Posted on 01/09/2015 5:27:45 AM PST by LeoMcNeil
The President is set to announce plans to increase the welfare gravy train. This time he wants to make two years of community college free. The cost is unknown at this time though the administration acknowledges it would be significant. After spending $10,000 or more a year per student per year on mediocre government schools, Obama wants taxpayers to further fund mediocre community colleges. College tuition at four year schools has increased dramatically because of the influx of free money via student loans. The cost of “free” community college may be low today but once schools stop chasing students around for money their costs will increase just like four year colleges. Suddenly community colleges will need to double the size of their administration and build more buildings. The quality of education will still be poor but it will be “free.”
You would like to think this proposal would be dead on arrival in the new Republican Congress. Perhaps it will be considering it comes from Obama. However you might also think that tax increases would be off the table in the new Republican Congress. Unfortunately that appears to be wrong. Rep. Inhofe and Sen. Hatch are seriously considering increasing the gas tax. Even worse, they’re engaged in Alinsky style word manipulations. You see they don’t call it a tax but rather call it a “user fee.” If Beltway Republicans want to know why the GOP base hates them and Congress it’s because of nonsense like this. When gas prices are artificially low they propose tax increases and then have the audacity to claim they’re not taxes but fees.
Republicans weren’t elected to increase taxes. They also weren’t elected to expand the welfare state. Obama’s community college proposal likely isn’t very serious. He’s playing political games, likely in response to his party losing ground with young people. Apparently he believes offering them a new welfare program might increase Democrat votes in 2016. Of course Obama isn’t much interested in anyone but himself so perhaps he views this as a matter of legacy. One wonders where this proposal has been all these years. He must know that it’s unlikely the Republican Congress will pass a bill creating a massive new entitlement. Or maybe Obama has figured out how weak these Republicans are. If the GOP is seriously considering a gas tax increase why wouldn’t they consider creating a massive new entitlement program with Obama?
What exactly have the Republicans done in the last four years? They haven’t cut spending at all, in fact spending has increased since the Republicans took control of the House in 2011. They haven’t done anything to roll back Obamacare. The purse strings are controlled by the House but House Republicans continue to fund Obamacare. Given the chance to stop Obama’s executive amnesty last month, the Republicans promptly funded it until October. The Republicans are afraid of another government shutdown, despite the fact that they won in a landslide just a year after the last shutdown. What are they afraid of in a shutdown anyway? Last time 83% of the government was considered so essential that it continued functioning despite the shutdown. New we’re looking at a Republican Congress with no agenda other than increasing the gas tax which they insultingly call a user fee.
Free community college will be a disaster for taxpayers just like easy college loans have been a disaster for college students. Free money for government schools has always created problems, we need to look no further than the nations k-12 government schools. Raising the gas tax would be a disaster for most Americans. Just when we’re getting a little relief at the pump, greedy Washington politicians want to increase taxes. They of course will be nowhere to be found when consumers want a gas tax cut when the price at the pump is over $4, which is likely to happen sometime in the next few years. If Republicans are going to increase taxes, they might as well support all of Obama’s ridiculous entitlement proposals. If the Republicans are going to be a party that supports bigger government, they might as well go all the way. Instead, the Republicans are dishonest with voters. They pretend to believe in tax cuts, spending decreases and limited government. Then their first week in the new term they’re proposing tax increases and refuse to cut spending. No wonder voters hate Republicans and Congress.
How about job training experiences in high schools instead? A HS diploma that prepares one for a job makes more sense than two more years of an education that doesn’t.
Libs were gonna push to make college “free”.
Toldya so. Toldya so.
“You would like to think this proposal would be dead on arrival in the new Republican Congress.”
Not if you’d been paying attention. This IS who they are.
Thanks for the post.
2015 New Year’s Resolutions: Dump Boehner, Stop Obama!
Add - “And Republicans”
NOBODY CAN OR EVER WILL cut g. spending. Even Reagan DID NOT EVEN COME REMOTELY CLOSE; diminishing the rate of growth is hardly a monumental achievement.
