April 24th, 2012
03:55 PM ET
President Obama tries to shore up youth vote Boulder, CO (CNN) - President Obama kicked off a tour of three battleground states today with a speech at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This two-day college blitz is, on it's face, about pressing Congress to prevent interest rates on federally subsidized student loans from doubling this summer. In political reality, the president's latest excursion from Washington is all about energizing part of his base – youth voters – in an election year. "For each year that Congress doesn't act, the average student with these loans will rack up an additional $1,000 in debt - an extra $1,000," President Obama told a supportive crowd of mainly students at UNC Chapel Hill. "That's basically a tax hike for more than 7 million students across America, more than 160,000 students here in North Carolina alone." In 2007, with bipartisan support, a Democratic-led Congress cut interest rates on Stafford loans from 6.8% to 3.4%, the current rate. On July 1, that rate is set to return to 6.8% for new loans. As some congressional Republicans voice concern about the $6 billion price tag for maintaining the low rates, the White House is coordinating with congressional Democrats to frame Republicans as threatening to raise costs on college students. On Monday, presumed Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney gave a full-throated endorsement of extending the low interest rates, trying to blunt the president's momentum on the issue. Congressional Republicans accuse President Obama of trying to distract from his performance on the economy and point out that under the president's own budget proposal student loan rates would double in 2013. In 2008, 66 percent of voters age 18 to 29 voted for Obama. Thirty-two percent went for Sen. John McCain. The latest CNN/ORC poll shows a similar breakdown among young people in an Obama-Romney match-up, but a number of polls show an enthusiasm gap for Obama among young voters compared to 2008 when they flocked to cast ballots in unprecedented numbers. President Obama is scheduled to speak at the University of Colorado Boulder Tuesday night. On Wednesday he addresses students at the University of Iowa. |
  |
 |
|||
|
|
|
||||
You could launch a million balloons with all this hot air from Obama. It was Obama who signed this scheduled increase at this particular time just so he could then argue for lowering it to get votes.
That's ridiculous. He didn't even know he would become President in 2007 when it was signed.
PRESIDENT OBAMA WORKED HARD DIFFERENT WAYS TO GET A POSITIVE RESULT AND ECONOMIC RECOVERY BY PEACEFUL COMPROMISE.
INSTEAD THE REPUBLICANS VOTED AGAIN ALMOST ALL OF PRESIDENT OBAMA'S PROPOSALS 🙁 HAD THE RUKES HELPED POSITIVELY, OUR JOBS AND ECONOMY WOULD HAVE RECOVERED EVEN MORE THAN NOW . SO YOU BLAIMEIING OUR PRESIDENT IS SHEER MISIINFORMATION AND LYING. SOMEWHERE INSIDE YOUR SKULL, YOU KNOW THAT.
Actually, at this point in time, (spring of 2010) the dems had full control of congress and the white house... They HAVE to bear the full responsibility for this issue, due to the republicans being extreme minority at that time. The vote was 56 to 43 in the Senate and 220 to 207 in the House, republicans unanimosly opposed the student loan takeover, which would take the loans from private investors and place the intrest rate and the exact date that it should go up (july 1st 2012).
again Tschrny Wolf... do your research... please. 🙂
This Obama guy has so failed young americans that we can't even begin to reply to his supporters
Obama was and is a passive aggressive jerk
re- wolf – Many Americans work very hard. The difference is they get the job done. They don't have the option to blame someone else when they don't accomplish their job tasks.
REPUBLITARDS HAVE THE MONOPOLY ON MEANINGLESS HOT AIR.
Better then being a lib dumb ass... at least I get my own information instead of just spewing everything my fellow democrap leaders tell me to. I cant believe I have lowered myself to responding to this comment. –puts forehead in hand and sobs–
Reid, Pelosi, Biden, Gore, Obama, – I would say both sides have their issues...
No, you do.
Great post Dean. It appears you used up your brain power for the week on it. Clown.
COME ON REPUBLITARDS, IF YOU GOT IT YOU SHOULD FLAUNT IT.
Obama has done a lot for students including grants and interest rate cuts to loans.
