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Obama touts plan to change college loan system
Associated Press ^ | 4-23-09

Posted on 04/24/2009 1:38:20 PM PDT by Justaham

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama on Friday renewed his call for the government to stop backing private loans to college students and replace them with direct financial aid to young people. Obama said the surest test for success in the challenging economy is a college degree or other training, yet access to higher education continues to shrink as costs rise.

To reverse that, the president repeated his campaign proposal that would eliminate the Federal Family Education Loan program that costs taxpayers $15 million each day.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: bho44; governmentschools; indoctrination; obama; obamatruthfile; obamayouthcorps; taxes

1 posted on 04/24/2009 1:38:20 PM PDT by Justaham
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To: Justaham

Sounds peachy keen. But how are those students going to pay back the loans when the job market has dried up?


2 posted on 04/24/2009 1:42:46 PM PDT by LottieDah (If only those who speak so eloquently on the rights of animals would do so on behalf the unborn)
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To: Justaham

And to receive these loans, you must participate in the Obama Youth Corps.

Ve give you zexy armbands and boots, ja!


3 posted on 04/24/2009 1:42:50 PM PDT by Crazieman (Feb 7, 2008 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1966675/posts?page=28#28)
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To: Justaham

I’d suggest that 0be cut the wages of all publicly supported schools of higher education (That would be all but Hillsdale College) administrators and professors immediately. Issue no Federal Funds to any of them. Either through direct grants, research contracts or student support.


4 posted on 04/24/2009 1:43:28 PM PDT by Paladin2 (Big Ears + Big Spending --> BigEarMarx, the man behind TOTUS)
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To: LottieDah

Sounds peachy keen. But how are those students going to pay back the loans when the job market has dried up?
::::::::::
Move to Australia, or some other NON-COMMUNIST country.


5 posted on 04/24/2009 1:44:28 PM PDT by EagleUSA
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To: EagleUSA
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2237177/posts
6 posted on 04/24/2009 1:46:10 PM PDT by Crazieman (Feb 7, 2008 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1966675/posts?page=28#28)
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To: Justaham; SumProVita; HardStarboard; BradyLS; Ernest_at_the_Beach; dervish; Twotone; ...

The list, ping


7 posted on 04/24/2009 1:46:31 PM PDT by Nachum (the complete list at www.nachumlist.com)
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To: Crazieman

Do they all get a KdF Wagen too?


8 posted on 04/24/2009 1:48:30 PM PDT by VanDeKoik (Enemy of the state since 1978!)
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To: Justaham

The real question that has to be asked and addressed here is why the cost of college has soared.

25 years ago, the tuition at the U. of Pittsburgh was $1024, the minimum wage was $2. An industrious undergrad could earn his tuition money during the summer- even if he had a low paying job if he worked 500 hours total.

Today the tuition is $13000, the same kid would have to be earning $26/hour to pay it off with a summer job.


9 posted on 04/24/2009 1:49:17 PM PDT by I_Like_Spam
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To: Leisler; PAR35; TigerLikesRooster; AndyJackson; Thane_Banquo; nicksaunt; MadLibDisease; happygrl; ..
I have an idea: let's "sunset" both Federal Direct Loans and private FFEL loans. No new entrants into either of the loan programs, and once borrowers graduate or leave college for more than two semesters, no new loans can be extended to those borrowers.

Furthermore, repeal Pell and SEOG grants. Repeal the bankruptcy code protections for private student loans. Repeal the various education credits and deductions, as well as tax breaks for educational expenses, whether paid for by private organizations, the Federal Government, or individuals and households.

The cost of attendance for U.S. colleges and universities is increasing seemingly without bound largely due to the Federal Government's continued propping up of demand for a college degree, via "need-based" grants and scholarships and various federally-guaranteed loan programs. Furthermore, such artificial manipulation of the education market eases the stress upon K-12 educators to properly educate their own students with the knowledge and skills requisite for active participation in the U.S. economy and civic society.

10 posted on 04/24/2009 1:49:40 PM PDT by rabscuttle385 ("If this be treason, then make the most of it!" —Patrick Henry)
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To: I_Like_Spam
Today the tuition is $13000, the same kid would have to be earning $26/hour to pay it off with a summer job.

More than that, if you factor in taxes and cost of living, e.g., transportation, food, etc.

Of course, if that kid were making $54,080 in the first place, before benefits, why bother going to college at all?

11 posted on 04/24/2009 1:51:26 PM PDT by rabscuttle385 ("If this be treason, then make the most of it!" —Patrick Henry)
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To: LottieDah
Not sure Obama knows about the student loan system ~ his way seems to have been paid for him. However, he does know about his wife's involvement in the system.

