EDWARDS says college...tuition free!!!

[bearfartinthewoods]

if you want to hear more...he's on CSPAN now

[DEMActivist]

1. And he would pay for this HOW?

This is a DOH! Government can't pay for the programs in existence today and he wants to create more???

This is what I dislike about Edwards - he's high on something. Our nation is bankrupt. We have a deficit our grandchildren's children will be paying off and he wants to propose spending more money we don't have.

This is exactly the kind of pie in the sky daydreaming that gives Democrats the "tax and spend liberals" label.

edit:
spelling

[Pastiche423]

4. He could take it from

the programs for the disabled!

On second thought, he can't. He already voted against them.

[bearfartinthewoods]

12. well i haven't found that answer but i did find this

and this will sell like jotcakes in this county!

'First, we need to shrink the size of many of our high schools. Over the last fifty years, the average enrollment in high schools is up a whopping 500 percent. And study after study shows that, when it comes to schools, bigger is not better for students, teachers, or principals. Kids perform better and stay in school longer in smaller schools. They're less likely to use drugs or commit crimes. Their teachers move less and teach longer.

I grew up in a small town where the storeowners knew all the neighborhood kids and people kept an eye on kids when they got in trouble. Many Americans still live in those kinds of towns, but many more don't.

Even in the largest cities, young people ought to be able to find caring communities, and one of the places they should find them is in the schools. Schools should be places where the adults know kids' names and know what's special about them, where they know if a kid's got special talent in science or art, or if a kid is on the edge of trouble. We need a major new effort to make high schools smaller again, whether it's by building new schools, breaking up existing schools, or renovating and reopening old schools.'

[ibegurpard]

14. That sounds great too.

How does he plan to pay for THAT?

[bearfartinthewoods]

16. we are facing a big property tax to fund a new regional mega school

that will cost three time the fix up price of the existing schools.

the trend to mega schools was wrong headed in the begining and stopping the trend will save money in construction and busing costs.

the only reason this area is consolidating is ego and for a bigger draw for sports teams.

[DemDogs]

30. Edwards pays by getting rid of bank profiteering on student loans

A direct loan program saves about half of what it costs. Check out his website.

[AP]

33. Progressive taxation.

Harvard, by the way, could afford not to charge tuition and still make a huge profit (tuition is a tiny fraction of Harvard's total wealth -- and one year's tuition out of four for each student is even smaller).

We have a very wealthy society. However, we like to give wealth to people who have wealth.

The US could definitely afford these programs. Whether America choses to do it is a question of priorities.

If anybody could convince Americans to reallign their priorities, it's a guy like Edwards.

[tjdee]

31. By taxing investment income at the same rate as working income, for one.

Edwards also wants to repeal the tax cut for the top 2%.

That's a lot of money right there.

[ibegurpard]

2. Hey I could go for that too.

Along with a national single-payer health plan. Now...how do we pay for it?

[GreenArrow]

13. Maybe we could take some money out of

the bloated pentagon budget. Just for starters.

[Muddleoftheroad]

3. Freudian slip

So, did you use "fear" instead of "hear" deliberately?

[southernfried]

5. could do it the way Georgia is doing it

although its inherantly vile. Check it out...

YOu hold like a B average (I could be a litte off ut you'll get the picture) and tuition is covered for any Georgia kid. Any that qualify academically that is. So my neice graduates this summer and all my brother paid is room & board and books. He is not needy.

How is paid for ? LOTTERY !

Who buys the lion's share of lottery tickets ? THE NEEDY !

Great scam huh ? Send your nice little suburban kids to college for free and the poor folks get the tab !

Hum, used to like Edwards, may have to regroup on this unless he's got something sensible up his sleeve.

[DS1]

7. The lottery is a tax on people that are bad at math

[LARED]

22. Ain't that the truth

another one I've heard is;

Lottery, a tax on hope.

[DEMActivist]

9. You're wrong on this...

As a Georgian, I can tell you that the HOPE scholarship of which you speak pays up to $1,000.00 of scholarship money.

HOPE does not pay your tuition. Not even close.

[southernfried]

23. don't know the name but it DID pay for my neice, 4 years

I am not mistaken about that part.

[mike_c]

15. I'm gonna disagree with you an this one...

...but only partly. First, the Georgia program is inconsistent with respect to admissions standards, and in some ways actually rewards high-schools for dumbing down their curricula further (a higher percentage of their graduates qualify for the HOPE tuition grant). On the other hand, UGA at least does enforce the scholarship standards (although there are ALWAYS ways to get around them for SOME students, but not for most). I was a grad student and post-doc at UGA during the early years of the program and at least then, if you came in from high-school with a B average but didn't maintain it in college, you were out on your ear (or at least paying your own way) pretty quickly.

My daughter is at UGA now on the HOPE scholarship. She's just finished her junior year, so she's kept her grades up. The scholarship has helped give her the opportunity to devote herself full time to her education without having to go into debt for the next couple of decades. Not a bad deal, IMO.

[southernfried]

24. yeah it's great for the kids getting it but who pays for it ?

lottery losers. And people with money seldom play the lottery.

[mike_c]

25. yeah well, what can I say....

It's probably the best social investment they'll ever make, even if it is only the skim....

[DemBones DemBones]

27. Many/ most people who play the lottery would otherwise be

gambling illegally. States with lotteries or other legalized gambling are taking advantage of something a lot of people like to do. Now, how could the states take advantage, instead, of something rich people like to do? Luxury taxes? Estate taxes? Higher income, property, and/or capital gains taxes? What else?