The Republicans in Congress does not want kids from the Middle Class to afford college. I can't believe that Romney has flip-flopped again and now wants lower interest rates. I just hope his tea bag supports this. Not.
Latinos for Obama
Lionel...your ilk on the left are as ignrorant as some of those on the right on these posts. Obama DID NOT CUT THE STUDENT LOAN INTEREST RATES!!! It was done in legislation in 2007 under Bush!!! There is actually a lot of bi-partisan support for keeping the rates low, but the "news" media wants you to believe exactly what you wrote. Take some time away from the Daily Kozmonot and Huffing and Puffing Post.
PS. as a Lipton/Luzianne member, I support the lower interest rates, with the exception that I actually believe the gov't should be much less involved in the first place. I also think the rates should be tied to Prime, like everything else. The problem is that it is unsecured debt, unlike a mortgage, so invariably the rate should be higher.
I put myself through school with summer jobs, work study and personal savings (plus about $1000 from my parents who saved from the time i was an infant), yes a whopping $1000. I left with a 4 year degree and $1000 in debt. It can be done, if one is willing to work for it. Just think, if someone changes their iphone plan to a phone plan (at least with ATT) they can save from $30-50+ a month. That's $360/year over 18 years of their kids life that adds up to $6500 if no interest earned (on the low end). So what's more important, your i-phone or your kid's education. I see where people make their choices, and then ask the gov't (i.e. Joe taxpayer) for the bailouts.
@ Lionel-you are right. The Democrats passed this bill. The Republicans had both the House and Senate from 2000 to 2006 and did nothing. Democrats care and Repubs will take it away if given the chance.
"democrats care" – the question is – for what? Not working Americans, not religious people, not the military, not people making more than 100,000K, not small business owners, not the states who are trying to fix illegal immigration, not people who dislike thousands of pages of Obamacare, not the coal industry, not the oil industry – I am sure I can keep going if I had the time.
There are millions of people under this President's watch young and old with no jobs, no means to survive, and no perspective of a decent future. Instead of sitting behind his desk and figuring out a way to put all these people back to work and providing them with a decent living, he spends his time charming the masses and participating in fund raisers to support his agenda and his reelection. I hope all Latinos wake up to a reality that does not favor them in any way., shape, or form. Latinos have been hit hard with unemployment more than any other group.
This is a president that does best being a stand up comedian or a singer than being the leader that the country needs at the moment. His record and leadership are pathetic.
SENOR, MUCHAS GRACIAS! YO TAMBIEN ERA HISPANA, DESPUES TOME CIUDADANIA AMERICANA, 2 ANOS DESPUES DE QUE ME CASE CON MI ESPOSO, EL ES DE PENSILVANIA. YO ERA REPUBLICANA MODERADA, PERO BAJO GEORGE WALKER BUSH, MI ESPOSO PERDIO 3 EMPLEOS CUANDO LAS TIENDAS CERRARON EN BANCARROTA :(. AFORTUNADAMENTE LO RECOMENDARON A OTRA TIENDA QUE ESTUVO A PUNTO DE QUEBRAR PERO SE FUE COMPONIENDO CON LA NUEVA PRESIDENCIA DE BARACK OBAMA 🙂
FELIZMENTE, MI MARIDO SIGUE TRABAJANDO ALLI, Y EL NEGOCIO A SEGUIDO MEJORANDO 🙂
YO CREO QUE ESTE ROMNEY ESTA TRATANDO DE ENGANAR A LOS Y LAS ESTUDIANTES 🙁 FUE OBAMA EL QUE AYUDO A LAS UNIVERSIDADES A QUE SIGUIERAN ABIERTAS Y A LOS ESTUDIANTES POBRES A GANAR BECAS HE ALSO SIGNED LOW INTEREST STUDENT LOANS, THE RATE UNDER GEORGE WALKER BUSH WAS HIGHER.
SO IF WHAT OBAMA DID BENEFITS LOTS OF GRADUATES, ROMNEY IS LIKELY TO TAKE CREDIT FOR SOMETHING HE ONLY BELATEDLY DID 🙁 PLUS HE SAID A WEEK AGO THAT HE WOULD CUT EDUCATION. WILL HIS CUTS AFFECT STUDENTS ON STUDENT LOANS? YES. (SOURCE: YO IMPRIMI LAS NOTICIAS (CNN,ABC, PBS)
Cutting education dollars at the federal level would not have a negative impact at the state level.
