Update
Below are excerpts of the President’s remarks as prepared for delivery —
“I am only standing before you today because of the chance my education gave me. So I can tell you with some experience that making higher education more affordable for our young people is something I’ve got a personal stake in. It’s something I’ve made a top priority of my presidency. And Ohio, it’s something that is very much at stake in this election.
“I say this because putting a college education within reach for working families doesn’t seem to be a priority my opponent shares.
“A few months ago, just up the road in Westerville, Governor Romney said if you want to be successful, if you want to go to college or start a business, you can just “borrow money if you have to from your parents.” And when a high school student in Youngstown asked him what he would do to make college more affordable for families like his, Governor Romney didn’t say anything about grants or loan programs that have helped millions of students earn their education; nothing about work-study programs, or rising college tuition; not one word about community colleges, or how important higher education is to America’s economic future. He said “the best thing I can do for you is to tell you to shop around.”
“That’s it – that’s his plan. That’s his answer for a young person hoping to go to college – shop around, borrow money from your parents if you have to – but if they don’t have it, you’re on your own.
“That’s not an answer. There is nothing a parent wants more than to give our kids opportunities we never had. And there are few things as painful as not being able to do that. But right now, as we’re still fighting our way back from the worst economic crisis in most of our lifetimes, many parents are struggling just to make ends meet. And I do not accept the notion that we should deny their children the opportunity of a higher education and a brighter future just because their families were hit hard by the recession.”
MEANWHILE, MITT ROMNEY STELLS STUDUENTS TO “SHOP AROUND
OBAMA CAMPAIGN RELEASES NEW DIGITAL TOOLS HIGHLIGHTING PRESIDENT’S EFFORTS TO BUILD STRONGER ECONOMY BY INVESTING IN QUALITY, AFFORDABLE EDUCATION
Student loan reform: The facts
President Obama vs. Mitt Romney
President Obama’s “Pay As You Earn” program caps monthly federal student loan repayment at 10% of monthly discretionary income, meaning that a responsible student can choose the college they want to attend based on their career goals and not only the price of tuition. Families can know that as long as students make their payments on time, they won’t owe more than they can reasonably afford each month.
Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan would roll back this plan, suggesting students “shop around” if they want to go to college.
See how the President’s plan is helping typical students afford college. HERE
Will post full videos of PBO’s speeches when available.
Fantastic piece by a Wisconsin educator, writing about his first-hand knowledge of how the Romney-Ryan plan for education would negatively impact teachers, students, and schools:
A Tale of Two Janesvillians: Paul Ryan & Me
http://oneteachersperspective.blogspot.com/2012/08/a-tale-of-two-janesvillians-paul-ryan-me.html
Aug 21, 12:42 PM EDT
Obama shifts to Ryan education plan
By JIM KUHNHENN and PHILIP ELLIOTT
Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — President Barack Obama drew a sharp line with Republican Mitt Romney on education Tuesday, telling Ohio voters that “putting a college education within reach for working families doesn’t seem to be a priority” for his opponent.
Obama quoted his Republican challenger’s assertion that the best option for students trying to find an affordable education is to “shop around.”
“That’s his answer for a young person hoping to go to college – shop around, borrow money from your parents if you have to – but if they don’t have it, you’re on your own,” Obama said in prepared remarks ahead of a planned campaign stop Tuesday afternoon.
The president was expected to point to the budget plan put forward by Romney’s running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan, as he tries to paint the GOP ticket as too extreme for the nation. He plans to criticize Ryan’s budget proposal for cutting $115 billion from the Education Department, removing 2 million children from Head Start programs and costing 1 million college students their Pell Grants over the next decade. The push will be coupled with television ads.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_PRESIDENTIAL_CAMPAIGN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-08-21-05-01-10
Education policy comes into sharper focus
By Steve Benen – Tue Aug 21, 2012 10:30 AM EDT
For those who’ve seen Mitt Romney’s stump speech several hundred times, it’s easy to recite the Republican’s five point plan in our sleep: he wants to (1) expand U.S. energy policy, (2) improve education; (3) expand trade; (4) cut the deficit; and (5) help small businesses.
Do any of these planks come with any details at all? Well, no, but Romney promises to fill in the details later.
It’s that second element of the five-part platform, however, that’s of particular interest this week. On education, Romney’s stump speech tells voters, “We’re going to make sure our kids and our adults have the skills they need to succeed. We need to make sure our schools are the best in the world. They are not now. They will be. We’ll make them the best.”
How? The answer is one of Romney’s biggest vulnerabilities.
http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/08/21/13394765-education-policy-comes-into-sharper-focus?lite
Obama shifts to Ryan education plan
PITTSBURGH (AP) — It’s not just Medicare. President Barack Obama plans to start picking apart other sections of Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan’s sweeping budget proposals as he tries to paint the GOP ticket as too extreme for the nation.
Next up: education.
On Tuesday, Obama planned to tell voters in sharply contested Ohio that Ryan’s budget proposal would cut $115 billion from the Education Department, remove 2 million children from Head Start programs and cost 1 million college students their Pell Grants over the next decade. The line of criticism will be coupled with television ads.
Obama’s latest line of criticism was described by Democratic officials involved in the plan. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the strategy before the president began executing it, which he planned to do at Capital University in Columbus and continue later in the day during a stop at a community college in Reno, Nev.
http://news.yahoo.com/obama-shifts-ryan-education-plan-070507309.html