Hillary Clinton Wants Poor Students to 'Work' for Tuition—Though Her Dad Paid Hers

[Report1212]

"I am not going to give free college to wealthy kids," she said. "I'm not going to give free college to kids who don't work some hours to try to put their own effort into their education.

Clinton's view highlights the main difference between the two candidates: Sanders views college as a right that cannot be denied or tied to a student's income or ability to work a job alongside their studies. To Clinton, it's a commodity, that the government can make cheaper under certain circumstances. Her work requirement would mostly impact poor students, whose parents could not simply offer up the support needed to pay tuition.

Except that Clinton was not required to complete a work requirement to have her tuition and room and board paid for. Here's how she explained how she attended Wellesly College, in a speech she gave in 2007:

Back when I went to college, my father told me, 'Here's the deal. Got enough money for your tuition and board, but anything beyond that, like buying books, you pay for yourself.' And I had worked summers and holidays since I was 13, so I was fine with that.

Read more: http://www.alternet.org/education/hillary-clinton-wants-poor-students-work-tuition-though-her-dad-paid-hers

[RandySF]

1. Students already do

UC has such a profram for those with student aid.

[roguevalley]

29. and how is that an improvement for poor kids when they already have a

tough road? I was poor then and school was hard enough without some pious rich person saying I have to work too. If my character isn't equal enough to bypass work during school time then piss on it. I don't hear kids with money having the same burden. Apparently my character would be automatically suspect without work or a fat wallet to buck me up. Sanders all the way for me.

[Kelvin Mace]

2. She "evolved" on the issue

[Autumn]

3. To her everything is a commodity, like education and health care

To Bernie those things are rights, human rights. Nothing makes the choice clearer than their stands on these 2 issues. Bernie.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

30. Why Bernie is going to win the nomination and it won't even be close. Go Bernie!

Bernie & Elizabeth 2016!!!

[Malraiders]

4. Her plan hardly addresses the skyrocketing cost of college today. eom

[Baitball Blogger]

13. +1

[arcane1]

18. Indeed, payment plans and wage garnishment only serve the status quo n/t

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

31. Excellent point!

[HockeyMom]

5. NYC Catholic HS I went to

gave free tuition to the poor students but they were expected to "give back". No, not mopping floors like Republicans called for. Upperclass students were asked to mentor the younger students. Honor Roll students were expected to give up their free periods to help out and tutor in classrooms for other struggling students. One very artistic student painted murals on the cafeteria walls as her "give back". It was absolutely beautiful. I see nothing wrong with these kinds of working off tuition programs when they are helping out others with your talents. Any paid job to work off tuition? No, there are other ways that are far more beneficial.

Even in college some of the National Honor Societies require not only the high grades but also some kind of donating time and talents to improve the school and/or the community to become a member.

[Report1212]

7. How do we compete with Europeans and Asians who have no such requirement?

It's good to give back. It's bad to tie tuition to "giving back" when we have to compete in a tough international environment that views school as a student's top job

[beam me up scottie]

16. Well said!

You're really nailing it in this thread, Report1212.

[dsc]

34. Asians sure as hell do have that kind of requirement

their schools famously have children cleaning the bathrooms and classrooms at least in high school.

[TBF]

23. Are you in favor of the rich kids "giving back" too?

nt

[seaglass]

6. That is a ridiculous statement. Both of my kids went to public universities and we are not poor.

If there was free college tuition why wouldn't I have taken advantage of that for my kids?

I have zero objection to there being a work requirement.

[procon]

8. Note to Hillary:

I luv you gurlfren, but don't use the same old punitive rightwing tropes about child labor that Newt Gingrich was pushing. You remember what happened to him... right. Just sayin'...

[RufusTFirefly]

15. Yes! I thought she was sounding rather Newt-like, too!

[dsc]

35. since when are college students children

people their age are in the armed forces, are they children too?

[Ed Suspicious]

9. There are big ideological differences, but we're told that our opposition is a hatred or some sort

or discounting of her personality. No. We believe things should be done differently than Hillary wants to do them. Yes, she tracks closer to where I am than say, Ted Cruz, but that doesn't diminish the differences I see between where Bernie stands and where Hillary stands. When you keep it strictly on issues, I stand with Bernie all day long. It's the difference between Hobbes and Locke. Both are social contractarians, but one makes me far less itchy and uncomfortable than the other.