I sure hope for your sake nothing happens to your school money because you are obviously very uneducated and could use all the help you can get. You don't have a clue what you are talking about. The problem is your president has raised the national debt by 3 trillion dollars in 3 years and three months. thats more than Bush raised it in 8 years. I hope you do better on your school homework than you did on your homework on this.
It was democrat controlled house senate and white house that pushed all this through. They took the loans from private banks, and scheduled the increases to happen in July of 2012. To pin this on the GOP is a gross misrepresentation of what really happened. You are a liar MR. President, and a disgrace to your office.
You only want to lower the amount people pay to your government when it will get YOU votes.
Romney 2012!!!
He is not pinning this on the GOP. What he is pinning on them– is if they don't pass the bill to leave it at the lower interest rate.
ONE PROBLEM WITH WHAT YOU CLAIM: YOU GIVE NO SOURCES OR EVIDENCE! FOX NEWS LIES DO NOT QUALIFY. PROOF; MURDOCK'S SON, WHO MANAGES NOW HIS CONSERVATIVE AND FALSE NEWS IS NOT IN JAIL FOR SPREADING LIES AND VIOLATING FREE SPEECH!!!! HAHAHAHAHA...LEARN YOUR LESSON: WHAT GOES AROUND, GETS AROUND 🙂
Tschrny Wolf:
Uh oh... you picked the wrong person to mess with. I don’t visit Fox news. I am informed. Here is a link to New York Times article that will back up everything I say. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/26/us/politics/26loans.html
Is New York Times liberal enough for ya? lol Republicans voted unanimously against govy takeover of student loans. Which is raising billions for the government on the back of our students, they also set the expireation date with no extension plan. This was all a plan to give a campaign issue to the Dems... It was supposed to go unnoticed because of the health care take over at the same time... but some people (like me 🙂 ) can walk and chew gum at the same time. Your libs are scheming, and hurting your voters at the same time. Sounds to me like you are all going on some kind of unplanned self destruct. Next time, before correcting me how about you do your own research to see if I'm right or not, instead of spewing your regurgitated leftist thoughts. Vote GOP where we care about the people, and in turn get their votes; rather then lying and saying what people want to hear to rope them in.
Romney 2012!!!
President Obama got rid of the middleman in student loans. He took it away from the banks. He wants more Pell Grants, he wants to keep the lower interest rate which is set to expire in July. He wants to fund the Dept. of Education not eliminate it, he wants to keep teachers and not lay them off, like so many Republican governors have done. President Obama is helping students.
Obama is making more empty promises in order to attract the youth vote. He's in full campaign mode.
Legalize marijuana and watch a large portion of all drug violence south of our border magically disappear.
Good for Obama, and on top of that he can promise them "A dog in every pot" , his new campaign slogan
Hey, The Buck doesn't stop here!
sorry obama...the GOP is ok with this. how about doing something to stop tuition from increasing...it has doubled since you took office. Hummmm...perhaps this should be a GOP club to wield over barry-the-fraud-in-chief.
JERRY: ANY PROOF OF WHAT YOU CLAIM?
um... thats not really a claim. It was a point of view. Something tells me that Tschrny Wolf is not too bright, and on top of that he has the misfourtune to be alligned with the dem party. Lets not go to hard on him, I dont think he could take it. haha 😀
TUITION GOING UP, WELL THAT'S ONLY BEEN GOING ON FOREVER SO YOU MUST BLAME THAT ON OBAMA TOO? SO MAYBE IT'S THE REPUBLITARDS THAT WANT SOCIALISM AFTER ALL. THAT'S THE ONLY WAY THE GOVERNMENT CAN CONTROL THE PRICE OF EDUCATION. BUT NO, THE REPUBLITARDS LIKE RUSH LIMBAUGH WANT TO THROW STUDENTS UNDER THE BUS WHEN ALL THEY WANT ARE LOWER RATES FOR LOANS, NOT HANDOUTS.
