BARACK OBAMA AND JOE BIDEN’S PLAN TO PUT COLLEGE WITHIN REACH
To be successful in the 21st Century economy, America’s workforce must be more innovative and productive than our competitors. Giving every American the opportunity to attend and afford and be successful in college is critical to meeting that challenge. As tuition costs swell and grant-aid fails to keep pace, students and their
families are having a harder time paying for college.
• College costs have grown nearly 40 percent in the past five years
• 60 percent of all college graduates leave college with debt.
• The average graduate leaves college with over $19,000 in debt
• Between 2001 and 2010, 2 million academically qualified students will not go to college because they
cannot afford it.
• Only 12 percent of Hispanics and 16 percent of African Americans eventually earn a bachelor’s degree –
compared with 33 percent of White students. The rising cost of college is a factor in this disparity.
These trends not only threaten our competitiveness in the global marketplace, but also our ability to maintain and improve our economy at home. Barack Obama and Joe Biden will reverse these trends by making sure that a college education is affordable and within the reach of every American.
You can start to reach out for the dream of College by opening a college fund in the early years of your children so you won’t feel the economic burden when the time comes!
