Discussion for article #242864
Germany for one has free higher education. Other European countries may well do so also. Here in America we have graduates saddled with a mountain of debt that can take decades to pay off if ever. And we have state governments slashing funding to education at all levels. here in AZ our state leg. killed funding to community colleges completely and cut our stateâs 3 universities by 100 million dollars this year as the state runs a surplus. Just so there can be a corporate tax cut âŚagain.
Just sayinâ
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Hillary didnât score any points with that one. She ignored, but surely knows, that the colleges that men like Trump send their children to would not be free in any case, since they are all private schools. It is the state universities and colleges that should be free - for one thing we already pay for them with our taxes, and that used to be their primary funding.
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This is not the first time Clinton has used this red herring about âpaying for Donald Trumpâs kidâs education.â Personally I would have absolutely no problem with kids of the wealthy going to public colleges tuition-free, since the plan to is to increase taxes on the wealthy to help pay for everyone to go to public colleges tuition-free. Of course many will go to private colleges, but for those who go to public college they should be treated like everyone else, just as we do with K-12 public education. Because Bernie is right â today a college education is, for most people, as important to making it into the middle class as a high school diploma was 50 years ago.
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I personally have no problem with anyoneâs kids being allowed to go to community college or taxpayer-paid state colleges, etc., for free, so long as they are otherwise eligible. Like Hoppy, above, mentions, the likes of Donald Trump wouldnât even avail himself to that benefit because he would very likely send his kids to private colleges â therefore, not eligible for taxpayer dime. As darrtown, above mentions, the U.S. is so far behind the rest of the civilized world with this issue â and the states donât care. Even California, with its wonderful history of great education for all hasnât been realized in decades. Seriously, I have to wonder whyâWHYâsupposedly smart corporations wonât get behind this nation churning out a better, well-educated workforce. No sense of pride anymore, no sense of creating those âbootstrapsâ Iâve always heard of â but rarely have ever really seen or had the opportunity to pull. We are such a disgrace in so many ways.
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PP, you finished your comment while I was formulating my thoughts and fumbling with the keyboard. Very clumsy at the moment. Canât wait to go through with this surgery (neuro) my regular neurosurgeon and the newer one are suggesting. Weâre starting all the stuff now. Until then, I fumble a lot and other stupid stuff.
Great post, btw.
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My 1st tuition my freshman year nearly 50 years ago was $250 a semester. In 2012 that same state school charged $8000/semester which is actually cheap these days. In 1968 the University of Arizona got 45% of their operating funds from the state. In 2012 it was under 7% This corresponds to when the republicans gained a majority in both state chambers. They have held the majority since then. I see a trend I think (understatement of the decade). And itâs one factor adding to the high tuition.
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PUBLIC Universities and Colleges should be free.
PRIVATE Universities and Colleges can charge whatever they like since they are PRIVATE.
Donald Trumpâs kids wonât be going to a State Landed-College, they will go to a Private Ivy-League College (Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Willliam-Mary, etc.)
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I worked for a Private Technical College that was FREE from itâs founding until 1965.
They began to charge tuition as a way to keep the BLACKS OUT after the Civil Rights Act passed (I was told this by a guy who had been teaching there since the 1950âs)
So, tuition is frequently used as a SOCIAL BARRIER to maintain the separation of the classes.
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I would have thought corporations would prevail on state govâts that they want educated employees. And that they want good schools for their kids. In AZ they donât need to whine about poverty to get a tax break. There are already tax loopholes and breaks amounting to more than $12 billion that the state does not collect in corporate taxes. And the entire budget of my state is a paltry $9 billion/yr and still the state leg. wants to hand out more to businesses. Itâs really depressing.
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The situation is thoroughly disgusting. Longtime AZ residents (most of them) have lived under Republican rule for so long now that they very likely donât even consider the past, how well things used to be for public education. Though weâre not as severe as your state, Virginia has been on a similar tract. Only just now are we able to at least try and stop the continued degradation of social services and education here because of our current Gov. McAuliffe. Heâs a good guy but can do only so much since the legislature is still awfully conservative. I am keeping my eye on the Virginia SCOTUS electoral gerrymandering case. That wonât be a watershed but if we win that one, itâll also show Virginia Republicans they do have to at least pretend to play nicely. Here, they are the snobbiest â I get to say that because I grew up here and know many of them.
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Iâd be happy to have Donald Trumpâs kids go to a free state school. They would get exposed to all types of people from all types of backgrounds. That alone would be worth the money. A free college for everyone has multiple goals. One is to create a more inclusive, egalitarian society for the poor and the rich. Hillaryâs comment was a cheap shot that probably polled well, but is really a form of reverse elitism. Iâd say it is beneath her, but actually it is a pretty good example of her style, which is to compromise what one really believes in light of what will play well (e.g., her âevolvingâ views on gay marriage). Sanders consistently says what he believes. Hillary - not so much.
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What a stupid red herring. BUT⌠even if we did have to pay for Trumpâs kidâs education, it would be worth it in exchange for EVERYONE ELSE getting an education.
She needs to fire the adviser who came up with THAT stupid line.
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Oops! She will wear this comment. Wait for her to walk it backâŚ
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Because Bernie is right â today a college education is, for most people, as important to making it into the middle class as a high school diploma was 50 years ago.
Right, so we can have the most over-educated baristas, like, ever! But seriously, college simply isnât for everyone. What we need are good-paying jobs for everyone, a jobs program to fix infrastructure would do that. Bernieâs right about college, and it is a weak argument Clinton made. She surely knows where the wealthy went to school because she was there with them on a scholarship.
Go figure.
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Hillary knows that if tRump was pulling his fair share of the tax burden in a just progressive tax system, he would be paying enough to send his kids and many others to school too. She is not making sense claiming that free tuition for all would be an unfair ride for the kids of the wealthy.
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But youâre comparing some apples to oranges.
A college degree is not guaranteed to all in Europe.
The European model âtracksâ children into programs that will offer them skills or a higher education.
In our terminology, some European kids are prepped and go to college, while others are sent to trade schools.
One reason this can be done effectively is because non-college (non-white collar) jobs, like working at a restaurant or fixing cars, are not looked at so negatively in Europe as we do here in America.
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Exactly right. Hilaryâs comment is as to say that there should be no Social Security because she doesnât want to pay Trumpâs retirement. Totally dumb, to not have social support programs so that the rich donât benefit. They should benefit as much as the rest of society and, in the mean time, the tide raises all boats.
Also, for all practical purposes college is already free for Trump. $250,000 for a 4-year college is peanuts for him, so, it is equivalent to a free education already.
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So sheâs talking about the 1%? Iâm okay with the 99% being able to afford college even if it means the 1% who donât actually need it can get that benefit as well.
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And maybe if Trump´s kids rubbed elbows with the hoi polloi at a public school, they´d gain some empathy of which their father is devoid. I´d help pay for that.
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