I didn’t ever say I wanted lower rates for loans... (Although I do think some people could suck it up a little and work through college) or skip it all together like I did. Nobody ever said you had to go to college. Its all supply and demand. If I am a painter and I have plenty of work I am going to charge a lot for my service. Colleges are full right now, and everybody is going straight after high school with no second thoughts about it. Sorry to have to say this... but if you cant afford college, then don’t go. Wait a few years, and go after you have the cash in the bank.
I am now married, have a GREAT job and am planning on starting school full time with MY money this fall. I have it in the bank and I am going to spend it. Stop asking for a loan then complaining that it costs too much!!! You lib slime make me sick!
learn to read dippy.
the president realizes the importance of education. keeping intrest rates down is a good thing. Even ol mitt has jumped on board. At least untill he is told to change his mind again. colleges are independent and can charge what ever they want for tuition. controlling interest rates hepl to off set increases in tuition. )bama 2012
Oh poor Greg you are so mislead. Colleges are not independent. They are totally dependent on those federally backed loans and pell grants. Cut some of those out and watch tuition prices plummet. The only reason tuition is so high is because they know that they get paid weather the student decides to pay back his loans or not.
Only Romney can fix a mass we in. No more historical experiment .
This Obama guy has sold our future. We will pay heavily for his spending
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY: IT MUST BE COOL TO BE A WHITE RICH GUY. EVERYONE ELSE CAN GET OUT OF THE COUNTRY (CLUB).
Well december you have shown you intelligence all through this debate (and it's not very high, although you may be?). You seem to be far to concerned with what Romney does with his own money (that he himself earned by the way) to notice what your president is doing with your's.
Can sombody please remind me again why the government owes them a high priced college education? I go to Tarrant County College, an accredited school, where the tuition is $52.00 per credit hour. I can pay for my entire Associate of Applied Science with one years pell grant and have $2120.00 left to buy books etc with. A pell grant that i did nothing to deserve by the way.I guess we can see the fundamental difference between conservative republican and liberal democrat. I'm sure you can guess which one i am when i say my country doesn't owe me anything, i owe my country everything.
Well here we go again!!....if it's a bill, policy or an idea that could be percieved by some that's a good thing, then Obama didn't do it, Bush did it!!! Now Bush signed the school loan interest rates in 2007! Obama didn't do it!!! Mind goodness; now when we go back 2001-2008 and tell you all that Bush did this or that, back during his years of the Presidency, giving you a reason Owe feel Obama is having to TRY to do this or that...then you kick, scream and holler that we keep blaming Bush, and why do we have to keep going back to the past?? Obama is President now, you scream! You can't have it both ways 'flip-floppers'!! If Bush signed off on the school loans interest rates adjustment, why is Obama having to even fool with it in 2012?? Why wasn't it implemented? Looks like to me, Obama's having to get that done too! You all are the ones believing the 'Praise Bush Media Hype', by any means necessary!! The media's 'Disgrace Obama Evert Chance Tou get' distortions is what you want to believe!! Problem is you ignoramuses want him to take all of the blame and none of the credit for doing ANYTHING!! You people floor me...you folk are SICK!!
The Education Secretary, Margaret Spellings, said that she was recommending that President Bush sign the bill because it “answered the president’s call to significantly increase funding” for Pell grants for low-income students.
from the NY Times 9/7/07.
Liz, honey. First welcome back. I've seen you've been back but haven't had a chance to say hi. Hope 2012 is a better year for you and yours.
The problem I have with your post is that is calls out exactly the same problem libs have with Obama vs Bush on the opposite side. People post that Obama was responsible for lowering the student loan rates when in fact it was done during the Bush administration. Why can't any lib give credit for anything good Bush did, and instead give that credit to Obama? Why is calling this out so wrong? Fact is, Bush was handed a bad bag of apples as well–collapse of the dot-com/stock market bubble, a watered down intelligence agency, stripped military, 1st attack on US soil since Pearl Harbor (see watered down intelligence).
Yes he made mistakes, primarily poor (or no) exit strategies, which should have been on top of the list based on the history of the region. But that does not give libs the right to credit Obama unconditionally for accomplishments under the Bush administration, nor to ignore the mistakes Obama has made.
