1.11.2015

Wait for the squawk

Federal price tag for Obama’s ‘free college’ proposal: $60 billion - Stephanie Simon - POLITICO

See? But the $60 billion (over a decade) estimate is not even a decent tip on the $700 billion in taxpayer money pledged to rescue Wall Street, signed into law by Georgie W. People will say the $700B TARP money was not all spent, but there’s no guarantee the $60B tuition money will all be spent either, and even if it is, Obama’s community-college proposal is still just a tip. And yes, the TARP money returned some profit to the taxpayers; please don’t try to tell me education won’t. 

This has been done before. The educational benefits in the G.I. Bill sent a generation of post-WWII vets to college and had a lot to do with the economy of the ‘50s and beyond. 

There are some details that would need to be worked out, but the idea is sound.

"Analysts have said there’s little chance Congress would approve a new entitlement like free tuition,” writes Simon at POLITICO. Which is probably, alas, true.

Of course, if the banks need more cash…

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