• Obama unveils plan to control college costs
    36 replies, posted
[QUOTE](CNN) -- President Barack Obama unveiled a new college affordability plan Friday, proposing to further expand student financial aid while providing more assistance to schools that hold tuition down and cutting aid to those that do not. The plan is part of a populist White House pitch to middle class families that promises to play an integral role in the Democrats' 2012 campaign. Appearing before a raucous student crowd in Michigan -- a potentially critical swing state this year -- Obama outlined plans to boost total federal spending on Perkins loans from $1 billion to $8 billion. He also announced plans to push for the creation of a $1 billion competition encouraging states to contain public tuition rates, among other things. "We want a country where everybody has a chance," Obama declared while visiting the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor. America should be a "big, bold, generous country where everybody gets a fair shot." Noting that student loan debt now exceeds credit card debt, the president said Washington is "putting colleges on notice. You can't assume you'll just jack up tuition every year." "We should push colleges to do better," he said. "We should hold them accountable if they don't." Obama also proposed establishing a $55 million competition to spur new college strategies encouraging greater educational productivity and student outcomes. The president said he wants to create a "college scoreboard," giving families easy-to-read information about individual college costs and graduation rates, among other things. Finally, the administration announced plans to push Congress to keep interest rates low for current student loan borrowers while doubling the number of work-study jobs over the next five years. Obama warned Friday that rising tuition costs are now threatening to surpass the ability of government to help pay for them. Between 1999 and 2010, inflation adjusted prices for undergraduate tuition, room and board rose 37% at public schools and 25% at private colleges, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, part of the Education Department. "We can't keep subsidizing (skyrocketing) tuition," he said. "Sooner or later we're going to run out of money." College affordability has been a recurring theme for Obama. In 2010, Congress approved a bill that restructured the federal student loan program and redirected $61 billion towards post-secondary education spending, according to the National Association for College Admission Counseling. Obama's 2009 stimulus plan also included a temporary $2,500 tax credit for higher education expenses, which the president has now proposed making permanent. The trip to Michigan capped a three-day presidential tour that also took Obama to Nevada, Colorado, Iowa, and Arizona -- all states that are likely to be hotly contested in November. On Thursday, Obama hit another key reelection theme -- clean energy. At the same time, he also discussed plans to sell off oil and gas leases on 38 million acres of the Gulf of Mexico seafloor as part of a sweeping new domestic energy push. The leases could yield as much as 1 billion barrels of oil and 4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, the Interior Department estimates. The sale scheduled in June will be the second since the Deepwater Horizon disaster of 2010 when nearly 5 million barrels of crude spewed into the Gulf. Obama mentioned the planned lease sales in his remarks at Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora, Colorado, which has a 1-megawatt solar array and last year test-piloted jets that run on advanced biofuels. Republicans have been fiercely critical of Obama's energy stance, questioning investments in certain clean energy companies as well as the recent rejection of a permit to build a pipeline to transport oil from Canada's tar sands to the Gulf of Mexico. Obama, however, insisted Thursday that his energy plan is an "all-out, all-in, all-of-the-above strategy that develops every available source of American energy." Among other things, the president also promised more federal assistance for local governments to upgrade their automotive fleets while also pushing new tax incentives for cleaner corporate vehicles. Obama said the administration is working to develop up to five highway natural gas corridors, and he announced a new competition to encourage the development of breakthroughs for natural gas vehicles.[/QUOTE] Source: [url]http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/27/politics/obama-trip/index.html?hpt=hp_bn3[/url]
[quote]proposing to further expand student financial aid while providing more assistance to schools that hold tuition down and cutting aid to those that do not.[/quote] Sounds alright.
I like what I'm reading
[quote]Appearing before a raucous student crowd in Michigan -- a potentially critical swing state this year -- Obama outlined plans to boost total federal spending on Perkins loans from $1 billion to $8 billion. He also announced plans to push for the creation of a $1 billion competition encouraging states to contain public tuition rates, among other things.[/quote] As much as I'd love if he went through with it, he may just be pandering for votes.
Somehow I feel like this won't affect current students in any way...
[QUOTE=POLOPOZOZO;34434046]Somehow I feel like this won't affect current students in any way...[/QUOTE]It's certain that it won't, things like these typically take years to be fully initialized.
I have a friend who shook hands and exchanged a few words with him while at Ann Arbor.
I don't know about this. The government getting involved with financial aid is what drove tuition through the roof in the first place. Back when it was all privatized, people could pay off a years tuition by just working a job over the summer.