In further response to the overwhelming sentiment that seems to show up, libs accuse Republicans of not giving Obama the time to correct the percieved disaster Bush left. The fact is, that is the platform he ran on and one of the reasons he was voted in–the whole hopey changey thing. Fact is, there has been as much corruption, deceit, misstepping, overreaching and mishadling under this administration as any other. Fact is, he energized a whole population of young voters in 2008, most of whom are now more disillusioned with the American Experiement as ever, they see things have not become the bed of roses they thought they were voting in. They are now realizing the gov't is not the Great Creator. Hopefully they now are realizing that the American dream is one that is earned, not given.
America is suffering from a terminal illness called Big Government, and the libs solution is to inject more of the venom to try to cure it. We HAVE to start taking responsibility for ourselves, not asking a corruptable gov't to do it for us.
Well said. I'm 64 years old and I witnessed the media take down of President Bush...it was very very effective. I saw the same thing done to Bush Sr. by the Clintons (no new taxes, after he raised taxes in part to apease the libs)...both of the Bushes after they worked very hard (as have generations of Administrations) to stabilize the middle east and protect our countries interests. Voters young and older need to pay attention this fall when they vote...we are back where we were in 1980 when Regan ran....that is after the failed politices of JFK, LBJ, and Carter...not to mention Fords mess(Nixon was handed a mess...Vietnam, horrendous debt and had to take us off the gold standard to pay it).. Another four years of this obama mess we just can not take...economically or morally.
I read that one in two College Graduates won't be able to find a job with the Degree they graduated in. Of course if they Majored in Flower Arranging and Minored in Music Appreciation they should be on easy street Eh? Hey, I didn't get a break on my house payments so why should college students get a break on the intrest of their student loans??? Paying the going rate is part of their education!!!
The things this administration feels are priorities are all related to non-working people. If people can't afford to attend they shouldn't.
BTW, all this talk about raising the rate on college loans, but we haven't heard what the actual cost is to manage these loans. This is just another business the governmnet should not have taken over, but given that they have the rate should be related to the cost to manage the program.
"AND THE YOUTH VOTE GOES TO... (drum roll)... Ron Paul?!?!? Wait that's not in the script! Is it?
C-lo, hello, and thank you for the pleasant greeting; but I stick by my comment as stated, except for those typographical errors because that is what it is. Conservatives always find a little line between the two administrations to connect Bush to Obama's accomplishments! If Obama can enjoy an accomplishment at all, he has to share it with Bush!! Right down to ending the war in Iraq to finding and taking out OBL. It's not right...and it's unfair! Now, if it is something that is or percieved as wrong, and a line can be drawn back to the Bush administration, then he has to carry the total blame on himself. That is not fair and it is not right! You literally just repeated what I said earlier in your post when you tried to compare libs and cons of doing the same thing. Fact is, we wouldn't have had to bring Bush into the picture period, if you cons would STOP trying to undermine and blame Obama for everything that has happened to this country!! Of course we are going to go back and find where the 'blister' got started! That's the intelligent thing to do! Had the cons done what Obama said in his acceptance speech, that we weren't a Democratic (lib) nation, and we weren't a Republican (con) nation; we weren't a Black nation, nor a White nation; and that we were The United States of America, I know darn well things would be different today!! We would be further along! He asked that we NOT look back to the past, and that we work together to just fix the problems, because there was enough blame to go around. From day one, the GOP went in exclaiming NO!! 