Obama’s Plan to Make College More Affordable: Let’s Make Sure That This Is a Winning Issue With All Voters
So far, Obama’s campaign has failed to give enough public attention to his huge advantage on an issue of overwhelming concern to 20 million or more American voters.
Only national security and the economy rank as more important issues to voters in the United States than education. Many millions of voters — conservatives, liberals, and middle-of-the-roaders — are deeply concerned that they won’t be able to send their children to college. Every day that passes, this issue becomes more critical as unemployment increases and college savings accounts diminish in value.
On making college more affordable, Barack Obama has a powerful and comprehensive plan. John McCain offers nothing.
Now is the time for Obama to give wide publicity to his plan to make college more affordable to every American. Obama can establish a huge political advantage by showing that he is deeply concerned about rising student debt, low student graduation rates, and the high cost of financing a higher education — and that he intends to take major steps to deal with these problems.
Especially, Obama needs to make the case that McCain is failing the nation in not offering any concrete plan to help families pay for college.
Let’s examine the two candidates’ positions as outlined on their campaign Web sites.
On his Web site, McCain says nothing about higher education.
Obama lays out the following concrete proposals:
• The mainstay of the Obama plan is a $4,000 tax credit for all college students. That credit — not a deduction — will cover two thirds of the average cost of tuition at a public college or university.
• Obama proposes to increase the maximum Pell Grant award for low-income students. He plans to keep Pell Grant awards in pace with both inflation and the even higher rising costs of higher education.
• Obama plans to do away with the complicated application process that students must go through in order to qualify for financial aid. The current Free Application for Federal Financial Aid is five pages long and has over 125 questions. Research has shown that many black and other minority students don’t apply for financial aid because of the difficultly in navigating the process necessary to obtain aid. In 2004, about 1.5 million students did not apply for a federal Pell Grant even though they were eligible for it. Under the Obama plan a new formula based on a family’s tax return data will be used to determine eligibility for federal financial aid for higher education.
• Obama proposes a $25 million annual fund to help states develop early assessment programs. These programs are geared toward low-income and black and Hispanic students so that they can determine if their high school course track is placing them on a path that will qualify them for admission to college.
• Obama plans to create an exciting new community college partnership program. Funds will be made available for programs that will help community college students transfer to four-year colleges after completing their two-year associate’s degrees. Other programs will facilitate the path for community college students to make a smooth transition to the work force.
• Obama also has a host of proposals that will boost preschool, primary, and secondary education so that black and low-income students will be better prepared for college.
Obama’s plan, in contrast to John McCain’s almost total inaction on the issue, is a winning strategy for Obama. It is one that he could repeatedly address on the campaign trail.
Other Voices (Click to be directed to particular article)
McCain “Out of Touch” on Education