Higher Education Key To Economic Success, Says Obama

President Barack Obama told an audience in Austin, Texas today that his administration is making college more affordable and accessible for students and their families nationwide.

The crowd, comprised mainly of students from the University of Texas, listened as Obama laid out steps he has taken in his first 18 months on the job to combat rising tuition prices and higher dropout rates. Among them: putting the federal government directly in charge of the student loan industry, investing more in community colleges, creating the largest college tax credit ever for members of the middle class and making it easier for families to apply for financial aid.

“At each and every juncture throughout our history, we’ve recognized…that the way to move forward, in our own lives, and as a nation, is to put education first,” the President said.

Obama lamented the fact that the U.S. currently ranks 12th worldwide in college completion, and repeated his goal of producing eight million more graduates by the year 2020. More Americans with degrees, he said, will ensure the nation’s economy remains a global leader.

“If we’re serious about making sure America’s workers, and America itself, succeed in the 21st century, the single most important step we can take is to offer all our kids…the best education the world has to offer,” said Obama.

“Education is an economic issue,” he added. “It may be the economic issue of our time.”

Obama Wants You to Go Back to School

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service

President Barack Obama
Photo by Michael Ruhl

Today President Barack Obama announced a new effort to stimulate tomorrow’s economy by reviving higher education through expanding Pell Grants and removing barriers to success. The public face for his new initiative is to be Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice-President Joe Biden and Community College Professor.

Obama’s plan, detailed at opportunity.gov, would help the unemployed go back to school to build new skill sets, with the goal of helping them gain future employment through specialized technical training.

“The idea here is to fundamentally change our approach to unemployment in this country, so that it’s no longer just a time to look for a new job, but is also a time to prepare yourself for a better job,” Obama said. “Our unemployment system should be not just a safety net, but a stepping stone to a new future.”

Among the barriers to success that the President wants to break down are state programs in which a worker might lose temporary financial support if they were to enroll in an education program. Obama said that in some places a worker may be unemployed, but may not qualify for federal assistance to get an education because of the salary they had a year ago but no longer make. The President said that he is committed to working with states to change these laws.

The President said that knowledge is the most valuable skill that one can sell. He encouraged all Americans to aim for getting at least 1 year of higher education, whether it is a community college, a four year school, vocational training or an apprenticeship.

“By 2020, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world,” Obama said optimistically.

This announcement came on the same day as the release of April’s unemployment statistics, which saw the loss of more than half a million jobs. The unemployment rate for April was 8.9 percent, up from 8.5 percent in March and 8.1 percent in February. April's numbers have already surpassed both the White House's and the Federal Reserve's projections for all of 2009, which were 8.1 percent and 8.8 percent, respectively.

Acknowledging that unemployment is as its highest rate in 25 years, the President urged patience, reminding us that the economic problems didn’t happen overnight, and couldn’t be fixed immediately.

“We’re still in the midst of a recession that was years in the making and will be months or even years in the unmaking,” Obama said. He continued, “We should expect further job losses in the months to come.”

Obama said that the Economic Stimulus Package is yielding real results, manifest in higher consumer spending and home sales, and an increase in construction spending. He praised the Recovery Act, and said, “Because of this plan, cops are still on the beat and teachers are still in the classroom; shovels are breaking ground and cranes dot the sky; and new life has been breathed into private companies.”

Fixing the economy and reforming education are two goals Obama has set for his administration. He said that in the weeks to come he would start working towards more education initiatives.

ICE gets slammed at Congressional Border Issues Conference

by Christina Lovato, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service

“What happens on one side of the border affects the other side. Mexico and the United States are separated by a border, but both communities share a goal of helping all of our peoples,” said Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the 13th Annual U.S. - Mexico Congressional Border Issues Conference, where panelists gathered to talk about topics such as Comprehensive Immigration Reform, drug and weapon trafficking, and the Merida Initiative. 

