May 14, 2007

John Edwards' College Plan

I know he may be the strongest general election candidate the Democrats have (as he's both the only white guy in the first tier, and he's not Hillary Clinton), but all these proposals former Senator Edwards keeps putting out make it ever more apparent that he's the biggest lefty in first tier of candidates - and I've got some problems with that on both political and policy grounds. His latest plan is aimed at providing more money for would-be college students. Now I'm all about getting rid of the stranglehold of Sallie Mae, and the cuts in college student funding by the Bush administration have been horrible, but I'm not at all sure that this is really the way to go.

First off, what kind of answer to the perceived problem is this, if it only deals with the first year of college? Secondly, there are the tiresome social engineering aspects to the plan - breeding little do-gooders who are doing "service" (what qualifies as service? that's potentially a hugely controversial matter), and kicking kids out of the program if they do drugs or alcohol. And while I don't necessarily see a huge amount of harm in helping to pay for one year of school, one can raise a reasonable point and argue that college education shouldn't be an entitlement, and that people and families should have to pay for services that'll provide them with wealth and opportunities in the future.

Color me rather unimpressed.

Posted by armand at May 14, 2007 12:44 PM | TrackBack | Posted to Politics


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