That doesn't mean he understood it though. His proposal doesn't exactly make a lot of sense. For one thing, the only clear proposal is to ELIMINATE THE SUBSIDY ~ I believe that's the payment made to private lenders to manage the loan portfolios.

Eventually the loans have to be managed ~ whether by government bureaucrats, union shop stewards or bankers. If it costs $48 billion (over time) to do that now, it's still going to cost a comparable amount, and probably a lot more, when management of loan portfolios is handed over to union shop stewards and AFSCME organizational reps, to say nothing of the portion passed on to ACORN.

Just checking to see if the student had served his time in the Obama Youth League camp will cost even more.

12 posted on 04/24/2009 1:51:42 PM PDT by muawiyah
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To: I_Like_Spam

Subsidies and government loans.

Stop all federal loan programs for colleges and the prices will drop when people stop going.


13 posted on 04/24/2009 1:52:14 PM PDT by Crazieman (Feb 7, 2008 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1966675/posts?page=28#28)
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To: Justaham

Why does he have to F^(k with everything?


14 posted on 04/24/2009 1:53:56 PM PDT by KansasConservative1
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To: rabscuttle385
The part about relieving stress on K-12 by messing around with college level educational financing is a bit over the line.

Frankly, the K-12 people just don't care.

15 posted on 04/24/2009 1:54:17 PM PDT by muawiyah
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To: muawiyah
Frankly, the K-12 people just don't care.

Since K-12 is largely funded by property taxes at the local, county, and state level, then perhaps the citizens of individual counties and states should either start holding their local public school systems accountable or defunding them outright at the ballot box.

16 posted on 04/24/2009 1:56:21 PM PDT by rabscuttle385 ("If this be treason, then make the most of it!" —Patrick Henry)
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To: Justaham
Obama said the surest test for success in the challenging economy is a college degree or other training, yet access to higher education continues to shrink as costs rise.

Affirmative action doesn't hurt either.

17 posted on 04/24/2009 2:00:22 PM PDT by VeniVidiVici (Sprechen sie Austrian?)
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To: Justaham
Control the funding and you control the colleges. It is not hard to see that this will lead to government control of college curriculums.

Control the schools and you control the future (and also rewrite past history).

18 posted on 04/24/2009 2:03:15 PM PDT by Senator_Blutarski (No good deed goes unpunished.)
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To: rabscuttle385; Senator_Blutarski; Justaham

A big part of the artificial propping up of demand for college degrees is the fact that satisfactory “progress toward a degree”, as defined by the college itself, is required for all the federal and state loan programs. So if you need to take some courses in accounting or chemistry, you can’t get financial aid without signing up for a “degree” that you don’t actually need, and taking the silly distribution requirements, many of which are simply jobs programs for professors and lecturers of useless subjects. Even worse, while most schools have an admission category for part-time, non-degree-seeking students, as far as serious courses go, this option often exists only on paper, even for those paying full tab out-of-pocket, because the non-degree students aren’t allowed to register until after all the degree students have registered, by which time the courses that are worth anything are generally full. Taxpayers, including those who are paying out of pocket for their own or their children’s college educations, are being forced to subsidize a huge array of professors teaching useless junk, and students are being forced to waste their time on useless courses.

If President Obama REALLY wanted to save money on education, he’d start with an executive order prohibiting the requirement of any degree for any government job — only requirements should be specific courses OR EXAMS SHOWING EQUIVALENT KNOWLEDGE that the employing agency can show are directly and concretely related to the work that the employee will be required to perform. Then make colleges which discriminate against part-time and/or non-degree students in course registration ineligible for any government-subsidized loan programs. Then watch how fast the course offerings in junk like “Peace Studies” and “Sculpture” and “Lesbian Themes in 19th Century French Poetry” dry up, and how fast the number of sections of courses in physical sciences, accounting, allied health professions, engineering, etc, expand.


19 posted on 04/24/2009 2:11:30 PM PDT by GovernmentShrinker
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To: I_Like_Spam
Today the tuition is $13000, the same kid would have to be earning $26/hour to pay it off with a summer job.

And if that kid could make $26/hr, they couldn't need to go to college. Most liberal arts majors will make much less than that AFTER graduating.
20 posted on 04/24/2009 2:38:15 PM PDT by CottonBall
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To: Senator_Blutarski

“Control the funding and you control the colleges.”

Moreover, following the precedent established under TARP, if you take government money to get through college, does that mean Uncle Sam can cap your compensation or otherwise hector you for the rest of your career? Will Uncle Sam be able to “steer” you into green jobs or “steer” you away from occupations so that favored interests (e.g., auto unions) don’t feel the heat of more competition? Worst yet, can Uncle Sam also call the shots on whether you join a union or not?


21 posted on 04/24/2009 3:07:45 PM PDT by DrC
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To: rabscuttle385; LucyT; Fred Nerks; Beckwith
What a great laugh these initiatives are. Obama has finally arrayed himself against the sacred cow of American academe.

