Sunday, May 6, 2012

President Obama visits Virginia to tout his focus on education and America’s future


President Obama spoke with students and parents on Friday at an Arlington high school about the importance of a higher education that is affordable for Americans. President Obama emphasized his attempts to prevent the doubling of interest rates on federal subsidized student loans that is set to take place on July 1.[1]

In the past, President Obama and other Democratic politicians have been tar and feathered by some within the Republican Party as “elitists,”[2] in part because Democratic politicians tend to view education as a cornerstone of America’s policy agenda. That is, Democratic politicians typically view education as a means, or the means, to more fully live out the American dream and add to our country’s economic growth.

Indeed, U.S. Senate candidate Tim Kaine and former Democratic Virginia Governor has made “talent” and education the keystone to his vision for Virginia’s and America’s future.[3]

Somehow, though, education to some within the Republican Party has become more of an economic hindrance than an economic boon. That is, it seems that many Republican politicians have lost sight of the benefits of education or at the very least, have found the federal costs which pay for that education to outweigh the benefits.[4]

In a highly technical and specialized world, however, it doesn’t take a PhD student to conclude that an education, and in particular, a higher education, is a necessity and that this necessity would not be pursued by so many Americans were it not for the federal subsidies that help ease the financial burden involved.

If President Obama is an “elitist” or a “snob” for wanting to make higher education affordable for as many Americans as possible, then I and millions of other Americans are elitists and snobs as well.

Of course, it’s ironic that a man who has two degrees from Harvard University[5], perhaps our country’s most elite university, would criticize President Obama for being a supposed elitist.

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