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Old 01-09-2015, 11:46 AM
 
Location: Upstate NY 🇺🇸
36,754 posts, read 14,727,977 times
Reputation: 35583

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First of all this isn't "free" because the government (which produces nothing) isn't paying for it-- taxpayers are.

Secondly, as we've all observed, even 2-year colleges are not for everyone.
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Old 01-09-2015, 11:56 AM
 
Location: IL
2,987 posts, read 5,229,379 times
Reputation: 3111
Quote:
Originally Posted by Delahanty View Post
First of all this isn't "free" because the government (which produces nothing) isn't paying for it-- taxpayers are.

Secondly, as we've all observed, even 2-year colleges are not for everyone.
Both true statements. If money currently spent that is providing a lesser impact can be moved over to this, I am in favor of it. Clear requirements need to be in place to get access to this money, which would weed out the ones that college isn't for.
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Old 01-09-2015, 12:21 PM
 
Location: Shawnee-on-Delaware, PA
7,945 posts, read 7,302,129 times
Reputation: 16082
Quote:
Originally Posted by thatguydownsouth View Post

What do you guys think about this? Personally my first reaction was, that's stupid. But the more I thought about it, the more Im ok with it. We dump billions of dollars into other nations in futile attempts to "democratize" them and it fails. We spent trillions on failed wars and international policing....and they fail. We literally GIVE money to some Nations.....

If we're going to waste money like that then fine, lets at least use a "little bit" to better ourselves....
Your gut instinct was correct. It is a stupid idea and a waste of money. Your reasoning that since we waste money on other stuff means it's OK to waste money on this, is faulty. Please think about what you're saying.

High school courses will be dumbed down because kids are going to continue on to 13th and 14th grades.

New facilities will have to be built to accommodate the rush of new students, and the value of 2 years of community college will decrease because "hey, anyone can do it". Kids who can't get into regular college would be better off going to trade school to learn computer repair, plumbing, etc.
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Old 01-09-2015, 12:21 PM
 
Location: TN/NC
34,848 posts, read 30,936,012 times
Reputation: 47178
I find it amusing he's doing this speech in Knoxville, TN. I am a TN native, and a little over a decade ago, TN introduced a scholarship from lottery proceeds for students attending college. The requirements were very modest - something like a 2.75 HS GPA and a 21 ACT score or thereabouts. The scholarship amounted to more than enough to cover community college then, and it was more than enough to cover my tuition and fees at East TN State - I ended up getting a small refund from the scholarship in cash.

Essentially this program is redundant for Tennesseans who were qualified to go to college anyway. Many states have similar programs.
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Old 01-09-2015, 12:35 PM
 
Location: Maryland's 6th District.
8,358 posts, read 25,164,021 times
Reputation: 6540
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaddySpice View Post
Is this really a decision to be made by the President of the United States? Aren't Community Colleges funded by the local communities, not the federal government? If so, it will be interesting to see how he proposes to control and pay for this.
Quote:
Originally Posted by A Professional View Post
If it were free many of the students would not put much effort into it, because they don't have a financial stake. The quality of the students and the classes would go down hill.
To both:

The State of Maine, in order to help make college more affordable for those who had to take on loans, and to help the State retain college graduates, developed a system where graduates from Maine colleges can take a $2,000 tax credit each year they stay in Maine after graduation for up to ten years or until the credit equals the loan amount-which ever is first. I believe a few other States do this, too.

Something similar could be set up for community college: students who pay for the cost of education out-of-pocket or through loans would receive a yearly tax credit of, say, $500, for ten years granted they complete a program and earn their degree.

This is not the first time something like this has been proposed. The problem with it is that is it really fair to those of us who had to pay for college in the not so distant past? To add, college is still an option for most, not a requirement.
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Old 01-09-2015, 12:35 PM
 
17,273 posts, read 9,492,946 times
Reputation: 16468
Quote:
Originally Posted by Delahanty View Post
First of all this isn't "free" because the government (which produces nothing) isn't paying for it-- taxpayers are.

Secondly, as we've all observed, even 2-year colleges are not for everyone.
No one is forcing anyone to continue their education after high school. People are still free to walk around with an empty brain.
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Old 01-09-2015, 12:37 PM
 
Location: Florida
4,103 posts, read 5,396,586 times
Reputation: 10105
Quote:
Originally Posted by jtab4994 View Post
Your gut instinct was correct. It is a stupid idea and a waste of money. Your reasoning that since we waste money on other stuff means it's OK to waste money on this, is faulty. Please think about what you're saying.

High school courses will be dumbed down because kids are going to continue on to 13th and 14th grades.

New facilities will have to be built to accommodate the rush of new students, and the value of 2 years of community college will decrease because "hey, anyone can do it". Kids who can't get into regular college would be better off going to trade school to learn computer repair, plumbing, etc.
My reasoning is "If we are going to spend money in the first place, it needs to be on Americans FIRST, then the world second." Currently we are spending TRILLIONS yet put so little of that towards bettering ourselves that its embarrassing. We have programs to CLEAN UP peoples mistakes, but not to prevent them...
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Old 01-09-2015, 12:41 PM
 
Location: Henderson, NV
5,314 posts, read 7,753,707 times
Reputation: 3568
Quote:
Originally Posted by thefragile View Post
No one is forcing anyone to continue their education after high school. People are still free to walk around with an empty brain.
I would disagree with that statement. Many of us chose not to go to college because we already had our careers selected in high school and realized college would in no way further those careers. In my specific case, I knew that I was a salesman. It's what I've always done, and I'm very good at it. At 18, I was making six figures, and have continued to make that since graduating (I graduated 6 months early to be 4.5 years ahead of those who were going to college).

While college can be a valuable tool for those who want to focus on select careers, such as my wife who, at 39, is currently in nursing school where college is a necessity, there are many careers where one can make a very good living, live a happy life, and cannot get those skills in college. Not all of us are walking around with an empty brain
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Old 01-09-2015, 12:45 PM
 
Location: State of Transition
102,071 posts, read 107,036,480 times
Reputation: 115868
Quote:
Originally Posted by DaddySpice View Post
Is this really a decision to be made by the President of the United States? Aren't Community Colleges funded by the local communities, not the federal government? If so, it will be interesting to see how he proposes to control and pay for this.
I don't understand how the US gov't and Presidents seem to think they can pull money out of thin air to pay for wars, freebies, and new infrastructure initiatives (HSR). What's he going to do, "charge it" to the national debt?

However, given the desperate need to retrain laid-off Americans for high-tech jobs (or any jobs!) in the modern economy, making community colleges free is one way to do it, IF they offer relevant job-prep skills, like basic engineering for auto workers, and other tech-related programs. Some of the money for this can come from existing federal funds for job retraining.
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Old 01-09-2015, 12:46 PM
 
17,273 posts, read 9,492,946 times
Reputation: 16468
Quote:
Originally Posted by Raiderman View Post
I would disagree with that statement. Many of us chose not to go to college because we already had our careers selected in high school and realized college would in no way further those careers. In my specific case, I knew that I was a salesman. It's what I've always done, and I'm very good at it. At 18, I was making six figures, and have continued to make that since graduating (I graduated 6 months early to be 4.5 years ahead of those who were going to college).

While college can be a valuable tool for those who want to focus on select careers, such as my wife who, at 39, is currently in nursing school where college is a necessity, there are many careers where one can make a very good living, live a happy life, and cannot get those skills in college. Not all of us are walking around with an empty brain
Great.
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