Among the panelists was Geraldo Rivera, host of “Geraldo at Large” on the FOX News Channel who said that instead of sending troops to the U.S./Mexican border, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) needs to start focusing on catching criminals and stop raiding processing plants where people are just there to work. “The immigration debate in this country has been so poisoned, and it’s become so racist in many ways.... We have distorted policy so that it hurts our national security. We have a totally competent law enforcement agency to deal with these criminals,” Rivera said. Speaker Nancy Pelosi agreed with Rivera saying that unnecessary ICE raids are not the American way and that they must stop.

Pelosi talked about the need for comprehensive immigration reform saying that we need it soon. “It would secure our borders, it would protect our workers, it would prohibit the exploitation of workers coming into our country, it would unite our families,” she stated. Pelosi said that she is sending Congressmen to Mexico to see how our nations can work together. President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will also be traveling to Mexico to show support. 

Rivera also expressed his support for the Dream Act, which states that undocumented young people could be eligible for a conditional path to citizenship in exchange for a mandatory two years in higher education or military service. In order for the undocumented young person to have the chance to become an American citizen, they must demonstrate good moral character to be eligible for and stay in conditional residency. Rivera said, “You want to stimulate the gross domestic product? Let’s get these Latino youngsters graduating high school.... But to take kids who are getting A’s and say they can’t get in-state tuition in college because they’re not documented, It’s preposterous, it’s un-American, it’s Anti-American.... Get Dream passed.”

Pelosi also discussed the Merida Initiative, saying that $300 million would be given to Mexico as part of the omnibus bill that was passed last week. “Every person who comes here with that determination, with that optimism, with that hope, with those family values and sense of community and spirit of faith, every person who comes here, certainly from the Hispanic community, when they come here they make America more American,” she concluded. 

Economic crisis threatens college students

Low SAT scores are not the only thing keeping students from attending college. While there is no shortage of federal education loans, the economic crises has prevented many families from receiving private loans for tuition.

“This summer I found out that [George Washington University] was going to give me $46, 000 in student loans in grants. I only needed $7,000 more to attend the university and I knew I would have to take that out in a private loan,” said sophomore Ash McDaniel during an National Education Association teleconference on college affordability.

“I was prepared to take out these loans again, and was okay with that. I wasn’t prepared for what happened on Wall Street.”

The rising cost of tuition exacerbates the financial burden facing college bound students. According to Bob Brandon of the Campaign for College Affordability tuition in public institution have gone up 60 percent in the past eight years.

“The average student now is graduating with $21,000 in debt and two years ago the department of education estimated that over 400,000 students a year forgo a 4-year-education simply because of the cost. They cannot afford it.”

Brandon says that this situation can have a negative effect on the U.S. economy.

“A recent report projected that we’ll be 16 million higher education degrees short of the need projected to have a vibrant economy within the next 15 years. We continue to see ourselves fall further and further behind in what is an increasingly competitive in a global market place.”

The mounting cost of student loans have prevented students fortunate enough to attend college from pursuing careers in public service.

“At least a quarter of the students that graduate from four year school have more debt than they can afford to repay on the average teacher’s salary...and 47 percent have more debt than they would be able to repay if they wanted to go into social work,” said Brandon.

Making college affordable has played an important role in the 2008 election. Andrew Myers of Myers Research, who performed a poll on the public views on tuition costs, explained why:

“Every proposal to make college more affordable tested above majority level support...there’s a reason that we hear Barack Obama talking quite often about college affordability in his speeches. It’s part of his stump speech. You hear it in nearly every event he attends. It is because it is part of the economic debate, it is a solid, important part of the economic debate.”

Young College Conservatives Take to the Denver Streets

by Jessica Sall

Supporters of Presidential candidate John McCain arrived today at the Colorado Convention Center. They attempted to be heard by protesting against the Obama campaign. “We want to support our candidate,” stated protest leader of the supporter group, Charlie Smith, referring to Sen. John McCain.

“It’s a good thing for us to have the alternative view point out here,” Smith said, “As people become more familiar with Obama, the celebrity aspect of him will pass.”

The McCain supporters consisted mostly of college students from around the Denver area. “There’s a lot of youth support of McCain that doesn’t gets out there,” said Smith. According to Smith there will be other McCain supporter groups waking around downtown Denver with McCain signs, trying to get their message out. They will stay the length of this convention before continuing to the Republican National Convention next week.