TUITION FREE EDUCATION

"I think by far the most important bill in our whole code, is that for the diffusion of knowledge among the people. No other sure foundation can be devised for the preservation of freedom and happiness... The tax which will be paid for this purpose is not more than the thousandth part of what will be paid to kings, priests and nobles who will rise up among us if we leave the people in ignorance."

 --Thomas Jefferson 1786.

 

 

The United States has become a nation of educational haves and have-nots. Tuition costs are skyrocketing while real incomes have remained stagnant. Aid programs based on financial need continue to decrease. Students borrow money and then face unmanageable debt when they finish college.

 

Education should be available to everyone; it should not be limited by financial considerations. The average student graduates with $17,000 in debt from student loans; 39 percent graduates with debt loads that require more than 8 percent of their monthly income in repayments. In 1999/2000, 71 percent of students from families earning less than $20,000 per year graduated with debt, compared with 44 percent of students from families with more than $100,000 annual income. It is not surprising, therefore, that 86 percent of high school graduates from families with incomes over $80,750 go on to college while only 57 percent of graduates from families earning less than $33,000 do so. These dollar amounts do not account for the cost to those who avoid pursuing courses of study that appeal to their intellectual curiosities and interest because they fear not being able to earn enough to pay off their loans. Nor does it account for those who do not even consider attending college because of the cost. What would it cost to provide free higher education for everyone currently enrolled in public colleges and universities? The total cost of tuition and fees for everyone currently enrolled in public colleges and universities is approximately $25 billion.
 

 

·        I support tuition free education for Americans: from day care through university.  Education is a right that should be guaranteed by governments - not a privilege to be enjoyed by the few.  Every other industrialized nation in the world provides a free education for their citizens, from day care through university -  so should the United States of America.

 

  •   I support after-school programs for "latchkey" children.

 

  •      Our teachers are underpaid, overworked and rarely supplied with the resources necessary to do their work. It is time to stop disinvesting in education, and start placing it at the top of our social and economic agenda.

 

  •    Classroom teachers at the elementary and high school levels should be given professional status and salaries comparable to related professions requiring advanced education, training and responsibility.

 

  •     I oppose vouchers, or any scheme that will transfer money out of the public school system. That course only leads to a separate and unequal educational system. I also oppose charter schools or the administration of public schools by private, for-profit entities.

 

  •     I am deeply concerned about the intervention in our schools of corporations that promote a culture of consumption and waste. Schools should not be vehicles for commercial advertising. Schools must safeguard students' privacy rights and not make private student information available on corporate (or federal government) request.

 

  •    Within higher education, I oppose military and corporate control over the priorities and topics of academic research.

 

  •     Individualized training accounts should be made available to students who choose to pursue vocational and continuing education.

 

  •     The Leave No Child Behind Act must be repealed, especially the section that gives the military access to student records.

 

  •     Federal policy on education should act principally to ensure equal access to a quality education.

 

  •     Educational funding formulas at the state level need to be adjusted as needed to avoid gross inequalities between districts and schools. Educational grants should provide balance to ensure equal educational access for minority, deprived, special needs, and exceptional children. In higher education, federal college scholarship aid should be increased and offered to any qualified student.

 

  •     I support a constitutional amendment to codify the right of all citizens to equal, high-quality public education.

 

The Pentagon budget for 2006 is $441 billion which is 45 percent greater than the Pentagon budget when Bush took office five years ago.  This budget is a disaster for poor and working-class Americans.  For less than $50 billion we can not only send every American student to college but provide day care for every American child under the age of five.  If we simply cut the Pentagon budget by its 15% discretionary amount (this would still allow the crazies to put missiles on Mars) but it would prevent them from purchasing ashtrays and seat cushions it cost $1 million apiece.  Cutting the Pentagon budget by 15% would free up almost $66 billion -- more than enough to put us on a par with India which along with all the industrialized nations of the world also provide a free college education for their children.

 

“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

 Jesus in Matthew 6:19-21

Thank you, John Murphy

"The Corporate-Free Candidate"