[stickdog]

29. How about a tax on

campaign donations and associated kickbacks?

[southernfried]

34. lotto was intended to replace the numbers game and does largely

but dont you think it's ironic that the government has gone to such lengths to penalize poor people ? This lotto is the replacement for all progressive taxation that was ever enacted !

And the numbers game lives still ! Folks do both !

Maybe its me, I find this very troubling...

[DS1]

6. it's a misomer to suggest that

Tuition is just a sliver of money compared to what the schools will charge you for "fees".

[Demobrat]

8. Hey, great idea.

We'll just borrow the money from our great, great, great grandchildren. Yeah, that's the ticket!

[DemDogs]

28. Edwards pays for all his programs

If you haven't seen Edwards, you might not know that he always says how is going to pay for every program without loading it onto you great, great grandchildren's backs.
The education speech was at the University of Maryland. It's probably on his web site so you can see how he pays for it yourself.

[tjdee]

32. Thank you.

The biggest thing that Edwards keeps saying is that one of the reasons his plans are good are BECAUSE they're paid for.

[Kellanved]

10. That would be like in (continental) Europe

Hard pressed to pay for here it too.

For example the German constitution guarantees freedom of Education. That doesn't necessarily mean free tution, but the Gouvernment has to offer loans to enable everybody who wants to study at an university to do so.
At the moment all public Universities are free.

[bearfartinthewoods]

17. he didn't say ALL

he said all qualified who are willing to work hard at their education and work a job 10hrs a week.

[mike_c]

11. this has always been one of my biggest gripes about capitalist Amerika....

The cost of getting an education (which is not necessarily just the direct costs of tuition, etc) puts it out of reach for so many. It's a tricky issue-- I'm a university professor and frankly, the other side of this argument is that an awful lot of rather untalented or at least poorly motivated students DO manage to find their way into college, but there are still WAY too many intelligent kids who won't have the chance to find their passion in learning because they can't afford to.

I'll use my own story as a case in point-- I'm from a solidly blue-collar background-- dropped out of high school with the rest of my buddies at 16-- and finally worked my way through college in my 30's. I had to mortgage my future to do it-- $75,000 in debt for 10 years of schooling, most of it to pay the rent and such rather than for tuition. I certainly don't regret it, but you'd think that a country that lavishes obscene compensation on it's entertainers, sports stars, and corporate executives could find better ways to make educational opportunities available to EVERYONE with the intellectual capacity to exploit them. An educated society benefits everyone (well, maybe not the GOP...).

The key, of course, is to make the opportunity a basic perk of living in a "developed" country, but leave it to each individual to make use of that opportunity. I don't believe the everyone has the right to a university education-- that only leads to educating to the lowest common standards-- but everyone SHOULD have the right to the opportunity and access to inexpensive education and a public stipend as long as they're making good progress toward their degrees, IMO.

[Moosenose]

18. Ummmm...hate to point this out....

but if you're poor (or even not-so-poor) you can get Pell Grants. For me at least, it covered tuition and books at a 4 year State school. The only requirements were that you make satisfactory progress towards a degree, and keep a 2.0 or better GPA. Room and board (and grad school) are another matter.

[mike_c]

19. that's basically how I paid tuition in college....

...but at the time Pell Grants maxed out at $4000 or so a year, which just about paid tuition. I made the decision to not work during the academic year, and I actually did make decent money during summer, but it still wasn't possible to do it without either parental money (not), savings (umm..., right), or borrowing. You've gotta eat. And of course, grad school was an entirely different matter-- tuition paid by my department along with a stipend, but again, it's tough to live on $8000 or so a year without borrowing more money.

I don't have ANY regrets, and I'd do it all again in a skinny minute if I had too, but if there's one place that I believe social spending is an investment that returns FAR more than it costs, it's education, and especially higher education. For not much more than the cost of a bomber or two a year we could make a university education truely accessible to EVERY American kid smart enough to pull themselves out of the cycle of ignorance and poverty.

edited to get rid of the freakin' smilies....

[bearfartinthewoods]

20. igot the impression

and please remember the disclaimer, that he would combine all the financial aid programs to save overhead and simpify the progress.

[DocSavage]

21. idea

how about this. Instead of professors teaching one class per semester, they double up or triple up. Reduce the overhead, the cost of tuition should go down. Took a physics class at the U of A (Arizona). TA's did the labs. They had to explain things about 5 times because thier command of the English language was lacking. Saw the professor for 1 class per week out of 3. TA's did the other 2. Doing research was the answer we got. Last time I checked, no one has a "right" to a college education. I did not get my degree till I was 42. Took classes when I could afford to, worked, and raised kids. It can be done. Just have to prioritize.

[mike_c]

26. uh huh, I've heard that one before too...

University profs don't really teach. You should come to my department sometime. EVERYONE teaches two courses per semester and that includes doing at least one section of their own labs for each of those courses, and often more. Most of us also have grad students-- I have SIX-- and our own independent research programs. It's literally like having two full-time jobs simultaneously. That "research" that you implied was somehow an excuse not to teach-- it's what informs our teaching and keeps us from being textbook drudges. Think of it this way: I haven't TAKEN a course in nearly ten years, so how else would I be current enough in my field to do a credible job of helping students become current (and I assure you, things have changed a great deal in those ten years)? There really are two sides to the social investment in higher education-- one is the dividends paid by having an educated populace, which are not inconsiderable, but the other is the constant pushing against the envelope by academic scientists and scholars who keep the ferment going. Without that, our universities would produce informed, but rarely top-notch graduates.