The fascist evolution continues , as Zero follows the anti-intellectual format of his Eurofascist predecessors.

As a result of this policy, university student enrollment will decline. And so , the yet to be educated youth of America will join Americorps in order to provide the foundation for Zero's brown shirts.

Nothing new about that. Nothing to read here, move along.

22 posted on 04/24/2009 4:50:03 PM PDT by Candor7 (The weapons of choice against fascism are ridicule, and derision. (member NRA)
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To: Justaham

How bout making education affordable - by getting rid of unions?

Notice how he wants to get rid of loans, replace them with SUBSIDIES (read: Tax increases!).

Thanks, BO! The same kids who get the SUBSIDIES ... will have the increased tax burden, down the road, since govt. will have to borrow to pay for all of this you idiot


23 posted on 04/24/2009 5:49:16 PM PDT by 4Liberty (End of civilization. 'Who cares about a little pork?' - Senator Schumer)
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To: I_Like_Spam

Teacher unions is the Answer to your question.

And Dems get a cut of union dues.

There is no incentive to make education affordable.
Dems get $ when edu unions get more $.

This is crocodile tears, on TOTUS’s part.

He wants taxpayers to subsidize ALL of education, which means more money for teacher unions... and therefore Democrat Party campaigns.


24 posted on 04/24/2009 5:53:45 PM PDT by 4Liberty (End of civilization. 'Who cares about a little pork?' - Senator Schumer)
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To: Crazieman

That’s something to think about, combine it with removing protection from bankruptcy with private loans...just thinking outloud.


25 posted on 04/24/2009 6:08:37 PM PDT by ~Kim4VRWC's~ (Please pray for our troops.... http://www.americasupportsyou.mil/)
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To: AdmSmith; Berosus; Convert from ECUSA; dervish; Ernest_at_the_Beach; Fred Nerks; george76; ...
renewed his call for the government to stop backing private loans to college students and replace them with direct financial aid to young people. Obama said the surest test for success in the challenging economy is a college degree or other training, yet access to higher education continues to shrink as costs rise.
Direct costs more than guaranteed -- which is why direct loans were dumped in the first place.
26 posted on 04/24/2009 6:17:18 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/____________________ Profile updated Monday, January 12, 2009)
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To: Crazieman
And to receive these loans, you must participate in the Obama Youth Corps.

I was thinking about the same thing. I've been making payments on my federal student loans for over ten years, but I still owe quite a lot. I will not be surprised down the road if Obama comes up with some program to conscript me into "national service" or take an equity stake in my business, based on my student loan debt. Never mind that it's not in my loan contract; the government doesn't have to observe such niceties.

27 posted on 04/24/2009 6:28:28 PM PDT by Huntress (Proud owner of Norman/Norma, the transsexual attack cat.)
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To: Justaham

Obama has never seen human or financial capital he isn’t willing to misallocate!

This guy is a misallocation machine! A machine I tell ya!


28 posted on 04/24/2009 8:48:41 PM PDT by JerseyHighlander
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To: Justaham

This is so true. College costs have skyrocketed because so much loan money is available to students. They raise tuition and students always seem to find a way to borrow the money (or, maybe mom & dad). Tuition soars and Harvard is as over-subscribed as ever. Cut the money and colleges will be begging for students. These stupid government loan programs assure that fewer kids get to go to college as prices are out of reach for most. Plus, who wants to start your productive life with $100,000 in debt? its SOOOO American consumer...


29 posted on 04/24/2009 9:59:39 PM PDT by April Lexington (Study the constitution so you know what they are taking away!)
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To: JerseyHighlander
This guy is a misallocation machine! A machine I tell ya!

Obama has spent a lifetime studying and working in the communist mindset. This is all he knows. There is no conscience. This IS his conscience. Its what he believes will bring social justice and equality to a segment of our society he has fought for all of his life. You and I are the enemy and, right now, he's kicking our *sses.

30 posted on 04/24/2009 10:02:02 PM PDT by April Lexington (Study the constitution so you know what they are taking away!)
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To: JerseyHighlander
This guy is a misallocation machine! A machine I tell ya!

In his mind, he's not misallocating. He is allocating the way Billy Ayers, Allynsky, Rev. Wright and other Marxists have trained him to think about allocation. Take from the white establishment and give to the underclasses who have been oppressed for generations. Its their turn and they are taking it.

Elections have consequences and this is it...

31 posted on 04/24/2009 10:04:49 PM PDT by April Lexington (Study the constitution so you know what they are taking away!)
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To: Justaham

So, now a college degree will become as devalued as our fiat money. Yippee!


32 posted on 04/25/2009 7:20:19 AM PDT by ronnyquest ("That's what governments are for, to get in a man's way.")
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