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    Obama, in jab at Santorum, says college not a luxury

    By Caren Bohan and Samson Reiny | Reuters – Mon, Feb 27, 2012

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a veiled jab at Republican White House contender Rick Santorum, President Barack Obama said on Monday that a college education was not a luxury and pledged to do all he could to rein in skyrocketing tuition.

    "We can't allow higher education to be a luxury in this country," Obama said at a White House meeting with Republican and Democratic state governors. "It's an economic imperative that every family in America has to be able to afford. And frankly, I don't think any of this should be a partisan issue."

    In comments last week that stirred controversy, Santorum, a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, criticized Obama's emphasis on higher education.

    "President Obama once said he wants everyone in America to go to college. What a snob," said Santorum, who has sought to court blue-collar voters and conservative Republicans as he vies to become the Republican presidential nominee to challenge Obama in November.

    On the campaign trail, Santorum has also compared public schools to factories and called for a reduced role for the federal and state governments in education. Santorum was campaigning on Monday in Michigan, which along with Arizona holds a primary vote on Tuesday.

    Pressed on whether Obama's comments were a direct response to Santorum's remarks, White House spokesman Jay Carney said the president's aim was to speak more broadly about education.

    Still, Carney said he didn't think American parents would consider it "snobbery to hope for that child the best possible education in the future, and that includes college."

    Republican governors attending the White House meeting said they found some common ground with Obama on education.

    Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, who has sparred with Obama on issues such as immigration, said the Democratic president had a "good, strong message on education" and that she agreed with some aspects of education policy.

    Obama told the governors he understood that states were facing budget constraints but that was "no excuse to lose sight of what matters most."

    "I'm calling on all of you: Invest more in education. Invest more in our children and in our future," Obama said, adding that states needed to work with his administration to help curb the problem of spiraling tuition costs.

    In a speech in Florida earlier this month, Vice President Joe Biden said tuition at public U.S. universities had increased nearly 300 percent over the last two decades.

    (Additional reporting by Laura MacInnis and Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Paul Simao)

     
    • TERRIBLE T
      TERRIBLE T  •  2 mths ago
      I read or heard that the loss of millions of low skill, good paying jobs was not a major concern because it was assumed that Americans would have opportunities for high tech jobs to replace the millions of lost manufacturing jobs. Or, was it assumed that ordinary Americans who lost their low skill manufacturing jobs, could live comfortably off their capital gains and Wall Street investments. Whoa! Somebody lied America needs the manufacturing jobs that we lost, back. We can't make it on low wage fast food jobs, security guard jobs, or service jobs. Put Americans back to work. Create tax incentives for American businesses who create jobs in USA, not for the one that outsource jobs overseas.
      • Generic
        Generic 2 mths ago
        Yep, and we were lied to, Terrible!! That was some Clinton hogwash so he could get away with passing NAFTA. Look where we are today with that!!
    • GerardP
      GerardP  •  2 mths ago
      College is not for everyone. We need trade schools too that are more affordable.
      • legalswashbuckler
        legalswashbuckler 2 mths ago
        Trade schools cannot be an option until they are better regulated. Some programs are great, but because of the lack of oversight, trade and secondary schools are targets for the usual predators. Do you know how to get certified as a trade school or secondary school? You hire someone to get a mailing address and certify your school.
      • Shore Bird
        Shore Bird 2 mths ago
        There are 2 year colleges for the trades, but most young people do not want to get their hands dirty. Everyone wants to be a computer programmer or a pro athlete.
      • Hgldr
        Hgldr 2 mths ago
        Yes. Obama last week emphasized that kids should plan on going to either college, trade school, or similar 1 or 2 year job training, then Santorum lied and shouted out that Obama didn't say that. What a weirdo.
    • Leigh AnneP
      Leigh AnneP  •  2 mths ago
      Getting an education beyond the basics that public school offers only makes sense. learning a skill like plumbing or mechanics still requires additional education. college may not be for everyone...that is not the point...but learning IS for everyone.
      • Tom .
        Tom . 2 mths ago
        NOT SO say retired liecenced plumber ITS CALLED ONTHE JOB TRAINING AND YOU GET PAID WHILE YOU LEARN AND YOU ARE NOT FORCED INTO A UNION.BUT ONLY UNEDUCATED COLLEGE FOLKS do not believe it
      • emac
        emac 2 mths ago
        Plumbing is acually a bad example, since you cant become an apprentice without knowing someone in the union, and you cant go to school, (which is required) without being an apprentice. Its a circle of protection the union has. Now electicians are different, easier to break into that trade, but just about impossible to become a liscenced plumber outside of the union.
    • Sir Gatsby
      Sir Gatsby  •  Atlanta, Georgia  •  2 mths ago
      OCCUPY EDUCATION!!!! The uneducated yahoo posters are attempting class warfare. Let us all meet at the library with our degrees!
      • LarryM
        LarryM 2 mths ago
        that would leave out all the DNC members
      • burner1978
        burner1978 2 mths ago
        The huge availability of loans for education is a well the schools feel is unlimited, when they see unlimited money, they charge unlimited fees. Somehow we have to make it accessible yet not so easy the schools take advantage. Somewhere is a balance but the tuition rate is far above the cost of living raises. When I see school presidents making a million bucks I wonder, isn't there someone capable of running a school for a quarter million? Academic greed is what I see. Another form of the 1%.
      • Elio
        Elio 2 mths ago
        You have a point Burner. I have a brother who is a college professor and he says something similar. While benefits and opportunities for new teachers have declined and research funds have declined, pay for the top administrators has risen.
    • getpolitical
      getpolitical  •  2 mths ago
      It may not be a luxury, but it certainly isn't for everyone either. Letting stupid people into college and giving them degrees devalues the accomplishment for the rest of us who took education seriously. Now we are forced to get advanced degrees just to get slightly ahead.

