balance out the C's. seems fine to me.

Oh great more things I have to pay for!!!

Oh great more things I have to pay for!!!

By 'good grades', I hope he means having a 3.25 GPA or higher.

There's going to be some loophole around this, like being on a sports team. A requirement for welfare is to actively search for a job. Guess what? Attending a PT session for a job at a police academy and doing that every month fills that job search requirement.

Oh great more things I have to pay for!!!

'

Says the child who doesn't pay taxes yet.

Hey, if you want 50% of your hard earned money going towards low lifes, go ahead. But me, I want most of my money. At least 90%.

Oh great more things I have to pay for!!!

'

Says the child who doesn't pay taxes yet.

I'll send you a copy of my tax return.

low lifes

> low lifes
> working towards a college degree and not flipping Mickey D's burgers on welfare for life.

Funny.

Oh great more things I have to pay for!!!

'

Says the child who doesn't pay taxes yet.

Hey, if you want 50% of your hard earned money going towards low lifes, go ahead. But me, I want most of my money. At least 90%.

how can you say that in good faith? that's a horrible way of thinking about taxes. you think people who benefit from taxes are all low lives? you use that tax money just as much as anyone else in this country. that's a distinctly elitist and snobbish stance.

Oh great more things I have to pay for!!!

'

Says the child who doesn't pay taxes yet.

Hey, if you want 50% of your hard earned money going towards low lifes, go ahead. But me, I want most of my money. At least 90%.

how can you say that in good faith? that's a horrible way of thinking about taxes. you think people who benefit from taxes are all low lives? you use that tax money just as much as anyone else in this country. that's a distinctly elitist and snobbish stance.

Obviously not all are low lifes.

But if you have lived where I have lived, been to unemployment lines and welfare centers and you realize that 90% of people relying on government assistance (under 65) are NOT working to better themselves.

Free college? Thats a great idea in theory. But when it takes away from my money, and takes food out of my children's mouths, theres a problem. I already pay entirely too much for taxes.

Oh great more things I have to pay for!!!

'

Says the child who doesn't pay taxes yet.

Hey, if you want 50% of your hard earned money going towards low lifes, go ahead. But me, I want most of my money. At least 90%.

how can you say that in good faith? that's a horrible way of thinking about taxes. you think people who benefit from taxes are all low lives? you use that tax money just as much as anyone else in this country. that's a distinctly elitist and snobbish stance.

Obviously not all are low lifes.

But if you have lived where I have lived, been to unemployment lines and welfare centers and you realize that 90% of people relying on government assistance (under 65) are NOT working to better themselves.

Free college? Thats a great idea in theory. But when it takes away from my money, and takes food out of my children's mouths, theres a problem. I already pay entirely too much for taxes.

Considering you just spent 7k on baseball tickets, I doubt your children are losing food.

Oh great more things I have to pay for!!!

'

Says the child who doesn't pay taxes yet.

Hey, if you want 50% of your hard earned money going towards low lifes, go ahead. But me, I want most of my money. At least 90%.

how can you say that in good faith? that's a horrible way of thinking about taxes. you think people who benefit from taxes are all low lives? you use that tax money just as much as anyone else in this country. that's a distinctly elitist and snobbish stance.

Obviously not all are low lifes.

But if you have lived where I have lived, been to unemployment lines and welfare centers and you realize that 90% of people relying on government assistance (under 65) are NOT working to better themselves.

Free college? Thats a great idea in theory. But when it takes away from my money, and takes food out of my children's mouths, theres a problem. I already pay entirely too much for taxes.

Considering you just spent 7k on baseball tickets, I doubt your children are losing food.

That was an expression.

But that is actually a good point. If I'm being taxed even more, I probably wouldnt be able to afford those tickets.

My biggest gripe is that this move is another step towards making college essential education and ruining the value of a diploma.

It already is. If you want a job that pays more than minimum wage, you need a degree.

Oh great more things I have to pay for!!!

'

Says the child who doesn't pay taxes yet.

Hey, if you want 50% of your hard earned money going towards low lifes, go ahead. But me, I want most of my money. At least 90%.

how can you say that in good faith? that's a horrible way of thinking about taxes. you think people who benefit from taxes are all low lives? you use that tax money just as much as anyone else in this country. that's a distinctly elitist and snobbish stance.

Obviously not all are low lifes.

But if you have lived where I have lived, been to unemployment lines and welfare centers and you realize that 90% of people relying on government assistance (under 65) are NOT working to better themselves.

Free college? Thats a great idea in theory. But when it takes away from my money, and takes food out of my children's mouths, theres a problem. I already pay entirely too much for taxes.

Taxes are near a historic low.

I doubt another $20 out of your pocket is going to hurt. If you're that hard up for cash, you're in worse financial trouble than you believe.