(PatriotSpotlight.org) – Speaking at a college commencement address, First Lady Jill Biden said she backed tuition-free community college education.
Addressing the class of 2024 at Arizona’s Mesa Community College’s graduation ceremony, Dr. Biden celebrated the school’s “Promise” program, which provided eligible students with free tuition.
Dr Biden referred to her experience teaching at a community college, and praised how they were “flexible and meet people where they are.” Since 2009 the First Lady has taught writing and English at Northern Virginia Community College close to Washington D.C.
During the speech she also referred to her husband, President Joe Biden’s remarks that community colleges offer the ‘best career training in America”. She also said graduates should ignore people who tell them “what they can’t do”, recounting an anecdote in which her High School advisor told her she was not up to college study. She later received two Masters Degrees and a PhD. However, the First Lady’s claims these schools ought to be free, and therefore tax-payer funded, attracted criticism.
Ward Clark, a veteran and commentator, slammed Dr Biden’s proposal, explaining, “That kind of economic illiteracy should be physically painful.” Clark stressed how all services must be paid for to exist sustainably, suggesting that it would be inefficient to funnel taxpayer money into more bureaucratic channels.
Biden’s urge for free community college provisions comes in the midst of political debates over controversial student loan debt cancellation plans kickstarted by the Biden administration. The plans have been stalled given that they are potentially unconstitutional. Critics warn that the plans unfairly shift the burden of debt from college students or graduates to taxpayers.
While admitting that community college education was key to offering many students practical skills, critics cautioned against ignoring the economic impacts of making it free at the point of service.
The intense backlash sparked by Dr Biden’s remarks speaks to broader discontent and division regarding the role of the U.S. government in education and the balance between personal responsibility and a social safety net.
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