      Sadly, a Bachelor's degree has become a glorified high school diploma.
      • paul m.
        paul m. 2 mths ago
        @getpolitical - actually, it is very difficult for incoming freshman to pass the entrance exams at many colleges. these students are put into remedial classes to catch them up so they may experience success in college. it costs alot to go to remedial classes before you enter college. it is for those who really want college if they are not intelligent enough to pass the entrance exam. don't worry, bachelors degrees are still hard to come by.
      • getpolitical
        getpolitical 2 mths ago
        If you can't pass an entrance exam then two things are happening:

        A. You didn't prepare for the exam and likely lack the motivation to complete all the course work.

        B. You just don't have what it takes to go to college.

        Remedial courses are a source of revenue for the greedy Institution of the University System. They want more people in college because they are making money hand over fist.

        If this is the case then it is time to learn a trade. We aren't all created equal and the country still needs trash collectors, line cooks and janitors. These career choices are quite noble, as the alternative is to not work and become dependent on the state.
      • paul m.
        paul m. 2 mths ago
        @getpolitical - you hit it on the nose. many european countries continue to track students into vocations or college. the US has deemed tracking unconstitutional, because it singles out those who can and those who can't. Americans look down upon those who can't. We would be successful if we implemented tracking again like the very successful european countries.
    • .
      .  •  2 mths ago
      Why should college be a requirement? I don't have a four year degree and can guarantee you I am more successful and make more money that probably 90% of the people on this forum, which I admit isn't saying much. You don't need a degree to succeed. I know many, many people who only have highschool education and started a business and now make well into six figures.
    • JimM
      JimM  •  2 mths ago
      " The problem is, is that the way Bush has done it over the last eight years is to take out a credit card from the Bank of China in the name of our children, driving up our national debt from $5 trillion for the first 42 presidents. Number 43 added $4 trillion by his lonesome, so that we now have over $9 trillion of debt that we are going to have to pay back ... $30,000 for every man, woman and child. That’s irresponsible... It’s unpatriotic..."
      - barack obama – July 3, 2008 Fargo, ND

      Oh barry... ??

