2008 Woodie Awards
Reclaiming the American dream
Republicans are destroying America by cutting higher education funds
Rep. Bernie Sanders
Issue date: 4/25/06 Section: Opinion
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The American Dream is based on the idea that greater educational and employment opportunities will allow each generation to achieve more than their parents. Unfortunately, for far too many young people, this dream is slipping out of reach. If current economic trends continue, it is likely that for the first time in modern American history the younger generation will have a lower standard of living than their parents. This is a national tragedy that must be addressed. Unfortunately, instead of working to remedy this problem, the Bush-Cheney Administration is making a bad situation worse.
Incredibly, at a time when the cost of college education is soaring, President Bush is making it even harder for students and young workers to get the higher education they need. The Administration's recently-proposed budget eliminates TRIO Talent Search, TRIO Upward Bound, and GEAR-UP, three highly successful programs that help lower-income high school and college students with the support they need to attend and succeed in college. If the Administration pushes this disastrous plan through, these cuts would jeopardize the college dreams of more than 6,800 Vermont students.
To make matters even worse, the elimination of these programs comes directly on the heels of a recent $12 billion cut to student loans by the Republican leadership in Congress-the largest cut to student aid in history. These cuts will raise student loan interest rates, forcing borrowers to pay thousands of dollars more for their loans. Appallingly, these cuts were enacted to make room for more tax breaks for the very wealthy. At a time when students are finding it harder and harder to afford college, we should be working to cut costs for students, not forcing them to pay more. At a time when the rich in America have never had it so good and our national debt is at an all time high, the wealthy don't need more tax breaks.
High student loans aren't the only problem new graduates will face after leaving college. With millions of American jobs being shipped overseas, it has become harder for recent college graduates to find decent paying work. The reality is that since President Bush took office, the U.S. has experienced the worst record of private-sector job growth since the Great Depression. This is due in large part to Administration trade policies that allow American corporations to outsource their jobs abroad and force Americans to compete against workers in low-wage countries who make pennies an hour. And it's not just manufacturing jobs that are being lost. The U.S. is now on the cusp of losing millions of good-paying, white collar information technology jobs.
Incredibly, at a time when the cost of college education is soaring, President Bush is making it even harder for students and young workers to get the higher education they need. The Administration's recently-proposed budget eliminates TRIO Talent Search, TRIO Upward Bound, and GEAR-UP, three highly successful programs that help lower-income high school and college students with the support they need to attend and succeed in college. If the Administration pushes this disastrous plan through, these cuts would jeopardize the college dreams of more than 6,800 Vermont students.
To make matters even worse, the elimination of these programs comes directly on the heels of a recent $12 billion cut to student loans by the Republican leadership in Congress-the largest cut to student aid in history. These cuts will raise student loan interest rates, forcing borrowers to pay thousands of dollars more for their loans. Appallingly, these cuts were enacted to make room for more tax breaks for the very wealthy. At a time when students are finding it harder and harder to afford college, we should be working to cut costs for students, not forcing them to pay more. At a time when the rich in America have never had it so good and our national debt is at an all time high, the wealthy don't need more tax breaks.
High student loans aren't the only problem new graduates will face after leaving college. With millions of American jobs being shipped overseas, it has become harder for recent college graduates to find decent paying work. The reality is that since President Bush took office, the U.S. has experienced the worst record of private-sector job growth since the Great Depression. This is due in large part to Administration trade policies that allow American corporations to outsource their jobs abroad and force Americans to compete against workers in low-wage countries who make pennies an hour. And it's not just manufacturing jobs that are being lost. The U.S. is now on the cusp of losing millions of good-paying, white collar information technology jobs.
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