[nichomachus]

10. But she has no problem with giving billions to arms manufacturers.

Strange priorities.

[CountAllVotes]

12. +1,000

n/t

& recommend!!

[RufusTFirefly]

17. Until impoverished students start financing her campaign, I doubt she'll change her mind

What's needlessly tragic about all this is that providing free public education can be a huge shot in the arm to U.S. excellence and overall international competitiveness. But it may initially threaten the quarterly earnings of big donors, curb the reckless speculation of Wall Street cowboys, and give college graduates some actual control over their destinies instead of turning them into the 21st century version of indentured servants.

In short, a nightmare scenario for the One Percent

[kenfrequed]

11. There is a problem I don't think she understands as well

The rate of inflation on higher education has been insane comparatively speaking.

I think most people that graduated in college before 1976 probably have no idea how much wages have failed to keep up with tuition and other expenses.

Sander's plan addresses this and deals with inequality of opportunity.

[ibegurpard]

21. she gets it

Financial industry doesn't want to lose that money.

[Baitball Blogger]

14. Anyone know how India handles their higher education system?

[jeff47]

26. It's free.

Well, free to students. Paid via taxes.

There are class/caste issues getting into their universities, though.

[Skwmom]

19. I won't recommend. It reinforces the fake the poor want a handout.

It's not just the poor struggling to pay their tuition.

[uponit7771]

39. +1

[ibegurpard]

20. the real argument here

Is that big bucks are made for the financial industry with student loan interests on the backs of low and middle income families. Her stated reasons for opposition are just rhetoric.

[CharlotteVale]

22. Where are they supposed to work, Hillary?

[hootinholler]

24. WOW

Hey! That fits right in with her attitude about poor people and it's obvious she thinks they are lazy. I wonder why I'm surprised.

She can pattern it after the welfare reform she championed.

[Cheese Sandwich]

25. Another free ride for the rich while everyone else pays. Nothing new.

[morningfog]

27. Shame on you, Hillary Clinton, shame on you.

[AgingAmerican]

28. Workfare

nt

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

32. Hillary ".. knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing." Oscar Wilde

[reformist2]

33. Wow, has she ever lost touch. You'd have to work full time to pay for even state-school tuitions.

If you wanted to go a private college, you have to borrow money - working alone won't pay all the bills.

And, as another poster said, this attitude assumes that finding even part-time work is no big deal. Does she not read the government's own employment reports???

[HereSince1628]

36. The education path out of poverty is pretty good for kids who start in the middleclass

And by middleclass I mean the kind of middleclass like the Rodhams that owned a cottage on a lake.

Education as a path out of poverty for inner city kids and to places like Wellsley based on part-time jobs? Not gonna happen.

I would add, however, that not all private schools have enormous tuition and board. Lots of private schools play a game with the sticker price of tuition to maximize potential of students to borrow, but it's also true that many schools provide 'funny-money' discounts and scholarships that greatly reduce that. I'm aware of dozens of mid-western private colleges whose tuitions and fees currently are about where the land-grant universities were 10-15 years ago.

People need to think of private college shopping like buying a used car from a guy that sizes your ability to pay based on the shoes you are wearing when you walk in.

[twii]

37. Absolutely free college in exchange for zero hours of work?

I think I'm supposed to think Hillary's comment was outrageous. I'll try.

[uponit7771]

38. Hillary is Satan!!!!

[liberal_at_heart]

40. Did a text book cost $300 in her day? With the cost of education the way it is, paying it

with taxes as we do with our K-12 system is the only way all of our students are going to be able to afford it. Not only that but statistics for students who have to work in order to pay for tuition are horrible. Most people who have to work in order to pay for school don't graduate. Rich students whose parents pay for school don't have to worry about that. They get to concentrate on putting the hours of studying in required to get good grades. Once again, Hillary's plan just isn't good enough and benefits the rich more than the poor.