NOBODY CAN OR EVER WILL cut g. spending because the American people are welfare beggers and will not hear of it. It is NOT the fault of Republicans; the fault lies solely, wholly, and completely with the Amercan people.
If the American people were like the people on this website, G. spending would probably be cut by 90% tomorrow.
I say “probably” because even 90% of the people on this site, when asked about it, would mumble something about, “Oh, well, I believe in a safety net, sure, but...”
SS and Medicare are your “safety nets,” gang, and not even Reagan ever breathed a syllable about throwing these programs in the toilet where they belong.
Actually... Obama could make ALL college free for everyone tomorrow without even going through congress.
Using how he handled the illegals as an example.
He just simply needs to declare that he will no longer prosecute or try to collect on student loans. And WALA! free college for everyone by presidential decree !
Ain’t lawlessness grand !
The usual suspects.
Is Orifice Hatch really a Republican? Come to think of it, if Boehner is, Hatch is, I suppose...
Well, we have virtual free pre school baby sitting service now for those as young as 3 or 4. Now we can have post school pre unemployment benefits now too.
But it is for the children. Childhood now ends around age 30.
Net result: In order to keep the Federal money flowing no students will be allowed failing grades so they can’t be flunked out mo matter what. Thus a certificate from a Community College will become as worthless as the Community Organizer that proposed it. Just another way to reduce the teen unemployment number for one or two cycles also. If ANYONE in Kongress votes for this they should be horsewhipped.
Of course Hatch is a Republican. The RINO’s aren’t the moderates, the RINO’s are conservatives.
Let’s be honest, degrees and certificates from community colleges aren’t worth all that much in the first place.
You’re right that Obama’s proposal will limit the number of failing kids. It will also put pressure on Congress to fully fund four year schools. When those schools start losing students because community college is free and credits have to transfer, they’ll go to Congress begging for money. First it will be the first two years of college are free then all four years. Next thing you know masters and PHD and professional schools (law, medicine) will be free. Obama is proposing the beginning of a massive Federal takeover of college education to say nothing of creating a massive entitlement that will cost taxpayers a fortune.
Taxed Enough ALREADY!
The community college model is not sustainable. Most classes are taught by struggling adjunct lecturers (part-time wage earners) while the salaries of administrators have been skyrocketing. The quality of instruction in most such institutions is little better than high school plus. Many of the ill prepared community college students are in need of remediation and are not capable of being accepted into four year colleges or universities. Of course, the worthless degrees are acceptable for public sector (government employment).
This is simply another power grab by Obama who along with Bill Ayers wants to use the education establishment as a tool to indoctrinate the next generation.
I don’t know about where you guys live, but where I live (in DuPage County, IL, we have an excellent Junior College here, the College of DuPage. It’s high in national rankings of junior colleges. When younger, I took courses for fun at COD, and loved them (mostly history courses, I’m a history buff, and when younger, EMT courses, while still working full-time down in Chicago).
It’s a great junior college, and there are other good ones in the suburbs of Chicago also. Many are now affiliated with major colleges as to programs offered to continue at a 4 year affiliated college to get a full degree. So I hardly think all junior colleges are “mediocre”.
Just add two more years to high schools; grades 13 & 14 could have open campus and for core classes could provide most general requirements.
Screw the current community college lobby who’ll potentially get hundreds of thousands of new students. If we have to insure them till they’re 26, then they should be doing something productive...hell, make it a requirement for getting free coverage.
On the other hand, we all know who this is for, free food, cellphones, car payments, housing, healthcare, citizenship, etc is just not enough, I guess. /s.
is it crazy to think there is something in this for teachers unions?
It’s at the point where you don’t even bother to ask what they think they’ll pay it with.
There it is. More libtard teachers to push the leftist agenda. More tax money laundered through them as salary and benefits and returned to the Dem party as campaign contributions.
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