After watching the debates, it is apparent to me why so many college students are supporting Barack Obama. He is the only candidate talking about education.
In all of the debates, John McCain has mentioned education briefly. I took it upon myself to go on the McCain-Palin Web site, www.johnmccain.com, to see what his educational plans are for college students. I found nothing specific.
He talks about improving information for parents, simplifying higher education tax benefits, simplifying federal financial aid, improving research by eliminating earmarks and fixing the student lending programs. After you have read all of that, the question still remains: What is McCain going to do about college education?
Students don’t have time to read a bunch of words.
Obama, on the other hand, has outlined specifically what he wants to do for college students.
According to his Web site, www.barackobama.com, he wants to make college education affordable to everyone by creating the “American Opportunity Tax Credit,” which will provide the first $4,000 for a college education and be free for most Americans.
It will also cover two-thirds the cost of tuition at the average public college or university, and make community college tuition completely free for most students.
Obama also wants to simplify the financial aid process by eliminating the current federal financial aid application and allowing families to apply by authorizing the use of their tax information by checking a box on their tax form.
It’s not rocket science. McCain has danced around the subject; Obama’s stance is firm.
When you graduate from college, you don’t want to spend the next 15 to 20 years of your life trying to pay off debts. It is important that we research candidates and see where they stand on issues such as education.
I encourage you to go to the Web sites for yourself and read their plans.
