Issue Position: Making College Affordable Again

Issue Position

The Current Situation

Paying for college is getting harder and harder, even though sixty percent of new jobs require post-secondary education. While a good education is now more than ever a stepping stone to security and stability for the middle class, the cost of sending a child to college continues to skyrocket with no end in sight. An estimated 200,000 college-qualified students fail to attend college each year, with lower enrollment rates among students in low-income and minority families. Those who do attend college now graduate nearly twenty thousand dollars in debt, on average, twice as much as a decade ago.

What We Should Do

Barry Finegold is committed to making college a reality for every student. His plan for college affordability is a combination of improved financial aid and student loans and rewards for students who show a commitment to public service.

Promoting National Service
By providing college education in exchange for national service, we give our children the chance to get ahead by giving back. They will earn valuable experience and our communities will get much needed assistance. Any student who invests his or her time and energy in Peace Corps, Americorps, or other service programs deserves a quality and affordable college education.

The federal government should pay for one year of in-state college tuition for every six months of National Service. This plan will open the doors of college to hundreds of thousands of young people, while instilling in them our core value of community service.

Expanding Financial Aid and Pell Grants

Barry Finegold will make it his priority to increase federal student aid through programs like the Pell Grant. While Pell Grants could once finance over half the cost of tuition at public universities, today it can only cover one third of the cost. Representative Finegold supports two reforms. First, he would significantly increase the maximum Pell Grant from the existing limit of $4,050, which is inadequate to cover the rising cost of college. Second, he would raise the thresholds under which families can receive the Pell Grants, to further open the doors of college to more working families.

Barry Finegold also believes we have to refocus on loans that help students more than corporations. He favors an increased focus on the Direct Loan system, which allows students to borrow directly from government, as opposed to excessive subsidies to for-profit, private student lenders. Every student should be able to borrow directly from the federal government, and the government should stop giving legal protection to companies taking advantage of student need by charging exorbitant rates.

Moreover, we have to simplify the process of applying for and receiving financial aid. Applications for federal aid are long and complex, causing a million and a half eligible students to not apply for aid. Simplifying financial aid forms must be part of a broad program to expand financial aid opportunities for every student.

Tax Deductible Tuition

With the cost of college rising, it is inexcusable that the Bush administration has cut taxes for the wealthy while doing nothing to help families struggling to pay for college. Barry Finegold supports using revenue from the repeal of the Bush tax cuts to make college tuition tax deductible. A college education is an investment in our new economy, and government should reward parents and students who make that investment.

Loan Repayment Assistance

Barry Finegold favors expanding loan repayment assistance programs (LRAP). Traditional loan repayment assistance programs repay a portion of educational debt if the graduate remains in public interest employment for a specified time period. Barry supports the traditional public service LRAP, and would also establish a LRAP for careers in alternative energy here in Massachusetts. This initiative is simultaneously an education policy, a jobs policy, and an environmental policy. We can make college more affordable for thousands of students and help reverse the brain drain the Commonwealth has experienced over the past decade.

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