President Obama speaks to students at the University of North Carolina on Chapel Hill on April 24, 2012.
In a crucial swing state where the Democratic Party is racked by a sexual harrassment scandal, President Obama went on a two-day tour Tuesday aimed partly at rallying college-age voters and getting them to chant "amen" while he railed against student debt. President Obama visited the main campus at the University of North Carolina on Chapel Hill to call on Congress to keep student loan interest rates from doubling for 7.4 million young Americans on July 1. "A higher education is the clearest path into the middle class," Obama told a cheering crowd of 8000 students at the school's basketball arena. "We have to make college more affordable for our young people." He stated Republicans' major priorities are giving tax breaks to the big oil companies and Americans earning more than $1 million. "That's basically a tax hike for more than 7 million students across America," Mr. Obama said. "Stopping this from happening should be a no-brainer. This shouldn't be a partisan issue."
There are different reasons why college tuition rates are soaring across America. One of the reasons is some colleges are private and not state-supported. Colleges that aren't supported by tax dollars will have higher tuition rates. Therefore, private colleges have to find a way to raise the revenue to meet their expenses. Many state-supported colleges are receiving fewer tax dollars due to the fact many states are strapped of cash such as California, Illinois, and New York, to name a few. Many state colleges have had to compensate for lack of state funding. Therefore, college students have had to shoulder more of the financial burden when going to college. Another reason is the operating costs of colleges and universities are becoming more expensive today. Rising fuel prices play a role in higher education costs being more expensive.
The president's assertion that a higher education is the clearest path into the middle class is ludicrous. According to a March 1, 2012 article from Forbes.com, 60% of college graduates today can't find a full-time job in their chosen profession. That's a very staggering number. I'm a firm believer in students furthering their education. Consequently, the notion that a college degree is the ticket to find a job isn't necessarily true. The job market changes all the time. Within the last 20 years, there have been many structural changes in the economy and many of the jobs that used to be in America are now overseas or across the border. It's very discouraging to those college graduates who have taken years to prepare themselves for a certain vocation and are unable to find a job in that field. The recession that took place in 2008 as a result of the housing bust has made it more difficult for college graduates as a whole to find jobs in their chosen fields.
I do agree that tuition rates are way too high. If Obama was so concerned about tuition costs at college, then he would stop playing this class warfare game on the wealthy. Raising taxes on millionaires is going to negatively impact the middle class. What will happen is business owners will pass the tax increases to their customers through higher prices. With higher taxes, fewer business owners will be hiring because business costs will become too expensive due to higher taxes and expensive regulations from the government. Another thing President Obama should do is end the moratorium on domestic oil drilling and allow for new venues in oil exploration to take place, such as the Keystone XL Pipeline oil drilling, for example. Higher fuel costs raises the prices of goods and services in general and stifles job creation.
What needs to happen is for more private sector jobs to be created. Once that happens, then the chances of college graduates finding jobs in their career field will increase. President Obama is full of hot air as usual with his rhetoric. His policies have done nothing but destroy the American economy. Higher taxes and burdensome regulations will destroy the economy instead of building it.
To read the full story, click on the above link from the WashingtonTimes.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment