President Obama's answer to the high cost of higher education is to throw an additional $60 billion in taxpayers' dollars at it.
Incredible.
At at time when colleges and universities are requiring remedial classes for high school students who are unprepared, when middle-class parents are struggling to fund the cost of higher education for their children and when students are graduating with massive student-loan debt, Obama proposes free federal higher education.
Except it isn't free. Someone must pay the $60 billion price tax. Who do you suppose that will be?
Here are some provisions of the proposal Obama unveiled last week in advance of his Jan. 20 State of the Union address:
• The initiative, called "America's College Promise," will bring the cost of two years of community college "down to zero" for all Americans, Obama said.
• The administration estimated 9 million students eventually would participate at an individual savings of $3,800 per year for full-time enrollment.
• Qualifying students must maintain a 2.5 grade point average toward a degree or certificate program.
The president is modeling his federal plan after a program in the state of Tennessee. But even though Obama invited the state's two Republican senators to accompany him for the announcement, they do not share his zeal.
"Creating a federal program to me is not the way to get good things to happen in education," said Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker. "You're always better off letting states mimic each other."
We oppose this initiative for a variety of reasons.
First, we believe as education is distanced from local control - and the federal government is the farthest point - the more quality suffers. We agree with Corker that federalism - allowing states to serve as laboratories for innovation - is preferable to federal oversight.
Second, existing problems in education must be addressed before implementing a new program. High school graduates must be prepared for higher education. And colleges and universities must become more affordable for families.
Finally, our massive federal indebtedness does not create a climate for incurring a new $60 billion initiative.
Obama's idea is not likely to receive a warm reception by the Republican Congress. We're not surprised; fiscal folly is not difficult to recognize.