Obama wants community college to be free "for those willing to work for it"

[gotsmack]

Unless you totally screwed up selecting a major and/or grad school, the cost of community college can't possibly be holding you up. In either case, I doubt you'd qualify if you have a four year degree, much less an advanced degree.

We'll see how this plays out. I have full faith in our government's ability _____ (you fill in the blank)

 

[OutHouse]

So high school extended by 2 years.

 

[Kantastic]

I never understood why the standards were so low for federal and state grants. A 2.0 GPA in community college? I could wipe my ass with my professor's tie while it's still around his neck and still pull away with a better grade than a C.

 

[Fern]

This whole thing just seems like a twist of words.

It is free if you are willing to work for it...

If you have to work for it, then it's not "free". What's the difference between that and the person who works a job to pay for tuition? You either work in exchange for money to cover tuition, or you work in exchange for tuition.

I think America just likes hearing the word "free". America likes voting for politicians who promise them "free" stuff.

I see your point.

However, I think it's the other way around.

I suspect it will be "free". I see no condition of "work". I think Obama stuck the term "work" in there to forestall those that oppose give-away programs.

Fern

 

[cubby1223]

I see your point.

However, I think it's the other way around.

I suspect it will be "free". I see no condition of "work". I think Obama stuck the term "work" in there to forestall those that oppose give-away programs.

Fern

One place I work for offers up availability for people to serve community work hours there, and more often than not it's a burden on them, costing them more money & resources to take on such person for a day than what is received back in work accomplished. 8 hours of community service is a joke.

I don't know. It's going to bloat the college system yet again. The motivations are not what is expected (pass the student instead of failing him, get more free government money next year). It's not enough to elevate someone to the ranks of high paying job, it will likely just elevate the minimum education requirement for basic jobs.

Call me pessimistic, but I don't see this as much more than the Democrats branding themselves as the party of free stuff.

 

[gsaldivar]

Subsidies generally drive prices _____.

a. up
b. down

 

[OverVolt]

Subsidies generally drive prices _____.

a. up
b. down

This is a dumb question.

Subsidies drive the price of corn down because they are getting paid to produce too much. Then they turn the excess into ethanol anyway. So food prices are higher cause we're putting food into our cars. Those resources to grow the corn didn't come out of thin air. It bids up the price of farmland, and it represents an opportunity cost. Why grow broccoli when the government will pay you to grow corn. So it changes the natural economic equilibrium of things (hint, broccoli, and everything else gets more expensive because too many farmers are growing corn).

This will be no different. Will CC be free if they pay for it? Yea... but the flood of people getting associates degrees will probably force universities to take away the guarantee of admission for holding an associates like many states do now currently. Making community college just a huge waste of time, AKA highschool #2. The flood of people now needing to finish up a 4 year degree will bid up tuition prices with FAFSA money where they don't understand the value of the $50k they borrow EVEN WORSE than it already is now, which is pretty bad.

If you don't have the money for CC and you ultimately end up going for a bachelors you'll probably end up like trident. Legions and legions of tridents. Economic wise its going to artificially increase the number of people attending CC, but its not going to actually increase the number of people capable of completing a 4 year degree, since tuition is already rising like 10% YOY and this program will indeed make that worse (higher demand). So what then is the point? While in CC you still have living costs which is like 3x what the tuition ever was. This is a bad idea. People will be going to CC for all the wrong reasons.

 

[gsaldivar]

The flood of people ... will bid up tuition prices with FAFSA money

Bingo. :thumbsup:

 

[Subyman]

People will be going to CC for all the wrong reasons.

Nearly every college student goes to college for the wrong reasons. I'm agreeing with you though, it could make it even worse. However, handing out practical degrees and certifications can be a great thing. I recently talked to my mother who runs a speech pathology business and helps low-income families. She said that many low income families save for community college but have a hard time getting the money needed to go. $950 a semester sounds like not much, but to some people that is a month's pay.

I think the program could be interesting to run for a short amount of time to see what the actual ramifications are. I know its been going on in TN. I'd like to look into their analysis of the program. The program may be able to help people that made poor choices when they were young (teen pregnancy, juvenile prison, etc) and help them turn around their life and become productive tax payers. But then again, it could just be a huge circle jerk for a piece of paper.