The republicans will oppose this saying that it makes colleges too accessible to everyone and then every bum will go to college and that's bad
I'm all for something like this. I haven't gone because I'm too white, rich, and able bodied to get some sort of grant, but I'm not rich enough to pay for it out of pocket, nor are my parents, and having student loans that I'll never pay off isn't exactly what I want out of school. Joining the air force and getting into an aircraft is currently my only way into college, so that's what I'm doing now. But if I could get grants...
[QUOTE=Murkrow;34434531]The republicans will oppose this saying that it makes colleges too accessible to everyone and then every bum will go to college and that's bad[/QUOTE] Well to be fair, the Republicans do have a point. If everyone went to college no one would be able or willing to do menial tasks. There's always going to be a certain percentage of people that do construction, minimum wage jobs, etc. that don't really require a higher education. But yes, everyone who wants to go to college should be allowed to do so.
"Appearing before a raucous student crowd in Michigan -- a potentially critical swing state this year" Ha, yeah right. Young people never vote.
this is great not penalizing or hurting private institutions, not forcing anyone to do anything, but still coming up with an efficient solution to a huge problem in america this is really great [editline]28th January 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=A B.A. Survivor;34434973]"Appearing before a raucous student crowd in Michigan -- a potentially critical swing state this year" Ha, yeah right. Young people never vote.[/QUOTE] weren't young voters a major factor in electing obama
Yeah it's a shame I'll be paying off student loans for the better part of my adult life because of how the higher education system is. At least I went for something worthwhile, like engineering.
[QUOTE=A B.A. Survivor;34434973]"Appearing before a raucous student crowd in Michigan -- a potentially critical swing state this year" Ha, yeah right. Young people never vote.[/QUOTE] Wait are you being serious?
[QUOTE=A B.A. Survivor;34434973]"Appearing before a raucous student crowd in Michigan -- a potentially critical swing state this year" Ha, yeah right. Young people never vote.[/QUOTE] The number of young voting has increased dramatically with each new election, what are you talking about?
[QUOTE=KillerJaguar;34434027]As much as I'd love if he went through with it, he may just be pandering for votes.[/QUOTE] This is the basis of all politics. Politicians can't and do not do things out of the good of their heart, they do it so that they can garner support from the voter base Democracy relies on the people wanting things to be better for themselves and to vote for it its a good thing
[QUOTE=spacedooky;34434831]Well to be fair, the Republicans do have a point. If everyone went to college no one would be able or willing to do menial tasks. There's always going to be a certain percentage of people that do construction, minimum wage jobs, etc. that don't really require a higher education. But yes, everyone who wants to go to college should be allowed to do so.[/QUOTE] Not everyone has the ability nor wants to go to college, some people(less educated) won't just like today
[QUOTE=DesolateGrun;34436249]Not everyone has the ability nor wants to go to college, some people(less educated) won't just like today[/QUOTE] No, the difference is now that college grades are inflated. Back in the old days, college was affordable but there weren't that many graduated because it was actually difficult. Now anybody can get a degree that gets a big enough loan.
The quality of American four year courses has progressively decreased, until it's almost just a pay $100k so you can do a professional or research masters/doctorate
My family pays 1200 a year for my tuition at Thailand's top college. Why the fuck would anyone need to pay 50000 a year?
oh boy, more loan money How about making college free ya cunt.
[QUOTE=ManxKat;34439689]My family pays 1200 a year for my tuition at Thailand's top college. Why the fuck would anyone need to pay 50000 a year?[/QUOTE] Because the Staff has realized that they can make a fuck ton of money by barely working.
OHYEAHH
yeah obama got my vote
[QUOTE=PvtCupcakes;34439732]oh boy, more loan money How about making college free ya cunt.[/QUOTE] Because pretty soon it won't be college anymore, it will become an extension of high-school, but more specializing. [editline]29th January 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Nikota;34439761]Because the Staff has realized that they can make a fuck ton of money by barely working.[/QUOTE] If only that money actually went to the professors, my mom only makes 60k a year, which isn't too much more than a grade-school teacher.
So can we be more like Germany with higher education?
[QUOTE=Lt_C;34435122]Yeah it's a shame I'll be paying off student loans for the better part of my adult life because of how the higher education system is. At least I went for something worthwhile, like engineering.[/QUOTE] If you get a good job as an engineer, you could pay off those loans a whole lot quicker than you may realize.
[QUOTE=Meller Yeller;34434499]I don't know about this. The government getting involved with financial aid is what drove tuition through the roof in the first place. Back when it was all privatized, people could pay off a years tuition by just working a job over the summer.[/QUOTE] Seriously?
[QUOTE=ManxKat;34439689]My family pays 1200 a year for my tuition at Thailand's top college. Why the fuck would anyone need to pay 50000 a year?[/QUOTE] Because that's what it costs in america
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