'If You Work Hard Then Community College Should Be Free' Says President Obama In Michigan
WARREN (WWJ) - "Michigan's coming back, American's coming back...Detroit's coming back, too," said President Barack Obama, to a loud round of applause in Warren Wednesday.
The key to that path to economic recovery, the president says, is higher education.
With his plan for two years of free community college stalled in Congress, the president visited Southeast Michigan as part of his push for state and local programs that provide what he's been unable to offer nationally.
Accompanied by Jill Biden, a community college professor and the wife of Vice President Joe Biden, spoke at Macomb County Community College.
Obama last visited MCC back in 2009 to announce an effort to bolster community colleges. This year, he presented a $60 billion proposal in his State of the Union address to make two years of community college free.
Looking for bi-partisan support, Obama says a plan to invest in higher education, job training and apprenticeships shouldn't be controversial.
"So in my State of the Union Address I announced my plan to bring down the cost of Community College to zero. Zero. For every young person willing to work hard I want two years of college to be as free and universal as high school is today. We want to make everybody educated - that will be good for all of us and that's what we did. And I want to do the same thing for Community College education," said Obama.
"If you work hard, then community college should be free," he said."...Everybody deserves a chance to make it."
Obama said that by the end of the decade, two in three job openings will require some form of higher education.
"It's not enough to just be strong and willing to work," Obama said.
Acknowledging that "free" college does cost money, Obama said he wants to pay for it by closing corporate tax loopholes "that aren't fair anyway."
Quoting Ronald Reagan from a visit to Macomb Community College some 30 plus years ago: "'Our duty,' he said, 'is to make sure that you have the same America of opportunity and hope and dreams and future that we had when we were your age.' Ronald Reagan and I belong to two different parties but I agree with those words," said Obama.
Obama and Biden announced a new independent "College Promise Advisory Board" — led by Biden and former Wyoming Governor Jim Geringer, a Republican.
"They're going to work with businesses and charities and colleges and labor groups and nonprofits to make sure every young person who works had has a shot at a great education," Obama said.
The president also announced $175 million in Department of Labor grants across the nation to help with apprenticeships, with awards going to 46 organizations, institutions and businesses pledging to train workers in areas such as health care, information technology and advanced manufacturing. Focus: HOPE in Detroit will be among those organizations benefiting.
The president said no hard-working young person should be denied a shot at success because of where they began in life.
"...I believe that no kid should be priced out of a college education," Obama said. "That's the thing about America: Where you start off doesn't determine where you end up."
"I was a child of a single mom, and we weren't rich, and I turned out OK!" he said.
Obama said studies show those who hold a two-year college degree earn about $10,000 a year more than those who only finished high school; and those who complete an on-the-job apprenticeship earn around $300,000 more over their lifetime than those who didn't do an apprenticeship.
"So whether it's through a community college, an apprenticeship program...upgrading your skills pays off," the president said. "The unemployment rates for those folks are lower and they're gonna earn more money over their lifetimes."
Obama promoted a new website, HeadsUpAmerica.us, for those looking for more information about his plan.
"We call it 'Heads Up America' because we're giving folks a heads up," the president said. "If you want a great shot at a good paying job, then community college might be the right path for you. And if you work had then community college should be free."