      You got some 'splainin to do... !!

      obama OUT in 2012 !!
    • Dutch
      Dutch  •  2 mths ago
      More government control ... sheesh
      When will they ever leave us alone?
    • Steve O
      Steve O  •  Birmingham, Alabama  •  2 mths ago
      It's a luxury if your a middle class white that is not given a free ride! Both of my kids had high GPA's but were not given any type of grants or any other financial help. Just draining old dad's pocket!
      Why not extend high school to include a 4 year degree. Once you graduate from H.S. the kids can attend classes after 6 PM at the same H.S. to get a college degree at an affordable rate. Or they can attend some type of vocational class to learn a trade.
    • TERRIBLE T
      TERRIBLE T  •  2 mths ago
      BlueBloodedAmerican • Eads, Tennessee

      There is not as many U.S. citizens degrees as you think, this why USA brings a high number of foreigners here, every year to take the high-tech jobs.
    • J
      J  •  Hobart, Indiana  •  2 mths ago
      In many jobs it is not what you studied in college that matters. Employers are merely looking or a person, that by completing 4 years of study has shown the desire and ability to stay with something until completion.
    • SE3.5
      SE3.5  •  Indianapolis, Indiana  •  2 mths ago
      Plumbers, carpenters, mechanics, and many other tradesmen have pretty good jobs. Can't say the same for a lot of liberal arts majors.
    • G.W.iz a hoax
      G.W.iz a hoax  •  Muskegon, Michigan  •  2 mths ago
      Every one knows a college degree is required to succeed now days. With the liberal dumbing down of our K-12 education to produce more democrats it take a college education to equal a high school education of the 60's or 70's. The bad part is the additional 4 years of study and $50,000+ of student loans.
    • Italo
      Italo  •  Harrisburg, Pennsylvania  •  2 mths ago
      Barry Hussein Soeto is one to speak: 1. Occidental College tuition paid for by scholarship for foreign students (I still question how he got it if he was/is an American citizen); 2. Harvard law school paid for by Saudi Arabia (I wonder who he had to bent over for to get that windfall). Traitor to this country! Traitor to the Constitution!
    • Jonathan
      Jonathan  •  Dallas, Texas  •  2 mths ago
      "Go to college" covers so much territory. If you are going to go to college and get a degree in some easy or useless major, or go to a college where the standards are low enough for morons to get in, than it isn't, in the long run, going to do you much good and will probably just extend your adolescence and either waste your inheritance or saddle you with massive debt. You would be MUCH better off learning a trade (plumbers, carpenters, electricians etc. all make much more money than the average "business major.") and getting to work right away. You don't need to have a Bachelor's Degree to run a Dry Cleaner's or a Sandwich shop, yet you can make a good living and accumulate a lot of wealth if you work hard and save your money. Recruiters will tell you it doesn't matter that you went to college, it matters that you learned useful stuff (for the job you are trying to get).
    • Jethro
      Jethro  •  2 mths ago
      College is not right for everyone.
    • A Yahoo! User  •  2 mths ago
      When I think of a snob, I always think of someone who wants to see every kid have the opportunity to go to college. Yes, the one sure trait of the snob is their inclusiveness.
    • Paul
      Paul  •  Shanghai, China  •  2 mths ago
      Please just stay out of it
    • Brian R
      Brian R  •  Los Angeles, California  •  2 mths ago
      Best education or most useful education. There are so many useless college degrees that provide absolutely no impact to the economy. Science, engineering, medicine and biology are the degrees most needed here and the ones that should be supported through government loans, grants, and scholarships. No more money for worthless degrees. If you want those pay for them yourself.
    • Samuel
      Samuel  •  Lafayette, Louisiana  •  2 mths ago
      Anyone ever think that maybe the reason that college tuition has become so expensive is that there IS money available for students to attend--i.e. government grants, guaranteed loans, etc. If these weren't available, then a lot fewer students could attend. Then what would happen to tuition? A drop in demand because of the high prices, leads to a drop in prices to boost demand. Simple supply and demand economics. But what continues to happen...the government provides more funds (those funds borrowed of course by the government to lend or give to the students), thereby continuing to support the high tuition prices. And the vicious cycle continues
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