The question that the American populace always has toward our federal government is: “What can they do for us?” President Barack Obama addressed some of our needs as students in his first State of The Union on Wednesday, Jan. 27. Obama said, “In the 21st century, the best anti-poverty program around is a world-class education. To make college more affordable, this bill will finally end the unwarranted taxpayer subsidies that go to banks for student loans. Let’s take that money and give families a $10,000 tax credit for four years of college and increase Pell Grants.” This legislation, were it implemented, would help students to afford tuition. Also, those tax dollars funding such programs would not be indirectly funneled to students through loans from banks. Obama also said, “Let’s tell another one million students that, when they graduate, they will be required to pay only 10 percent of their income on student loans, and all of their debt will be forgiven after 20 years, and forgiven after 10 years if they choose a career in public service, because in the United States of America, no one should go broke because they chose to go to college.” He stated that efforts to solve this problem should not only come from the government but also from the colleges and universities aswell. Colleges and universities should also take responsibility by cutting down on their costs. The sweeping reform of higher education is intregal in preserving the future state of this union. In order to remain competitive globally, capital needs to be invested into overhauling the present system of education. The administration’s policy is going in the right direction. When Obama was a candidate, he evoked rhetoric of bringing change to Washington. With the heated debate over domestic and foreign policy, some are quick to critize that the status quo of politics, including education reform, is still business as usual. Obama answered this, saying“In the end, it’s our ideals, our values that built America, values that allowed us to forge a nation made up of immigrants from every corner of the globe, values that drive our citizens. “These aren’t Republican values or Democratic values that they’re living by, business values or labor values. They’re American values.” This address exhibited Obama’s greatest gift: the ability to bring a diverse group of individuals together.
By Manika Casterline
News editor
Popularity: unranked [?]
