Ron Paul defends eventual end to federal student loans
(CNN) – Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul said Sunday his proposed plan to phase out federal student loans would lower the costs of a college education, making it more affordable for those wanting to attend.
“Anybody who’s ambitious enough will get to go to college,” Paul said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
The Texas congressman, who is making his third presidential bid, said federally funded education assistance raises the price of education while not improving the caliber, a cycle that will “backfire.”
Paul’s plan would eliminate the Department of Education but keep the features that handle student loans for the time being, ensuring there are no cuts to those currently receiving assistance or who will in the near future.
In a USA Today editorial Friday, Paul said eventually transitioning away from government-backed student aid would “give us better educational opportunities at a better price.”
“Why should people who are laborers who never get to go to college, why should they be taxed to send some of us through college?” Paul said Sunday on CNN. “So it’s not even a fair system when it works. But obviously it doesn’t work and that’s why it’s coming to an end.”
Paul has long advocated for cuts in spending and the national debt while calling for numerous government agencies to shut their doors and a renewed emphasis on individual responsibility. His responsibility platform also extends to education, he said.
“The responsibility is on the individual and the family to take care of their needs, not the federal bureaucracy. It just doesn’t work,” Paul said.
When asked if he would agree that some people in the United States “need federal help,” Paul told CNN Chief Political Correspondent Candy Crowley that there are “always some needs, the market isn’t perfect.”
“It will not be perfect, but what we have now is this catastrophic mistake where people have a pseudo education and no jobs,” Paul said. “We’ve indentured them.”
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Watch State of the Union with Candy Crowley Sundays at 9am ET. For the latest from State of the Union click here.
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Guys an idiot. will never get elected
Ok.... then regulate the cost of education..... don't leave us stranded!!!!
I can see the costs NOT going down(when have ANY prices come down) and a LOT less people being able to go to college!!!!
he's right.
That's it- if you are a bright young person from a poor family you will get into the best colleges because you want it and the tuition will be lower! What planet does this man live on? How did he get through school? Wealthy parents or student loans? It certainly wasn't because he "wanted it"
Now that is the most stupid comment I have ever seen! How will that lower the cost? Only the rich will be ale to aford college! That is like Gas prices going back to 60 cents a gallon!
He does raise some interesting points. Interesting but not convincing. The best contributions from Ron Paul are the discussions he gets out in the open. Very few of his arguments from the far side are convincing to me, but I do think keeping his side represented in discussions is valuable. Again though, I do not think he is the right guy to manage the American federal government although if by some strange twist he got the Republican nomination I would vote for him in a second before Obama.
Ron Paul has a point. Nowadays, journalists often need a graduate degree... which comes with huge debt. Yet how does a graduate degree help a journalist in gaining relationships? It basically doesn't help. So instead of high school grads becoming local reporters and gaining an informal education through an apprenticeship... they go off to get a formal education through an expensive schooling. The journalist never returns home, and never gets the relationships necessary for real investigative journalism. America needs to be educated, but a formal education is not always necessary. And in terms of the MSM, the formal education is IMO hurting America.
Ron Paul's Future America No education, No government, legalize marijuana
Ridiculous
I'm for smaller government, but as a young white male (meaning I don't have thousands of scholarships available to me like minorities or females), I probably wouldn't have gone to college except for student loans. My dad didn't make nearly enough to send me to college.
The real problem with student loans is that the goverment gives the money to banks at zero or one percent, and those banks in turn lend the money to students for at least eight percent interest compounded daily(eight percent is the very best rate). This is tax payer money that should directly go to students at the very same zero to one percent. Will save the children of tax payers billions.
One of the best comparisons Paul made(which the author of the article left out), was to compare the housing fiasco with education. In the US, millions of students hold trillions of dollars in debt, and they don't have jobs. Despite the formation of the Dept. of Education around 1980, and massive programs for student aid, education has gone in the gutter. This follows the story of housing in the US: in trying to provide everyone in the US with a cheap house, we're left with hundreds of thousands broke, homeless, or struggling. The lesson here is that despite the good intentions of government, the government has utterly failed to improve conditions in our country.
@logic: As he has explained before, he worked his way through college. The reason it was possible is that the costs hadn't been inflated by loans the way they are now.
It is amazing that he wants to get out of support for education support of our youth but wants Government to get totally involved in our personal women's health issues.
What happens when you equip everybody with enough money to pay for college? The demand for a college's education exceeds the supply, and the price goes up. Then those students are saddled with debt.
I guess all those sheep that think the private sector can solve EVERYTHING will finally see that their highly touted industries only care about one thing.....profit!!!! They will not lose one dime of profit for the sake of the country......great patriots!!!!!
Paul is absolutely right. When the laws make it impossible to discharge student debt through bankruptcy, and the federal government promises to pay the bank if the student fails to do so (IE dies, moves out of the country, or simply works under the table), education funding is a no-brainer investment. Banks used to earn their money by analyzing risk, they don't really earn education loan interest money as there is no risk. With everyone believing that advanced education is the best investment you can make (remind you of the housing market a few years ago?), demand is through the roof. It's only logical that will all the funding being pushed at education for these reasons that the price has risen significantly more than it would have without government intervention. Vote Ron Paul and let a free market function to bring costs down to the level that can be supported by the people.
The typical middle class family is barely squeaking by and cannot afford the cost–let alone the poor families in the US. They need those loans, otherwise only the very rich will be able to afford college. He needs a reality check!
He worked his way through school, as there was no government agency guaranteeing loan repayment to schools and thus ever increasing tuition. Try that for logic.
This twit has a couple of ideas that sound sort of maybe good (if you don't look too close) in the middle of a lot of really terrible ideas. This is one of the really terrible ones.
So, does Ron Paul support an end to small business loans as well? How many people can afford to go to college without a loan? How many businesses can start or expand without a loan?
The only way for the republican party to survive is through voter suppression and lack of education.
He's probably right. What we really need is a continuing education program that takes better advantage of our Community Collages, Tech Schools, etc. while the regular collages get their finances in order (they're just way over-priced).. The best way to do this is for the students to just say no to the high priced outfits and look for more economical paths to their needs. It's like the high cost of Athletes, "Don't go to the games and don't buy their over priced/hyped gear"..
lot of technical & factory job needs little to no education that these expensive university offering. There are lot of students graduating from expensive university with liberal art degree which does not have much demand. These university program are just in market because govt is providing ammunition through student loan. Once student stop enrolling in these program the cost will come down because university can't jack up prices much from here. The cost always reflects demand and specially when it is subsidized by govt. There is only two way either adopt Ron Paul policy to wait for complete collapse of society.
My friend,
do you understand that you just losed a huge block of voters, you know, the young ones who want to go to college, but need the Federal loans with lower interest.
Thanks God you will newer be the President!
Is he for real???? Costs will not go down, what will happen is that only the children from affluent families will be able to attend college.