Free community college for all.

AP

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Free community college for all.

AP
Conversation-starter? Definitely. Political possibility? Not any time soon.

President Obama unveiled the idea in a video posted to Facebook on Thursday night. But administration officials provided no price tag, no legislation, and little evidence of Republican support on Capitol Hill.

But the White House says that’s beside the point at this stage.

The president hopes “to start a conversation,” Obama domestic policy adviser Cecilia Munoz told reporters.

She couldn’t estimate the cost for the proposal, though back of the envelope calculations suggest it would cost tens of billions of dollars a year. The Republican Congress would need to pass legislation to fund it. State governments would need to each act as well.

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The administration likens the dream to its universal pre-K proposal from State of the Union two years ago; that one has languished on the Hill but does have some bipartisan support.

A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner reacted to the community college proposal with skepticism. “With no details or information on the cost, this seems more like a talking point than a plan,” Cory Fritz said in a statement.

Still, the notion of free community college is tantalizing to many. Democrats envision a system akin to free the nation’s public high school system which is funded jointly by state and federal governments.

Broadly, the White House sketches it out this way:

2 years free community college for students who attend at least half-time, maintain a 2.5 GPA, and remain enrolled.
Community colleges would have to allow students to transfer to four-year schools and/or train in high-demand occupational areas.
Federal funding would pay for 3/4th; states would pay 1/4th.
The White House projects up to 9 million students could benefit if every state participates. Average savings $3800 in tuition per year.
“What I’d like to do is see the first two years of community college free for everybody who’s willing to work for it,” Obama says in the Facebook video. “That’s something we can accomplish and it’s something that will train our workforce so that we can compete with anybody around the world.”

There’s also the issue of capacity. The nation currently only has 1,100 community colleges. Some states that have individually dabbled in subsidized or free community college programs have seen their systems overwhelmed.

As for the politics of it – White House points to red state Tennessee and Gov. Bill Haslam who pioneered a statewide program that provides free community college tuition for two years, signed into law last year. Some 57,000 students – or 90 percent of the state’s high school graduating class – applied, signaling high demand.

Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will visit Knoxville, Tenn., on Friday to pitch the proposal as part of a presidential tour to preview the State of the Union.

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Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 01/10/2015 10:37AM by Fox News.

Does it include free lunch?

How about we simply raise the quality of a high school education so that a high school diploma is the equivalent of getting an associates' degree at a community college?

Free? So NoVA will not use lights, water, teachers work free, admin and support staff work free. Interesting. Thank goodness the Feds and VA won't have to raise taxes to pay for any of this. ;)

freeeee Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Free? So NoVA will not use lights, water, teachers
> work free, admin and support staff work free.
> Interesting. Thank goodness the Feds and VA won't
> have to raise taxes to pay for any of this. ;)



No no no, silly Rabit. Trix are for kids!


The Bank of Obama will be paying for everything.

oh awesome! more taxes for the middle class to pay! why dont we all just sign over our paychecks to obumblefuck.

It will be FREE for illegal aliens and Jihadi's too! Just like Obamacare!

Grants. There is so much money available to students it's ridiculous. 3 of my 4 years were all paid by grants that I went after. Some as small as $500 but they are out there. My graduate degree in civil engineering was paid for by a VDOT grant. I have a BSCE and a MS in transportation engineering and only paid for one year of college. Oh, and I'm white and come from an upper class family. So fuck all you libs! Try working for something you leeches! If a white boy can get grants, imagine what is out there for minorities.

This sounds like a great idea, but how will it get paid for? By raising taxes high enough so that its equivelant to you already paying for school? And some say to raise high school standards to the 2 year college equivalent. I disagree. High school can be tough enough for some.

lazy asses Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Grants. There is so much money available to
> students it's ridiculous.

Grants are typically need-based (which means your financial circumstance is considered) and they come from the state, federal government and colleges themselves.

Where do state, federal, and colleges get this money? From tax payers.

IE: more taxes

good idea, but Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> By raising taxes high enough so that its
> equivelant to you already paying for school?

No. The people who will benefit will be the 49% of the country who pay zero taxes. The 51% who pay taxes will end up paying more taxes.

lazy asses Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Grants. There is so much money available to
> students it's ridiculous. 3 of my 4 years were all
> paid by grants that I went after. Some as small as
> $500 but they are out there. My graduate degree in
> civil engineering was paid for by a VDOT grant. I
> have a BSCE and a MS in transportation engineering
> and only paid for one year of college. Oh, and I'm
> white and come from an upper class family. So fuck
> all you libs! Try working for something you
> leeches! If a white boy can get grants, imagine
> what is out there for minorities.

What is the name of the VDOT program that paid for your Masters?

The only stipulation is you have to major in Art

good idea, but Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> This sounds like a great idea, but how will it get
> paid for? By raising taxes high enough so that its
> equivelant to you already paying for school? And
> some say to raise high school standards to the 2
> year college equivalent. I disagree. High school
> can be tough enough for some.

Public high school is a joke. libs have dumbed down everything so that even G2 could graduate now. It's pathetic.

hahaha. Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> good idea, but Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > This sounds like a great idea, but how will it
> get
> > paid for? By raising taxes high enough so that
> its
> > equivelant to you already paying for school?
> And
> > some say to raise high school standards to the
> 2
> > year college equivalent. I disagree. High
> school
> > can be tough enough for some.
>
> Public high school is a joke. libs have dumbed
> down everything so that even G2 could graduate
> now. It's pathetic.

You're using HaHaHa as a handle while knocking public education?
Let's reemphasize the term "pathetic".

You pay for what you receive Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> hahaha. Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > good idea, but Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > This sounds like a great idea, but how will
> it
> > get
> > > paid for? By raising taxes high enough so
> that
> > its
> > > equivelant to you already paying for school?
> > And
> > > some say to raise high school standards to
> the
> > 2
> > > year college equivalent. I disagree. High
> > school
> > > can be tough enough for some.
> >
> > Public high school is a joke. libs have dumbed
> > down everything so that even G2 could graduate
> > now. It's pathetic.
>
> You're using HaHaHa as a handle while knocking
> public education?
> Let's reemphasize the term "pathetic".


pathetic
[puh-thet-ik]
adjective
1. causing or evoking pity, sympathetic sadness, sorrow, etc.; pitiful; pitiable:
a pathetic letter; a pathetic sight.
2. affecting or moving the feelings.
adjective
3. pertaining to or caused by the feelings.
4. miserably or contemptibly inadequate:
In return for our investment we get a pathetic three percent interest.

Funny how pathetic libs are. All this bullshit talk about being progressive, intellectual, and all about math and science (as if it's a new discovery) and then prompting up a public school system that has dumbed down the classroom to the slowest kid in class instead of encouraging and challenging the other kids.
libs are hypocritical morons.

Free healthcare, free college, free phones, free lunch. Why isn't everything free? Seriously, where does it all end? What will be the point of trying when everything is free? And how can we afford all of this free shit anyways? Stop paying for bridges, I guess.

hahaha. Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Funny how pathetic libs are. All this bullshit
> talk about being progressive, intellectual, and
> all about math and science (as if it's a new
> discovery) and then prompting up a public school
> system that has dumbed down the classroom to the
> slowest kid in class instead of encouraging and
> challenging the other kids.
> libs are hypocritical morons.


Libtards are the worst!