'We're going to make sure he's a ONE TERM PRESIDENT'!! That's all they have ever wanted...that has been their ONLY focus!! I know you ought to know that C-lo!! They have no intentions to ever work with nor help this President to make things better for the nation...!! And the nation consists of the people!! The majority of the people ARE the 99 percenters!! Our government is to suppose to reach out to the people of need!! Our government is 'the people'!! Do you mean to tell me that we are not to help ourselves?? Do you remember...Government, 'of the people, by the people, FOR the people'?? That may well Not include ones of us who can and will take care of our own health, education and welfare; it's set up to take responsibility of it's people who cannot!! A nation is only as good as it's people. A nation is deemed poor when it's people are poverty-strickened and sick. Do you remember the Preamble to the Constitution?? If my memory serves me right, because I had to memorize it in elementary school,... We 'the people' of the United States, in order form a more PERFECT union, establish justice, INSURE domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, PROMOTE the general welfare, and SECURE the blessings of LIBERTY for ourselves and our posterity, This do WE ordain and establish the CONSTITUTION of the UNITED STATES of AMERICA'!! WE are the GOVERNMENT!! But WE have been BOUGHT OUT or SOLD OUT by BIG MONEY!! It's not BIG GOVERNMENT that's the problem, it's BIG MONEY that's the problem! The ones of us who are members of the poor and 99 percent are being bought or sold out, by the BIG MONEY aka the 1 percent! And then they want to blame us and say it's our fault that we ended up in this place in our lives!! It is not always our fault; some people have struggled most of their lives and still are living from paycheck to paycheck, and they want to take that if they can!! They work on taking that from us by allowing the 1 percenters to continue to put fees and other charges on our 'living expenses', not to speak of the taxes and medical insurances we have to pay!! So this disease in America called greed started waaay before Obama became President, and he is the only one running for President who is trying to stop it!! I know you know who does NOT want that 'CHANGE'!! It's the NEW REPUBLICAN PARTY and it's FRINGES. Abraham Lincoln is turning over in his grave!!
Passionate post, Liz...love it.
You said Obama said "We would be further along! He asked that we NOT look back to the past, and that we work together to just fix the problems," yet the libs continue to point to the past. I stand by my comment that any accomplishments under Bush are credited to Obama by the left (i.e. the lower interest rates on student loans).
I agree that therre are those who are caught in the ruts of life, and that they need assistance to pull themselves up. But take a look around, since the 99ers (not 99%ers), have began to run out of unemployment comp, more jobs are being filled. I think (though I don't have the imperical data) but I think it's more than mere coincidence. The gov't needs to be more emphatic about weening those with abilities off the gov't teet. Can you imagine a sow giving birth to 15 pigletts and then laying on her side for 2 years while they suckled? Now if one of those pigletts grows up and gets stuck in a slop bucket, the farmer may have to lift him out, but these days, he leaves the pig in the bucket and continues to feed him to the point where he cannot bear the weight of the pig to lift him out any longer. And I am deliberate in my annalogy.
Interesting ou talk about the gov't allowing the 1% to take from us with fees, taxes, etc. How many tookk part in the bank to credit union transfer? The fact is, Liz, that the Dems' big govt has the same effect, except if you don't pay thier fees (taxes), you go to jail, and you cannot choose a different service/goods provider in many cases. Fact is, the big gov't dems continue to grow larger and more ornerous fees and regulations, squeezing the small guy out of the market, and allowing the big money (wall-marts, bank of americas, and other mass producers of goods and services).
Also interesting you discuss the preamble to the Constitution...I'll hit on a couple of specifics that I believe are interepreted differently:
1. Provide for the common defense–I notice you don't emphasize this point, why? This is, in my opinion, one of the MOST important points because if we are invaded/taken over, the rest goes out the window, right?
2. PROMOTE the general welfare–to promote is not the same as to provide, which is the direction the left leans
I will reitterate my stance that if we didn't have an overblown gov't, it could not be bought and sold. It is the puppetteer who is bribed, not the puppet. You are correct that this should be a gov't of the people, but we have ceded power from us to gov't. If we controlled gov't vs. gov't conrollling us, guess where the lobby money would be directed...So ultimately it IS big gov't that is the problem.
Last, the left relies on gov't to "fix" the problems, but the fact is, the gov't is made up of people too. People with the same pre-dispositions as in the private sector to take advantage of situations, to accept bribes to overlook their responsibilities (or look away), to be less than driven to do the best job possible because they are tenured. But we cannot "fire" gov't. We cannot "take our business elsewhere" (easily). If it is suggested to move to another country, my response is that the US was established on the grounds of self sufficiency and small gov't (I know Jean will have her say about this) and if someone wants/likes big govt intervention, then it should be they that move because those systems (that product) is already being provided elsewhere.