Obama’s Desperate Move
Obama’s plan for “free” community college tuition is a desperate move. Cleary, this president realizes his failed economic policies are what led to him losing control of both the House and the Senate while on his watch. As such he is turning to the only thing that has worked for him in the past which is to buy votes. Making community college free is a bad idea for three reasons.
First, college is not for everybody. Many kids are through with school after their senior year in high school and want to move on from the academic world and start careers. By over-emphasizing college, we send the signal to these young adults that they need something that they really don’t want and in fact don’t even need. There are many manufacturing jobs that are paying $80,000 a year (and a shortage of workers) without a college degree vs. many jobs that are paying $40,000 a year with a college degree.
Second: The U.S. economy can’t run on service industry jobs alone, yet that’s what most colleges prepare their students for. Where are the college courses on manufacturing? Where do they teach students on how to equip a factory? Or how to monitor and repair factory robotics? We don’t need any more “Communication majors.”
Third: The theory is that by the U.S. government “investing” in more two-year degrees, these graduates will move on to higher paying jobs and that we can recoup these tuition investments through increased tax revenue as these graduates get better jobs. It’s a nice idea, except they are not getting better jobs because the federal government overtaxes and over-regulates U.S. industry which keeps salary growth in a stalemate.
Whether high tech or low tech, it’s fun to work with your hands and build things. Taking high school grads out of the manufacturing sector, which is an honorable profession, by dangling free tuition will stymie America’s manufacturing growth and exports—and potentially set these students on course for an unsatisfying career. And lastly, it is just wrong to buy votes, whether it comes in the form of free cell phones or free college tuition.
Realistically Drew, any president takes criticism for a bad economy and praise for a good one, without actually exerting much control over the details that cause either. But you could at least have split the difference and at least acknowledge that the economy is picking up a head of steam, that unemployment levels have gone from high to halfway decent, and that the federal budget deficit is getting smaller. Add lower gas prices and things ain’t half bad. Believe me, I am no great Obama fan, but at least I will try to get the facts right.
This is truly a bone-headed argument. Obama’s economic policies haven’t “failed.” They have been wildly successful, considering the economy he inherited in 2009. And why would “buy” votes when he can’t run for reelection?